LEVEL, a distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, announced on Thursday (Sept. 26) via Instagram that it will be shutting down in 2025. In a letter to its clients, obtained by Billboard, LEVEL notes that it is no longer accepting new songs for distribution or edits as of the date of the announcement and it will cease all operations on July 31, 2025.

The letter also said that all live releases will automatically be taken down on Nov. 18, but artists are “welcome to request a takedown” of their content before then. It also notes that access to the LEVEL Wallet, which is how the company pays out royalties, will be shut down on July 11. “We’re honored to have supported all of the talented people who have used LEVEL to share their music with the world over the years,” the company said.

In a statement provided to Billboard, WMG said: “We’re focusing all of our efforts behind the ADA brand, as we continue to strengthen our global suite of services for artists and label partners across the independent community. We’re taking a truly global approach, and investing in our team and technology, with some exciting announcements in the works.”

In late 2022, multiple LEVEL artists and former employees told Billboard that the company was experiencing operational issues. This included the random removal of artists’ songs and projects distributed through the company and increasing difficulty in getting in touch with staff to remedy the takedowns and to generally receive service. Two former employees believed at the time that this was due to a reduced headcount at the company. A number of artists also took to the company’s Instagram comment sections to voice their concerns about the company. Those comments have all since been deleted.

In January 2023, the company addressed these complaints in an Instagram post, saying, “when it comes to customer support, we acknowledge we need improvement… we are refining our process for how we approach withdrawals [as well].”

LEVEL was started in 2018 by WMG in an effort to work more closely with young, unsigned artists. During the course of its operations, it released early songs by Remi Wolf, Stephen Sanchez, brakence, Dreamer Isioma, Boyish and more.

News of LEVEL’s shut down comes amid a widespread restructure of WMG’s Atlantic Music Group, which includes Atlantic Records, Elektra Records 300 Entertainment, Fueled by Ramen, Roadrunner and 10K Projects. Over the last few weeks, around 150 employees under the Atlantic Music Group umbrella have been let go, and a number of high-profile executives are also stepping down from the company, including Atlantic Music Group CEO Julie Greenwald, who co-led Atlantic for nearly 20 years; WMG’s CEO of recorded music Max Lousada, who had been at WMG for decades; 300 Elektra Entertainment chairman/CEO Kevin Liles; Atlantic general manager Paul Sinclair; and Atlantic co-president of Black music Michael Kyser, along with several department heads at both Atlantic and Elektra Records.

Atlantic Music Group will now be helmed by 10K Projects founder/CEO Elliot Grainge.

Canadian musician K’naan has been charged with sexual assault.

A charge sheet was filed this morning (Sept. 26) in Quebec City for the musician and director, born Keinan Abdi Warsame, for a count of sexual assault dating back to 2010, The Canadian Press reports.

The arrest warrant alleges that the assault took place between July 16 and 17 in Quebec City, which coincides with a show he played at Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) in 2010. The musician was not present at court.

K’naan, who’s known for his 2009 hit “Wavin’ Flag” (later rerecorded as the global anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup), took an extended break after his 2012 album Troubadour, but had recently returned to prominence.

The Somali-Canadian musician returned with “Refugee” in 2023, a song that he said was intended to feel “like a home for those of us made homeless by conflict.” K’naan won the Best Song for Social Change Award by the Recording Academy at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Just over two weeks ago, K’naan made his debut as a director, premiering his feature film Mother Mother at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. This week, on Sept. 24, K’naan attended the SOCAN Awards at History in Toronto and accepted the SOCAN Cultural Impact Award for the lasting global impact of his anthem, “Wavin’ Flag.”

Warsame was not in attendance for the proceedings in Quebec this morning. The case has been set for April 2025. According to Radio-Canada, Warsame’s lawyer has requested he be tried in English in front of a jury.

This story was originally published by Billboard Canada.

In its highest profile catalog acquisition yet, Jonas Group Publishing has purchased the publishing copyrights and recordings of pop hitmaker and songwriter Julia Michaels for an undisclosed price.

The portfolio acquisition includes Michaels’ RIAA four-time platinum certified hit “If The World Was Ending,” which she wrote and recorded with JP Saxe. The portfolio also includes the RIAA 3x platinum “Lose You to Love Me” (recorded by Selena Gomez), the gold-certified “Circles Around This Town” (recorded by Maren Morris), and the Dua Lipa-recorded “Pretty Please.” Other songs in the catalog include the platinum-certified “Heaven,” written and recorded for the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, and the gold-certified “I Miss You” with Clean Bandit. Her catalog also includes recordings by Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes, Maroon 5, Diplo, Britney Spears, Nick Jonas, Noah Kahan, Justin Bieber, Jason Derulo, Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini.

