business
After Rocky Launch, HitPiece Is Trying to Recruit Artists to the Platform
After sparking music industry outrage over a plan to auction an NFT for every song in the world — without first securing rights holders’ permission — NFT platform HitPiece now reaching out to artists’ teams in hopes of forging official partnerships. Co-founder Rory Felton also tells Billboard the company has hired Gary Greenstein of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati “to represent the company in discussions with rights owners and to advise HitPiece on legal matters.” After HitPiece’s beta launch in caught the industry’s attention in February for pulling artwork and other information off of Spotify without artists’ permission, the backlash caused Felton’s company to pull its site offline. Days later, the RIAA — on behalf of the major labels — threatened a lawsuit against HitPiece and...
Luna Foundation Guard raises $1B to form UST reserve denominated in Bitcoin
The nonprofit organization focused on the open-source stablecoin network behind Terra USD, Luna Foundation Guard, has closed on a $1 billion raise through the sale of LUNA tokens. In a Tuesday tweet, Terra said Jump Crypto and Three Arrows Capital led the $1 billion round with participation from DeFiance Capital, Republic Capital, GSR, Tribe Capital and others. The platform said proceeds from the sale — $1 billion — would “go towards establishing a Bitcoin-denominated Forex Reserve for UST,” a stablecoin in the Terra ecosystem. 1/ The long awaited [REDACTED] 3 is here! The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) has closed a $1 billion private token sale to establish a decentralized $UST Forex Reserve denominated in $BTC! — Terra (UST) Powered by LUNA (@terra_money) February 22, 2022 “One common ...
Journalist alleges Mimo Capital co-founder was behind 2016 exploit of The Dao: Report
Laura Shin, a cryptocurrency journalist and host of the Unchained Podcast, claimed to have discovered the identity of the individual behind an exploit which drained more than 3.6 million Ether from Germany-based startup Slock.it’s The DAO in 2016. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, Shin claimed that she had “extremely strong evidence” that Mimo Capital co-founder Toby Hoenisch was responsible for removing more than 3.6 million Ether (ETH) from The DAO in June 2016 — roughly $50 million at the time. An unknown hacker used an exploit to drain roughly a third of The DAO’s ETH supply, forcing developers to hard fork the network and leaving the illicit funds in what became the Ethereum Classic (ETC) blockchain. EXCLUSIVE: With the publication of my book today, I can finally announce: in t...
UMG Launches Def Jam India Amid Hip-Hop Boom
MUMBAI —Universal Music Group, already home to some of the biggest names in Indian hip-hop, are further seizing on the popularity of the genre there by starting a new label division, Def Jam India. The new sub-label, to be based in Mumbai, will feature some popular commercial names and up-and-coming artists, but not necessarily household names like Badshah, with whom Universal is working to engineer a definitive crossover to international stardom. Def Jam India “will be infused and inspired by local street and rap culture, Indian sounds and unique multi-lingual flows,” said Devraj Sanyal, managing director and CEO, Universal Music India and South Asia. Def Jam India’s first artist signings are rappers Dino James and Fotty Seven. “Lost” from James and Fotty Seven’s “Banjo,” both of which ar...
UK law firm Gunnercooke starts accepting crypto payments for legal services
Gunnercooke says one of its clients, Attestant, has already paid up for services in Ether Crypto adoption will also favour partners at the firm who would prefer getting paid in alternative methods As mainstream crypto adoption continues rising, more industries and sectors are trying their bit to incorporate these digital assets. In the US, a number of legal firms have been accepting crypto for a while now, including Steptoe & Johnson, Perkins Coie, Frost Brown Todd, McLaughlin & Stern, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. In the UK, law firm Gunnercooke revealed yesterday that it started accepting crypto payments in Bitcoin and Ether. The move, Gunnercooke said, made it the first among major firms in the country to do so. In taking legal fees in crypto, the firm intends to su...
Bitpanda acquires London-based crypto custodian Trustology
This is the first acquisition deal for the crypto exchange headquartered in Vienna The exchange views the acquisition as a step toward its goal of debuting a Prime Brokerage service Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda has completed an acquisition deal for institutional-grade DeFi custodian wallet provider Trustology. Neither party revealed the specifics, but according to a source familiar with the developments, the deal is in the range of eight figures in US dollars. This is the first acquisition the exchange has completed and represents a stride towards unveiling brokerage services under the Bitpanda Pro platform. “The introduction of Bitpanda Custody is the first step in launching a Prime Brokerage offering under Bitpanda Pro to go alongside the regulated digital asset ...
