Kanye West Quietly Selling Decked Out NY Crib, $4.5 Mil Bachelor Pad Details Revealed

Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West appears ready to welcome in a new family with pregnant girlfriend Kim Kardashian weeks away from giving birth by putting his New York home up for sale. 

According to reports, Yeezy's decked-out crib comes with a price tag of just a mere $4.5 million.

Kanye West is secretly selling his Soho bachelor pad -- equipped with a bizarre bathtub and statues of children -- for $4.5 million. The apartment's strangest feature is in the master bedroom, outfitted with a slender basin just five feet away from West's bed. "It's the height of a normal sink, but it's a huge, long, granite object, probably about 9 feet long but only a couple of feet wide. At the front is a sink," said a broker who toured the space yesterday. "It was long and extremely narrow and very artsy-looking. The apartment is amazing. If you like modern and sleek spaces, this is it." (New York Post)

While Ye's looking for interested buyers, he reportedly has a representative quietly selling the apartment.

The master suite's walk-in closet also contained more than a dozen pair of expensive sneakers, mainly Air Jordans, the broker said. At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a narrow hallway with a statue at the end. "It looks like an angel, or a little boy Cupid, and it's on a raised platform," the broker said, adding that there is a similar statue in the living room. While the fourth-floor unit at 25 West Houston St. is not officially listed, West's agent held a tour for the city's top brokers at the apartment yesterday. (New York Post)

Coincidentally, Mr. West put a Hollywood crib up for sale earlier this year.

Kanye West has JUST listed his Hollywood Hills bachelor pad ... TMZ has learned ... because he's clearing the decks to move into his new Bel Air mansion with Kim Kardashian. Kanye's listing the 3 bedroom, 4 bath crib for $3.3 million. The house is 4,214 square feet. Now here's the predicament ... the average list price in the area is $2.54 mil. Kanye tried in vain to sell the house in 2010 for more than $4 mil, so at least he's come down on price. TMZ broke the story ... Kanye and Kim just bought a $9 million mansion in Bev Hills that has slightly more space -- actually, it's 14,000 square feet. (TMZ)

Last year, the father-to-be and Kim K were spotted shopping for mansions in Miami.

Are Kanye West and Kim Kardashian ready to take the next step in their relationship and buy property together? The famous couple was spotted house hunting in Miami on Monday. Yeezy, who was dressed in his gym clothes and red Balenciaga pleated high-tops, was a perfect gentleman, holding the umbrella for his girlfriend as they toured some pricey real estate in the rain. The paparazzi followed them throughout the day, winding up at Prime One Twelve where they had dinner. (Rap-Up)

Copyright Review Under the Microscope at World Creators Summit

While U.S. register of copyright Marie Pallente called for Congress to perform a comprehensive review of copyright at the World Creators Summit held today in Washington, DC, other speakers during the day questioned if a surgical rewriting would be more practical to accomplish.

Pallente noted that the U.S. Copyright Office is involved in copyright policy and administration on a daily business and interacts with all stakeholders on all sides of the issue, which gives it a special vantage point.

"We tend to see concerns that are similar rather than unique, and provisions that are related rather than isolated," she said according to a copy of her speech provided to Billboard. "In looking across genres and business models, we view everything in relation to the statute as a whole. But we also understand that at the center of the equation is the well-being of authors and the health of the creative industries that support them quite simply because this is essential to the success for any system of copyright law.  Authors matter and they should be provided with incentives to continue to create work and protecting their rights."

But she also acknowledged that the Internet has changed so much and that any 21st century copyright system has to consider that access to creative works are essential to "our culture, commerce and progress as people."

Consequently, the exclusive rights of the authors must evolve to reflect the ways in which creators make their works available, which means that the control of copyright owners should not be absolute, she said.
Moving beyond the dichotomy between content owners and technology companies, she said another pressing priority is to enact a "more complete public performance right for sound recordings, something that record labels and artists have long sought." She called for a level playing field between webcasters, who pay performance royalties to artist and labels and terrestrial as well as publishers and songwriters, and radio broadcasters, who do not pay artists and labels and only compensate songwriters and publishers.
Revision must also address orphan works, which are a frustration, a liability risk and a major cause of gridlock in the digital marketplace, she said.

Further, she encouraged a diversity of licensing regimes, including direct; collective opt-in models; and as necessary, opt-out models. "Collective management of rights is good copyright practice," but how to reconcile it with protections against price-fixing and other anti-competitive behavior should be a government priority.

