AI startup Eleven Labs just announced a service called Eleven Music, which generates fake songs that are cleared for commercial use. It's a prompt-based affair, so it can create just about anything users dream up. 

The songs can feature vocals and lyrics. The Washington Post gave examples of prompts like "a smooth jazz song with a ‘60s vibe and powerful lyrics, but relaxing for a Friday afternoon." The service reportedly only takes a few minutes to generate music.

The company has been quietly testing the platform for some time, with WSJ indicating it has given 20 of its customers access to the model and that they've used it to make stuff for films, TV shows, video games and apps. ElevenLabs hasn't specified who the 20 customers are, likely because people get angry about AI slop.

As for training, the company has inked deals with two digital rights agencies for smaller music labels called Merlin Network and Kobalt Music Group. ElevenLabs co-founder and CEO Mati Staniszewski says he's aiming to get major labels on board. He also says that "the model is strictly created on data that we have access to." This is good news for the company, as other music-generation platforms like Suno and Udio have been sued for alleged use of copyrighted works.

AI-generated music is having something of a moment right now. The "band" Velvet Sundown is completely made up and managed to amass millions of listens on Spotify. It remains to be seen how much of that interest was based on actual fandom or morbid curiosity.

ElevenLabs is primarily known for its voice-generation technology. It created a news app that reads stories to consumers with AI-generated voices based on celebrities like Judy Garland and James Dean. One of its tools was used to emulate Joe Biden's voice in robocalls urging voters not to participate in a primary. It's also been used to create deepfakes for other celebrities.

Have you ever wondered what bops powerful figures are listening to on Spotify? You'd be amazed what you can get with a profile search - but just in case you want them all in one place, there's the Panama Playlists, a newly published collection of data on the musical listening habits of politicians, journalists, and tech figures, as curated by an anonymous figure.

The site appears to have data for a number of notables, including Open AI CEO Sam Altman, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Late Night host Seth Meyers. Five people featured on the website confirmed to The Verge that data for them is accurate: "T …

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TikTok has proven to be a powerful platform to help tunes go viral and now the company is making it easier for songwriters to benefit from that reach. The social media site has rolled out a pair of new features in beta: a Songwriter label that identifies users as such under their profile, and a Songwriter Music Tab that lets them spotlight tracks they've written or co-written. 

So far, only a limited number of publishers and songwriters can apply to get the new label and tab. TikTok noted that several established songwriters including Lauren Christy (Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears), Toby Gad (Fergie, John Legend) and Justin Tranter (Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande) are among the first to gain access. Others who want to join can put their names on a waitlist. 

TikTok and its parent ByteDance developed the Songwriter Features after surveying 871 songwriters and doing 18 in-depth interviews. Those findings informed the design of the feature with the aim of improving discovery and monetization opportunities while raising songwriters' profiles on TikTok. The platform noted that 53 percent of full-time songwriters who post content on social media do so on TikTok. 

When it comes to royalties and copyright, TikTok has taken a similar tack to YouTube and other social media sites. All the music available on TikTok can be used in videos and the platform has deals in place with distributors and labels to license music. Artists then receive royalties whenever creators use their music on TikTok, the amount of which depends on the individual distributor. 

TikTok is following belatedly in the heels of Spotify, which has offered a similar songwriter spotlight feature since 2020. Last month, ByteDance introduced the TikTok for Artists music insight platform designed to help musicians gain access to "data and insights about their music, posts and followers." 

TikTok will now let songwriters highlight tracks they’ve written or co-written directly on their profiles. The list of songs will live within the “Music” tab on their profile, similar to the one TikTok already offers for artists on the platform. Users who register as songwriters will also get a “Songwriter” label beneath their account name.

These new features build upon some of TikTok’s existing tools for songwriters, including the “New” tag that appears on newly released music and the ability for users to save a song on a music streaming service. TikTok also rolled out a “BehindTheSong” hub in 2023, where songwriters, artists, and producers can share more about the making of their music, in addition to the more recently launched “Off the Record” series with artists like Shakira, Charli XCX, and Meghan Trainor.

Music is a huge part of TikTok, with the platform helping boost the popularity of songs and even drive TikTokers to stardom. It has also worked with artists like Taylor Swift to build hubs to promote their music, and added the ability for users to save songs to their SoundCloud accounts in May. In 2023, it launched a standalone music streaming app, but shut it down in 2024. 

For now, TikTok is launching its new songwriter features in a closed beta with a “limited number” of publisher partners. Songwriters and publishers can sign up for a waitlist to gain access to these features in the future.

On Monday, sheet music platform Soundslice says it developed a new feature after discovering that ChatGPT was incorrectly telling users the service could import ASCII tablature—a text-based guitar notation format the company had never supported. The incident reportedly marks what might be the first case of a business building functionality in direct response to an AI model's confabulation.

Typically, Soundslice digitizes sheet music from photos or PDFs and syncs the notation with audio or video recordings, allowing musicians to see the music scroll by as they hear it played. The platform also includes tools for slowing down playback and practicing difficult passages.

