Add John Legend to the list of stars who are cashing in by selling the rights to their catalogs of songs and recordings.
Bloomberg reports that according to a public filing, back in September, John sold both his copyrights to and his royalties from music he wrote from late 2004 through early last year. The deal includes his signature hit, “All of Me.”
BMG, who has worked with John since 2010, bought the rights, in partnership with the private equity firm KKR. How much money John is making from the sale wasn’t disclosed.
John is younger than most of the veteran rock acts who’ve made hundreds of millions of dollars lately by selling their catalogs: That list includes Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, ZZ Top and Stevie Nicks. That’s a good thing: As Bloomberg notes, the fact that he’s still a very public figure and continues to record and release music and tour should “help drive streaming revenue for the songs purchased by KKR and BMG.”
John’s most recent album, Bigger Love, was released in 2020.
Toy (Toy: Box), the new box set focusing on David Bowie‘s previously unreleased 2000 album Toy, hit stores today, one day before what would’ve been the late rock legend’s 75th birthday.
As previously reported, Toy features versions of various songs that Bowie first recorded from 1964 to 1971, redone at 2000 sessions with members of his touring band at the time.
Toy (Toy: Box) is available now as a three-CD set, a six-disc 10-inch vinyl collection, and digitally. The package will include the originally planned album — which first got its release in November 2021 as part of David’s Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set — alternative mixes of the Toy tracks and tunes intended as B-sides, and stripped-down, mostly acoustic mixes of the songs.
In conjunction with the arrival of Toy (Toy: Box), a lyric video for an alternate version of “Shadow Man,” a rarity that Bowie first recorded in late 1970, has debuted at Bowie’s YouTube channel. The newly released version is referred as an “Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix,” and is one of a series of 13 Toy tracks appearing on the box set that were given that treatment.
Meanwhile, as previously announced, former Bowie touring band member Mark Plati, who produced Toy and played on the original recordings, will take part in an interview about the project at the Bowie 75 pop-up store in New York City this Saturday. Visit Bowie75.com for more details about the various events taking place to commemorate David’s milestone birthday.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
The tributes continue for one of the greatest actors of all time, Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, who passed way Friday at age 94.
Harry Belafonte was one of his best friends: They knew each other as teenagers, and their trailblazing careers paralleled each other. Both Poitier and Belafonte were active in the civil rights movement in the 60s, and often marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his fight against racism, segregation and discrimination. Belafonte and Poitier also starred together in two films Sidney directed: Buck and the Preacher in 1972, and 1974’s Uptown Saturday Night.
“For over 80 years, Sidney and I laughed, cried and made as much mischief as we could,” Belafonte said in a statement. “He was truly my brother and partner in trying to make this world a little better. He certainly made mine a whole lot better.”
In other news, Rick Ross appears Sunday night in The Equalizer. In the “Bout That Life” episode, the Richer Than I’ve Ever Been MC portrays rapper Gregory “Dilemma” Blickman, who’s pleaded guilty to murder. His wife hires Robyn McCall, played by Queen Latifah, to prove he’s innocent.
“Look out for my cameo w/ the Icon @queenlatifah on the @theequalizercbs episode Airs Jan. 9th on CBS,” Ross commented with an Instagram photo of him in a scene with Latifah.
Finally, Deadline reports that this week, Tyler Perry announced that all actors, as well as crew members who interact with them, at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta must be fully vaccinated. The creator of the Madea franchise got vaccinated in January 2021, and has publicly promoted vaccinations. On January 28, he hosted the BET special, COVID-19 Vaccine and the Black Community.
(NEW YORK) — James and Jennifer Crumbley’s motion to amend their bond was denied by a judge on Friday. Both are charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter in a Michigan school shooting. Their 15-year-old son, Ethan Crumbley, is charged with the shooting and killing of four classmates at Oxford High School.
District Court Judge Julie Nicholson denied the request, citing their ties to Florida, the seriousness of the crimes and their failure to turn themselves in when they were charged.
