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Weekly Report [June 07 – 14]: 3iQ Crypto Feeder ETFs, Lithuania booming crypto wallet ban, MasterCard NFT collaborations and more
Here is everything you missed from the cryptocurrency sector last week: PayPal allows US users to withdraw BTC, ETH BCH, and LTC to external wallets Asset manager 3iQ launches Bitcoin and Ether feeder ETFs Senator Lummis discusses the proposed crypto bill that suggests the lead regulatory role left to the CTFC Lithuania could soon ban exchange transfers with unhosted wallets MasterCard collaborates with NFT firms to facilitate easy and safe NFT buys PayPal allows crypto withdrawals into private wallets Payments firm PayPal revealed last week that its customers can now withdraw Ethereum and Bitcoin into external wallets. The financial services company added that the much-awaited feature would be rolled out to US customers, confirming that the users can transfer their crypto between PayPal a...
DEL Records CEO Angel del Villar Arrested for Working With Mexican Promoter Tied to Cartels
DEL Records CEO Angel del Villar was arrested by FBI agents on Tuesday (June 14) and is being charged with “conspiring to violate the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,” according to an official statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Luca Scalisi, CFO of DEL Entertainment, was also arrested. According to the U.S. Attorney, del Villar and Scalisi were charged for “conducting business with a Guadalajara-based concert promoter with ties to Mexican drug cartels.” A third defendant named in the complaint is Mexican music promoter Jesus Perez Alvear, who leads Gallistica Diamente (Ticket Premier) and until March 2019 promoted concerts in Mexico for DEL Entertainment. Perez and Gallistica Diamante are listed as “Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers” under the Kingpin A...
Will BTS’ Label Take a Big Hit From Band’s ‘Hiatus’?
HYBE will miss BTS — but not as much as it would have before acquiring Ithaca Holdings in 2021. On Tuesday (June 14), the band announced it was “going on a hiatus” to allow each member to focus on their solo projects. What that might mean for the label that launched BTS in 2013 is unclear. Companywide, BTS accounted for 27% of HYBE’s U.S. album sales and streams in 2021, according to the company’s fourth quarter 2021 investor presentation. In Japan — the world’s second-biggest music market — BTS accounted for about half of HYBE’s album sales, according to the company’s 2021 earnings. On top of that, BTS likely accounted for nearly all HYBE’s touring income that amounted to 191.1 billion ($148 million) in 2019 and 45.6 billion KRW ($36 million) 2021. HYBE’s acquisition of Ithica Projects in...
Katy Perry Kicks Off New Artist Workout Series for VR Fitness App Supernatural: Exclusive
Supernatural, the subscription-based VR fitness app, is announcing the launch of the Supernatural Artist Series, with new Oculus-ready workouts choreographed to artist playlists, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Katy Perry’s music will kick off the monthly artist series, which will include multiple A-list artists joining the virtual reality app’s music catalog, and launch on June 27. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Music has always been an integral part of Supernatural, and since launch we’ve been dreaming of ways to empower our athletes to further connect with music from the artists they love,” says Chris Milk, Supernatural founder and CEO, in a statement to Billboard. “Supernatural uses virtual reality to help people find joy in mov...
Spotify to Acquire AI Voice Startup Sonantic
Spotify said on Monday (June 13) it will acquire Sonantic, a tech company that specializes in creating hyperrealistic artificial voices. In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Spotify said Sonantic’s technology could allow the audio company to better communicate with users when they aren’t looking at their screens and help reduce other barriers to entry for new listeners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Based in London, Sonantic was founded in 2018 by Zeena Qureshi and John Flynn. The company caters toward entertainment industry professionals and, in 2020, raised €2.3 million (about $2.4 million) in seed funding. Sonantic has also worked with Val Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer and ...
Crypto lender Celsius freezes withdrawals; rival Nexo offers a ‘helping hand’
Celsius halted withdrawals on Monday, noting that said the process back to normalcy could see delays Fellow crypto lending Nexo tabled an offer to ‘bail’ Celsius by taking up its qualifying assets Crypto lending platform Celsius is seeing the worst of the crypto markets and, in effect, announced on Monday morning that it paused redemptions citing severe “market conditions.” In what it termed a very important message to the community, Celsius justified that it took the decision in order to remain ‘fit’ to honor its withdrawal obligations to customers over time. “Acting in the interest of our community is our top priority. In service of that commitment and to adhere to our risk management framework, we have activated a clause in our Terms of Use that will allow for this process to take place...
