Fiona Apple highlighted the hypocrisy she sees in the Grammys — especially when it comes to the way the awards show treats women — in a new interview with The Guardian.
While Apple wasn’t directly asked about the Grammys, she turned to the subject after applauding Taylor Swift’s efforts to re-record her old albums and effectively regain control of her masters. Apple then joked she had been worried about incurring the wrath of the Swifties if her latest album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, were nominated for Album of the Year against Swift’s Folklore.
While Apple wasn’t directly asked about the Grammys, she turned to the subject after applauding Taylor Swift’s efforts to re-record her old albums and effectively regain control of her masters. Apple then joked she had been worried about incurring the wrath of the Swifties if her latest album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, were nominated for Album of the Year against Swift’s Folklore.
- 12/18/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Even before the pandemic, the 2021 Grammy Awards were going to be very different from previous shows.
For the first time in 40 years, the show will not be produced by veteran Ken Ehrlich, who announced in 2019 he’d be stepping aside for longtime James Corden producer Ben Winston. Ehrlich brought such familiar signature touches — thematic medleys with generation-spanning duet partners, understated nods to the social cause of the moment, and a certain old-school showbiz razzmatazz — that it’s hard to imagine the Grammys without him.
More pointedly, the 2020 Grammys took place against an ugly backdrop of mismanagement allegations and longstanding accusations of gender and racial misrepresentation in the awards, the Recording Academy and the industry. This was capped by a blockbuster legal complaint filed against the Academy in January by ousted president/CEO Deborah Dugan, who was placed on leave just days before the show amid strongly worded but vague accusations of “misconduct.
For the first time in 40 years, the show will not be produced by veteran Ken Ehrlich, who announced in 2019 he’d be stepping aside for longtime James Corden producer Ben Winston. Ehrlich brought such familiar signature touches — thematic medleys with generation-spanning duet partners, understated nods to the social cause of the moment, and a certain old-school showbiz razzmatazz — that it’s hard to imagine the Grammys without him.
More pointedly, the 2020 Grammys took place against an ugly backdrop of mismanagement allegations and longstanding accusations of gender and racial misrepresentation in the awards, the Recording Academy and the industry. This was capped by a blockbuster legal complaint filed against the Academy in January by ousted president/CEO Deborah Dugan, who was placed on leave just days before the show amid strongly worded but vague accusations of “misconduct.
- 9/30/2020
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Last year, North Carolina rapper Rapsody was searching for an introductory track for her new album, Eve, a concept LP about the history and power of black women. Her producer suggested a song she didn’t know well: Nina Simone’s 1965 version of “Strange Fruit.” A concise but graphic evocation of a Southern lynching, “Strange Fruit” was one of America’s earliest and most shocking protest songs, drawing attention to the thousands of acts of racist terrorism against black people in this country’s history. “Black bodies swinging in the...
- 8/7/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
When Harvey Mason, jr. took the job as chair of the Recording Academy’s Board of Trustees last June, it’s safe to say he had no idea what was coming.
A veteran songwriter-producer who has worked with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton and Jennifer Hudson as well as film and television hits like “Dreamgirls,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” and many more, Mason has also been a Recording Academy board member since 2007. He rose through the ranks and was named chair of the Board of Trustees last June at the same time Deborah Dugan was officially announced as president/CEO; the two of them took the helm of an Academy that had been rocked by scandal in the wake of former chief Neil Portnow’s misspoken 2018 comment that female artists and executives needed to “step up” in order to advance in the music industry.
A veteran songwriter-producer who has worked with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton and Jennifer Hudson as well as film and television hits like “Dreamgirls,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” and many more, Mason has also been a Recording Academy board member since 2007. He rose through the ranks and was named chair of the Board of Trustees last June at the same time Deborah Dugan was officially announced as president/CEO; the two of them took the helm of an Academy that had been rocked by scandal in the wake of former chief Neil Portnow’s misspoken 2018 comment that female artists and executives needed to “step up” in order to advance in the music industry.
