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After sparking music industry outrage over a plan to auction an NFT for every song in the world — without first securing rights holders’ permission — NFT platform HitPiece now reaching out to artists’ teams in hopes of forging official partnerships. Co-founder Rory Felton also tells Billboard the company has hired Gary Greenstein of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati “to represent the company in discussions with rights owners and to advise HitPiece on legal matters.”
After HitPiece’s beta launch in caught the industry’s attention in February for pulling artwork and other information off of Spotify without artists’ permission, the backlash caused Felton’s company to pull its site offline. Days later, the RIAA — on behalf of the major labels — threatened a lawsuit against HitPiece and sent a public demand letter alleging that the NFT company had violated intellectual property rights.
On Feb. 18, in the wake of the controversy, according to correspondence reviewed by Billboard, HitPiece’s artist relations representative Utkarsh Uppal sent emails to artists’ teams with the subject line “Artwork license opportunity for the Metaverse.” In it, the company rep describes an artist partnership with HitPiece to be a “non-exclusive lucrative licensing opportunity” which will “enable fans to express their appreciation for the music they love by letting them display artwork associated with their favorite music on a digital/metaverse shelf when they buy an NFT.”
The emails also stated that “artists can earn a 90% royalty on initial auctions, and a 10% royalty on all resales between fans” and will offer a “cash advance and a partnership opportunity.” It briefly mentions the earlier beta launch, saying simply that “there was a limited beta test, and we are now implementing product features to ensure only Artists can control the minting and sale of their digital goods.” It does not mention the RIAA demand letter.
When Billboard asked the company for comment, Felton replied by saying, “HitPiece is in fact reaching out to artists…We think artists have the right to control their emotional connection with both their music and their fans and HitPiece is working to foster that engagement.” He added that HitPiece offers “some of the most attractive economics to artists for both initial sales and resales of NFTs.”
Felton’s statements mark a distinct pivot from the company’s beginnings last fall, prior to the beta launch, in which HitPiece used the names of bands like Cartel and Copeland in promotional emails, implying that the bands were official partners. But representatives from both bands, including Copeland’s Aaron Marsh, told Billboard they had never discussed NFTs with the company.
When the beta version of HitPiece’s site went up, artists of all sizes — from XXXTentacion to John Lennon to Left at London — were listed as if they had put their work up for auction with HitPiece, but most didn’t know it was happening. “All of my artists on the platform with NFTs up for sale were not authorized,” one independent label manager previously told Billboard. “I had never heard of the site before today, nor met with any representative for them.”
Following its beta launch, Billboard asked a HitPiece representative to explain how artists who were unknowingly listed on the site could get paid for sales of their NFTs. The company responded by stating, “The ability of artists or owners to be paid is a functionality that HitPiece is developing.”
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There’s a clear star in the second season of Love Is Blind — but it’s not one of the participants. If you’re among the millions of viewers who binge-watched season 2 of the Netflix dating series then you may have noticed that there are gold wine glasses everywhere.
For those unfamiliar with the show, Love Is Blind features 15 men and women who are separated by a wall where they “date” through conversations and essentially “fall in love” and get engaged without seeing each other in person.
The second season debuted Feb. 11, and the finale is scheduled to drop on Feb. 25. Meanwhile, viewers have been flooding social media with jokes (and legitimate questions) about those gold glasses — especially because it seems that the cast members won’t (can’t?) drink out of anything else.
The #LoveIsBlind cast drowning in gold wine glasses: pic.twitter.com/PxHUNpxdnB
— Gay Bachelor Himbo 🌹 (@BGaytion) February 19, 2022
In an interview with Variety, Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen shared the motivation behind the goblet-style stemware.
“I don’t know. It’s something I like,” she explained. “When you turn on the show, you know it’s our show. It’s a very authentic, really true following of these people’s journeys, but I like the fact that we have this sort of connective tissue with that in a really light way. It’s fun.”
If you’re thirsty for new wine glasses, we’ve listed a few of the places where you can buy a pair (or four) online for less than $50.
Oro Wine Glasses
Add a shot of style to your home bar with these Oro collection wine glasses from Z Gallerie. The glasses are crafted of stainless steel with a matte gold finish.
Buy: $22.99 at ZGallerie.com.
