Beyonce removes 'Milkshake' interpolation from new track following criticism from Kelis
A new version of new Beyonce track 'Energy' has appeared on some of the streaming services with an element borrowed from Kelis hit 'Milkshake' removed. The rework follows criticism from Kelis last week, who said that she was not aware that a track on Beyonce's new album 'Renaissance' would include an interpolation of her song, even though the writers and producers of 'Milkshake' had seemingly signed off on its inclusion.

Kelis recorded 'Milkshake' with her frequent early collaborators The Neptunes - aka Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo - for her third album, 2003's 'Tasty', which was also released by the production duo's label.

She has criticised Williams and Hugo before, accusing them of backtracking on commitments regarding who would be credited on, and share in the copyright from, the songs they made together. On many of those songs, including 'Milkshake', only Williams and Hugo are credited as writers.

Williams and Hugo were also listed as co-writers on Beyonce's song 'Energy', suggesting they had approved the inclusion of an element of 'Milkshake' in the new track. However, in various social media posts last week, Kelis made it very clear she had not been consulted.

And while her grievances over the 'Milkshake' element of 'Energy' was really part of her ongoing beef with Williams and Hugo, she also criticised Beyonce herself for not reaching out about the interpolation.

Among other things she stated: "It's not about me being mad about Beyonce - she is one issue because it was stupid and disrespectful, she could have at least reached out - but the real issue is that … this is a direct hit on me, Pharrell does this all the time … and the reality is that it's frustrating, I have the right to be frustrated".

Presumably in response to all that, a sneaky edit of 'Energy' has now been made removing the 'Milkshake' interpolation, with that new version of the track appearing on various streaming services, including Apple Music and Tidal.

It's actually the second post-release edit made by Beyonce to her new album. She also posted a new version of the track 'Heated' which removed the line "spazzing on that ass, spaz on that ass".

Although 'spaz' is an American slang word that means "go crazy" - and that was the meaning intended in the original 'Heated' lyric - a number of disability charities pointed out that the word also has a history of being used - especially in the UK - as an offensive slur against people with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.

Beyonce clearly didn't intend to use the word in its offensive form, though - given Lizzo was also forced to change a lyric earlier this year after using same slang word in one her songs - you might think that someone on Beyonce's team would have picked that up ahead of release. But maybe they were too busy not calling Kelis to let her know about the 'Milkshake' interpolation.

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Record industry's latest ISP copyright litigation settled at the very last minute
One time US internet service provider Bright House has reached a very last minute settlement deal with the major record companies halting the latest court battle set to test the responsibilities and liabilities of net firms when it comes to policing piracy online.

Bright House is one of various America ISPs that the record industry has been seeking to hold liable for the copyright infringement of its users - even though the company was absorbed by another net firm, Charter Communications, which has been separately sued by the labels.

Both the Bright House and Charter cases sought to exploit the precedent set in the legal battles with Cox Communications, which was successfully sued first by BMG, and then by the majors. Cox was shown in court to have only paid lip service to the repeat infringer policy it was obliged to operate in order to benefit from the good old copyright safe harbour.

Without safe harbour protection, Cox could be held liable for the copyright infringement of its users who had shared and accessed unlicensed music. And those liabilities resulted in a billion dollars in damages in the major labels case. Meaning that all the other ISPs targeted with similar litigation have been very keen to find a solid defence.

But Bright House's various attempts to kill the litigation pursed against it by the labels - including a countersuit accusing the majors of submitting dodgy copyright notices to internet companies - all failed, and the whole thing was due to go to trial this week.

However, the proceedings were delayed on Monday when one of the legal team working for the record labels tested positive for COVID. And then yesterday a very brief legal filing was made telling the court the dispute between the majors and Bright House was officially over. That legal filing stated: "Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 3.09, the parties hereby notify the court that they have resolved the above-captioned action".

According to Torrentfreak, having received that statement, judge Mary Scriven dismissed the case with prejudice, which means the litigation cannot be revived in the future. Terms of the deal between Bright House and the record companies are not known.