Music Stocks and Cryptocurrencies Hit by Recession, Inflation Fears
Music and other entertainment stocks fell sharply on Monday (June 13), following a string of worrisome events and expectations the Federal Reserve will make a substantial rate hike to slow inflation. The S&P 500 declined 3.9%, putting the index in bear market territory — down more than 20% from its high in January. The Nasdaq declined 4.7%. Radio broadcaster Cumulus Media fell 20.3% to $9.17, the largest decline of any music-related stock on Monday. Cumulus is “thinly traded and has high leverage,” Noble Capital Markets’ Michael Kupinsky tells Billboard in an email response. “Both are issues when [the stock is] out of favor and the market has its sights on an economic downturn.” Radio stocks had the worst day among music-related companies on Monday as four leading companies’ stocks dro...
Britney Spears’ First Husband Jason Alexander Charged With Stalking Her at Her Wedding
A man once briefly married to Britney Spears was charged Monday (June 13) with felony stalking after showing up at the pop star’s wedding to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari. Jason Alexander, 40, pleaded not guilty in Ventura County court to the charge, along with misdemeanor counts of trespassing, vandalism and battery. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Alexander remained jailed, and appeared in court via video conference. A judge set his bail at $100,000 and issued a restraining order requiring him to stay at least 100 yards from Spears for three years. Alexander was Spears’ first husband. The two were married for less than three days in 2004 before an annulment. Spears, 40, and Asghari, 28, were married Thursday at her home in Thousand O...
Binance resumes withdrawals as many retail crypto investors monitor exchanges
Major crypto exchange Binance has announced that it had resumed Bitcoin withdrawals after more than three hours amid extreme market volatility. In an update during what many are calling cryptocurrency’s “Black Monday,” Binance said on its website the exchange would be processing Bitcoin (BTC) network withdrawals within “the next couple of hours” following the resumption of activity. The platform announced Monday that it had temporarily paused BTC withdrawals, with CEO Changpeng Zhao saying on Twitter that all user funds were “SAFU.” #Bitcoin network withdrawals have now resumed on #Binance.https://t.co/FhxXi3LeBg — Binance (@binance) June 13, 2022 While BTC trading activity on Binance seems to have been restored, withdrawals for users on Celsius have remained frozen since...
Warner Music’s Social Justice Fund Sets Event to ‘Spark New Ideas’ Among Grantees
The Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund announced a fourth set of grantee partners on Monday, as well as a first-ever event bringing together current recipients as part of a mission to “spark new ideas and drive collaborative change advancing racial justice.” WMG/BFF SJF’s inaugural ‘Grantee Convening’ event takes place this Thursday and Friday (June 16-17) and will include virtual sessions for grantees, a private reception, and three livestreamed events covering such topics as grant making, media messaging and the larger dialogue on global justice. Convening grantees, who were announced in January, include ARRAY, Bard Prison Initiative, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Brazil Human Rights Fund, Girls Make Beats, Highlander Center, Manos Visibles, A New Way For...
Halsey Responds to Nanny’s Wrongful Termination Lawsuit, Calls Claims ‘Baseless’
Halsey is facing a new lawsuit that claims the star fired their nanny after she requested time off for a medical procedure, but the singer is calling the case “baseless.” In a complaint filed Thursday (June 9) in Los Angeles court, former nanny Ashley Funches claims the “Without Me” singer forced her to work “around the clock on consecutive days with little to no day of rest” and failed to pay overtime – and then fired her when she sought time off for medical care. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Plaintiff sent defendants a text message informing defendants that plaintiff may need to undergo a medical procedure that would require her to take a leave of absence from work,” attorneys for Funches wrote in their complaint. “A few days late...
R. Kelly Should Get 25 Years in Prison, Federal Prosecutors Say
Federal prosecutors in New York told a judge Wednesday (June 8) that R. Kelly should go to prison for more than 25 years following his conviction last year on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The singer, they said, “avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After decades of accusations of sexual misconduct, Kelly was convicted in September on nine counts related to accusations that the singer orchestrated a long-running scheme to recruit and abuse women and underage girls. He plans to appeal the verdict, but not before he’s sentenced on June 29. In a brief filed Wednesday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn urged Judge Ann M. Donnelly t...