- 4/30/2020
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Following its public and controversial parting with CEO Deborah Dugan earlier this year, the Recording Academy announced Thursday morning that Valeisha Butterfield Jones, who was previously global head of inclusion at Google, has been appointed for the Academy’s newly established chief diversity and inclusion officer position.
Butterfield Jones has an extensive background in diversity and policy initiatives. She co-founded the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network in 2007, and before taking the diversity role at Google, she’d served as youth vote director on President Barrack Obama’s campaign and as...
Butterfield Jones has an extensive background in diversity and policy initiatives. She co-founded the Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network in 2007, and before taking the diversity role at Google, she’d served as youth vote director on President Barrack Obama’s campaign and as...
- 4/30/2020
- by Ethan Millman
- Rollingstone.com
Updated: In response to her termination Monday, ousted Recording Academy president/CEO Deborah Dugan’s attorneys have fired back at the organization with a supplemental charge of discrimination that includes multiple new allegations, including what it claims is evidence of an attempts by the Academy — and longtime Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich — to influence the nominations process. The document also includes what it claims is new evidence of the Academy’s efforts to retaliate against her, particularly after her bombshell legal complaint of Jan. 21, which the new document supplements.
In the earlier complaint, Dugan, who was placed on leave just days before the Grammy Awards, accuses the organization of multiple instances of misconduct, including improprieties in the Grammy voting procedure; “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members… and a ‘boys’ club’ mentality”; “exorbitant” legal fees paid to outside law firms; and that attorney Joel Katz, an Academy...
In the earlier complaint, Dugan, who was placed on leave just days before the Grammy Awards, accuses the organization of multiple instances of misconduct, including improprieties in the Grammy voting procedure; “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members… and a ‘boys’ club’ mentality”; “exorbitant” legal fees paid to outside law firms; and that attorney Joel Katz, an Academy...
- 3/3/2020
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
The Executive Committee of The Recording Academy — the organization that controls the Grammy Awards — issued a letter to members on Monday informing them of the termination of President/CEO Deborah Dugan’s employment.
Dugan was placed on administrative leave 10 days before the January 26th Grammys for allegations of misconduct. She then lobbied her own accusations against the Academy, with an eventual Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Eeoc) complaint including claims of millions of dollars being unnecessarily funneled to certain law firms, as well as attempts to greenlight a $750k consultancy fee for predecessor Neil Portnow,...
Dugan was placed on administrative leave 10 days before the January 26th Grammys for allegations of misconduct. She then lobbied her own accusations against the Academy, with an eventual Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Eeoc) complaint including claims of millions of dollars being unnecessarily funneled to certain law firms, as well as attempts to greenlight a $750k consultancy fee for predecessor Neil Portnow,...
- 3/2/2020
- by Samantha Hissong
- Rollingstone.com
Grammy organization the Recording Academy said in an email to members Monday that it has fired Deborah Dugan, the group’s president and CEO who has been on administrative leave since January.
Dugan was hired in May as the first female head of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, but was put on leave just ahead of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards amid an “investigation” into alleged misconduct involving a female staffer.
She denied the claims, and later filed a discrimination complaint with the Eeoc, saying she was sexually harassed by Joel Katz, the Academy’s general counsel, who has denied the claims. The complaint also alleged that she witnessed “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members, and voting irregularities with respect to nominations for Grammy Awards, all made possible by the ‘boys’ club’ mentality and approach to governance at the Academy.”
The Academy also denied the claims,...
Dugan was hired in May as the first female head of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, but was put on leave just ahead of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards amid an “investigation” into alleged misconduct involving a female staffer.
She denied the claims, and later filed a discrimination complaint with the Eeoc, saying she was sexually harassed by Joel Katz, the Academy’s general counsel, who has denied the claims. The complaint also alleged that she witnessed “egregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members, and voting irregularities with respect to nominations for Grammy Awards, all made possible by the ‘boys’ club’ mentality and approach to governance at the Academy.”