The parents’ bond is set at $500,000 each and they were trying to get it reduced to $100,000 each. ABC News has reached out to James and Jennifer Crumbley’s lawyers for comment. Prosecutors allege the parents gave their son a gun that was later used in the school shooting.
The parents hid in an abandoned warehouse in Detroit and had concealed their car by hiding their license plates instead of turning themselves in the day they were charged, prosecutors allege.
The couple put their house on the market, drained their son’s bank account and asked family members to sell their horses, according to prosecutors.
Video on Ethan’s phone from August showed him holding his father’s pistol and sent messages to a friend which included: “It’s time to shoot up a school. Jk, jk, jk,” prosecutors also claim.
Ethan Crumbley, on Friday, waived his right to a preliminary examination, sending his case to trial. No date is set for his trial.
The Crumbley’s preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb. 8
Cannons have premiered a new song called “Purple Sun.”
The slinky track, which is available now to download and stream via digital outlets, follows the 2021 singles “Bad Dream” and “Ruthless.”
Cannons broke out last year with their hit “Fire for You,” which reached number one on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart in 2021 despite being originally released back in 2019. They currently sit at number 15 on the ranking with “Bad Dream.”
You can catch Cannons on the road this year when they launch their headlining Fever Dream tour March 1 in Los Angeles.
The Weeknd‘s much-awaited fifth studio album, Dawn FM, dropped at midnight Friday. The “Save Your Tears” singer features a wide variety of stars on the project, including Lil Wayne, Tyler, the Creator, Quincy Jones, and actor Jim Carrey.
Along with the album’s release, The Weeknd hosted an exclusive livestream experience with Amazon Music. The three-time Grammy winner recreated the album cover as he appeared as an older version of himself, with grey hair and a beard, and serenaded the crowd with his new music from the middle of a DJ booth.
Dawn FM is the follow-up to The Weeknd’s 2020 RIAA-certified triple-Platinum After Hours album that featured the number-one song of the year, “Blinding Lights.”
Gunna has released his third studio album, DS4Ever, featuring Young Thug, Chris Brown, Kodak Black, 21 Savage and Chloe Bailey. “The Drip Too Hard” rapper also dropped the music video for the “Too Easy” remix, featuring Future and Roddy Ricch.
SZA dropped the video for her hit “I Hate You,” featuring LaKeith Stanfieid from Judas and the Black Messiah. The Oscar nominee is shown alone on a beach, and after arguing with SZA on his cell, he becomes so enraged, he throws his phone into the ocean.
In December, “I Hate You” set an Apple Music record as the most-streamed R&B Song by a female artist in its first week. “Y’all really took a song from SoundCloud and made it number one for 7 days straight. No promo no radio. no nada. Jus YALLS LOVE,” SZA commented on Instagram. “I AM SO BEYOND THANKFUL TO HAVE YOU ALL IN MY LIFE!”
Finally, Queens star Brandy collabs with the newest member of the cast, Remy Ma, on the latest song from the TV series, “Lady Z Strikes Back (Can’t Stop You).”
(NEW YORK) — A high school ice hockey player has died after sustaining a skate injury during a game, in what school officials called an “unimaginable tragedy.”
The accident occurred Thursday evening during a junior varsity game at Brunswick School, a preparatory school in Greenwich, Connecticut. The visiting team was from St. Luke’s, a prep school in New Canaan.
During the game, a St. Luke’s player fell to the ice and a Brunswick player unable to stop collided with him, police said.
“Game play was stopped and 911 was called,” Greenwich Police Department Captain Mark Zuccerella said in a statement.
The St. Luke’s player’s neck was cut by the skate blade, Brunswick school officials said in a letter sent to alumni Friday. The boy was treated by Brunswick medical staff before he was transported to a local hospital, but “tragically, he did not survive the operation,” Brunswick officials said.
The New Canaan Police Department identified the St. Luke’s student as sophomore Teddy Balkind.
“Teddy skated for the New Canaan Winter Club throughout his youth hockey career and was known to all as an all-around incredible young man, son and brother,” the department said on social media. “The men and women of the New Canaan Police Department offer our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Balkind family and all of those impacted by this tragic incident.”
