MOG founder sues Beats

Billboard reports that David Hyman, the founder of streaming music service MOG, which was acquired by Beats Electronics in 2012, has issued legal proceedings against Beats for more than $20 million, claiming that Beats fired him to avoid giving him an equity payout, according to a report from Courthouse News Service. News of the suit arrives as Apple is reportedly closing in on a deal to acquire Beats for $3.2 billion. Hyman, a serial entrepreneur who was also once CEO of Gracenote, claims in the suit that Beats dismissed him in bad faith, knowing that he would receive 2.5% of the company under an incentive plan based on the duration of his employment,  andHyman claims Beats was intentionally depriving him of his fair equity compensation. The suit names Daisy LLC as a co-defendant, the report said; Beats Music was code-named Project Daisy before its launch in January.  More at http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/6091835/mog-founder-files-lawsuit-against-beats-fired-him-20-million

UPDATE: Now a second writ ha surfaced - one time hedge-fund manager Steven Lamar claims he first took the idea of celebrity-endorsed headphones to Universal executive  Jimmy Iovine back in 2006, (with the latter bringing in Dr Dre). Lamar says that, via his businesses SLS International and Jibe Audio, he then put together a consortium of companies to make the project happen, including Pentagram who designed the initial product and a Chinese company who would handle manufacturing.  Lamar's new lawsuit is against Iovine, Dre, Beats, his former partners Pentagram, and the main man he dealt with there, Robert Brunner. The suit alleges that after the original legal agreement between all the founding partners in 2006, Brunner and Pentagram reached a separate arrangement with the Beats business that basically cut him and his company out of a royalty revenue stream.

Apple Beats deal would make Dr Dre rap's first billionaire

The FT has reported that Apple is set to buy headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3.2bn (£1.9bn). The Financial Times says the deal could be announced as early as next week, marking Apple's largest ever acquisition. Founded by rapper and music producer Dr Dre and fellow music producer Jimmy Iovine in 2008, the firm produces 'Beats by Dr Dre' headphones and also runs its much lauded Beats Music subscription music streaming service - both of which seem to interest Apple - it had been reported that Apple is contemplating a Spotify-like on-demand music service alongside its dominant iTunes paid for download operation and important consideration with Warner Music Group's Q1 financials showing showing that digital now accounts for 45.2% of WMG's total revenue (compared to 41.6% in the first quarter last year), and these revenues grew by 5% year-on-year. Subscription revenue saw the biggest increase, up 65%, while ad-supported streaming revenue grew by 13%.

The deal would potentially make Dre rap's "first billionaire". 

Dre tops artiste earnings

Forbes have published their calculations of artiste's annual global earnings and this year Dr Dre, he of the headphones, comes out top, followed by Roger Waters and Elton John. The full list is:

1. Dr. Dre ($110 million) 
2. Roger Waters ($88 million) 
3. Elton John ($80 million) 
4. U2 ($78 million) 
5. Take That ($69 million) 
6. Bon Jovi ($60 million) 
7. Britney Spears ($58 million) 
8. Paul McCartney ($57 million) 
8. Taylor Swift ($57 million) 
10. Justin Bieber ($55 million) 
10. Toby Keith ($55 million) 
12. Rihanna ($53 million) 
13. Lady Gaga ($52 million) 
14. Foo Fighters ($47 million) 
15. Diddy ($45 million) 
15. Katy Perry ($45 million) 
17. Kenny Chesney ($44 million) 
18. Beyonce ($40 million) 
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($39 million) 
20. Jay-Z ($38 million) 
21. Coldplay ($37 million) 
22. Adele ($35 million) 
22. Kanye West ($35 million) 
24. Michael Buble ($34 million) 
25. Sade ($33 million)