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Forging new paths in times of change ... Thanks to our readers and especially our supporters who help to keep PenBayPilot.com an open and accessible community hub. Your support is even more critical during rapidly changing times, when communication is paramount. While we work hard to keep you informed about the Midcoast community, how citizens cope and thrive, we need your help, too. We are grateful to those who already participate. If you are not a supporter, please consider becoming one today. Join for as little as $2.99 per month and support local journalism on a community hub that serves everyone.

Forging new paths in times of change ... Thanks to our readers and especially our supporters who help to keep PenBayPilot.com an open and accessible community hub. Your support is even more critical during rapidly changing times, when communication is paramount. While we work hard to keep you informed about the Midcoast community, how citizens cope and thrive, we need your help, too. We are grateful to those who already participate. If you are not a supporter, please consider becoming one today. Join for as little as $2.99 per month and support local journalism on a community hub that serves everyone.

The deal gives Apollo a minority interest in part of Concord's old catalog, which is now owned by BMG. Trending on Billboard Apollo Global Management has provided $1.25 billion from funds it manages to support the smooth integration of Concord into BMG, and in exchange Apollo becomes a minority investor in part of Concord’s old catalog, the company announced Thursday (Sept. 17). Apollo has been Concord’s primary partner in issuing asset backed securities (ABS), with the global investment firm having handled four Concord ABS notes worth more than $4.5 billion combined since 2022. Part of the financing Apollo committed will go to repaying some of Concord’s outstanding ABS debt, while Apollo will get equity in a BMG subsidiary that holds the old Concord ABS and the songs that were used to collateralize the security. Related “The combination of BMG and Concord marks a defining moment in our company’s evolution,” said Bob Valentine, CEO of BMG and formerly head of Concord. “Apollo’s continued partnership and confidence in our strategy further strengthens our financial foundation and positions us to champion artists and songwriters, and to pursue global long-term growth opportunities. Together, we are building a stronger global music company with the scale

940 people on Bluesky reacted when Daniel Leri posted his announcement on September 15. He was leaving Game Developer magazine. After 20 years, his time as a full-time games journalist was done. “Have some BIG NEWS, and it really is wild that today is also the anniversary of the Fanbyte Apocalypse. But my time at Game Developer is done, and hence, my time as a full-time game journalist has come to an end. 20 years in a career sure is something.” – @danielleri.bsky.social The post pulled 126 reposts. For a games media story with no hype attached, that’s a real number. Twenty Years Is a Long Run for a Shrinking Roster Two decades as a full-time games journalist is genuinely rare. Staff positions have been disappearing for years. We’ve seen outlets fold and editorial teams get gutted. The overall roster of full-time critics and reporters keeps dropping. Leri made it through all of that and hit 20 years. A 20-year run doesn’t happen by accident. It doesn’t stop mattering just because the industry has normalized losing voices like his. Games media has been through a prolonged rough stretch. Layoffs and closures have hollowed out teams that once seemed permanent. Anyone

In this week's Legal Beat newsletter, the Stella Lefty plagiarism controversy, a verdict clearing Lil Durk, a ruling for Bruce and much more. Stella Lefty performs onstage on September 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images Trending on Billboard THE BIG STORY: They say all press is good press. They say that, right? Well, Stella Lefty is currently testing the absolute limits of the theory. Amid a meteoric rise, the country singer is the talk of the music industry. That’s partly because her viral breakout “Boston” is currently sitting at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after 23 total weeks on the chart. But it’s also partly because large segments of the internet thinks she copied her way to the top. Related “Boston” has a songwriting credit for Noah Kahan, owing to its similarities to his own megahit “Stick Season.” Another track, “Summer You Were Mine,” is an interpolation of The Chicks’ 1998 hit “There’s Your Trouble.” And three more Stella songs have drawn plagiarism hackles on social media. Songs that sound similar are hardly a new phenomenon in the music industry, especially in pop and country, and such overlap is rarely the result of outright theft.