“Julia Michaels is a known master of songwriting and is revered across multiple genres of music,” said JGP president Leslie T. DiPiero in a statement. “Julia, along with her manager Beka Tischker and their amazing team, have a choice on who they trust to represent her works. We here at Jonas Group Publishing are truly honored that they have chosen us. Listening to her catalog of songs makes us feel like kids in a candy store!”

“Music is all about passion, and I’m so happy this music lives with Leslie, Kevin and their passionate team that values songwriters and creators,” Michaels added. “I look forward to working with them and growing the reach of these songs.”

“My family and I have been big fans of Julia Michaels for years,” JGE founder/chairman Kevin Jonas Sr. said in a statement. “Her music has been a part of our journey, and we’ve been fortunate enough to experience the magic of her songs firsthand. We’re excited to work with her and her team to continue sharing these incredible songs with the world and to build on the success they’ve already seen.

“This catalog is truly special for Jonas Catalog Holdings and Jonas Group Publishing. It’s not just about the hits she’s created; it’s about the heart and soul in each track. We could not have acquired this catalog without the support and expertise of our financial partner, Corrum Capital Management, who we thank and look forward to many more acquisitions together. We must also thank our trusted partners, Access Media Advisory and Teresa Miles Walsh, as well as Moghan Music for providing valuable assistance throughout the purchase of the catalog.”

The company has previously acquired the catalogs of songwriters including Justin Ebach and Amy Stroup. Jonas Group Publishing, a division of Jonas Group Entertainment, was established in 2020, and is home to songwriters including Terri Jo Box, Franklin Jonas, David Kalmusky and Bailee Madison.

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John Lennon was more than one fourth of The Beatles — he was also a talented songwriter who, after going solo, crafted the 1973 album Mind Games that is still considered a classic today. Music from the album landed itself on the Billboard Hot 100 back in ’73, including the title track, which was on the chart for 13 weeks and peaked at No. 18. While there are many music books out there that promise to delve into artists’ lives, a new book is giving fans an exclusive look into the making of Mind Games through never-before-seen photography, letters and lyrics written by the late artist and wife Yoko Ono.

The book version of Mind Games was released on Tuesday (Sept. 24), and has already been impressing fans and music lovers, even earning itself a spot on Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller list for celebrity photography. Normally, it’s priced at $60, but for a limited time, you can snag Mind Games for up to 15% off when you buy it online from Amazon, Walmart and Bookshop.org.

Keep reading to learn more and buy the Mind Games book online.

‘Mind Games’ by John Lennon & Yoko Ono

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Lennon’s fourth solo album takes the spotlight throughout Mind Games and its 288 pages of exclusive photography and retelling of the music-making process. Readers will get an in-depth look at the creation, recording and release of the beloved album in addition to news clippings of Lennon during that period of his life.

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Readers can also look forward to commentary from those close to the artists during the time of the album’s making, including musicians, friends, engineers and other key figures. Coinciding with the launch of the book will be a remixed and reissued version of the album that will attempt to bring the music to a new generation of listeners.

For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best country music books, female musician memoirs and books about jazz.

Lady Gaga is looking towards the future.

In a new interview promoting her upcoming film, Joker: Folie à Deux, the superstar was asked by Buzzfeed Canada if there’s anything she’d like to “manifest” for the future. “I’m so happy to be in love, and I’m so excited to have a family,” she responded in reference to her partner, Michael Polansky. “That’s definitely number one, but also, I really believe in the ability to grow as a person. That feeling can give everybody hope. I just want to keep growing.”

She continued, “I’m 38 years old, and it’s kind of fun to embrace the challenge of being a 38-year-old pop star and figuring out who I want to be now and what I want to say. I really love women, and I really want to be a voice that deserves to be a part of our community.”

Gaga and Polansky have been publicly dating since early 2020; she made their relationship Instagram official with a post that February. In an interview a couple months later, she referred to Polansky as “the love of my life.”

She appeared to reveal that the duo are engaged in July while introducing Polansky to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. “My fiancé, Michael,” Gaga is heard casually saying in a clip the prime minister posted on TikTok. The short video shows Attal briefly hugging the singer and shaking hands with Polansky, Lady Gaga’s partner of more than four years, at an Olympic event.

The duo made their red carpet debut at the Venice International Film Festival earlier this month, to support the premiere of Joker: Folie à Deux.

In addition to Folie à Deux, which hits theaters Oct. 4, Gaga is also gearing up to release new music. She dropped “Die With a Smile” with Bruno Mars in July to warm fans up for her upcoming era — the track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 — and she’s now begun teasing her seventh album, the first single of which arrives in October.