Amber Group completes $200M Series B+ funding round featuring Temasek Holdings
Amber Group extended its Series B funding as a special effort to bring Temasek around the investors’ table The raised funds will support global expansion and grow its OpenVerse and WhaleFin products According to a press release shared on Monday, leading digital asset platform, Amber Group confirmed that it had completed a $200 million Series B+ funding round led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek Holdings. The raise also saw participation from other investors, including Tiger Global Management, Sequoia China, Coinbase Ventures, and Pantera Capital. The round’s completion at a $3 billion valuation represents three times as large as the valuation the firm reached in June 2021, the last time when capital was raised. It also brings the sum raised by Amber Group since its in...
Huobi is planning a comeback in the US market, but not as an exchange
Huobi Tech co-founder Du Jun confirmed in an interview that the exchange is mulling a return into the US The exchange is, however, seeking to re-enter the market in the lines of asset management as opposed to an exchange Crypto exchange Huobi has plans to enter the US market, targeting a different sub-niche. Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, Huobi co-founder Du Jun expressed the company’s desire to expand into the US. Jun explained that Huobi was ready to get back into the competitive US market after redefining its strategy. The Huobi brand operated in the US market for a short while between 2018 and 2019 through– a US-based entity called Huobi US. The entity failed to stick the landing and consequently withdrew from the market in December 2019, citing regulat...
Alok se apoiou em produtores fantasmas não pagos para criar seus hits de Brazilian Bass
Nota do Editor: A Billboard publicou anteriormente uma versão condensada deste artigo em português. Como uma cortesia aos nossos leitores brasileiros, a Billboard decidiu publicar a matéria original em inglês na íntegra em português. Inclui atualizações sobre o status de “Un Ratito”. RIO DE JANEIRO – Atrás de um complexo murado numa estrada de terra cercado por palmeiras e uma exuberante montanha verde, os produtores e DJs Sean e Kevin Brauer aprenderam a fazer música enquanto viviam na comunidade religiosa Meninos de Deus nas duas primeiras décadas de suas vidas. O objetivo, no entanto, não era o estrelato na dance-music — era produzir rock cristão e música folclórica para apoiar o movimento religioso. Os irmãos Brauer tiveram uma educação domiciliar, não tiveram acesso à internet e tiver...
Kanye West Touts $1.3M in Stem Player Sales, Says Exclusive ‘Donda 2’ Release Sinks Apple Deal
After announcing Thursday that his forthcoming album, Donda 2, would be streaming exclusively on his branded Stem Player, Kanye West (now known as Ye) says he’s raked in over $1.3 million in sales over the past day alone. On Instagram Friday (Feb. 18), Ye posted that as of 11:09 a.m. PST he had sold more than 6,200 Stem devices in the past 24 hours, with sales totaling over $1.3 million. “Thats faster than I’ve ever sold any T shirt. God has a plan. New frontier,” Ye wrote of the sales figures. “Everyone that is supporting our revolution is changing the game for all artist. We no longer have to bow to people who don’t even truly care about music. I feel like I’m back at SOB’s performing Jesus Walks.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news At the time ...
Dan Rutman Joins Spotify as Head of Music Creator Partnerships
Dan Rutman has been hired at Spotify as head of music creator partnerships, the confirmed with Billboard on Friday (Feb. 18). Music Business Worldwide first reported the news after Rutman posted an update to LinkedIn the day prior. According to a job post advertising the role, Rutman will spearhead a partnerships strategy “that drives positive sentiment toward Spotify for Artists, accelerates creator adoption of our offerings, and positions Spotify as the ultimate place to build, reach, and monetize an audience.” He’ll also be tasked with developing “scalable processes to manage multiple partnerships simultaneously” while collaborating with Spotify for Artists leadership, creator marketing and Spotify’s corporate and business development teams. Rutman arrives at Spotify from TuneCore,...
Kanye West Files Legal Objections to Kim Kardashian’s Plan for a Quick Divorce
Attorneys for Kanye West are formally objecting to Kim Kardashian’s request to be declared legally single in March, saying the proposal creates a “risk of adverse consequences” that must be resolved. The objections are a response to Kardashian’s December request to split the divorce proceedings in two – a plan that would allow her to immediately be declared “single” before slower-moving proceedings, over child custody and assets, fully play out in court. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news That proposal is set for approval in early March, but in a filing on Wednesday (Feb. 16), West’s attorneys said he’d only consent to the plan if several pre-conditions are imposed. Among his stipulations are requirements that would be imposed on Kardashian’s abil...