Also, she said there should be enforcement provision that explore a range of interlocking solutions between corporate sectors and between countries, particularly in the criminal context, while upholding due process.
She said a holistic approach will ensure that related issues are reviewed together like the public performance right in sound recordings, modernization of section 115, webcasting rates and streaming remedies; or library exceptions, mass digitalization, and orphan works.

The last time the U.S. Congress looked at copyright law it took 20 years to negotiate the 1976 reform law. The needs today are too pressing so the review needs to be more nimble since the groundwork has been laid for many of the issues through hearings, debates and numerous Copyright Office studies.

Finally, she noted that there is much public confusion over copyright, and reminded that we now live in a world where consumers inteact with copyright law directly and daily.

That is a lesson Congress has already learned from SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, when a grass roots revolt had authors of the law pulling their names from it in droves, noted California Congressman Anna G. Eshoo.

This time out in copyright revision, don't expect Congress to go down the same path to achieve copyright protection, said chairman of the Virginian Congressman Bob Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, which contains the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. Goodlatte will lead the Congressional discussion on copyright review. He said copyright protection can be achieved through other routes, but he expected voluntary agreements between different sectors to be one of the tools.
Yet earlier in the day, Songwriters Guild of America president Rick Carnes asked how copyright protection can be ignored when U.S. governement data showa that the songwriting industry lost 45% of its participants between 2002 and 2012.

Carnes also pointed out that during that time, Google's profit has grown by 58,000%. "I may be a conspiry theorist, but I think [those two statistics] are related," he said.

Moreover, if advertisers on the Internet can figure out what kind and size of underwear people are ordering, how come they can't figure out who is downloading illegal music and from where, asked Directors Guild Of America sixth VP and television director Vincent Misiano.

On the other end of the spectrum, Public Knowledge president and CEO Gigi Sohn said that while comprehensive copyright reform would be nice, it's not going to happen in today's political environment where one party will always move to stop what the other party does.

Instead, she urged surgical cuts to copyright law, and said Congress should look at things like orphan works and why DMCA prevents consumers from unlocking their phone, which they should be allowed to do if they want to use a different provider.

SGA's Carnes also felt a surgical approach should be taken, and says he has two chief concerns he hopes should be addressed in the upcoming copyright review. He ponders if the creative community should carry the burden of policing the entire Internet and if some of the burden shouldn't fall to the technology companies.
RIAA senior executive VP Mitch Glazier complained under the way law is currently written, his organization had just served the 20th million takedown notice on one copyright and knows that as soon as that digital service provider complies and removes it, it will be back up a few seconds later.

Jay-Z and Samsung Rumored Close to Signing $20 Million Partnership Deal

The highly competitive Samsung, which is also believed to be working on a streaming music offering, has led in mobile device market share by a wide margin in the first quarter of this year.

While details are still scarce about Jay-Z and Samsung's rumored partnership, first reported by the New York Post this morning and rumored to be worth $20 million, it appears that the deal may include a streaming music offering from Samsung. "You can speculate that he’ll want to develop some kind of new music-streaming service to promote his acts and music on mobile devices," a source familiar with the deal told the Post.

Representatives for Jay-Z did not return Billboard's requests for comment at publication time. Representatives for Samsung only went so far as to say that the company "does not comment on rumors or speculation."

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Samsung has already been active in building up its music and entertainment offerings, and in March announced plans to double the staff of its Music Hub by end of year from 100 to 200, following its May 2012 acquisition of music service mSpot. The company has been particularly aggressive in integrating its own products and services into future iterations of its Galaxy devices, with April's debut of the Galaxy S 4 the most recent one. "We want music to be one of the deciding factors in purchasing another device in the future," TJ Kang, Samsung's senior vp of media solutions, told Billboard at MIDEM earlier this year.

Samsung has been highly competitive in the market over the past several years, and led mobile device market share by a wide margin in the first quarter of this year, beating Apple by 12 percent, according to Gartner.

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The deal would be the latest in a series of creative director-type roles for Jay-Z, following his ongoing collaboration with Anheuser Busch on the Budweiser Made In America music festival (which his wife, Beyonce, will be headlining) and Duracell's PowerMat, where he is a stakeholder and spokesperson as part of a multi-year agreement. It would also be another feather in the cap for the multi-hyphenate performer, who in recent months was an executive producer of the film The Great Gatsby (and appeared on its soundtrack), announced a stadium tour with Justin Timberlake, investigated a renovation of Long Island's Nassau Coliseum (making it the second arena-sized venue he would have a stake in) and launched a sports management agency with Roc Nation Sports in early April.