The Academy also denied the claims,...
- 3/2/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
An investigation into recently ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan’s sexual harassment allegation against Academy general counsel Joel Katz has begun, according to two documents sent to “elected leaders” of the Recording Academy Thursday evening.
The memo, sent by interim CEO and board chair Harvey Mason Jr. and obtained by Rolling Stone, said that the harassment allegations are being “independently investigated by a law firm with no previous ties to the Academy,” and addresses many of the other allegations Dugan brought forth in her extensive complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January.
The memo, sent by interim CEO and board chair Harvey Mason Jr. and obtained by Rolling Stone, said that the harassment allegations are being “independently investigated by a law firm with no previous ties to the Academy,” and addresses many of the other allegations Dugan brought forth in her extensive complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in January.
- 2/14/2020
- by Ethan Millman
- Rollingstone.com
In the latest development in one of the nastiest ongoing fights in the music industry, the Recording Academy has a message for recently ousted CEO Deborah Dugan: Bring it on.
Last week, Dugan sent an open letter to the Academy asking for her arbitration clause to be waived, a request that would allow the process to be open to the public. On Tuesday, the Academy responded, proposing instead to keep arbitration but waive the confidentiality provision that could potentially bring more public transparency to the arbitration itself.
Dugan signed...
Last week, Dugan sent an open letter to the Academy asking for her arbitration clause to be waived, a request that would allow the process to be open to the public. On Tuesday, the Academy responded, proposing instead to keep arbitration but waive the confidentiality provision that could potentially bring more public transparency to the arbitration itself.
Dugan signed...
- 2/5/2020
- by Ethan Millman
- Rollingstone.com
On Tuesday October 17, 2017, The Tj Martell Foundation for Cancer Research held its 42nd annual New York Honors Gala at Gaustavino’s.
The star-studded event included a host of music stars, industry executives, enthusiastic supporters and medical experts who all work to bring awareness and funding to the Foundation’s mission.
Mega-producer DJ Khaled helped host the event with performances by Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends, Kane Brown, Matthew Ramsey and Elle King. Country music superstar Garth Brooks surprised the crowd when he entered the stage from the back to present Amazon Music’s Steve Boom with the Music Innovation Award. Two other honorees, Sarah Stennett, CEO & Co-Founder of First Access Entertainment was presented the Spirit of Music Award by model Winnie Harlow and Julie Swidler, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs & General Counsel of Sony Music Entertainment was presented the Lifetime Music Industry Award by Clive Davis.
Joel Katz, Chairman of The T.
The star-studded event included a host of music stars, industry executives, enthusiastic supporters and medical experts who all work to bring awareness and funding to the Foundation’s mission.
Mega-producer DJ Khaled helped host the event with performances by Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends, Kane Brown, Matthew Ramsey and Elle King. Country music superstar Garth Brooks surprised the crowd when he entered the stage from the back to present Amazon Music’s Steve Boom with the Music Innovation Award. Two other honorees, Sarah Stennett, CEO & Co-Founder of First Access Entertainment was presented the Spirit of Music Award by model Winnie Harlow and Julie Swidler, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs & General Counsel of Sony Music Entertainment was presented the Lifetime Music Industry Award by Clive Davis.
Joel Katz, Chairman of The T.
- 10/26/2017
- Look to the Stars
The Tj Martell Foundation for Cancer Research has announced its presenters and performers for the 42nd New York Honors Gala to be held Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at Guastavino’s in New York beginning with a red carpet arrival at 6:00 p.m.
Presenters Clive Davis and model Winnie Harlow have been named two of the presenters at the star-studded event. Clive Davis will present Julie Swidler, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs & General Counsel of Sony Music Entertainment with the Lifetime Music Industry Award and supermodel Winnie Harlow will present Sarah Stennett, CEO & Co-Founder of First Access Entertainment with the Spirit of Music Award. A special guest presenter will be announced for honoree Steve Boom.