Meanwhile, the separate litigation against Bright House's now parent company Charter Communications continues, for now at least.

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Cardi B artwork legal battle postponed again due to lawyer's ill health
The court battle between Cardi B and the model who appeared on the cover of her 2016 mixtape 'Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1' has been postponed yet again, this time after the rapper's lawyer became unavailable as a result of a serious illness.

The model suing Cardi B, real name Belcalis Almánzar, is Kevin Brophy, who says his publicity rights were infringed by the 'Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1' artwork. That artwork features a man with his back to the camera positioned to look like he is performing oral sex on the rapper. And that man has been Photoshopped so that he has Brophy's distinctive tattoos on his back.

Brophy argues that because those tattoos are so very distinctive, people assume it is him in the photo. And given the explicit nature of the artwork, that has resulted in him facing frequent "uncomfortable comments, questions, and ridicule from community members and family".

The lawsuit relating to those allegations was originally filed in 2017, but the case has taken a very long time to go through the motions, in part delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Almánzar also actively sought to delay the dispute getting to court last autumn, citing the birth of her second child as a reason why she couldn't travel to California for a court hearing.

That resulted in a side dispute, after the rapper attended Paris Fashion Week around the same time, and Brophy argued that proved the rapper had lied when she said she couldn't currently travel. He tried to have Almánzar formally sanctioned by the court in relation to that side dispute, albeit without success.

And so Brophy was forced back into waiting for his day in court. That was due to finally happen this week, but then the judge overseeing the dispute confirmed another delay was now necessary.

In a short statement, judge Cormac J Carney noted that Almánzar's lawyer was now seriously ill and therefore unable to represent the rapper in the case. Which means the trial will now take place in October, to give Almánzar time to seek alternative legal representation.

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Legal wrangling over Prince estate at an end as judge signs off on deal
A judge in Minnesota finally signed off earlier this week on a settlement deal in relation to Prince's estate.

The musician had not prepared a will before his untimely death in 2016, resulting in much legal wrangling between the six siblings - mainly half-siblings - who were named heirs. Along the way there were disagreements about the management of the estate - including who should do the managing - and the decision of three of his siblings to sell some or all of their respective shares in his assets to Primary Wave.

That said, despite those disagreements causing some delays, in the end the longest delay came from sorting out the estate's tax affairs. A deal was reached with the US Internal Revenue Service back in January, which gave Prince's assets and rights a final tax valuation $156 million. A formal structure for sharing out the estate's assets was then agreed, with companies subsequently being set up to manage everything.

According to Billboard, last week it was confirmed that those assets will be split between an entity called Prince Legacy LLC, involving the heirs and their advisors L Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer, and Prince Oat Holdings LLC, which is a Primary Wave owned vehicle.

Confirming a permanent structure for the Prince estate was now properly in place, a spokesperson for Primary Wave said: "Prince was an iconic superstar and this transfer out of the court's jurisdiction puts in place professional, skilled management".

"When we announced our acquisition of the additional expectancy interests in the estate last year bringing our ownership interest to 50%", they went on, "our goal was to protect and grow Prince's incomparable legacy. With the distribution of estate assets, we look forward to a strong and productive working relationship".

Meanwhile advisor McMillan said that the new arrangement would ensure music industry experts rather than bankers were in control of Prince's estate.

"I represented Prince for over thirteen years and we led with innovation to reform the music industry", he added "we hope to do the same with his amazing assets and catalogue, from his music, film content, exhibits, merchandise, Paisley Park events, branded products and more. It is a historical and very exciting time. Prince is almost free to rest now".

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1Xtra Live to return as station celebrates 20th anniversary
BBC Radio 1Xtra has confirmed that its 1Xtra Live event will return later this year for the first time since before the pandemic. Taking place at the Wembley Arena in London on 15 Oct, the all-star concert will also celebrate the BBC station's 20th birthday, which is actually this month.