Adrian Holovaty, co-founder of Soundslice, wrote in a blog post that the recent feature development process began as a complete mystery. A few months ago, Holovaty began noticing unusual activity in the company's error logs. Instead of typical sheet music uploads, users were submitting screenshots of ChatGPT conversations containing ASCII tablature—simple text representations of guitar music that look like strings with numbers indicating fret positions.

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• The Hamptons have long been a popular summer destination for bankers and traders.
• We spoke to Wall Street insiders and others about the top hot spots for summer 2025.
• Here are the 7 places they said you'll find finance industry insiders this summer.

Whether by car, helicopter, the LIRR, or the infamous Jitney bus, if it's a Friday afternoon between Memorial and Labor Day, Wall Street is going "out east."

The Hamptons have been a haven for the ultrawealthy since the Astors and Vanderbilts set up estates there more than a century ago, but the transition from fishing and whaling towns to playground for urban professionals really started to take off in the freewheeling 1980s, during Wall Street's boom years.

Since then, the secret has been out, and over the last decade, social media and Bravo's "Summer House" have introduced a whole new generation to these once-sleepy seaside towns of Long Island.

Walker Ward, who previously sold data and research to hedge funds and other large investors, told Business Insider that the Hamptons remain a recreation hub for stressed-out Wall Streeters looking to escape the heat and humidity of the city.

"There's so much to do there," Ward said, who has summered there for the better part of the last decade. "Why wouldn't you want to go out there if you could afford it?"

Whether you're looking to relax or rage, there's something for everyone — as long as you have deep pockets. And, as with any destination for the wealthy, these resort towns offer ample opportunity to peacock.

"The Hamptons, especially with social media, have become a runway show for people to go out and flaunt what they have, how much money they make, and what kind of car they're driving," said Ward, who now parodies Wall Street on social media as WalkSauce42.

In preparation for the July 4 holiday, we spoke to current and former financial industry professionals, as well as some Hamptons locals and business proprietors, about this year's hottest hangouts. Some of the industry insiders we spoke to asked to remain anonymous to protect their jobs because speaking to the press is either forbidden or frowned upon.

Here are 7 top Hamptons hangouts for bankers, traders, and more.

Surf Lodge

This was the most-mentioned spot, which is why we're putting it first. It's a quaint seaside hotel and restaurant, as well as a sceney place to get bottle service on the beach and hear live music and top DJs in Montauk. But FYI, tickets for entry on July 4th are pretty much sold out. A table on the beach for 10 for the next day is listed as $7,500.

A nearly $100 chicken tender tower went viral a few summers ago, thanks in part to TikTok and Instagram posts by Ward.

"The tendie towers baby, that's the intern's favorite, and the holy grail," Ward joked to BI. "Everyone knows Surf Lodge."

Someone who previously worked at a large investment bank confirmed it's popular with the Wall Street crowd.

"It's got a DJ, a deck. You pay thousands for a table," he said.

Le Bilboquet Sag Harbor

The Sag Harbor outpost of this Upper East Side French restaurant opened in 2017, and has since built a reputation for being "one of the satellite offices for the elite," said Ward, who currently summers in Amagansett, between East Hampton and Montauk.

The restaurant bans shorts and flip-flops and is perched alongside a marina deep enough to allow large yachts to dock.

"Everyone loves to sit there and drink wine and look at the sterns of all these massive yachts," Ward said.

The Wall Street recruiter described it as "another see and be seen spot."

The menu offers a seafood tower complete with a dozen oysters, king crab, langoustine, shrimp, a half lobster, snow crab and shrimp for $250, a 100-gram tin of Caviar Ossetra Imperial for $490, and their signature Le Poulet Cajun, a $39 Cajun-spice-rubbed chicken with a beurre-blanc sauce, salad, and fries.

Stephen Talkhouse

Stephen Talkhouse, founded in 1987, is also known for its live music scene. It's become so popular with vacationers that one Hamptons local complained to BI of summer lines that "wrapped around the village." Ward agreed, saying you have to know the staff in order to "Trojan Horse" your way in.

Located in Amagansett, between Montauk and East Hampton, its website describes it as "a legendary music scene and casual neighborhood bar in one. The music calendar for the July Fourth weekend includes "Secret Sellebrity Society Band" and alt-rockers "Kids That Fly."

Mary Lou's

The Palm Beach outpost of Mary Lou's is well attended by local financiers and the socially or politically connected. It's also attracted popular musical acts from The Chainsmokers to Mojave Grey.

Mary Lou's Montauk branch, which opened earlier this year, is aiming to provide the same ambiance and flair. Cofounder Alex Melilla told BI that the crowd so far has been "a more mature crowd, affluent crowd, influencers, tastemakers, as well as a great local scene." The

The Wall Street set may be especially drawn to the special menu set to be curated by the team behind Marea, the luxurious seafood restaurant just a stone's throw from Deutsche Bank Center in midtown, which Mary Lou's will offer during a weekend later this month.

