business
The Ledger: Concert Companies Are Maintaining a Rosy Outlook for the Rest of 2022
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Strong demand for live music is not a surprise given fans’ time away from concerts in 2020 and 2021. But it’s not straightforward, either. Fans are dealing with inflation and high gas and airfare costs. Companies face staffing shortages and higher costs. Artists are flooding markets’ venues seeking to recapture lost business. Still, judging from some companies’ statements around their latest quarterly results, indications point to an exceptional second half of the year. Live Nation’s second quarter earnings showed a company is primed for a record year. Live Nation sold more than 100 million tickets to its concerts this ...
‘There’s a lot less land to go around’ — why White Rock established off-the-grid mining in Texas
Amid many cryptocurrency mining firms in Texas scaling down operations to reduce the load on the power grid, at least one company set up miners not quite as affected by the state’s energy requirements during extreme heat. In June, White Rock Management expanded its crypto mining operations to Texas — its first in the United States — but reported its facility in the Brazos Valley region would mine Bitcoin (BTC) using “environmentally responsible” methods. While the firm’s mining operations in Sweden used hydroelectric power, White Rock CEO Andy Long told Cointelegraph that its Texas facility was “off grid”, powered only by natural gas that would otherwise be burned. “The U.S. is where the action is in terms of markets, so we plan to be in at least another couple of states as well as Texas w...
Coinbase will ‘briefly pause’ ETH and ERC-20 token deposits and withdrawals during Ethereum Merge
United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced it will be temporarily suspending certain token deposits and withdrawals when Ethereum’s core developers transition the blockchain to proof-of-stake, or PoS. In a Tuesday blog post, Coinbase product manager Armin Rezaiean-Asel said that during the Merge event, the crypto exchange will “briefly pause” deposits and withdrawals of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens “as a precautionary measure” to handle the migration. The exchange also warned users against scammers offering ETH2 tokens, saying crypto users did not need to take additional action to receive staked ETH prior to the Merge. “Although the Merge is expected to be seamless from a user perspective, this downtime allows us to ensure that the transition has been successf...
Coinbase will ‘briefly pause’ ETH and ERC-20 token deposits and withdrawals during Ethereum Merge
United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced it will be temporarily suspending certain token deposits and withdrawals when Ethereum’s core developers transition the blockchain to proof-of-stake, or PoS. In a Tuesday blog post, Coinbase product manager Armin Rezaiean-Asel said that during the Merge event, the crypto exchange will “briefly pause” deposits and withdrawals of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens “as a precautionary measure” to handle the migration. The exchange also warned users against scammers offering ETH2 tokens, saying crypto users did not need to take additional action to receive staked ETH prior to the Merge. “Although the Merge is expected to be seamless from a user perspective, this downtime allows us to ensure that the transition has been successf...
Here’s Why Mariah Carey Is Facing a Legal Battle Over ‘Queen of Christmas’ Nickname
Mariah Carey is in a legal showdown over her efforts to secure a trademark registration for name “Queen of Christmas,” sparked by another singer who says she’s used the name for years. Likely playing on her perennial smash hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” Carey’s company (Lotion LLC) applied last year at the federal trademark office to register the “Queen” name as an exclusive brand name for a variety of different goods and services, ranging from music to alcohol to fragrances. But in a legal opposition filing last week, singer Elizabeth Chan and her attorneys at the law firm Wilmer Hale asked the office to reject Carey’s application. They say Chan (“pop music’s only full-time Christmas singer”) has been repeatedly dubbed the “Queen of Christmas,” and that it would be unfair to let C...
BitGo to sue Galaxy Digital for $100M over dropped acquisition
Digital asset custodian BitGo said it planned to seek more than $100 million in damages from Galaxy Digital, alleging the investment firm owed the funds as part of a “reverse break fee” in its decision to terminate an acquisition agreement. In a Monday blog post, BitGo referred to Galaxy’s actions as “improper” in claiming a breach of contract to drop an agreement to acquire the digital asset custodian. BitGo has enlisted the services of law firm Quinn Emanuel to pursue legal action against Galaxy for not paying a “$100 million reverse break fee it had promised back in March 2022.” According to Galaxy, BitGo failed to provide audited financial statements for 2021 by July 31, 2022 as part of the acquisition agreement, a claim Quinn Emanuel partner R. Brian Timmons denied: “The attempt by Mi...
R. Kelly Chicago Trial Focuses on Whether Potential Jurors Watched ‘Surviving R. Kelly’
Jury selection in R. Kelly’s federal trial on charges that he rigged his 2008 state child pornography trial began Monday (Aug. 15) with the judge and attorneys quickly focusing on whether would-be jurors watched a 2019 documentary about sex abuse allegations against the R&B singer. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After denying a request from Kelly’s attorney to automatically exclude anyone from the jury who watched the six-part documentary series, Surviving R. Kelly, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber quizzed potential jurors about how much they watched, what they could recall about it and whether they could be impartial if they were selected. Jurors were asked whether they watched the documentary in a questionnair...
AIM CEO Paul Pacifico to Step Down at End of 2022
Paul Pacifico will exit the U.K.’s Association of Independent Music (AIM) at the end of 2022, the organization announced Monday (Aug. 15). His departure coincides with the end of his second three-year term as CEO, which officially ends on Oct. 31, though he will remain in the role through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. During his tenure, Pacifico led AIM through such earth-shattering chapters as Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also oversaw the establishment of a free Associate Membership tier and the launch of last year’s free Future Independents online conference to foster access to learning resources and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and artists from diverse backgrounds. More recently under Pacifico’s leadership, the organization co-created a new MA ...
FTX partners with Paradigm for ‘one-click’ futures spread trading
Paradigm has announced the launch of spreads trading in partnership with crypto exchange FTX. In a Friday blog post, Paradigm said under the FTX partnership users would be able to utilize “one-click” trading with “no leg risk” for the spread between spot, perpetuals and fixed maturity futures on Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), ApeCoin (APE), Dogecoin (DOGE), Chainlink (LINK) and Litecoin (LTC). FTX will provide “guaranteed atomic execution and clearing of both legs” for the trades. According to Paradigm CEO Anand Gomes, the arrangement was aimed at drawing in new crypto investors interested in cash and carry trades — leveraging crypto spot purchases and futures instruments on FTX. Gomes added that the rollout could lead to new product offerings “further down the...
The Ledger: When Should Subscription Services Raise Prices?
The Ledger is a weekly newsletter about the economics of the music business sent to Billboard Pro subscribers. An abbreviated version of the newsletter is published online. Over the last decade, streaming platforms have mostly held prices steady while racking up over half a billion subscribers globally. But for years, music executives have questioned subscription services’ decision to sacrifice higher prices — and with them higher royalties to labels and artists — to gain more subscribers. Music streaming is following an age-old business tactic: launch at an affordable price, gain customers and, once people are hooked, raise prices. The question is when to raise prices. Too early a raise could risk alienating subscribers, while one that’s too late risks leaving revenue on the table once su...
Tornado Cash DAO goes down without explanation following vote on treasury funds
The Tornado Cash DAO went offline after many social media users reported the community discussing ways to challenge sanctions recently imposed by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control. At the time of publication, the Tornado Cash DAO was offline reportedly following a discussion in which community members voted unanimously to add its governance layer as a signatory to its treasury’s multisig wallet, which manages a reported $21.6 million. It’s unclear what was responsible for the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) going dark, but it followed a series of actions taken by different authorities and private entities in the wake of U.S. sanctions announced against the controversial mixer on Monday. In the last four days, Circle froze more than 75,000 U...
Provident Entertainment Promotes Holly Zabka to President, Terry Hemmings to Depart
Provident Entertainment president/CEO Terry Hemmings will exit the company at the end of August, while Holly Zabka has been promoted to president. Zabka will report to Randy Goodman, chairman/CEO at Sony Music Nashville. Over the course of two decades at Provident, Hemmings forged a roster of faith-based artists including Casting Crowns, CAIN, Kirk Franklin and Zach Williams. Zabka, a 14-year veteran of Provident, most recently served as senior vp of Essential Music Publishing and head of creative for Provident Label Group. During Zabka’s career at Provident, the company has earned over 60 No. 1 songs and partnered with artists and songwriters including Jason Ingram, Ethan Hulse and Matt Maher. Goodman said via a statement, “Over the last two decades, Terry has played an important part in ...
