Salem Media Group has sold its seven remaining Contemporary Christian-formatted radio stations to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) for $80 million, the company announced Monday (Dec. 30).

The agreement, which is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will add or expand EMF programming to seven U.S. markets, with stations including KLTY-FM in Arlington, Texas; WFSH-FM in Athens, Ga.; WFHM-FM in Cleveland; KFSH-FM in La Mirada, Calif.; KKFS-FM in Lincoln, Calif.; KBIQ-FM in Manitou Springs, Colo.; and KFIS-FM in Scappoose, Oreg.

EMF — the parent organization of Christian radio networks Air1 and K-LOVE — noted in a statement that it intends to launch K-LOVE or Air1 Worship Now programming on those signals according to market needs, pending FCC approval. It indicated that it aims to begin programming the stations via a local marketing agreement on Feb. 1.

Also on Monday, Salem announced that it has entered into an advertising and marketing agreement with EMF for $10 million. 

Through its Air1 and K-LOVE networks, EMF reaches approximately 18 million listeners each week. Its Air1 and K-LOVE radio networks have over 1,100 broadcast signals across all 50 states, with global reach through streaming audio.

Salem Media Group’s CCM-formatted radio stations were most commonly operated under the nickname “The Fish.” Founded as Salem Communications in 1974, the company rebranded as Salem Media Group in 2015. It has since grown to become a multimedia company with properties including talk radio, digital media and book/newsletter publishing. According to a March 2024 corporate guide, the company’s other radio signals include 38 Christian teaching and talk radio stations and 30 news talk stations.

Salem’s sale of the seven stations came as part of a group of strategic transactions aimed at shoring up the company’s financial security. As part of this effort, the company repurchased all $159.4 million in outstanding 7.125% senior secured notes due 2028 for $104 million cash and $24 million in subordinated unsecured promissory notes. By midyear 2025, those notes are slated to be exchanged for series A preferred stock. Salem also issued $40 million in series B convertible preferred stock to the foundation WaterStone, with proceeds being used to fund Salem’s debt repurchase. On Dec. 23, Salem extended its revolver line of credit with Siena Lending Group for one year.

“As Salem has leaned into its talk and information programming, we are honored to carry the torch and keep Christian music flowing over these frequencies,” said Tom Stultz, EMF’s interim CEO, in a statement. “These strong stations expand our coverage area and help us deliver on our mission to reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We feel it is an incredible opportunity to continue serving listeners with Christian music in these important markets.”

Edward G. Atsinger, Salem Media Group’s executive chairman/co-founder, said in a statement, “We have made a strategic decision to exit the Contemporary Christian Music format in order to pay off all of Salem’s long-term debt. We could not be more delighted that the buyer is EMF. EMF has demonstrated over many years a unique ability and dedication to creating and distributing the highest quality Christian music content to its listeners in a positive and encouraging way. I am confident that their impact on listeners and their communities will be incredibly effective.”

This isn’t Salem’s first sale to EMF. In March, the company sold its stations in Nashville and Honolulu to EMF for $7 million.

Beginning with Debby Boone’s 1977 smash “You Light Up My Life,” a relatively select few smashes have led the Billboard Hot 100 for at least 10 weeks. How few? Just a mere 4% of all Hot 100 No. 1s dating to the chart’s launch on Aug. 4, 1958, have earned the achievement.

In honor of the singles to claim the Hot 100’s top spot the longest, here’s a look at the elite leaders to rule for double-digit weeks, an exclusive club led by Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” with 19 weeks at No. 1 beginning in July 2024, and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, a 19-week No. 1 in 2019.

