business
Core Scientific increased Bitcoin production by 10% in July amid Texas power cuts
Crypto mining firm Core Scientific reported its operations produced 1,221 Bitcoin (BTC) in July even as the company powered down several times in response to demand on the Texas power grid. In a Friday announcement, Core Scientific said its month-over-month Bitcoin production had increased from 1,106 in June to 1,221 in July — roughly 10.4%. The firm reported curtailing operations “due to extreme temperatures at multiple data centers,” but also increased the number of its self-mining servers and hashrate by 6%, to 109,000 and 10.9 exahashes per second (EH/s), respectively. JULY 2022 HIGHLIGHTS:-1,221 #Bitcoin self-mined-10.9 EH/s self-mined-+190,000 ASIC servers in operation-8.4 EH/s colocation (hosting)-Deployed first BITMAIN ANTMINER S19 XPs in the United Stateshttps://t.co/Qt2...
The Ledger: In Strong 2022, Advertising Is Rare Weakness for Music Biz
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. With a handful of music companies’ quarterly earnings releases now in the books, the outlook for the second half of the year appears strong almost across the board. There is one area of weakness, however: online advertising. On Wednesday, French music company Believe slightly raised its guidance for fiscal 2022 but warned in its investor presentation that organic growth will slow in the second half of the year “as the ad-funded streaming activities should be affected by rising inflation and economic uncertainties.” Spotify also pointed to some weakening in advertising. “For advertising, we did see some softening in tren...
Sony Music Latin & HBO Max Place All Bets on Original Premium Content
En Letra de Otro is Sony Music Latin and HBO Max’s perhaps most notable and longest-running original premium content series to date. With superstar names such as Farruko, Pedro Capó, Gente de Zona and, most recently Goyo attached to the HBO special — which is a conceptual series where artists sing other’s compositions — Ruben Leyva, Sony’s Sony Music U.S. Latin senior vp, artist services and premium content, says these types of projects have “become quite a big part of our business at U.S. Latin.” Original audiovisual content has taken centerstage across streaming, DSPs and social media platforms that are pumping out original recordings and documentaries featuring Latin acts (although this type of content isn’t Latin specific). While HBO is at the forefront, other projects include Amazon M...
Binance and Mastercard will launch prepaid crypto cards in Argentina
Major crypto exchange Binance has partnered with Mastercard to launch a prepaid card for the residents of Argentina. In a Thursday announcement, Binance said the card will allow its clients in Argentina to use Bitcoin (BTC), BNB and other cryptocurrencies to make purchases as well as ATM withdrawals in fiat wherever Mastercard is accepted — roughly 90 million merchants globally and online. Argentine cardholders can also earn up to 8% back in cryptocurrency from certain purchases. According to Binance, the introduction of the card — expected to be “widely available in the coming weeks” — was part of the company’s efforts to further the global adoption of crypto. Residents of Argentina will be the first in the region to have access to the cards, but the crypto exchange announced a simil...
Iman Shumpert, Ex-NBA Star & Teyana Taylor’s Husband, Arrested at Texas Airport
Former NBA player Iman Shumpert was arrested at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport last weekend for allegedly trying to bring 6 ounces of cannabis through security. The police report from the DFW Airport Department of Public Safety shows police were called to a TSA checkpoint at about 3:40 p.m. on Saturday and told there was a “sizeable amount of marijuana” found. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The police report says Shumpert told officers that the bag contained marijuana and “asked if there was any way he could make his flight” to Los Angeles, where he was supposed to pick up his daughter. He has two daughters with entertainer Teyana Taylor. Shumpert was told no, arrested for felony possession of marijuana and taken to the airport ja...
HYBE’s Revenues Soared in Q2, But That Doesn’t Account for BTS Break
With BTS on a break since June and its members pursuing solo projects, HYBE’s solid second-quarter earnings release was as much about what happens next than what already happened. HYBE’s total revenue improved 83.8% to 512.2 billion KRW ($397.7 million) from April to June. Most growth came from the company’s “artist direct involvement” segment, which increased 153%. Concert revenue grew to 85 billion KRW ($66 million) from nothing in the prior-year period on the strength of BTS’s four concerts in Las Vegas and Seventeen concerts in Japan. Revenue from ads, appearances and management grew 39% to 30 billion KRW ($23.3 million) While merchandising and licensing improved 97.2% to 98.8 billion KRW ($78.7 million), contents fell 22.6% to 70.7 billion KRW ($54.9 million), partially because online...