Duryea's Montauk

Duryea's is a seafood restaurant on the water in Montauk known for its $97 lobster cobb salad.

Duryea's was purchased by Apollo CEO Marc Rowan in 2014, and it quickly turned from a classic lobster shack into one of the sceniest restaurants on the East Coast. Hampton's legend and Food Network star Ina Garten has said it is one of her favorite restaurants.

"In my 20's that was the only place we would go on summer weekends there because it was cheap and easy," one Wall Street recruiter said. Not anymore. "People go to Duryea's on their yachts and tender to shore."

Gurney's Montauk

Wall Streeters looking to decompress might turn to Gurney's Resort & Seawater Spa, a 146-room hotel and spa with multiple al fresco dining options along a lush stretch of beach in Montauk.

The Wall Street headhunter said it remains one of the most popular outposts for the financial crowd — and Lizabeth Zindel, the editor-in-chief of Hamptons Social Magazine, explained why: "It's absolutely beautiful," Zindel told BI. "There's a huge terrace as well, which overlooks the ocean from up above."

On the menu at the outdoor Firepit lounge are creative cocktail concoctions like the Chocolate Negroni; the "Afternoon Tea" featuring Earl Grey, bergamot, gin, and cream; and the "Improved Grasshopper" featuring mint and chocolate liqueurs. Each is $23.

The country clubs

As with any wealthy enclave, the Hamptons boasts numerous country clubs.

The Hampton's local described Southampton's Shinnecock, which is hosting next year's US Open, as the "fanciest golf place out here." Ward cited East Hampton's Maidstone Club as another place where "fancy people" from the Street spend their time "hobnobbing."

"Maidstone is the Arnie poster above the bed," he said, referring to a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a pro bodybuilder above an aspiring muscleman's bed. "It's what you aspire to be."

• Sean "Diddy" Combs used to be one of the richest people in the music industry.
• His record label, Bad Boy Records, is just one source of his former empire.
• Musicians like Faith Evans, Janelle Monáe, and Machine Gun Kelly were once signed to the label.

Before Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, was sued by more than a dozen people, alleging sexual misconduct among other things, he was a powerful music tastemaker, creating his own record label.

Diddy founded Bad Boy Records in 1993 and went on to sign major musicians such as The Notorious BIG, Mase, and Faith Evans. It's impossible to think of '90s and '00s rap without also thinking of Bad Boy, which released 13 No. 1 albums from 1997 to 2022.

Over the years, Bad Boy and its founder gained a reputation for being difficult to work with, highlighted by multiple public instances of friction between artists and the label.

In a statement provided to Business Insider, a representative for Combs said, "It's easy to reduce a 30-year legacy to a few negative statements, but that doesn't capture the full story."

"Sean Combs and Bad Boy Records were more than just a label — they were a cultural movement that shaped music, launched careers, and produced iconic hits," they said. "Focusing only on grievances distorts the narrative. The label's contributions remain an essential part of music history."

Before Diddy was arrested in September 2024, he had begun the process of reverting the publishing rights of many of Bad Boy's most famous songs to their original artists, provided they signed agreements, as reported by Billboard.

On Wednesday, a Manhattan jury found Diddy not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering, but convicted him of two lesser charges: two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

"It's a great victory for Sean Combs. It's a great victory for the jury system," Diddy's lawyer Mark Agnifilo said, NBC reported.

Diddy, who remains in custody, is facing up to 20 years in prison, but experts say it's unlikely he'll serve for that long. His sentencing is scheduled for October. At this point, it's unclear what will happen to Diddy and his career.

Bad Boy is still in existence today and remains one source of Diddy's wealth. Here are 15 of the biggest acts that have released albums through Bad Boy since its inception.

The Notorious BIG

Biggie was one of the first artists signed to Bad Boy, and his two studio albums ("Ready to Die" in 1994 and "Life After Death," which was released 16 days after his death in 1997) were released through Bad Boy.

Publicly, the two appeared to be close friends, and Diddy released "I'll Be Missing You" with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans, in 1997.

However, their relationship had become strained. Rolling Stone reported the "Juicy" rapper was preparing to leave Bad Boy. He "was absolutely about to leave Puff" before he was shot, fellow rapper Babs Bunny told the publication.

In the decades since his death, Biggie's mother Violetta Wallace (before her death in February 2025), negotiated with Diddy to gain control of her son's music, per Variety. In February 2025, his estate partnered with Primary Wave Music to handle his music in the future.

Primary Wave did not respond to a request for comment.

Faith Evans

Evans, who was married to The Notorious BIG from 1994 until he died in 1997, was also signed to Bad Boy Records.

Her first three albums, 1995's "Faith," 1998's "Keep the Faith," and 2001's "Faithfully," were put out through Bad Boy. She then moved to Capitol Records.

"In my heart, I really wanted to try and leave Bad Boy after Big died. I mean, after I came back to any type of reality, any clear thinking. I just was so distraught," Evans told XXL in 2014.

