business
Who Will Lead Warner Music Next? The 12 Top Candidates to Fill Stephen Cooper’s Role
With the announcement last week that Stephen Cooper would be stepping down from his role as CEO of the Warner Music Group by the end of 2023, industry speculation has ramped up around who might replace him. Cooper took over WMG in the summer of 2011 at a time when the company and the music business at large were in very different places than they are now: industry revenues had been tanking for a decade with no end in sight; Spotify had launched in the United States just a month prior, with streaming still a speculative format; Warner was a newly private company under the umbrella of its then-new owner, Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries; and the music group, as with much of the recorded-music sector at the time, was struggling. Cooper at the time was chairman of the company’s board and had ...
The FAIR Act to Repeal California’s ‘Seven-Year Statute’ Amendment Fails in the State Senate
The major record companies emerged victorious as the Free Artists From Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act failed to pass out of the California State Senate’s Judiciary committee on Tuesday (June 28) in Sacramento. The Fair Act, also known as AB Bill 983, received four votes, two short of the six needed to reach a majority from the 11-member committee. The bill was the latest effort to repeal a 1987 amendment to California’s “Seven-Year Statute” (a.k.a. California Labor Code Section 2855). That amendment allows record labels to sue artists for damages (including potential lost revenue) if they leave after seven years but before delivering the required number of albums in their contract. Though the committee addressed the bill early in the afternoon, it took until the conclusion of the 13...
Roger Ver denies CoinFLEX CEO’s claims he owes firm $47M USDC
Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin investor and Bitcoin Cash proponent, has pushed against claims from crypto investment platform CoinFLEX regarding an alleged $47-million debt. In a Tuesday tweet, Ver — not mentioning CoinFLEX by name — said he had not “defaulted on a debt to a counter-party,” and alleged the crypto firm owed him “a substantial sum of money.” The denial followed rumors on social media that the BCH proponent was involved in the platform halting withdrawals due to “a high-networth client who has holdings in many large crypto firms” not covering their debts. CoinFLEX CEO Mark Lamb took to Twitter shortly after the statement to claim the company had a written contract with Ver “obligating him to personally guarantee any negative equity on his CoinFLEX account and top up margin regul...
How crypto is attracting some institutional investors — Huobi Global sales head
James Hume, head of sales at Huobi Global, said that while some institutional investors have gotten “cold feet” over crypto, many with billions of dollars are exploring the space. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the European Blockchain Convention on Tuesday, Hume said that the crypto exchange had observed increasing interest from institutional investors within the last one to two years in entering the digital asset space. According to Hume, it took a long time for certain firms and hedge funds to “build teams, raise capital and understand the infrastructure” to participate in crypto, estimating that 20–30 firms with more than $1 billion could start trading within the year. “I think it’s a pretty exciting time,” said Hume. “A lot of the more speculative bets in crypto… Some have got a bit of c...
Sony Music to Offer Financial Support for College Students With New Initiative
Sony Music Group will offer financial and other support to students studying music and music business-related fields via a new program announced Tuesday. Funding for the program is being provided by Sony’s $100 million social justice fund, unveiled by the company in June 2020. The Sony Music Group Global Scholars Program will provide scholarships to up to 50 students from diverse backgrounds who are enrolled at accredited colleges and universities across the globe. Students accepted into the program will receive annual financial support for the period of the degree program or upon completion, whichever is sooner, depending on a student’s financial need and the region where they’re based. For students in countries where colleges and universities are publicly funded or subsidized, applicants...
Britney Spears’ Ex-Husband Jason Alexander Ordered to Stand Trial on Felony Stalking Charge
A California judge found Monday (June 27) that there is enough evidence against a man once briefly married to Britney Spears who showed up uninvited at the pop star’s wedding to go to trial on a felony stalking charge. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After a two-hour preliminary hearing, Ventura County Judge David Worley ruled that 40-year-old Jason Allen Alexander should be held to answer on the charge, along with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, vandalism and battery, court records showed. Not-guilty pleas to all the charges were entered by an attorney for Alexander, who did not attend and remains jailed. Spears married longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari at her home in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on June 9, in front of several dozen guests i...