Twitter: @billboard

Business Matters: Signs That the Recorded-Music Market is Weakening Globally

The recorded music market is suddenly looking tired. Poor numbers out of France follow declining digital sales in the U.S. and weak first-quarter numbers in Japan. 

French recorded music industry group SNEP has revealed that total revenues were down 6.7% in the first four months of the year. A 7.3% decline in physical revenue combined with a 5.2% decline in digital revenue. This period marks the first time the French market has seen a decline in digital revenues, according to SNEP.
SNEP attributes nearly all the digital revenue decline to “a special operation” by a major label that was not renewed in 2013 and a temporary cessation of YouTube payments following a deal with SACEM. In the absence of these two factors, the year-over-year decline in digital revenues would have been 100,000 Euros, or 0.3% of digital revenue, according to SNEP.

The adjusted digital revenue figure is still troubling, however. A 0.3% decline in digital revenue means the French market would not have grown in the first four months even without the two extraordinary items. Digital revenue needs to grow at a healthy, steady rate if physical losses are to be counterbalanced. (It should be noted that SNEP’s numbers leave out synchronization revenue, which grew 32.9% in 2012, according to the IFPI.)

The lack of growth in subscription revenues is also troubling. Audio subscription revenue rose only 2.1%, a frightening low number given the popularity of subscription services (France is the home country of Deezer and also has Spotify, Rdio, Music Unlimited and Xbox Music) and the industry's reliance on subscription revenue for growth.

Not all countries are in the same situation. Take developing markets like India and Brazil. Their combinations of relatively small physical markets and nascent digital markets will result in digital-lead growth in coming years. Many countries received iTunes just within the last two years. But France and other major markets, with their larger physical markets and slow or negative digital growth, shouldn't take past growth for granted.  

The United States is stumbling a bit in the first five months of the year. As Billboard noted last week, U.S. digital download purchases have weakened throughout the year. Track sales are down 2.7% year-over-year through May 26. Digital album sales are up 7.9% but the rate of growth has slowed considerably since the first few months of 2013. CD sales are down a routine 14% through May 26. Performance royalties and subscription-related revenues are likely to be higher. 

The Japanese market has also seen declines. In the first quarter, Japan’s physical music market declined 8% in value (after rising 9% in 2012) and its digital market dropped 30% in value. Because Japan's physical market is 5.5 times the size of its digital market, the physical decline easily overshadows the digital decline.

Japan is a unique market because ringtones and other mobile content account for a large share of digital revenue. Ringtones and ringback tones dropped 55% and 31% in the first quarter, respectively. Internet downloads and subscriptions, relatively new to the market, are growing. Track downloads rose 36% while digital albums increased 59%. Subscription revenue grew from nothing to $4.1 million.

Driven by growth in digital sales and performance royalties, the global recorded music market rose 0.2% in 2012. These three examples do not mean the global market is headed downward in 2013. But they do show digital-led growth may not be possible everywhere.

Did Miguel's Injured Fan Suffer Brain Damage?

Last week, Miguel's injured fan was contemplating filing a lawsuit against the singer. Today, her lawyer says his client may have suffered brain damage in the snafu.

Vip Bhola, legal representation for Khyati Shah, says he has reason to believe his client suffered more damage than originally thought, reports TMZ. "Some of the difficulties she's experiencing are cognitive in nature and lead to suspicion of a neurological head injury," said Bhola.

The Billboard Music Awards quickly treated Shah with an ice pack after the crash landing. Bhola believes his client should have been taken to the emergency room.

However, Shah hasn't decided if she'll file suit over the incident. She's awaiting official medical tests before making a final decision.

Almost immediately following the incident, Shah was seen backstage with Miguel holding an ice pack to her arm. "I think it's kind of clear what happened," said Miguel during an interview. "But I'm very happy to bring my new friend, Khyati; we just met. Unfortunately we did not meet under the best circumstances, but I think we're okay."

Inside Johnny Depp's $20 Million Salary Standoff

The actor's "Black Mass" negotiation heats up amid a debate over whether a reduced fee is fair.

A version of this story first appeared in the June 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

 

 

Call it a case of conflicting testimony. 

As jury selection got under way June 4 in the trial of reputed mobster Whitey Bulger, Johnny Depp’s involvement in the Bulger pic Black Mass took a dramatic turn the same day. The actor now remains highly likely or unlikely to star, depending on who you ask. Sources say Depp's reps are back at the negotiating table for the actor to rejoin the drama.