Confirming all this, Head Of BBC Radio 1Xtra, Faron McKenzie, says: "With BBC 1Xtra turning 20 this year, this 1Xtra Live is going to go all the way off! We're going to bring new and emerging talent together with the hottest UK artists and best international acts for the biggest birthday bash of the year!"

"Having been away since 2019", he adds, "there are new artists and genres which our audience have never seen perform live at this iconic event before. The scale and growth of the scene in the past three years together with the energy and excitement from our audience is going to make this the best 1Xtra Live we've ever seen".

Although line-up and ticketing information is still to be released, the event was officially announced on the station's breakfast show yesterday, with host Nadia Jae saying: "1Xtra Live is an unmissable event! It's where we come together as a family to celebrate the culture, the artists, the genres and the music that we spend all year supporting on the network. To bring 1Xtra Live back after three years is so exciting and for it to be hosted it in my hometown... I can't wait!"

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APPOINTMENTS

The US music division of artist management firm YMU has appointed LA-based Elena Awbrey to the position of Executive Manager. Most recently Awbrey ran her own management company, and two of her clients will join her at YMU: Empress Of and Pamé. "We are THRILLED that Elena has joined the YMU family", says Anthony Rodol, MD of YMU Music US. "She is an incredibly talented music executive with a wealth of experience and knowledge that will undoubtedly help us as we continue to grow".

The Beatport Group has hired Matt Gralen as Chief Financial Officer. He joins from DIY distributor UnitedMasters, where he was EVP of Corporate Development, having previously worked for Mass Appeal and in investment banking. "Matt's breadth of experience across the finance and media industries will have a huge impact on our leadership team and our ability to execute on our vision for the next few years", says Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels.

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EDUCATION & EVENTS

The Ultimate Seminar has announced a Manchester edition of its popular event for those early on in their music careers, due to take place on 23 and 24 Sep in partnership with Warner Music and NQ. Registration is open here.

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RELEASES

Ellen Arkbro and Johan Graden have posted 'Never Near', a track from their new collaborative album - 'I Get Along Without You Very Well' - that is coming out via Thrill Jockey next month.

Luci has followed up her CMU approved track 'Ash & Dust' with new release 'Trippin Trippin Trippin'. She's also confirmed that her debut EP, 'Juvenilia', will be out on 23 Sep via Don't Sleep.

A fifth Frankie Cosmos album called 'Inner World Peace' will be released via Sub Pop on 21 Oct. Here's the official video for new track 'One Year Stand'.

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Boom Radio hosting day-long celebration of 1960s pirate radio
It's a good month for fans of piracy. Of the radio kind, though. If you're a fan of other kinds of piracy, we'll, we're not interested in you having a good month, obviously. But if it's pirate radio you like - and especially olden days pirate radio that seems all kinds of quaint in hindsight - well, you are definitely welcome, and you're in for a good month.

Digital radio station Boom Radio will present a day of programmes later this month celebrating the offshore pirate stations of the 1960s, marking the 55th anniversary of the UK's Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, the pesky laws that made it illegal for any British subject to assist such stations.

Various DJs who presented shows on outfits like Radio Caroline, Radio London and Swinging Radio England will appear across the day on Sunday 14 Aug, including Johnnie Walker, Roger Day, Dave Lee Travis and Keith Skues. The latter will present an hour-long programme interviewing a stack of other pirate radio DJs from the 1960s, including Paul Burnett, Colin Berry and Tony Blackburn.

Confirming the special day of programmes, Paul Robey - Content Director at Boom, a station that targets the baby boomer generation - told Radio Today: "We know this era really chimes with our listeners. The day is a chance to celebrate the influence of what happened back then on the radio we hear today".

But, please do note, Boom isn't the only station marking the 55th anniversary of the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act. Bauer's Absolute Radio 60s will become Absolute Radio Pirates on 12 Aug, with both Johnnie Walker and Tony Blackburn popping up as part of those pirate radio celebrating festivities as well.

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