Evans said she left Bad Boy because she felt Diddy and the label were paying more attention to other artists, but she emphasized that there was no bad blood.

Evans did not respond to a request for comment.

Mase

Mase released his first two albums, "Harlem World" and "Double Up" through Bad Boy, and was also known as Diddy's hype man through the '90s.

Their partnership collapsed after he released his third album, "Welcome Back," in 2004, also with Bad Boy.

Mase said he felt like his contract was too constricting, leading him to crash a Diddy interview on V103 in Atlanta and demand that Diddy sign paperwork allowing him to feature on other artists' songs.

Things simmered down until 2022, when Mase once again criticized Diddy's business practices in a now-deleted Instagram post.

"Your past business practices knowingly has continued purposely starved your artist and been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped u obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Badboy label," he wrote.

Mase added that he had offered Diddy $2 million to buy his songs back and was refused. "This is not black excellence at all," he wrote.

Diddy responded during an interview on the syndicated iHeartRadio show "The Breakfast Club" and said that Mase actually owed him $3 million after failing to deliver an album.

In 2023, on another "Breakfast Club" appearance, Diddy said they were "brothers" and that he had "unconditional love" for Mase.

Mase's rights were returned to him when Diddy allowed songs from Bad Boy to revert back to artists that year.

In 2024, Mase called Diddy's arrest "the big payback" and added that "reparations is getting closer and closer" on an episode of the podcast he cohosts with Cam'ron, "It Is What It Is."

During the trial, Mase wondered aloud if he should attend Diddy's trial on his podcast, but it doesn't appear that he ever went.

Mase did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

112

The R&B group 112's first four albums were released through Bad Boy from 1996 to 2003. Most famously, they were featured alongside Diddy and Faith Evans on the song "I'll Be Missing You."

As MTV reported, 112 said that they left Bad Boy for Def Jam because of a "lack of money and attention." They added that they also left because their contract was "doo-doo."

"We still work with [Diddy] as far as getting ideas. We got three joints from his camp. It's no bad blood, it's no love lost," said member Mike in 2003.

"It's unfortunate what happened with Diddy," 112 member Slim said while appearing on "Ryan Cameron Uncensored" after the verdict was announced on Wednesday. "That's somebody people looked up to, and there was no win for any of the victims or anybody involved in the situation. It's more like you learn something from this."

112 did not respond to a request for comment.

Cassie

Cassie started publicly dating Diddy shortly after her debut album, "Cassie," was released in 2006 through Bad Boy. They dated until 2018.

In November 2023, Cassie sued Diddy and accused him of rape, abuse, and blowing up Kid Cudi's car after Diddy found out the rapper was interested in Cassie. The suit was settled the same month for an undisclosed amount, The New York Times reported.

In May 2024, CNN published a 2016 video that appeared to show Diddy dragging and kicking Cassie through the halls of a California hotel. Diddy apologized in a since-deleted Instagram post and said he was "disgusted" by his behavior in the video.

In an Instagram post, Cassie thanked fans for their support after the video was made public. "The outpouring of love has created a place for my younger self to settle and feel safe now, but this is only the beginning," she wrote. "Domestic Violence is THE issue."

Cassie was one of the witnesses called during Diddy's trial, taking the stand for four days. "I hope that people still see what Cassie did and think that she really made a difference," her lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, told ABC News after the verdict announcement.

"She was pleased that he's been found guilty and held responsible to federal crimes, something that he's never been held responsible [for] in his entire life," Wigdor said outside the courthouse.

Cassie Ventura had no comment on the lawsuit when reached by Business Insider.

Shyne

In December 1999, Diddy, his then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, and his protégé, Shyne, were arrested after a nightclub shooting, but Shyne was the only one who went to prison.

He was later convicted of assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison, reports The New York Times.

Bad Boy released his self-titled debut album in September 2000, while he was in prison.

In 2012, Shyne, who served almost nine years, told MTV that he and Diddy made amends.

"As far as Puff is concerned, that's been a long time coming," he said. "He had reached out to me twice while I was in the pen, but I just wasn't ready for it."

In 2024, he spoke about Diddy's legal troubles. He told journalists soon after Diddy's arrest, "Let us not forget what the cold facts are. This is someone who destroyed my life."

A Hulu documentary following Shyne, "The Honorable Shyne," is set to be released on November 18. In the trailer, he said he believed he was set up to be the fall guy for the shooting.

In December, he told People, "We live in a world, in democracies at least, where the rule of law is tantamount. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I pray for justice, I pray for the victims. I pray for Diddy."

Shyne did not respond to a request for comment.

The Lox

The Lox released their first album, 1998's "Money, Power & Respect," via Bad Boy before the trio — Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Jadakiss — left for Ruff Ryders and Interscope.

That wasn't without its drama. The Lox said they had to plead with Diddy to get off Bad Boy and started a grassroots campaign to "Free The Lox," as they felt they weren't receiving a fair publishing deal.