On May 30, Depp exited the project after financiers Cross Creek and Exclusive Media asked him to slash his upfront salary from $20 million to $10 million. A source close to the project now say there's "a 95 percent chance" the star will return to the role of the ruthless gang leader, who is on trial for his part in 19 murders. But other insiders say Depp remains off the project, with little chance of returning.

Furthermore, both sides disagree on what prompted Depp to all but walk away from the drama that would have teamed him with director Barry Levinson.

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Though rumors swirled that Depp’s deal to star in the gangster drama never closed, sources close to Depp dispute that, insisting his $20 million payday was papered long before the project was presented to buyers at February’s European Film Market in Berlin. In fact, Cross Creek felt pressured to seal the deal given that Depp was also negotiating to star in Wally Pfister's Transcendence (which is now in production with Depp in the lead). Depp is currently at the time. Levinson’s pact was also closed before Berlin.

But a Cross Creek source painted a different picture, saying Depp and Levinson’s deals included language that required the budget of the film to top off at $50 million. When the budget came in at $63 million, Cross Creek asked all of the film’s above-the-line talent, including co-star Joel Edgerton to slash their salaries to make up the $13 million.

But insiders in the foreign presales world say that while actors often lend their names to films to drum up business, trying to renegotiate a closed deal with a star like Depp would be unprecedented.

“This situation is absurd,” a source says. “You would never have a star of Depp’s magnitude and not have all of the deal’s preconditions buttoned down before taking it to market. Either his team screwed up and left him exposed or Cross Creek is simply reneging on its deal. Someone is suing someone at the end of this.”

STORY: Johnny Depp Exits Whitey Bulger Biopic Over Salary Dispute

UTA, which reps both Depp and Levinson, declined to comment. Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver would only say that Depp is still technically involved, and the two sides are trying to make it work. “We hope it’s with Johnny, but we’re going to make this film happen either way.”

Still, a source close to Levinson was surprised by Depp's supposed reversal and know of no change in the situation since Depp bolted last week. Everyone is assuming the current incarnation of the movie is dead. CAA, which reps Cross Creek, has approached client Tom Cruise about the project, according to another source (Levinson directed Cruise in Rain Man). But a Cross Creek source says the financiers are trying to find a solution with Depp. The actor would earn somewhere around $15 million if the two sides can come to terms.

If Cross Creek can't find a way to keep Depp on the project, it would create a huge headache. Exclusive Media sold a raft of territories during the recent Berlin and Cannes markets.

And the clock is ticking on the project. Levinson has about two weeks for either Depp to rejoin or to find a replacement because the director is committed to a February 2014 start date in China for the Mike Medavoy-produced drama The Cursed Piano. A minimal crew remains in place in Boston for Black Mass (though another source disputes that the crew is still in place), and Cross Creek says additional crew is heading out to the location in the coming days. Depp was expected to join the set on Aug. 12.

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The actor, who next stars in Disney's The Lone Ranger, is known to take pay cuts for passion projects. He will make less than a million upfront for Disney’s Into the Woods with director Rob Marshall. UTA simply bristled at the idea of a renegotiation for what they considered a closed deal for Black Mass.

“The second they asked him to take a cut, that was a mistake,” says a source with knowledge of the situation. “They overplayed their hand.”

Brian Oliver, Tyler Thompson, John Lesher and Christi Dembrowski are producing Black Mass.

Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk wrote the screenplay, which is based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill's book Black Mass: The Irish Mob, The FBI and a Devil's Deal.

Gucci Mane Finds Love In The Club

It’s time to turn up the heat to get the day started so why not begin with Gucci Mane finding a cute little thing to keep him happy in the club? Speaking of staying happy, Kim K‘s not too thrilled about recent comments her stepdad made about Kanye West. That seems out of the ordinary, but not as much as Soulja Boy Tell Em trying his hand on “The Bachelorette?”

[Editor's Note: The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of PMG]

1. Luv In This Club

Has Gucci Mane found the woman of his dreams? You would think so by the looks of him and Keyshia Dior getting more-than-friendly in an Atlanta club over the weekend. Gucci’s known for driving women crazy but this could make for one hot hook-up. Bossip has the shots:

Model/lipstick entrepreneur Keyshia Dior hosted a party at Reign in Atlanta over the weekend and she brought her boo thang Gucci Mane along! We want to know if he got those Tyrone Biggums lips from kissing her Kaoir lipstick or if that’s just ashy rock lip? (Bossip)

Could this be what Gucci Mane needs to get his life in order? An established woman? Keyshia would make a suitable lady love but it looks like these two were just having some over-the-top fun.