Brunswick officials described the game before the accident as “entirely normal and unremarkable.”
“We are devastated; an unimaginable tragedy,” Brunswick Head of School Thomas Philip said in a statement to ABC News. “I have, of course, met with the Head of School at St. Luke’s and have contacted the boy’s family to offer whatever help, support, or assistance we can during such a challenging time.”
St. Luke’s was closed Friday and did not hold any classes or after-school activities.
“Our community is mourning,” St. Luke’s Head of School Mark Davis said in a statement to ABC New York station WABC-TV Friday. “Yesterday, we lost a precious young man in a tragic accident. Both St. Luke’s School and Brunswick School are in shock as we work to support our students and families. St. Luke’s singular focus at this moment is to care for our devastated community.”
Brunswick officials said the school has arranged counseling and support for the hockey team as needed in the coming days.
The accident sent shockwaves throughout the heartbroken hockey community in Connecticut and beyond.
“We woke up this morning with the heaviest hearts after hearing of the tragic loss of one of New Canaan’s own,” New Canaan Hockey said on Twitter. “Teddy was a wonderful young man, always smiling, a terrific teammate. No words are adequate for the grief we are all feeling.”
The North Attleboro High School Hockey in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, called it an “incomprehensible loss of a young hockey player.”
“Our BIG RED HOCKEY family sends our thoughts, love and prayers to the St. Luke’s and Brunswick hockey communities,” the team said on Twitter.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio, Will Reeve and Darron Reynolds contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 833,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Half of NYC COVID hospitalized patients were admitted for other reasons
-COVID vaccines can cause temporary menstrual cycle changes: Study
-CDC director responds to criticism of COVID-19 guidance
-Florida allowed up to 1 million COVID-19 tests to expire, official says
-Global COVID cases top 300 million
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 07, 3:08 pm
Pfizer vaccine lowers risk of inflammatory condition in teens: CDC
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine dramatically reduces the risk of teenagers developing MIS-C, a dangerous inflammatory condition, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Friday.
MIS-C is a condition in which different body parts can become inflamed such as the heart, lungs and kidneys. It tends to appear in kids and adolescents two to six weeks after becoming infected with COVID-19.
Researchers looked at children and teens between ages 12 and 18 from 24 hospitals across the country.
They found that the vaccine was 91% against MIS-C. Of the children who were critically ill with MIS-C and required life support, all were unvaccinated.
“No fully vaccinated patients with MIS-C required respiratory or cardiovascular life support, as opposed to 39% of unvaccinated MIS-C patients who did,” the authors wrote.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Jan 07, 2:17 pm
Half of NYC COVID hospitalized patients were admitted for other reasons
About half of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in New York City were originally admitted for other reasons, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Across the state, 42% of COVID-19 patients entered hospitals for reasons unrelated to the virus, such as a car accident, and only learned they were positive during their stays, Hochul said during a press conference Friday.
This is the first time that New York has differentiated between patients who go to hospitals to get care for COVID-19 and those who seek out care for other issues but test positive upon arrival.
Hochul also asked New Yorkers who have mild symptoms to not got to emergency rooms to get tested or treated because many hospitals are currently understaffed.
“If you’re an adult with very minor symptoms, you can handle a runny nose. You can handle the throats being a little sore, a little bit of a cough. Just treat as if you would the flu, all the protocols,” she said. “But please don’t overburden our emergency rooms.”
Hochul added that nearly 20% of all emergency rooms in the state are made up of people who are there only to get tested for COVID-19.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Jan 07, 1:27 pm
White House and USPS finalize deal to mail out 500 million COVID tests
The White House and USPS have finalized a plan to mail out 500 million free at-home rapid COVID-19 tests to Americans, a source briefed on the plan told ABC News.
It comes as the first contract to produce the tests was awarded to a testing company Thursday night, a White House spokesperson confirmed.