This culminated in a 2005 appearance on Hot 97 in which Styles P threw a chair at Diddy, per Billboard.

"We made one record with you, 'Money Power & Respect.' It's 10 years later, and you still got half of our publishing. And you can't make it justifiable that you deserve half of our publishing," Styles P is heard saying in the recording.

According to AllHipHop, a deal was struck soon after the altercation.

In 2023, Jadakiss appeared on an episode of the podcast "I Am Athlete," saying how he appreciated how Diddy handled the situation: "He could've played much harder ball than he played."

The Lox did not respond to a request for comment.

Janelle Monáe

Monáe is one of the remaining artists signed to Bad Boy who isn't Diddy or his family members.

All four of Monáe's albums have been released through Bad Boy, including the 2019 album of the year nominee "Dirty Computer" and her most recent album, 2023's "The Age of Pleasure" (though both were also co-released by Atlantic Records).

"I got to say, I was scared to be partnering with a major label after a few years of being independent. I met Puff at a time I had decided to live frugally," Monáe told Billboard in 2018.

"But when I spoke to him, his words were, 'I love what you and Wondaland are doing," she continued, referencing the indie record label she had founded. "I don't want to be creatively involved. I just want people to know who you are and what you guys are doing.'"

"It was so humbling and beautiful. We're still close," she added.

Monáe did not respond to a request for comment.

Dream

Dream, a girl group, was formed in 1998 and then signed to Bad Boy as its first white act.

Their first album, "It Was All a Dream," was released in 2001 and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Their second album, 2003's "Reality," failed to chart at all, and they were dropped from Bad Boy and broke up.

"There were some shady people who maybe didn't have the best intentions for children. And there were some people who maybe were just doing business," Ashley Poole, a former member, told Complex in 2016.

"There was a big disconnect from Puff and us because we were from such different worlds," continued Poole. "Puff was straight business. He didn't care if feelings were hurt. He said what he needed to say. He would tell us we needed to lose weight."

One of Dream's former members, Alex Chester-Iwata, told Business Insider that working with Bad Boy was "a nightmare," saying they "pitted each of us against each other."

Another group member, Holly Restani, told Business Insider what she thought of the verdict.

"Sean Combs, the same as all individuals, should be held accountable for his wrongdoings, namely his abuses of power, coercion, manipulation, violence, and harm of others in positions beneath him," she said.

"Many of these are well documented and known to many to have occurred. He was acquitted of the charges the prosecution brought in his trial. He is not free of accountability, nor is he innocent," she continued.

The other members of Dream did not respond to a request for comment.

Yung Joc

Yung Joc was one of the biggest musicians signed to Bad Boy South, another offshoot of Bad Boy, this time focusing on rappers out of cities like Atlanta.

Both of the rapper's albums (2006's "New Joc City" and 2007's "Hustlenomics") were released by Bad Boy South.

Two years later, it went south: In 2009, Yung Joc told Billboard he was planning to sue Bad Boy and Block Entertainment, his original record label that partnered with Bad Boy, for "failure to pay royalties and advances for his first two albums and charging 'outrageous clearance fees' for his collaborations with other artists."

"Diddy said he's got to stay out of it because it's between me and Block Entertainment," he said, adding, "I feel like [Bad Boy] isn't doing anything to try to intervene and help the situation."

It's unclear if he ever filed the suit.

He hasn't released an album since, though he has put out singles and EPs independently.

In 2014, Yung Joc told The Grio, "Diddy and I are great. We made a lot of money together. Every time we've crossed paths since, it was love."

Yung Joc did not respond to a request for comment.

French Montana

All four of French Montana's albums have been Bad Boy releases, most recently 2021's "They Got Amnesia."

"The deal [with Diddy] just felt right and it felt like it was the right thing to do. I felt like I can make a change with this for the music culture that I came from," Montana told Billboard in 2011.

In April 2024, during an episode of "Vlad TV," he confirmed he had left Bad Boy.

"I fulfilled everything. I make sure everybody got their money. I made sure, you know, Rozay got his money," he said, referring to rapper Rick Ross, who also owns a record label. "I made sure Puff got his money, made sure Epic got their money."

French added that he left Bad Boy on good terms with Diddy.

Montana did not respond to a request for comment.

New Edition

After an eight-year hiatus, New Edition teamed up with Bad Boy for their first album, "One Love." It was released in 2004 and is their last album to date.

The band's members said there were lots of disagreements about the future of the band with Diddy and his label. In a 2005 radio interview, they opened up about the problems.

"Diddy, when we didn't agree with him on certain songs, we would get sent home for like six, seven months. You know, it would just be nothing being done," said member Ricky Bell.

The final straw, they said, came when a song that none of the members liked appeared on the album instead of a song they worked on together with their longtime producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

"On top of that, Puffy paid himself $50,000, on top of that put a song on it that we didn't like, and we just felt like that was just a slap in the face. No respect," Bell added.

New Edition did not respond to a request for comment.