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THE LONGEST-LEADING HOT 100 No. 1s
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1

19, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey, July 13, 2024
19, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, April 13, 2019

18, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Mariah Carey, Dec. 21, 2019

16, “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, March 18, 2023
16, “Despacito,” Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, May 27, 2017
16, “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, Dec. 2, 1995

15, “As It Was,” Harry Styles, April 16, 2022

14, “Uptown Funk!,” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, Jan. 17, 2015
14, “I Gotta Feeling,” The Black Eyed Peas, July 11, 2009
14, “We Belong Together,” Mariah Carey, June 4, 2005
14, “Candle in the Wind 1997”/“Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” Elton John, Oct. 11, 1997
14, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio, Aug. 3, 1996
14, “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men, Aug. 27, 1994
14, “I Will Always Love You,” Whitney Houston, Nov. 28, 1992

13, “The Boy Is Mine,” Brandy & Monica, June 6, 1998
13, “End of the Road,” Boyz II Men, Aug. 15, 1992

12, “Shape of You,” Ed Sheeran, Jan. 28, 2017
12, “Closer,” The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey, Sept. 3, 2016
12, “See You Again,” Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, April 25, 2015
12, “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke feat. T.I. + Pharrell, June 22, 2013
12, “Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas, April 18, 2009
12, “Yeah!,” Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris, Feb. 28, 2004
12, “Lose Yourself,” Eminem, Nov. 9, 2002
12, “Smooth,” Santana feat. Rob Thomas, Oct. 23, 1999

11, “The Box,” Roddy Ricch, Jan. 18, 2020
11, “God’s Plan,” Drake, Feb. 3, 2018
11, “Independent Women Part I,” Destiny’s Child, Nov. 18, 2000
11, “I’ll Be Missing You,” Puff Daddy & Faith Evans feat. 112, June 14, 1997
11, “Un-Break My Heart,” Toni Braxton, Dec. 7, 1996
11, “I Swear,” All-4-One, May 21, 1994

10, “Easy on Me,” Adele, Oct. 30, 2021
10, “Butter,” BTS, June 5, 2021
10, “In My Feelings,” Drake, July 21, 2018
10, “One Dance,” Drake feat. WizKid & Kyla, April 23, 2016
10, “Hello,” Adele, Nov. 14, 2015
10, “Happy,” Pharrell Williams, March 8, 2014
10, “We Found Love,” Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris, Nov. 12, 2011
10, “Low,” Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, Jan. 5, 2008
10, “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé, Dec. 16, 2006
10, “Gold Digger,” Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx, Sept. 17, 2005
10, “Dilemma,” Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland, Aug. 17, 2002
10, “Foolish,” Ashanti, April 20, 2002
10, “Maria Maria,” Santana feat. The Product G&B, April 8, 2000
10, “Physical,” Olivia Newton-John, Nov. 21, 1981
10, “You Light Up My Life,” Debby Boone, Oct. 15, 1977

Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98. A statement issued Saturday by his family said Dolan died of natural causes, Newsday reported late Saturday.

“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved father and patriarch, Charles Dolan, the visionary founder of HBO and Cablevision,” the statement said.

Dolan’s legacy in cable broadcasting includes the 1972 launch of Home Box Office, later known as HBO, and founding Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first 24-hour cable channel for local news in the U.S., Newsday reported.

The Cleveland native, who dropped out of John Carroll University in suburban Cleveland, completed the sale of Cablevision to Altice, a European telecommunications and cable company, for $17.7 billion in June 2016.

Dolan, whose primary home was in Cove Neck Village on Long Island in New York, also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the New York Knicks and New York Rangers sports franchises, Newsday reported.

James L. Dolan, one of his sons, was the Cablevision CEO from 1995 until the 2016 sale to Altice. He now is the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. The company owns the Knicks and Rangers, among other properties, according to the MSG Sports website.

A statement from MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and Sphere Entertainment recalled Dolan’s “vision.”

“Mr. Dolan’s vision built the foundation for the companies we are today, and as a member of our Boards he continued to help shape our future. The impact he made on the media, sports, and entertainment industries, including as the founder of Cablevision and HBO, is immeasurable,” the statement said. “We do not expect this to directly or indirectly change ownership by the Dolan family.”

Newsday, which Cablevision purchased in 2008, also came under the control of Altice with the sale. Patrick Dolan, another son of Charles Dolan, led a group that repurchased 75% of Newsday Media Group in July 2016. Patrick Dolan then purchased the remaining 25% stake in 2018.