Performances by Kane Brown, Elle King, Bill Murray with Jan Vogler & Friends and Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion have also been announced. More celebrity announcements will be made later in the week.
Red Carpet begins at 6:00 p.
Presenters Clive Davis and model Winnie Harlow have been named two of the presenters at the star-studded event. Clive Davis will present Julie Swidler, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs & General Counsel of Sony Music Entertainment with the Lifetime Music Industry Award and supermodel Winnie Harlow will present Sarah Stennett, CEO & Co-Founder of First Access Entertainment with the Spirit of Music Award. A special guest presenter will be announced for honoree Steve Boom.
Performances by Kane Brown, Elle King, Bill Murray with Jan Vogler & Friends and Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion have also been announced. More celebrity announcements will be made later in the week.
Red Carpet begins at 6:00 p.
- 10/9/2017
- Look to the Stars
Greenberg Traurig, the law firm representing co-defendant NBCUniversal in the defamation lawsuit targeting the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, is facing a disqualification motion over a supposed conversation that happened 25 years old concerning Ice Cube's "No Vaseline." On Monday, the firm had its own outside counsel file a blistering response that ran the gamut from confidentiality to ethics.
The lawsuit has barely survived the judge's cuts as well as the death of the plaintiff, ex-n.W.A manager Jerry Heller. Now, Heller's nephew is seeking to use an alleged 1992 conversation whereby Greenberg Traurig partner Joel Katz supposedly advised Heller about bringing a defamation claim...
The lawsuit has barely survived the judge's cuts as well as the death of the plaintiff, ex-n.W.A manager Jerry Heller. Now, Heller's nephew is seeking to use an alleged 1992 conversation whereby Greenberg Traurig partner Joel Katz supposedly advised Heller about bringing a defamation claim...
- 5/2/2017
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CBS contends in a new lawsuit that it is owed $2.45 million from the producer of Fashion Rocks. According to a breach-of-contract complaint filed on Monday, Three Lions Entertainment signed a contract for airtime on Sept. 9 for the Ryan Seacrest-hosted show. Featuring performances by Nicki Minaj, Pitbull and Usher, the program aired as scheduled, but CBS says that it has never gotten the money promised. Three Lions is run by Richard Beckman, former chief executive of Prometheus Global Media (publisher of The Hollywood Reporter) and Greenberg Traurig partner Joel Katz, whom the complaint paints to
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- 11/5/2014
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Billionaire Ron Burkle and former Hollywood Reporter CEO Richard Beckman have joined forces to create a new branded entertainment company, Three Lions Entertainment, they announced on Monday. Joel Katz, global chairman of Greenberg Traurig's international media and entertainment practice, will be a minority partner and have a seat on the board. Three Lions Entertainment's first TV specials will revive "Fashion Rocks" and "Movies Rock" that were previously made with Conde Nast. Beckman left Prometheus, then-parent of the Reporter, last year. He had been CEO, and previously had been a senior executive...
- 3/25/2013
- by Sharon Waxman
- The Wrap
HollywoodNews.com: Frank Dileo was laid to rest on Wednesday in Pittsburgh by family and friends. Michael Jackson’s long time manager is a beloved figure in the music business, dating back not only to “Thriller” and “Bad,” but to Frank’s stints at other record companies. He was also an actor, appearing in “Good Fellas” and “Wayne’s World.”
Jackson executors John Branca and John John McClain were not present, but Frank’s long time music lawyer and friend, Joel Katz, was there. So were delegations of Frank’s old cronies from Columbia and Epic Records including Lary Stessel and John Doelp. We had a nice time with Al Bunetta, the Nashville music manager and partner of singer John Prine. Also on hand: Charlie Brusco, Dan Beck, Jimmy Sacco, Frank Randall, Joe Mansfield. Frank would have been so proud.