Pitbull

Pitbull released two albums via Bad Boy: 2006's "El Mariel" and 2007's "The Boatlift."

Pitbull was one of the first acts signed to Bad Boy Latino, an offshoot founded by Diddy and Emilio Estefan in 2005, per Billboard. He was also a partner in the venture and had an A&R role.

It didn't last long. Before "The Boatlift" was announced, Pitbull said he was leaving the label. Pitbull was dissatisfied with his role, a 2006 New York Post report said.

"I told him, 'Yo, I want a piece. If I'm gonna get in the bed with you, I want a piece,'" he said. "I got a whole lot to bring to the table, which [he] is gonna definitely capitalize off of."

Pitbull did not respond to a request for comment.

Machine Gun Kelly

From 2012 to 2022, Machine Gun Kelly's six albums and three EPs were released through Bad Boy. His most recent EP, "Genre: Sadboy," was released in March through Interscope.

The "Wild Boy" rapper was first signed in 2011, as Diddy noted in a now-deleted Instagram post in August 2019.

"When I first signed @machinegunkelly I knew he was going to be a star. I didn't know how exactly we'd get there but I knew it would happen," he wrote. "'I'm so proud of the artist he is becoming, he's shown all the traits of an artist that will stand the test of time."

Kelly did not respond to a request for comment.

B5

Both of B5's albums — 2005's "B5" and 2007's "Don't Talk Just Listen" — were released by Bad Boy. They were a departure from Bad Boy's roster, as the group was primarily a boy band that also appeared on Radio Disney.

During an interview with The Shade Room in 2023, the brothers said they didn't regret leaving Bad Boy. "We just couldn't see eye to eye so we decided to split," said Patrick Breeding.

They added that after Diddy announced his intentions to revert publishing to the original musicians, they hadn't heard anything from him.

"We didn't hear anything. We didn't get no calls or nothing like that from them," said Carnell Breeding.

Dustin Breeding added, "Puff, Diddy, yeah, we all want our publishing too. We were so young at the time, we didn't understand the business of it. But looking back now, damn, why our names wasn't on the credit?"

B5 did not respond to a request for comment.

Spotify is adding new personalization features to Discover Weekly, the popular and influential playlist streamed by millions of users. The regularly updated playlist will now have buttons for genres like pop, R&B, and funk at the top, allowing users to tell Spotify what they want more of.

The Discover Weekly playlist is one of the more noteworthy things Spotify has introduced: the company says songs on the playlist have been streamed more than 100 billion times. The weekly mixtape — generated via Spotify algorithms — promised to introduce users to new music that they might enjoy, pulling from listener data. But more recently, there have been complaints that Discover Weekly playlists, meant for finding new music, were spitting out the same songs, and that the platform’s systems weren’t accurately classifying genres. (Spotify told Business Insider in May that it had updated genre accuracy and the Discover Weekly recommendation algorithm.) In addition to the genre options, the Discover Weekly playlist is getting a refreshed look with different cover art.

Spotify reshaped how people listen to music, prioritizing the playlist over the album or even the artist themselves: playlists became a battleground for labels and artists who wanted exposure. In the last few years, the music platform has taken personalization even further, tailoring selections to the individual user. The company has introduced features like an AI-powered “DJ,” an AI text-to-playlist builder tool, and even a fake AI podcast with fake AI hosts that discuss users’ listening habits. The ability to more closely guide the Discover Weekly offerings signals that hyper-personalization remains a priority — and perhaps that Spotify is aware of some of the user dissatisfaction.

We’ve been waiting for Spotify’s lossless streaming for more than four years, but there are some new and promising hints that the feature might finally arrive sometime soon.

The X account for Spicetify, a command-line tool that lets you customize the Spotify client, says that a new version of Spotify includes some hidden mentions of lossless. In a screenshot the account shared, for example, lossless appears in the sidebar to connect a device. Another screenshot shows lossless as an option for streaming quality in the app’s settings. The Spicetify account also says it has seen code that lossless will be available on Spotify Connect and in the web player.

To be clear: Spotify’s lossless streaming still isn’t available yet. But these small lossless mentions and recent reporting indicate that the company may be ready to add lossless at long last.

Spotify initially announced a “Spotify HiFi” tier in 2021 that it intended to launch that year, but that didn’t happen. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in 2024 that the company was working on a “deluxe” version of Spotify. And in February, Bloomberg reported that Spotify was aiming to roll out a new “Music Pro” tier with features like higher-quality streaming by the end of this year. The tier could cost as much as $5.99 per month more than its current subscriptions, Bloomberg says.

Services like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal already offer lossless streaming.

Artist and musician Brian Eno — who also composed the iconic Windows 95 operating system startup chime — called on Microsoft today to “suspend all services that support any operations that contribute to violations of international law,” saying the company plays a role in “surveillance, violence, and destruction in Palestine.” It’s the latest high-profile instance of the tech giant being pressed on its contracts with the Israeli government.

