business
Alice In Chains’ Music Rights Acquired by Primary Wave and Round Hill
The catalog includes such hits as “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and “Would.” In the U.S. alone, the band’s activities generated more than 18 million album consumption units, including 12 million CD sales. “Primary Wave is pleased to partner with the estates of Layne Staley and Mike Starr to honor their musical legacies as part of the classic era lineup of Alice In Chains, who created the amazing songs and records that comprise the albums Dirt and Facelift, and the acoustic EPs, Jar of Flies and Sap,” said Primary Wave’s David Weitzman in a statement. “These projects represent the greatest works from one of the best artists of the iconic ’90’s Seattle based grunge era.” Lead singer Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002, while bassist Starr died of an overdose in 2011. