business
High Court stops Sh350m Mandera County bursary plan
The High Court has blocked the disbursement of Sh350 million allegedly meant for payment of...
Lexus boss to head Toyota as founder’s grandson steps down
The 53-year-old chief branding officer and president of Toyota Motor Corp's Lexus brand, Koji...
The Legal Beat: Megan Thee Stallion’s Deposition Dispute – Plus Journey, Flo Rida & More
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings, and all the fun stuff in between. This week: A judge says Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez must sit for a deposition in Megan Thee Stallion’s war with her record company, a member of Journey sues his longtime bandmate over allegations of lavish spending, Flo Rida wins an $82 million verdict against a beverage company, and much more. THE BIG STORY: To Depose Or Not To Depose When should a top executive be hauled into a deposition to answer questions in a lawsuit? It’s a difficult question. Make it too hard and you could insulate powerful people from the legal process; make it too easy and attorneys could use it as a form of gamesmanship in case...
Ticketmaster Plans to Blame Scalpers for Taylor Swift Debacle at Senate Hearing
Don’t expect Live Nation’s Joe Berchtold to be quoting Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” during Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ticketing. Unlike the pop star’s “I’m the problem it’s me” chorus-turned-meme, the company’s president and CFO plans to take aim at who he says are the real culprits behind Swift’s disastrous Nov. 15 presale: scalpers. While the Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster was villainized for weeks following the presale for Swift’s upcoming The Eras Tour that both broke single-day sales records and threw fans into a fury over service issues, according to a prepared opening statement reviewed by Billboard, Berchtold plans to lay much of the blame on scalpers who used illegal bots to attack the online sale. The statement — to be delivered Tuesday (Jan. 24) in Washington,...
No Will, No Music: Nío García’s Career Restarts After Settlement With Flow La Movie’s Estate
It’s been a little over a year since the Dec. 15, 2021 plane crash that killed Puerto Rican producer Flow La Movie along with his partner Debbie Von Marie Jimenez García and their children, aged 21, 18 and four. Born José Angel Hernández, Flow La Movie was 38 at the time of the crash and is survived by a daughter, Keigelyan Hernandez. He also left behind a catalog of hit recordings released under his indie label, AH Entertainment, including the star-studded “Te Boté,” which topped Hot Latin Songs for 14 weeks, and the entire catalog of rapper Nio García, including “AM” and viral hit “La Jeepeta.” Those songs, along with García’s recording contract, have been ensnarled in a complex legal battle that has prevented García –at the cusp of his career– from releasing any further materi...
Author Ari Herstand on Success in Music in 2023: ‘It’s Not a Straight Line Anymore’
The music industry was radically reshaped in the three years since Ari Herstand last updated his how-to instruction manual for independent musicians, How to Make it in the New Music Business: Practical Tips on Building a Loyal Following and Making a Living as a Musician, first published in 2016. The pandemic changed how musicians monetize live music, social media apps re-wrote the rules about promoting music and blockchain-based products went mainstream. “A lot has changed,” says Herstand. “I would say more has changed in the last three years than probably the last 20 years.” Now in its third edition, How to Make it in the New Music Business has joined Don Passman’s All You Need to Know About the Music Business as a go-to source for navigating the industry’s dire straits. Herstand augments...
Dallas’ Legendary Longhorn Ballroom to Reopen
Texas promoter Edwin Cabaniss with Kessler Presents has announced plans to restore Dallas’ Longhorn Ballroom. The notorious nightclub was once owned by Chicago mob associate Jack Ruby, who famously shot and killed John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald as he left Dallas Police headquarters on Nov. 23, 1963. The Longhorn opened in the 1950s as singer Bob Wills’ Ranch House. It was later operated by recording artist and record label boss Dewey Groom through the ’60s and ’70s, hosting concerts by Nat King Cole, Patsy Cline, T- Bone Walker and many more. Cabaniss plans to incorporate the venue’s long history when it reopens this spring, in part with the original museum-style display cases built into the walls. The venue has traded hands a number of times in recent years and close...
FTX CEO says he is exploring rebooting the exchange: Report
John Ray, who took over as CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX prior to bankruptcy proceedings, has reportedly set up a task force to consider restarting FTX.com. According to a Jan. 19 report from the Wall Street Journal, Ray said everything was “on the table” when it came to the future of FTX.com, including a potential path forward with rebooting the exchange. FTX Trading, doing business as FTX.com, was one of roughly 130 companies under FTX Group that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022. Ray reportedly was considering reviving the crypto exchange as part of efforts to make users whole. FTX reported on Jan. 17 that it had identified roughly $5.5 billion of liquid assets in its investigations, with more than $3 billion owed to its top 50 creditors. According to the FTX CEO, he...
FTX: It took ‘Herculean investigative effort’ to identify $5.5B in liquid assets
The debtors behind FTX have identified $5.5 billion in liquid assets but reported a “substantial shortfall of digital assets” at the bankrupt crypto exchange and its U.S. arm. In a Jan. 17 announcement, FTX said it had identified $1.7 billion in cash, $3.5 billion in crypto assets and $0.3 billion in securities following the firm filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. The debtors added that they had identified roughly $1.6 billion in digital assets associated with FTX.com — including roughly $426 million being held by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas — and $181 million connected to FTX US. “We are making important progress in our efforts to maximize recoveries, and it has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information,” said FTX ...
SiriusXM Taps Former Wall Street Journal Marketing Chief for New Subscription Role
SiriusXM has brought on Suzi Watford, the former chief marketing officer for Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, to oversee the satellite radio giant’s streaming subscription business, the company said on Tuesday. Watford will join SiriusXM in the newly created role of chief growth officer and report to Joe Verbrugge, SiriusXM’s chief commercial officer. Her position will also include oversight of corporate marketing, data and research across SiriusXM and Pandora. “Suzi has repeatedly demonstrated her ability to build and lead talented teams to evolve and grow profitable consumer subscription businesses, and we are thrilled to have her join us,” Verbrugge said in a statement. Watford has spent the majority of her career at Murdoch-controlled media companies like News Corp.’s N...
Patrick Moxey’s New Helix Records to Onboard Entire Roster to Web3
Patrick Moxey is bringing the entire roster of Helix Records, the EDM label he launched last year after selling his stake in Ultra Records, into the world of Web3 — starting with an NFT membership pass. Starting in February, the Helix Records Genesis Pass will act as a digital passport to the Helix ecosystem and grant holders a free music NFT from one of the roster’s flagship artists, which includes electronic duo Snakehips and house DJ Marshall Jefferson. Later in 2023, NFT holders will get the chance to access VIP tickets, backstage passes and submit music directly to the label for feedback. One holder will win a 1:1 conversation with Moxey. Moxey — who played a key role in the success of Avicii, Kygo, deadmau5 and David Guetta through Ultra Records — aims to make Web3 and NFTs a foundat...
YouTube Renews Coachella Deal Through 2026
YouTube and Goldenvoice have once again renewed their livestream and content partnership agreement for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival, striking an agreement that keeps the mega two-weekend festival on the Google-owned video platform through 2026. First signed in 2011, the streaming partnership was renewed in 2018 through 2021 — the 2020 and 2021 versions of the festival were postponed due to COVID-19. Last year, the two companies worked out an agreement to air the festival’s post-pandemic return. Besides multichannel live streaming and on-demand video from performances, the partnership enables fan shopping for Coachella merch, exclusive content for YouTube Premium subscribers, live chat, and onsite activations with YouTube creators and artists. YouTube’s global head of music ...
