business
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...
The Ledger: HYBE Is Playing Moneyball With BTS’ Solo Projects
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. How does HYBE survive financially while BTS goes on break and its members pursue solo projects? Since HYBE can’t replace BTS, it will need to recreate the group — financially speaking. Movie buffs are familiar with HYBE’s predicament. In the 2011 movie Moneyball based on Michael Lewis’s best-selling book, Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (portrayed by Brad Pitt) was faced with a quandary: The budget-minded, small-market team was losing two of its two best players to wealthier teams. Beane knew he couldn’t afford to replace such productive players with two similarly effective players. His solution: recreate them “...
Nipsey Hussle Murder Trial Marked by Witnesses’ Reluctance to Testify
A judge issued a warrant Thursday for an eyewitness to the shooting death of rapper Nipsey Hussle for failing to appear to testify at the trial of the man charged in the slaying, and in his absence a police detective testified on the reluctance of witnesses that has marked the case. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Evan “Rimpau” MacKenzie, a close friend of Hussle’s who was a pallbearer at his funeral and was standing next to him when he was shot, has repeatedly ignored subpoenas ordering him to appear and testify for the prosecution, resulting in Judge H. Clay Jacke II issuing a bench warrant with $500,000 bail. “Mr. Mackenzie, did he express a reluctance to testify?” Aaron Jansen, attorney for defendant Eric Holder, asked Los...
Italian Regulator Fines Viagogo 23M Euros for Inflating Ticket Prices to Maneskin, Dua Lipa Concerts
LONDON —Italy’s communications regulator has fined Viagogo 23.5 million euros ($24.8 million) for selling tickets to concerts by rock and pop stars like Maneskin, Pearl Jam and Dua Lipa at vastly inflated rates, thereby violating the country’s strict rules around the resale of concert tickets. Following a board meeting on June 23, Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), a government regulator that oversees Italy’s telecommunications, audio visual and publishing industries, also ordered the secondary ticketing company to remove all “illegal content” listed on its platform within seven days. The fine follows an investigation by AGCOM and Italy’s financial crime enforcement agency, the Guardia di Finanza, which looked at tickets for 131 events listed on www.viagogo.it. As well a...
Celsius Network hires advisers ahead of potential bankruptcy: Report
Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has reportedly onboarded advisers from a management consulting firm in advance of the company possibly facing bankruptcy. According to a Friday report from the Wall Street Journal, Celsius hired an unknown number of restructuring consultants from the firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise the platform on potentially filing for bankruptcy. The report followed one from June 14, which said Celsius had hired lawyers in an attempt to restructure the company amid its financial issues. Steady lads https://t.co/5YAdmq5kt8 — Ben McKenzie (@ben_mckenzie) June 24, 2022 Celsius has been at the forefront of discussions in the media around significant volatility in the market amid the crypto lending platform’s decision to pause “all withdrawals, swaps and transfers b...
Red Light Execs Van Haze, Haley McLemore & JT Pratt Launch Otter Creek Entertainment
Three Red Light Management executives — Van Haze, Haley McLemore and JT Pratt — have launched Otter Creek Entertainment, their own management and strategic partnerships company. They bring with them their existing talent roster, including artists Roman Alexander, Maddie & Tae and Brett Young. “We are a small team and have always wanted to remain independent,” Haze tells Billboard via a statement. “The past few years brought us all closer and it just felt like the right time to do it.” Haze joined Red Light Management in 2015 and previously served as vp of promotion for MCA Nashville. He also made career stops at Capitol Nashville and Universal South. McLemore joined Red Light in 2014 and previously spent time at 377 Management and Mercury Nashville. Pratt spent over four years at Red L...