BMG Acquiring German Indie Label Telamo to Gain Control of Local Schlager Market
BMG is growing its share of the world’s fourth largest music market by acquiring German independent powerhouse Telamo, the country’s biggest indie imprint and market leader in Schlager music, a form of easy listening Europop. Berlin-based BMG did not reveal financial terms of the deal, which the Austrian Federal Competition Authority still needs to approve before it can be completed. BMG says it is the company’s largest label investment since it acquired Nashville-based BBR Music Group in 2017. That deal was worth around $100 million, according to sources at the time. In 2021, BMG generated revenues of €40 million ($40.6 million) in Germany across its recorded music and publishing divisions, according to parent company Bertelsmann‘s year-end financial report, with recordings accounting for...
Concord Acquires Australasian Music Publisher Native Tongue
Concord continues to expand, this time with the acquisition of Native Tongue, one of the leading independent music publishers in Australasia. A family business since it was established in 2003 by New Zealander Chris Gough, Native Tongue is sub-publisher for more than 40 international catalogs, including Barton Music, Because Editions, Boosey & Hawkes, Cloud 9 Music, Domino Publishing Company, Faber Music, Roys Boys, PULSE Publishing, Ultra Music and Wixen Music. The acquisition, announced Thursday (Aug. 4), is an extension to an alliance that has seen Native Tongue represent Concord in Australia and NZ for more than 12 years. Concord now has access to Native Tongue’s stable of songwriters, which includes Grammy-nominated writer/producer Stuart Crichton (Backstreet Boys, Kesha, Kygo, Ro...
Warner Records CEO Mo Ostin Remembered by Producer Russ Titelman: ‘He Had No Ego’
Grammy-winning producer Russ Titelman first met Mo Ostin, the legendary executive who ran Reprise and then Warner Records from 1960 to 1994, in the early ’60s when Titelman was still a teenager and freshly signed to Screen Gems-Columbia Music as a songwriter. Eventually, Ostin, who died July 31 at 95, and then head of A&R Lenny Waronker convinced Titelman to come to Warner Records, where he had an extraordinary run as an in-house producer for 25 years, working with such artists as Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Chaka Khan and so many more. Titelman, whose Grammy wins include record of the year for Winwood’s “Higher Love” (1986) and again for Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” as well as album of the year for Clapton’s “Unplugged” (1992), talked with Bill...
Riot Blockchain’s Bitcoin mining productivity dropped 28% YOY amid record Texas heat
Crypto mining firm Riot Blockchain reported it produced fewer Bitcoin (BTC) in July 2022 than that in July 2021 after scaling down operations at its Texas facility. In a Wednesday announcement, Riot said its miners had produced 318 Bitcoin in July, more than 28% less than the 443 BTC the firm reported generating in July 2021. According to Riot CEO Jason Les, the firm curtailed operations by 11,717 megawatt-hours in July in response to increasing demand on Texas’ energy grid. Many parts of the Lone Star State experienced several days with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, requiring additional power for air conditioners. “As energy demand in [Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT] reached all-time highs this past month, the company voluntarily curtailed its energy...
Bruno Mars Will Officially Open Sydney’s Allianz Stadium
Bruno Mars will bring some 24K magic to Sydney later this year when he officially opens the new Allianz Stadium. The pop superstar is booked to perform Friday, Oct. 14 and the following evening to raise the curtain at the rebuilt venue. Veteran concert promoter Paul Dainty, CEO of TEG Dainty, part of the TEG group, is producing the shows. “It’s incredibly exciting to welcome audiences back to Allianz Stadium in the heart of Sydney and who better to lead the opening celebrations than the legendary, record-breaking artist Bruno Mars,” he says in a statement. “These opening shows will go down in history as not to be missed.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Mars’ most recent studio album, 24K Magic, debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart...
Janet Yang Is Fourth Woman Elected President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
Producer Janet Yang was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s board of governors. Her election was announced on Tuesday (Aug. 2). Yang is the fourth woman, and second person of color, to serve in that post. The first woman to serve as president was screen legend Bette Davis, though she served for just two months in 1941 before resigning. The other women to serve as president are Fay Kanin (1979-83) and Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013-17), who is also the only previous person of color to serve in the post. Yang is beginning her second term as a governor-at-large, a position for which she was nominated by her predecessor as Academy president, David Rubin, and elected by the board of governors. Yang, a member of the producers branch since 2002, b...