The night before the funeral, most of this gang assembled...
Jackson executors John Branca and John John McClain were not present, but Frank’s long time music lawyer and friend, Joel Katz, was there. So were delegations of Frank’s old cronies from Columbia and Epic Records including Lary Stessel and John Doelp. We had a nice time with Al Bunetta, the Nashville music manager and partner of singer John Prine. Also on hand: Charlie Brusco, Dan Beck, Jimmy Sacco, Frank Randall, Joe Mansfield. Frank would have been so proud.
The night before the funeral, most of this gang assembled...
- 9/1/2011
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
By Roger Friedman
HollywoodNews.com: Stop the presses: None other than Prince, dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy, introduced Barbra Streisand last night at her MusiCares Person of the Year dinner at the La Convention Center. He’d been sitting quietly to the side most of the evening, although at one point he did mildly greet Elvis Costello and his wife Diana Krall, in a sea of 2500 music industry types and stars. This means Prince and Costello sat through a three hour plus evening of performances you might noe associate with their ilk- from the sublime (Leona Lewis) to the sensational (Stevie Wonder).
But then again, so did real legends like Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones, Sam Moore, and Judy Collins, and a legend who stole the entire show–Tony Bennett, 83, and the master.
At Streisand’s table, her inner circle– husband James Brolin, son Jason Gould, songwriter lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman.
HollywoodNews.com: Stop the presses: None other than Prince, dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy, introduced Barbra Streisand last night at her MusiCares Person of the Year dinner at the La Convention Center. He’d been sitting quietly to the side most of the evening, although at one point he did mildly greet Elvis Costello and his wife Diana Krall, in a sea of 2500 music industry types and stars. This means Prince and Costello sat through a three hour plus evening of performances you might noe associate with their ilk- from the sublime (Leona Lewis) to the sensational (Stevie Wonder).
But then again, so did real legends like Sidney Poitier, Quincy Jones, Sam Moore, and Judy Collins, and a legend who stole the entire show–Tony Bennett, 83, and the master.
At Streisand’s table, her inner circle– husband James Brolin, son Jason Gould, songwriter lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman.
- 2/12/2011
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
Received another email from California Newsreel, alerting us that the full-length documentary, Strange Fruit, is available for free online through the end of this month, so you’re encouraged to head over there and give it a look.
In short, the 1998 57-minute Strange Fruit “is the first documentary exploring the history and legacy of the Billie Holiday classic. The song’s evolution tells a dramatic story of America’s radical past using one of the most influential protest songs ever written as its epicenter. The saga brings viewers face- to- face with the terror of lynching even as it spotlights the courage and heroism of those who fought for racial justice when to do so was to risk ostracism and livelihood if white – and death if Black. It examines the history of lynching, and the interplay of race, labor and the left, and popular culture as forces that would give...
In short, the 1998 57-minute Strange Fruit “is the first documentary exploring the history and legacy of the Billie Holiday classic. The song’s evolution tells a dramatic story of America’s radical past using one of the most influential protest songs ever written as its epicenter. The saga brings viewers face- to- face with the terror of lynching even as it spotlights the courage and heroism of those who fought for racial justice when to do so was to risk ostracism and livelihood if white – and death if Black. It examines the history of lynching, and the interplay of race, labor and the left, and popular culture as forces that would give...
- 11/5/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Lawyers who say they have represented Michael Jackson tell "The Insider" they "are now carrying out his wishes and desires as expressed in his last will and testament." John Branca of Ziffren, Brittenham Llp and Joel Katz of Greenberg Traurig Llp, say they were hired prior to Jackson's death and that a 2002 will signed by Jackson names Branca as the co-executor. The other co-executor is Jackson's friend John McClain, according to the lawyers. The lawyers say in the statement: "The death of Michael Jackson was a tragedy and everyone who knew and loved him pray that he can rest in peace."
[Read full story on The Insider]...
[Read full story on The Insider]...
- 7/1/2009
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
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