The Act Francis:

A songwriter and music producer who claims he helped launch pop star Lady Gaga says she squeezed him out of her lucrative career after he co-wrote some of her songs, came up with her stage name and helped get her record deal.
Rob Fusari filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning performer, saying his protege and former girlfriend ditched him as her career soared.
"All business is personal," said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Manhattan state court.
Lady Gaga's spokesman, Dave Tomberlin, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail sent Thursday by The Associated Press.
Fusari had credits on such hits as Will Smith's "Wild, Wild West" and Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" when a friend steered the piano-playing singer — then known by her real name, Stefani Germanotta — to him in March 2006, according to his lawsuit.
Though he initially dismissed her, he realized she had star potential after hearing her play in his Parsippany, N.J., studio, the suit said. He spent the [...]

Warner Music has announced plans to stop licensing its artists' content on free music software such as Spotify, We7 and Last.FM.

The move means that acts including the likes of Muse, REM and Red Hot Chili Peppers may not be available on new streaming services.

The label's chief executive, Edgar Bronfman Jr, said that the kind of services offered by streaming sites were "clearly not positive" for the music industry, reports BBC News.

"Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry and as far as Warner Music is concerned will not be licensed," Bronfman explained of the decision. "The 'get all your music you want for free, and then maybe with a few bells and whistles we can move you to a premium price strategy', is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future."

However, a spokesperson for Warner Music confirmed that, at present, the new plans are only likely to affect future deals, reports The Guardian. This means that streaming applications [...]

The U.S. Justice Department approved Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.’s merger with Live Nation Inc., while imposing conditions on their plan to create a new music- industry power.
Under terms accepted by both companies, Ticketmaster must license its software to AEG Live, its largest customer. Ticketmaster also must sell its Paciolan unit to a Comcast Corp. joint venture or another suitable buyer. The new company also will be banned for 10 years from retaliating against any concert site that signs a ticket-sales contract with a competitor.
The $889 million merger “will change the landscape of the live entertainment business,” said Allen Grubman, a New York- based music industry attorney whose clients include Madonna, Elton John and U2. “Artists are focusing tremendously on live performance because that’s an area where there is still a lot of money to be made.”
The combined company creates a new business model with a presence in almost every segment of live entertainment, including [...]