PG Stainless Steel Stem Wine Glass
According to multiple customer reviews, these stainless-steel wine glasses deliver a shot of glamour on a budget. The glasses, which hold up to 18 ounces of liquid, feature a lacquer-coated plated finish to prevent tarnishing and damages. You can also get stemless gold wine glasses on Amazon.
Buy: $42.99 at Amazon.com.
VonShef 16 oz. Stainless Steel Red Wine Glasses
A head turning addition to any glassware collection, the 16 oz. Stainless Steel Red Wine Glasses are the perfect for pouring a tall glass of chilled rose.You can also 4-pack of Rose Gold Stainless Steel Wine Glasses at Walmart ($39.99).
Buy: $32.99 at Wayfair.com.
The Billboard Music Awards have recognized the artists and records that have made the biggest splashes on the Billboard charts since its inception in 1990. Beginning in 1993 (with the exception of 1994 and a break 2007-10), Billboard would award the Artist of the Year or Top Artist award to the musical act who dominated the year commercially. Artists from Whitney Houston to Ed Sheeran have been recognized, with several artists — including Adele, Drake and Taylor Swift — having won the award on more than one occasion.
Check out a gallery of all the artists who have won Top Artist at the Billboard Music Awards below, and find out who will take home the Top Artist award at the 2022 BBMAs on May 14.
Will Smith, who received two Oscar nominations for his work in King Richard, won an NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work – biography/autobiography for Will on Monday (Feb. 21).
The NAACP Image Awards are following the lead of the Primetime Emmys’ Creative Arts Awards in stripping their “pre-telecast” awards across an entire week. The focus on opening night was on literary categories and four inaugural podcast categories.
“Jemele Hill Is Unbothered” was the night’s only double winner. It won for outstanding society and culture podcast and outstanding arts and entertainment podcast.
Acting legend Cicely Tyson, who died in January 2021 at age 96, won outstanding literary work – debut author for Just as I Am.
Smith is also nominated for outstanding actor in a motion picture and outstanding motion picture. Those awards will be presented on the 53rd NAACP Image Awards, which are set to air on Saturday (Feb. 26) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET.
Non-televised awards will be announced nightly through Friday Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on naacpimageawards.net and the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel.
Billboard will update this story each night this week with the most recent winners on top.
Monday, Feb. 21
Literary Categories
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction: Long Division – Kiese Laymon (Simon & Schuster)
Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction: The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story – Nikole Hannah-Jones (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author: Just as I Am – Cicely Tyson (Amistad)
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography: Will – Will Smith (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional: Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business) – Tabitha Brown (HarperCollins Publishers)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry: Perfect Black – Crystal Wilkinson (University Press of Kentucky)
Outstanding Literary Work – Children: Stacey’s Extraordinary Words – Stacey Abrams, Kitt Thomas (HarperCollins)
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens: Ace of Spades – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan)
Podcast Categories
Outstanding News and Information Podcast: “Blindspot: Tulsa Burning”
Outstanding Lifestyle/Self-Help Podcast: “Two Funny Mamas,” Sherri Shepherd & Kym Whitley
Outstanding Society and Culture Podcast: “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered”
Outstanding Arts and Entertainment Podcast: “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered”
Special Awards
Youth Activist of the Year: Channing Hill, NAACP chapter president, Howard University.
Here’s a link to a complete list of nominees for the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards.
When Machine Gun Kelly was introduced to the crowd at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, his date Megan Fox got a shout-out as well.
But “Please welcome Machine Gun Kelly and his wife, actress Megan Fox!” was announced at the event — and while the actress and artist are engaged, they haven’t tied the knot yet.
The camera was on the couple at that very moment, and Fox turned to MGK. Although she covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, it appeared that the amused star was pointing out to her fiancé that she’s not his wife yet.
The pair first connected in spring 2020, when they were filming the movie Midnight in the Switchgrass in Puerto Rico, before things really started heating up between the two in the summer. They announced their engagement in January 2022.
“Somehow a year and a half later, having walked through hell together, and having laughed more than I ever imagined possible, he asked me to marry him,” Fox captioned an Instagram post that showed the proposal. “And just as in every lifetime before this one, and as in every lifetime that will follow it, I said yes. …and then we drank each other’s blood.”
Watch the clip from the NBA All-Star Game — where Cleveland native MGK helped introduce the teams, and Macy Gray sang the national anthem — below.