At the time of his death, Charles Dolan and his family had a net worth of $5.4 billion, Forbes reported.

Dolan was a founder and chairman emeritus of The Lustgarten Foundation in Uniondale, New York, which conducts pancreatic cancer research.

He is survived by six children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife, Helen Ann Dolan, died in 2023, Newsday reported.

In a week with little news and few regulatory filings, music stocks finished the last full week of 2024 by dropping for the third consecutive week. The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 0.6% to 2,155.51, lowering its year-to-date gain to 40.5%. The index has fallen 5.5% over three weeks after rising 14.6% over six consecutive weekly gains. Six stocks finished the week in positive territory while 13 lost ground and one was unchanged.

Two of the three major music labels were among the week’s few winners. Universal Music Group gained 1.4% to 24.70 euros ($25.75) while Warner Music Group improved 0.9% to $31.45. Elsewhere, iHeartMedia rose 1.1% to $1.91 following the company’s announcement on Monday (Dec. 23) that it completed a debt exchange that reduced its long-term debt load by $440 million and extended maturity dates. 

The independent music companies all posted declines. Reservoir Media dropped 4.3% to $8.86 and Believe fell 4.0% to 13.78 euros ($14.37). All four South Korean companies lost ground, too: YG Entertainment dropped 2.6%, HYBE fell 2.5%, JYP Entertainment lost 2.0% and SM Entertainment slipped 1.6%. 

Spotify, the BGMI’s most valuable music company, dropped 0.8% to $456.48, the third consecutive week the stock has fallen. While the stock has dropped 9.9% since reaching its all-time high of $506.47 on Dec. 4, Spotify is by far the best-performing music stock of 2024. It has seen a 143% increase this year with two trading days remaining.

In other stock news, Chinese music streamer Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) fell 1.8% to $11.72. On Friday, 86Research increased TME to a “buy” rating with a $14 price target. Shares of TME are up 30.1% year to date. 

The week’s biggest loser, SiriusXM, fell 8.6% to $21.13. SiriusXM’s 61.4% decline in 2024 is the second worst amongst BGMI stocks after Cumulus Media’s 86.5% drop. 

Music stocks underperformed markets around the world. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8% and the S&P 500 gained 0.7%. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 improved 0.8%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index was unchanged after declining in three of the previous four weeks. 

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue.

The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.

“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump’s choice for solicitor general.

The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.

He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.

Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral.

He said earlier this year that he still believed there were national security risks with TikTok, but that he opposed banning it.

The filings Friday come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law was signed by President Joe Biden in April after it passed Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance filed a legal challenge afterwards.

Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute, leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”

In their brief to the Supreme Court on Friday, attorneys for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued the federal appeals court erred in its ruling and based its decision on “alleged ‘risks’ that China could exercise control” over TikTok’s U.S. platform by pressuring its foreign affiliates.

The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok’s U.S. patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information.

But the government “concedes that it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so,” TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that the U.S. fears are predicated on future risks.

In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its propriety engine developed and maintained in China,” its corporate structure carries with it risk.

This story was originally published by The Associated Press.

SALXCO, the artist management company founded by Wassim “Sal” Slaiby that’s home to The Weeknd, Metro Boomin and more, has named a new CEO and new co-presidents, the company announced on Friday (Dec. 27).

Stepping into the CEO role is Lindsay Unwin, a longtime employee of the company, while the new co-presidents are Manny Dion and Ryan Ramsey. In a statement, former CEO Slaiby revealed he will now be focusing his efforts on “high-level projects and new business growth.”

The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

“Taking the helm as CEO of SALXCO is a testament to what’s possible when you immerse yourself in this industry from day one,” said Unwin in a statement on her ascension. “Our company thrives because we don’t just follow culture — we help shape it through our incredible clients and their visions.”

Slaiby added that Unwin “is perfectly poised to lead our daily operations.”

In his own statement, Dion wrote, “With a deep respect for the company’s legacy and a clear vision for the future, I’m excited to build on what has been created and lead our team and artists toward new heights in the music industry.” Ramsey added that he’s “excited to be taking this next step with SALXCO and help guide the company into the future of this ever-evolving industry.”

Additional SALXCO clients include Brandy, Swedish House Mafia, French Montana, Ty Dolla $ign, Nav, Shenseea, Austin Millz and Elyanna. The company was founded in 2011 by Slaiby, longtime manager of The Weeknd.

In the ‘00s, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan looked at the disruptive nature of early social media platform MySpace and saw the death of the record label. It didn’t exactly work out that way — not with MySpace, not with Facebook, not with TikTok. In fact, the major music companies became adept at using these platforms to break artists and perpetuate their market power; if there’s a breakout song on TikTok, labels rush into an old-fashioned bidding war. While social media certainly disrupted the music business, it didn’t uproot the traditional record label model.

There have been numerous other game-changers over the years that failed — on their own, at least — to radically alter how major labels do business, including independent distribution. After TuneCore launched in 2006, major labels continued to sign artists and own their intellectual property, albeit to broader “360” deals that incorporated more than recorded music rights. Nor did the advent of streaming by itself reshape the structure of major record labels. The artists with the most streaming success are involved with major labels in one way or another, be it a traditional record contract, a joint venture or, in rare cases like Taylor Swift, a distribution deal.

Corgan may have misjudged social media’s sole impact on record labels, but he wasn’t entirely wrong about its ultimate influence. When combined, social media, independent distribution and streaming form a potent combination that has changed the balance of power and induced major labels to change how they promote music around the world. This dynamic isn’t exactly new, but it was never clearer than in 2024. This year, major labels have increasingly embraced the role of being service providers to those parties who prefer to remain independent and retain ownership of their intellectual property.

A few years ago, Universal Music Group (UMG) was pouring money into superstar acquisitions such as Bob Dylan’s and Sting’s song catalogs. More recently, the company has been focusing on its artist services model. In the last three months alone, UMG acquired indie label group [PIAS] and agreed to acquire Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million, though the proposed deal has encountered opposition from the independent music community and will need to pass regulatory scrutiny before being finalized. The company also purchased Outdustry — which has an artist- and label-services arm that focuses on China, India and other high-growth emerging markets — and bought a stake in Chord Music Partners, giving UMG distribution and publishing administration duties for the more than 60,000 songs in the investment vehicle’s catalog.

In fact, 2024 played out much like UMG CEO Lucian Grainge said it would. His January memo predicted the company would continue to expand globally and offer labels outside of mature markets a “full suite of artist services” while “acquiring local labels, catalogs and artist services businesses.” To be fair, UMG was already on that path: In 2022, it acquired m-theory’s artist services company and installed its founders, JT Myers and Nat Pastor, as co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group to expand Virgin’s independent music division globally.

Warner Music Group (WMG) appears to have sensed the shifting landscape, too, as there has been a noticeable shift in messaging during Robert Kyncl’s tenure as the company’s CEO. In the Stephen Cooper era, WMG was the music community’s leading investor in Web3 startups. In contrast, Kyncl has chosen to focus on expanding WMG’s footprint globally. WMG briefly signaled its interest in acquiring Believe in March and April after the French company announced a CEO-led effort to take the company private. Notably, Believe has a global label services business and a presence in developing markets that take advantage of the “glocalization” of local markets and global streaming platforms’ ability to help music travel across borders. WMG ultimately passed on pursuing Believe, but Kyncl has followed his peers’ interest in emerging markets, purchasing stakes in Indian companies Divo and Global Music Junction.

The service model isn’t an entirely original approach. Grainge wrote that UMG is “creating the blueprint for the labels of the future,” but UMG is doing what major music companies have always done: following trends and buying independent companies that established a particular market. Sony Music already bought into the service model with The Orchard and AWAL, the latter purchased in 2022 for $430 million. Independents such as Believe, OneRPM and Symphonic Distribution have become established players by combining distribution and artist services, while investors have poured money into independents such as Create Music Group — which this year raised $165 million at a $1 billion valuation — and gamma, which is backed by $1 billion.