“I gladly took on the [Windows 95] project as a creative challenge and enjoyed the interaction with my contacts at the company,” Eno wrote on Instagram. “I never would have believed that the same company could one day be implicated in the machinery of oppression and war.”

The musician — who was a member of the influential rock band Roxy Music and has also had a long, storied solo career — specifically called out Microsoft’s contracts with Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Microsoft acknowledged last week that it has contracts with the Israeli government for cloud and AI services, but claimed that an internal review conducted found “no evidence” that its tools were used to “target or harm people” in Gaza.

Microsoft has been taken to task in recent weeks over its business dealings with the Israeli government specifically. The outcry over Microsoft’s contracts relates to Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Gaza following the October 7th, 2023, Hamas attack. Human rights groups, including commissions at the United Nations, have accused Israel of war crimes and genocidal acts in its military operation that has killed thousands; as of this month, the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 52,000 deaths, though some researchers say that number could be as high as 109,000 people.

Some of Microsoft’s fiercest critics are its own employees opposed to the company’s ties to Israel.

Earlier this week during Microsoft’s developer conference, multiple onstage events were disrupted, including CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech on Monday. During the event, Microsoft employee Joe Lopez interrupted Nadella, yelling, “How about you show Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” The following day, a protester described only as a “Palestinian tech worker” disrupted another executive’s presentation. On Wednesday, protesters disrupted a third session — and in the commotion, Microsoft inadvertently revealed internal messages regarding Walmart’s use of AI.

In April, Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad disrupted a 50th-anniversary event, calling Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman “a war profiteer.” Another employee disrupted a second Microsoft event the same day. The acts of protest were organized by the No Azure for Apartheid group, which calls for Microsoft to terminate contracts with the Israeli government and endorse a permanent ceasefire, among other demands. Aboussad was fired from the company; the second protester, Vaniya Agrawal, was dismissed early after putting in her resignation.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Eno, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who’s backed pro-Palestine efforts, said on Instagram he would use his original earnings from the Windows 95 startup chime to help “the victims of the attacks on Gaza.”

• Cassie is a singer and actor, best known for her top-10 hit single "Me & U."
• She met Sean Combs, aka Diddy, in 2006 and signed to his label Bad Boy.
• She filed a lawsuit against him in 2023 and is a key witness in his criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.

Cassie burst onto the music scene in 2006 with an irresistible blend of pop and R&B.

Although the singer, whose legal name is Casandra Ventura, withdrew from the spotlight in the ensuing years, she's still beloved by fans of 2000s club jams.

In 2023, she filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging abuse throughout their relationship, including rape. An attorney for Combs denied the allegations to Business Insider. Cassie is now a key accuser in Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, which began on May 12.

Here's everything to know about Cassie's career, her connection to Diddy, and what her life is like today.

Cassie broke out with the club hit 'Me & U'

Before launching her music career, Cassie had done some modeling for brands like Delia's.

In 2006, when she was 19 years old, she released her debut single "Me & U." It became her first hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100.

"Me & U" set the tone for her self-titled debut album, which was praised by critics for its "hypnotic groove" and "flippant playfulness." Rolling Stone later described the album as "the most brilliantly minimalist R&B album of its era."

In a positive review for Slant, Sal Cinquemani also said, "'Me & U' has single-handedly revived his ailing Bad Boy imprint," referring to Combs, then known as Diddy.

Cassie signed to Bad Boy Records in 2006

An archived feature from 2008 said that Combs heard "Me & U" in a club and felt inspired to help Cassie's career.

Combs teamed up with Ryan Leslie, who wrote and produced the song, to record Cassie's album.

In 2008, she announced her plans to release her sophomore album.

"I guess I grew up a lot but I'm still in essence the same person," Cassie, then 21, told Billboard. "Lots has changed in my life, stuff that has made me think about things differently. I'm more vulnerable and you can hear my vocals better this time around. There's real emotion and a much realer connection with my fans."

At the time, Combs praised Cassie's musical development, which he said was reflected in the album.

"We pulled out, we took our time, we developed her for like, a year-and-a-half," he told Billboard in a 2008 interview. "People are just going to see her there and be like, 'Wow, she's really cocooned into a butterfly.'"

However, the album was delayed several times. She didn't release new music until 2012, when she surprise-dropped a set of three mixtapes. She continued releasing singles sporadically in the years following.

Cassie has dabbled in acting

Cassie played Sophie in the 2008 film "Step Up 2: The Streets," and has also appeared in "The Perfect Match" and on several episodes of "Empire."

Additionally, she appeared in the 2022 TV movie "Hip Hop Family Christmas Wedding."

Cassie was in a tumultuous relationship with Diddy for over a decade

Prior to her lawsuit, gossip news sites reported that Cassie and Combs maintained an on-again, off-again relationship. They reportedly started dating in 2007 and broke up in 2018.

Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit accused Combs of serious allegations, painting the music mogul as an extremely violent and angry ex-partner.

It details several instances when the music mogul physically and mentally abused Cassie, as well as used intimidation tactics to keep her in the relationship. Combs quickly settled the suit shortly after it was filed.