The main issue that was delaying the finalization of the plan was whether or not USPS can retain 40,000 temporary holiday season workers to help deliver the tests.
However, it’s not clear how many tests will be available from the first contract or how exactly USPS will deliver them. The White House has been vague on the timeline and has yet to launch a website through which Americans can order the tests.
The USPS-White House deal was first reported by The Washington Post.
ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Cheyenne Haslett and Sasha Pezenik
Jan 07, 12:45 pm
COVID vaccines can cause temporary menstrual cycle changes: Study
COVID-19 vaccines can cause temporary changes to menstrual cycles, a new study from Oregon Health and Science University suggests.
Researchers looked at nearly 4,000 women who use Natural Cycles, a Food and Drug Administration-approved birth control app.
They found that some women who received COVID-19 vaccines experienced changes, with the most common being periods starting late by about one day.
However, the effects were temporary with a normal menstrual cycle returning within one or two months after getting the shot.
The team emphasized the findings do not mean COVID-19 vaccines have an impact on current or future fertility.
(MEMPHIS) — New details have surfaced about Justin Johnson, the man who is wanted for allegedly shooting and killing rapper Young Dolph at a bakery in Memphis on Nov. 17 as he continues to evade capture.
The Memphis Police Department issued a first-degree murder warrant for Johnson, 23, on Wednesday — a Memphis man with a history of violence who is allegedly a local Memphis rapper known as Straight Drop or Straight Dropp, according to ABC Memphis station, WATN, and other local media outlets.
“This is just the beginning,” Dolph’s longtime partner Mia Jaye said in a statement posted to Instagram, following law enforcement’s announcement of the alleged suspect. “We are still prayerful that all attacks, plots and plans that were made against Adolph’s life are revealed and justice is diligently served.”
Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr., was shot and killed in Memphis on Nov. 17 while visiting Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, a bakery in South Memphis the rapper was known to frequent. He was 36 and shared two young children with Jaye, Tre and Ari, both of whom shared an emotional tribute to their father at a memorial in Memphis last month.
Young Dolph’s aunt Rita Myers told Rolling Stone in an interview on Wednesday that the family is reeling from her nephew’s killing.
“There’s not any closure for us with this news, because [Johnson] is not in custody, and we still don’t have all the facts,” she said. “We still feel the same. This news just made me feel worse. I thought it would make me feel better, but it didn’t. All I know is, anyone who could walk up and take the life of another person for no reason is someone with hate in their heart, a person who has no regard for life, a person who cares about nothing.”
Surveillance video released by police appears to show two suspects on the scene of the shooting, but no information has been released by MPD regarding the identity of a second potential suspect.
Johnson, who has a history of violence according to court records, is wanted by police in connection with a number of alleged charges, including first-degree murder, criminal attempted first-degree murder and property theft, the Memphis Police Department said on Wednesday.
Asked by ABC News to verify that Straight Drop’s known Instagram account, which is unverified and has over 50 thousand followers, belongs to Johnson, Memphis police declined to comment.
The phone number and email linked to the Instagram account are associated with Johnson, according to records reviewed by ABC News, and Straight Drop’s verified Spotify account mentions Justin Johnson in the writing credits of several songs.
Straight Drop released a song called “Stepped On,” featuring Big Homiie G, on his YouTube page on Nov. 22 — five days after Dolph was killed. The rapper shared a clip on his known Instagram account of the song and linked to the YouTube video in his profile.
In the video, Straight Drop appears to be wearing a chain with the acronym “PRE,” which resembles those worn by Dolph and artists who are associated with Dolph’s label, “Paper Route Empire,” which he founded in 2010.
This led to some confusion among fans regarding Straight Drop’s potential connection to the label. Whether he had a relationship with the late rapper or other PRE artists is unclear and ABC News has reached out to a representative of Dolph for comment.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Johnson had an outstanding warrant related to a weapon offense out of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee for violation of federal supervised release, and both cases are being investigated by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force.
According to Shelby County court records reviewed by WATN, Johnson, who was 18 years-old at the time, shot three people at the Billy Hardwick Bowling Alley in 2017 – two of whom were injured.
