#TheWeeklyRoundUp - 21.06.24

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland's Verzuz Returns With Exclusive Distribution Partnership With Elon Musk's X (MBW)

Verzuz, an online music battle platform, has announced a new distribution deal with X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.

The development comes after Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, the co-founders of Verzuz, reacquired full ownership of the platform earlier this year.

Verzuz, launched in 2020 during the pandemic, offers a way for music fans to connect through live-streamed beat battle events featuring rappers and DJs. The platform quickly gained popularity, featuring matchups like Babyface vs. Teddy Riley, Nelly vs. Ludacris, T-Pain vs. Lil Jon, DMX vs. Snoop Dogg, and Alicia Keys vs. John Legend.

The success of Verzuz during the pandemic lockdown led to a partnership with Apple Music in July 2020 before the company was acquired by TikTok rival Triller in early 2021. However, legal disputes arose between Triller and Swizz Beatz and Timbaland over unpaid dues. The pair sued Triller in August 2022, demanding $28 million in alleged missing payments related to the acquisition.

This led to the pair reacquiring Verzuz in 2024, reclaiming full ownership and creative control.

Under the new deal with X, Verzuz will be streamed exclusively on the platform, reaching an estimated audience of over 550 million active users, Variety reports, citing an announcement made during the Cannes Lions conference in France on Wednesday (June 19). The service will remain free to watch.

Commenting on the partnership with X, Swizz Beatz said, “We are beyond thrilled to have found the best partner for Verzuz. Not only are we excited to have Verzuz on X, we’re excited to help X build the biggest entertainment company in the world. I would like to thank Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Brett Weitz, Mitchell Smith and the entire X team for believing in the Verzuz vision. We can’t wait to get to work.”

Timbaland added: “We are thrilled to partner with X, the most innovative platform globally. Our goal has always been to bring Verzuz to the world which we can now do bigger than ever.”

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who serves as Group Chair at talent management company YMU and was previously chairman of global advertising & partnerships for NBCUniversal, said, “X is so proud to partner with trailblazing creators, artists, and entrepreneurs Swizz Beatz & Timbaland. Our platform stands at the forefront of innovation, and Verzuz defines the essence of an innovative content experience.

“As we continue to work with the most exciting voices to bring premium content to X, there is no better fit than this series. Together we will redefine how consumers engage with their favorite entertainment, one Verzuz at a time.”

However, a cloud hangs over this development as X faces a lawsuit from music publishers over the lack of licensing deals with major music companies. In March, a court in Tennessee said it is allowing a group of music publishers to proceed with certain elements of their multi-million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit filed against X.

The lawsuit was launched in June 2023 by 17 companies represented by the National Music Publishers’ Association, including independents as well as major publishers Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music. They are seeking over $250 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of alleged infringements of approximately 1,700 works.

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Warner Music sued over Tom Petty documentary (Complete Music Update)

Photographer, designer and film-maker Martyn Atkins has sued Warner Music over the 2021 documentary ‘Somewhere You Feel Free’, about the making of Tom Petty’s 1994 album ‘Wildflowers’. The film, Atkins claims, contains 45 minutes of footage he filmed and owns which was used without permission.

The documentary was actually Atkins’ idea, according to his lawsuit, with him and Petty regularly discussing the project before the musician’s death in 2017. 

The Petty estate then decided to proceed with the documentary in 2020, approaching Atkins to discuss his involvement and to inquire about how they could access the footage he had recorded in the 1990s. 

However, he alleges, the estate then teamed up with Petty’s label Warner to make ‘Somewhere You Feel Free’ without his involvement, and made heavy use of his footage without permission. 

“Atkins did not provide consent, did not otherwise license any of the footage, and was not compensated in any manner for the film’s unauthorised, brazen exploitation of the works Atkins created and owns”, the lawsuit declares.

Atkins was initially hired to create the artwork for ‘Wildflowers’ in 1994. He quickly became friends with Petty, he says, and ended up spending lots of time with the musician in the studio and on tour. Along the way he started documenting Petty’s music-making on film.

Perhaps anticipating a dispute over who owns the rights in that footage, Atkins is keen to stress that the filming was done “on his own volition and at his own cost”. And while the footage was subsequently stored by Warner, he is still the “exclusive owner and author”.

As a result, Atkins claims, Warner is liable for copyright infringement and should pay him lots of damages.