Amazon Music, DistroKid Face Major Lawsuit for Unpaid Royalties, Shadowbanning

NEW YORK, March 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marc Mysterio is an award–winning musician and multi–faceted celebrity who was tapped by IBA Boxing to compete for its vacant championship vs. Jake Paul and collaborated with a who’s–who–according to Billboard–including: Flo Rida, Crash Test Dummies, David Guetta, Avicii, Samantha Fox, and Netflix’ Trailer Park Boys.

As a philanthropist, Marc has supported the One Fund Boston in support of terrorist victims(marathon), and WBC Cares, the charity arm of WBC Boxing.

As a celebrity, he’s covered by: TMZ, Billboard, BBC, ESPN, Irish Star, CBS, Daily Mail (UK), Fox News, and followed on X by NY Post Page 6 and Radar Online.

From September 1st 2023–August 31st, 2024, Marc received 80,000,000+ streams on Amazon Music resulting in US Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Chart (“The Dancefloor”) and scores of Amazon Top Songs Chart appearances.

However, now Marc is suing Amazon and DistroKid alleging that he wasn’t properly compensated for these streams and Fans have been receiving a “streaming error” since September 10th, 2024 when attempting to stream his music and/or request it via Alexa due to “Shadow–Banning.”

Shadow–Banning is the practice of blocking/partially blocking live content so that the ban is not readily apparent to the artist.

“We filed this lawsuit to make sure that Marc Mysterio gets the fruits of his labor as one of the top performers on Amazon Music in 2024, and injunctive relief to end the shadow–ban. Shadow–banning successful artists is an unfair tactic and it allows Amazon, by throttling streams of a song, to interfere with Amazon/Billboard Charts thereby tortiously manipulating the music–business at the expense of creators–IT MUST END!” notes Marc’s Attorney, Michael H. Joseph of Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC of New York who filed the case in US District Court For The Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:25–cv–01705).

Furthermore, the shadowban has also extended to music distributed–to Amazon–by UnitedMasters according to an email from UnitedMasters Support, with VP of Music, David Melhado, in cc:
“I am currently in the US, and I'm having the same issue with streaming your music. I've followed up with Amazon a few times, and am still not hearing back. I'm touching base with our higher–ups to see if we have any further operational contacts we can reach out to.”

Marc Mysterio posted screenshot evidence in support of his claims to his X Account @marc_mysterio directly from his Amazon Music Artists’ Account, for media, including: 1,250,000+ fans/followers, 80,000,000+ streams 15,000,000 unique listeners in 2024, 45,000 Alexa requests in August, Amazon and Billboard Chartings and more.

“DistroKid was paid to distribute Marc’s music and remit 100% of royalties received, whilst Amazon charged Marc’s Fans to stream his music. Defendants need to account royalties due, as well as compensate future losses proximated from the shadow–ban. These losses are already in the millions and will increase by trial date.” Joseph concludes.

Marc Mysterio:
x.com/marc_mysterio

Press–Photo:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/azq61qdhe3rm9rfsnsmyg/Marc–Mysterio.jpg?rlkey=26mng6mkcs8ffrkrap5hp0wqv&e=1&dl=0

Press–Mentions:
https://www.tmz.com/people/marc–mysterio/
https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2013/06/brandy–flo–rida–dj–sued–brags–spending–settlement–teams–up–ex/
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart–beat/travis–kelce–jason–kelce–billboard–charts–debut–1235502120/
https://www.the–express.com/sport/boxing/124448/jake–paul–st–patricks–day–fight–irish

Source:
Law Office of Michael H. Joseph
18 West 33rd Street/Suite–400
New York, NY 10001
Tel: +1.212.858.0503
[email protected]

Marc Mysterio Streams, Listeners, Alexa Requests on Amazon from Amazon Music For Artists Account
http://ml–eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/90b360e0–fbb3–49f0–aceb–487fcbe83249

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6bb0652d–f74e–4e88–b03f–5390fde0325d


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 1001052743)

Saudi Arabia’s Visual Arts Commission Announces Curatorial Team for Inaugural Art Week Riyadh

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Visual Arts Commission of Saudi Arabia announces the curatorial team for the inaugural edition of Art Week Riyadh, taking place from 6 to 13 April 2025 at JAX District, with activations across the city: Vittoria Matarrese, Artistic Director and Curator; Basma Harasani, Associate Curator; Victoria Gandit Lelandais, Associate Curator; and Shumon Basar, Curator – Public Programme.

Held under the theme At The Edge, Art Week Riyadh will feature a curated selection of works from over 30 local, regional, and international galleries, collections, and a public programme of talks, performances, and more. At The Edge will delve into the dynamic essence of Riyadh, highlighting its evolving cultural landscape and growing presence on the international stage.

Matarrese, formerly the Director of the Bally Foundation in Switzerland and of the performing arts department at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris says: “Art Week Riyadh represents an extraordinary opportunity to engage with a city and region undergoing profound cultural transformation. The inaugural edition, At the Edge, is a platform to explore these shifts and reveal how tradition and acceleration coexist and evolve.”

Saudi curator and art advisor Harasani says: “Being the first of its kind, Art Week Riyadh is a testament to the remarkable progress the country has made in establishing itself within the global cultural narrative, while still preserving its authenticity and showcasing the very best the Kingdom has to offer.”

Gandit Lelandais, a specialist in contemporary art from the Arab world, says: “The very fact that Art Week Riyadh exists demonstrates the intentional development of a thriving art ecosystem, with a clear vision to foster a healthy environment for growth among all the key players—galleries, artists, institutions, scholars, collectors, and more. This initiative is invaluable, offering a city–wide platform for critical discussions, dialogue, and reflection under one roof.”

Writer, curator and cultural convenor in the Gulf, Basar says: “Art Week Riyadh offers a moment to frame everything that has happened arts–wise in Riyadh, in the Kingdom, and in the region over the last years and decades, and to dialogue that with global scaled conversations in an increasingly multipolar world.”

For press enquiries please contact
Pelham Communications: Rania Habib / Zara Doshi:
[email protected] / [email protected].

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/10b6d48a–a5d4–47c3–bdc4–3541e52e85e0


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 9387964)