Young Dolph honored by his kids at memorial as Memphis grapples with his death
Shelby County Judge Christopher Craft, who presided over the case, told WATN that Johnson had no record at the time, which is why he was given a second chance.
“The first time he used a gun, we gave him some slack because of him immediately cooperating and doing everything,” Craft said.
He was sentenced to five years in prison but after a few months he was released on probation, Craft said, but his probation was later revoked after Johnson faced a federal weapons charge for which he served additional time in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons told ABC News on Friday that Johnson was sentenced in the Western District of Tennessee and committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons on March 11, 2019 and was released on May 25, 2021 via Good Conduct Time release.
Law enforcement urged the public to share any information regarding Johnson’s whereabouts and said that the suspect is a fugitive who “has ties to organized criminal gangs,” and “should be considered armed & dangerous.”
A spokesman for MPD told ABC News that as of Friday morning there are no updates to share regarding this case.
Johnson is 5-foot-8, 190 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes, police said. A combined reward of up to $15,000 is being offered by MPD, the U.S. Marshals Service and Crime Stoppers for information leading to his arrest.
(BRUNSWICK, Ga.) — The three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery have been sentenced.
Travis McMichael, 35, was sentenced to life without the possible of parole. He delivered the deadly shot and was convicted on all nine charges: malice murder, four counts of felony murder, aggravated assault with a shotgun, aggravated assault with a pickup truck, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony.
The McMichaels’ neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, 53, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. He was found guilty of three of the felony murder counts as well as charges of aggravated assault with his pickup truck, false imprisonment and criminal intent to commit a felony.
“On February 23, 2020, almost two years ago, a resident of Glynn County, a graduate of Brunswick High, a son, a brother, a young man with dreams was gunned down in this community,” said Judge Timothy Walmsley before delivering the sentences. “As we understand it, he left us home apparently to go for a run. And he ended up running for his life.”
He took a minute-long moment of silence during his remarks to demonstrate “only a fraction of the time” that Arbery was running from the three men who were chasing him for five minutes.
A Georgia jury in November, after deliberating for about 11 hours, convicted the three white men of chasing and fatally shooting Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was out on a Sunday jog in February 2020.
Each faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In the courtroom, Arbery’s father Marcus Arbery reflected on the loss of his son.
“The man who killed my son has been sitting in this courtroom, every single day, next to his father,” said Marcus. “I’ll never get that chance, to sit next to my son ever again, not at the table, not at a holiday.”
Arbery’s sister, Jasmine, remembered Arbery as a “big personality.”
“Ahmaud had dark skin that glistens in the son,” she said. “He had curly hair and would often like to twist it. Ahmaud had a broad nose and the color of his eyes was real, with melanin. He was tall with an athletic build and enjoyed running. Ahmaud had an appreciation for being outdoors.”
She added: “These are the qualities that made these men assume that Amaud was a dangerous criminal and chase him with guns. To me, those qualities reflect a young man full of life and energy who look like me and the people I love.”
His mother Wanda Cooper-Jones began her statement to court with a message to her son, Arbery.
“This verdict doesn’t bring you back,” she said. “But it does help bring closure to this very difficult chapter of my life. I made a promise to you, I’ll lay you to rest. I told you I love you and someday, somehow I would get you justice. Son, I love you as much today as I did the day that you were born. Raising you was the honor of my life and I’m very proud of you.”
All three men had pleaded not guilty to the nine-count state indictment.
The three men also have been indicted on federal hate crime charges, and all have pleaded not guilty. Jury selection for that trial is set to begin Feb. 7.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Arbery’s family, spoke in a press conference before the sentencing, calling the guilty verdict “an awakening in America.”
“What we pray for is that this is a new, precedent in America that harkens back to the words written in 1776 when we say we hold these truths, that all men are created equally,” Crump said. “We pray that we see that same spirit in a sentence of these killers, this lynch mob. We want to make sure that they don’t get a slap on the wrist.”