But the well-established blueprint was never more of a hot commodity than in 2024. In the music business, nothing signifies the relevance of a business model like the major labels’ desire to buy it and integrate it into their systems — especially when the largest music companies feel they have no choice. The holy trinity of social media, independent distribution and global streaming platforms has given artists an alternative to the much-derided major label record contract. Artists who want to own their intellectual property and have more creative control have never had more of the tools necessary to be independent. That includes financing options, such as advances from well-funded independents or royalty advances from a new breed of financial services companies. When there’s no need for radio promotion and shelf space at brick-and-mortar retailers, the independent model looks a lot more attractive — not only for artists but for the major labels that have become increasingly keen on buying into it.

Ironically, the major labels’ acceptance of the independents’ business model means the music business is becoming less independent. Trade groups such as the Association of Independent Music and IMPALA quickly spoke out against UMG’s agreement to purchase Downtown, just as they did with Sony Music’s purchase of AWAL. U.K. regulators ultimately concluded that AWAL was a “relatively small player” and that the deal did not substantially reduce competition. Time will tell if competition watchdogs feel the same about UMG’s much larger purchase of Downtown. In any case, the independents have proved that artist and label services businesses are a good fit for the modern music business. The next step was always going to be consolidation.

The Canadian government’s so-called “streaming tax” is on pause.

The CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) revealed in June 2024 that major global streaming companies would be mandated to pay 5% of their annual Canadian revenues into funds that fuel Canadian content. The decision was part of the Online Streaming Act, new legislation that modernizes Canada’s Broadcasting Act for the first time in a generation.

Since then, many of the biggest streaming companies — including Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Disney — have been fighting the decision in court. This week, the Federal Court of Appeal decided to put the companies’ required payments on hold until their appeal is heard.

The Canadian Press reports that the payments, estimated to be at least $1.25 million each annually, will not have to be made until the court process is finished. They’ve agreed to expedite the hearings to June 2025, with the bulk of the money due in August.

While pursuing legal challenges, many of the biggest streaming companies have also launched an online campaign to lobby against the decision in the court of public opinion. A group called DiMA (the Digital Media Association) — whose members include Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, Apple and more — launched a website with a petition and letter-writing campaign under the name Stop the Streaming Tax. The campaign has at least one high-profile advocate in musician Bryan Adams, a longtime critic of CanCon regulations.

The 5% contributions “could lead to higher prices for Canadians and fewer content choices,” the website argues. “As a result, you may end up paying more for your favourite streaming services and have less control over what you can watch or listen to.”

Many Canadian music associations like CIMA (the Canadian Independent Music Association), meanwhile, have praised the CRTC’s decision. In June, CIMA president Andrew Cash called it “good news for the Canadian music sector” and said it “lays the groundwork for a dynamic partnership with digital platforms where Canadian talent can thrive both domestically and internationally.”

The mandated contributions would go to music funds like FACTOR and Musicaction as well as the Canadian Starmaker Fund, funds to support commercial and community radio, and to the Indigenous Music Office and other Indigenous music incubators.

More on this story as it develops.

This story was originally published by Billboard Canada.

Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76.

Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later.

The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer.

Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years.

“Dick was an American original, a colossus bestriding the worlds of business, media, culture, philanthropy, and beyond,” Ronald Lauder said in a statement on behalf of the Lauder family.

David Zaslav, the CEO of Time Warner successor Warner Bros. Discovery, hailed Parsons as a “great mentor and friend” and a “tough and brilliant negotiator, always looking to create something where both sides win.”

“All who got a chance to work with him and know him saw that unusual combination of great leadership with integrity and kindness,” Zaslav said, calling him “one of the great problem solvers this industry has ever seen.”

Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, built a track record of steering big companies through tough times.

He returned Citigroup to profitability after turmoil from the global financial crisis and helped restore Time Warner after its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online.

Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness.

Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery.

“Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.”

“Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.”

Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager.

Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and in early 2004 sold Warner Music Group to an investor group led by the Seagram heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. for about $2.6 billion. For Parsons, the sale represented the fulfillment of a key promise to Wall Street — he had pledged to reduce Time Warner’s debt by $8 billion by the end of 2004. Before selling the music division, Parsons had already offloaded a half-stake in Comedy Central, a share in the satellite TV company operating DirecTV, and the Atlanta Hawks and Thrashers sports teams. He also secured a $750 million settlement from Microsoft to resolve an antitrust lawsuit.

He later fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL.

Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions.

In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music.

He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination.

The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies.

Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc.

A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market.

Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012.

In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year.

“Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team.

Parsons, whose love of jazz led to co-owning a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family.

The woman who accused Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of drugging and raping her when she was 13 years old can remain anonymous for now, a judge ruled Thursday (Dec. 26), citing the “highly sensitive” nature of her accusations.

According to court documents obtained by Billboard, Judge Annalisa Torres wrote that “the weight of the factors” in the case “tips in favor of allowing Plaintiff to remain anonymous” for now. In justifying the decision, the judge cited the Jane Doe’s assertion that she continues to suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other health effects due to the alleged rape, as well as a claim by the woman’s attorneys that Combs has threatened other alleged victims who have filed suits against him for speaking out. However, the judge acknowledges that “because the balance of these factors will certainly shift” as the case moves forward, she plans to revisit the question of anonymity at a later date.

Also in Thursday’s ruling, the judge turned down a request by Jay-Z’s legal team to fast-track a hearing on their motion to dismiss the case against him and criticized the rap mogul’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, for his “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks” against the plaintiff’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, calling them “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client.” The motion to expedite the hearing was tied to a Dec. 13 NBC News interview in which the Jane Doe admitted to inconsistencies and “mistakes” in her narrative of the alleged assault and was contradicted by her own father.

In the woman’s complaint, filed earlier this month, she accused Combs and Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter) of drugging and sexually assaulting her following an MTV Video Music Awards after-party in 2000. The case was an updated version of a previous complaint the woman had filed against Combs alone.

Since the updated case including Carter was filed on Dec. 8, the rap mogul and his attorneys have forcefully denied the allegations, with Carter calling the lawsuit a “blackmail attempt” and characterizing Buzbee as a “fraud” with an aim “to exploit people for personal gain.” Buzbee has filed a host of lawsuits against Combs over the last several months and has said he represents dozens more victims who have yet to file their own complaints.

In a statement sent to Billboard in response to Thursday’s court ruling, Buzbee said that “the coordinated and desperate efforts to attack me as counsel for alleged victims are falling flat.”

An attorney for Carter did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.

The latest decision in the case comes as part of a mounting legal war between Jay-Z and Buzbee. On Dec. 18, Buzbee filed a lawsuit against Jay-Z’s company, Roc Nation, and its attorneys (including Marcy Croft and law firm Quinn Emanuel) accusing them of “engaging shadowy operatives” to derail his case against the rapper, including by allegedly offering money to one of his former clients (Gerardo Garcia) to convince him to file bogus lawsuits against his firm — an incident Buzbee claims was caught on tape. “Defendants have conspired to obstruct justice by engaging shadowy operatives to illegally seek out more than two dozen current and former clients of The Buzbee Law Firm to convince those clients to bring frivolous cases against [the firm],” Buzbee wrote.

In response, a Roc Nation spokesperson called Buzbee’s lawsuit “nothing but another sham” and “a pathetic attempt to distract and deflect attention,” while Croft reacted by calling the allegations in the lawsuit “false” and “a desperate attempt to distract from his mounting legal woes.”

Buzbee’s Dec. 18 lawsuit is actually the second he’s filed against Carter’s attorneys over the past month. The first, filed earlier in December, accused Quinn Emanuel of retaliatory behavior, including alleged harassment of Buzbee’s colleagues, clients and family. That came in response to a lawsuit Jay-Z secretly filed against Buzbee in November in which the rapper accused the Texas attorney of spearheading an effort to extract settlements from innocent celebrities after threatening to link them to Combs.