Combs has been accused of sexual assault, rape, drugging, and other forms of violence in more than 50 civil lawsuits. He was arrested in September following a grand jury indictment and has denied the charges against him and all other allegations of sex abuse.

Combs' criminal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial began on Monday. Cassie, the prosecution's key witness in the case, took the stand on Tuesday and Wednesday to testify against Combs.

Cassie married Alex Fine in 2019 and has three children

Following her split from Combs in 2018, Cassie began a relationship with Alex Fine, a professional bull rider, model, and personal trainer.

In June 2019, the singer revealed that she and Fine were expecting their first child together. The couple tied the knot in a small, surprise wedding in September of that year in Malibu, California. Their daughter, Frankie Stone, was born in early December.

Cassie and Fine welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Sunny Cinco, in March 2021.

In February 2025, Cassie revealed that she was pregnant with their third child, a son. While testifying Wednesday, Cassie's stylist, Deonte Nash, said he called Cassie to congratulate her on the birth of the baby, born Tuesday, about two weeks after Cassie testified against Combs.

Additional reporting by Laura Italiano.

Libby Torres contributed to an earlier version of this story.

The music-sharing platform SoundCloud quietly updated its terms of use in February last year, adding language that lets it train AI models on its users’ content, as TechCrunch reported. And while the company says it hasn’t used user-created content for model training, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that it will in the future.

Marni Greenberg, SVP and head of communications at SoundCloud, provided the following in a statement emailed to The Verge.

SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a “no AI” tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use.

Greenberg went on to say that SoundCloud’s terms of service update “was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform.” She said the company uses AI for things like personalized recommendations and fraud detection, and suggests its plans for future uses of AI on its platform fall along similar lines.

When we asked about letting users opt out of having their music used for generative AI development, here’s what Greenberg had to say:

The TOS explicitly prohibits the use of licensed content, such as music from major labels, for training any AI models, including generative AI. For other types of content uploaded to SoundCloud, the TOS allows for the possibility of AI-related use. 

Importantly, no such use has taken place to date, and SoundCloud will introduce robust internal permissioning controls to govern any potential future use. Should we ever consider using user content to train generative AI models, we would introduce clear opt-out mechanisms in advance—at a minimum—and remain committed to transparency with our creator community.

Hopefully SoundCloud will go to greater lengths to tell users about those opt-out mechanisms than it appears to have done for last year’s AI-related terms of use update. Tech ethicist Ed Newton-Rex, who spotted the changes reported by TechCrunch, posted that they “can’t see any emails” alerting them that the terms had been altered. I’ve contributed to SoundCloud, too, and also didn’t find any emails about the changes when I checked. SoundCloud’s terms say it will provide “prominent notice” about significant alterations to its terms, but doesn’t guarantee you’ll see that in an email.

Here’s SoundCloud’s original full statement, as provided to to The Verge by Greenberg:

SoundCloud has always been and will remain artist-first. Our focus is on empowering artists with control, clarity, and meaningful opportunities to grow. We believe AI, when developed responsibly, can expand creative potential—especially when guided by principles of consent, attribution, and fair compensation.

SoundCloud has never used artist content to train AI models, nor do we develop AI tools or allow third parties to scrape or use SoundCloud content from our platform for AI training purposes. In fact, we implemented technical safeguards, including a “no AI” tag on our site to explicitly prohibit unauthorized use.

The February 2024 update to our Terms of Service was intended to clarify how content may interact with AI technologies within SoundCloud’s own platform. Use cases include personalized recommendations, content organization, fraud detection, and improvements to content identification with the help of AI Technologies.

Any future application of AI at SoundCloud will be designed to support human artists, enhancing the tools, capabilities, reach and opportunities available to them on our platform. Examples include improving music recommendations, generating playlists, organizing content, and detecting fraudulent activity. These efforts are aligned with existing licensing agreements and ethical standards. Tools like Musiio are strictly used to power artist discovery and content organization, not to train generative AI models.

We understand the concerns raised and remain committed to open dialogue. Artists will continue to have control over their work, and we’ll keep our community informed every step of the way as we explore innovation and apply AI technologies responsibly, especially as legal and commercial frameworks continue to evolve.

Apple is launching a new global Viral Chart playlist in Apple Music that consists of tracks people are discovering through the company’s Shazam service. The playlist, which is updated daily, shows the top 50 songs people have heard playing out in the real world and have logged through Shazam. You can see charts on Shazam’s website as well.

The playlists use “Shazam’s data to offer a comprehensive view of today’s fastest-growing songs across the globe, David Emery, who works for Apple Music in the UK, says on Threads. Emery notes that charts reflect songs going viral on Shazam in “real time” and then ranks them based on “their weekly growth in Shazam volume.”

As of writing, the top viral songs in the list include Shake It To The Max (FLY) [Remix] by Moliy, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship, and Hot Together by The Pointer Sisters. On Shazam’s website, you can look at the rankings by country, if you’d like.