Andrew Gertler Brings On Co-Manager for Shawn Mendes, New Client Lauren Spencer-Smith
Andrew Gertler’s AG Artists is expanding. The management company has brought leading client Shawn Mendes’ longtime A&R Ziggy Chareton on as a partner to co-manage the Grammy nominated artist, as well as two new artists: Lauren Spencer-Smith and JP Saxe. Chareton has worked at Island Records since 2011, most recently as head of A&R, which he’ll continue in addition to joining Gertler in management. Rising singer-songwriter Spencer-Smith has been searching for new management since May after parting ways with David Ehrlich. In February, Spencer-Smith (who competed on American Idol in 2020) signed a record deal with Island and Republic Records after breakout hit “Fingers Crossed” took off, becoming a Hot 100 top 20 hit. Saxe is behind the 2019 Grammy-nominated smash ...
R. Kelly Supporter Arrested for Threatening Prosecutors, Accepting Payments for Ammunition
An Illinois man has been arrested for threatening federal prosecutors involved in the New York criminal case against R. Kelly, a representative for the U.S. Department of Justice tells Billboard. Christopher Gunn, a resident of Bolingbrook, Illinois, was arrested on Saturday and made an initial court appearance on Monday (June 27) before Magistrate Judge Young Kim in Chicago. He was ordered to remain detained without bond pending a detention hearing Wednesday; the Department of Justice is seeking his removal in custody to New York. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. In a court document obtained by Billboard, Gunn is charged with “knowingly and intentionally transmit[ing] in interstate and foreign commerce communications containing threats … that would result in the death or ...
Grayscale reports 99% of SEC comment letters support spot Bitcoin ETF
Digital asset manager Grayscale reported overwhelming support in public comments for its application to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. In a Monday letter to investors, Grayscale said that of the more than 11,400 letters the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, had received in regards to its proposed Bitcoin (BTC) investment vehicle, “99.96 percent of those comment letters were supportive of Grayscale’s case” as of June 9. According to Grayscale, roughly 33% of the letters questioned the lack of a spot BTC ETF in the U.S., given the SEC had already approved investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin futures, as was the case for ProShares and Valkyrie. “The SEC’s actions over the past eight months […] have signaled an increased recognition of and comfort wi...
Johnny Chiang Joins Pandora to Oversee Country Programming
Johnny Chiang is set to join Pandora in the newly-created role of senior director, country programming, on July 25. He will oversee programming for country music at Pandora, and will report to vp, programming Kevin Stapleford. Chiang will continue to be based in Houston. “Words cannot adequately describe just how thrilled I am to be joining the incredible country team that Kevin Stapleford is assembling at Pandora,” said Chiang via a statement. “I want to thank Kevin and Steve Blatter for believing in me and what my experiences and skill sets can bring to the team.” Chiang previously joined Red Street Records as vp, radio promotions and artist development in January, as the label’s owners, Dan Crockett and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, announced the label’s country division. Prior to his wo...
5 Things We Learned From Kevin Liles & Al Sharpton’s ‘It’s a New Day’ Conversation
American record label 300 Entertainment and financial services company Nasdaq joined forces on Friday morning (June 24) for a special intimate conversation between legendary music executive Kevin Liles and civil rights activist Al Sharpton. The event brought people from all over the media industry to the Nasdaq MarketSite in the heart of New York City to hear the gems and knowledge Liles and Sharpton have developed throughout their careers. 300 and Nasdaq treated guests to a complimentary breakfast before activist and former organizer of the Women’s March, Tameka Mallory, opened the event with a moving introduction that reflected on the efforts Kevin Liles and Al Sharpton have put forth in their respective fields. Despite the early start time, the audience was fully locked into Liles and S...
FTX may be planning to purchase a stake in BlockFi: Report
Crypto exchange FTX is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in BlockFi after the company issued a $250 million credit to the lending firm. According to a Friday report from the Wall Street Journal, FTX is currently in discussions with BlockFi regarding the crypto exchange purchasing a stake in the firm, but no equity agreement has been reached. The reported ongoing talks followed BlockFi signing a term sheet with FTX to secure a $250 million revolving credit facility on Tuesday. “BlockFi does not comment on market rumors,” a BlockFi spokesperson told Cointelegraph. “We are still negotiating the terms of the deal and cannot share more information at this time. We anticipate sharing more on the terms of the deal with the public at a later date. FTX founder and CEO Sam Ban...