I don’t know why I write. I don’t know why I do anything, and it’s honestly one of my favorite things about myself. Other than my legs. And my necklace collection. And the pink wigs I put on my Sonos. Oh, and my ability to be single for 40 years and then get into my first long-term relationship with literally the man I was always supposed to be with. I’m a skeptic, but when I was 23, I asked a clairaudient named Patricia about this guy, Trey, I was infatuated with, who she told me was going to be a lawyer (spoiler alert: he is now a lawyer in Connecticut), and she told me not to “worry too much about dating now. You’ll find the person you’re looking for but not until later. You have more living to do first.” At the time, I was pissed and vowed to prove Patricia wrong, so I started a Tumblr (yes, it was the halcyon days of the early-2010s internet) where I was determined to document the 100 dates I would go on. My best friend, Lauren Wilkinson—yes, that Lauren Wilkinson, of American Spy fame (sidebar: Lauren was the person who told me

Trending on Billboard On Monday (Sept. 14), Seattle rapper Macklemore was removed from his opening slot on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, just a week after performing two shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium during which he performed his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” and said “Free Palestine” from the stage. The performances, which had sparked criticism on social media from the likes of P!nk and Boy George, came amid Macklemore’s criticism of the Israeli government’s war in Gaza; “Hind’s Hall” was originally released in May 2024. Macklemore had originally been slated to perform at 10 of Sheeran’s Loop Tour shows, but only made the two appearances at MetLife before he was pulled from the trek. Related “Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if

Tumblr's early fandom communities were no stranger to elaborate controversies, but few were quite as bizarre as the story of "HIVliving." What initially appeared to be an account raising awareness about HIV and sharing personal experiences was later revealed to involve fabricated identities, false claims of HIV-positive status and donations solicited under pretenses. The account became particularly notable because of its connection to Hamilton fanfiction, with its eventual exposure sparking widespread discussion across Tumblr and the famous musical's fandom. So, how did HIVliving go from a fandom account to one of Tumblr's more infamous controversies? Let's find out what happened with the notorious "Hamilton AIDS Fanfiction Drama." What And Who Was 'HIVliving' On Tumblr? In 2016, one or more Hamilton fans began the HIVliving Tumblr blog to raise awareness about issues surrounding living with HIV-positive status. The blog initially gained attention for posts about HIV activism, resources and personal experiences, as well as for the popular Hamilton high school AU fanfiction To Scale the Blue Sky. The account was thought to be run by two people: "Israa," described as a nonbinary Chinese-Pakistani human trafficking survivor living in India, and "Naj," described as a U.S.-born lesbian woman of color also living

Trending on Billboard Robert Kraft, the powerhouse businessman who owns and operates Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., has released a statement regarding the ouster of Macklemore from Ed Sheeran‘s tour over what he calls Macklemore’s “deeply offensive and hurtful” statements “to the Jewish community.” On Monday (Sept. 14), Messina Touring Group, the promoter for Sheeran’s Loop Tour, reported that Macklemore had been booted from his role on the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s current tour after a group of NFL venues, including Kraft’s Gillette Stadium, informed the company that they would not allow the concerts to take place due to Macklemore’s “free Palestine” comments during a show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Related During the MetLife concert, Macklemore’s first show on the tour, the rapper said from the stage, “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about

Supported by AWAL, CD Baby, ADA, Symphonic and more, the "Streaming Integrity Initiative" sets new standards for streaming fraud prevention. Illustration by Laurent Hrybyk Trending on Billboard The IFPI, the international trade body that represents the recorded music business, has launched a new initiative through which participants commit to baseline practices to prevent, detect and respond to streaming fraud. Dubbed the “Streaming Integrity Initiative,” or SII, it has so far been supported by Absolute Label Services, ADA, AWAL, CD Baby, CmdShft, Ditto Music, FUGA, GoDigital, HYBE, IDOL, IMPALA, InnerCat Music Group, Merlin, Redeye, Revelator, RouteNote, Secretly Distribution, Symphonic, Sony Music Group, The Orchard, Too Lost, Universal Music Group, Virgin Music Group and Warner Music Group. Notably, the largest DIY music distributor, Distrokid, has not yet signed on. Related To be part of SII, participants sign on to five core commitments, including: Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to “verify rights ownership and customer identities through robust rights verification” Content vetting “using effective tools and processes to identify infringement, fraudulent activity and AI-related risks” Detection, investigation and mitigation of suspected fraud, including repeat offenders Intelligence sharing, where legally permitted, to prevent offenders from jumping from service-to-service Continuously strengthening and measuring anti-fraud systems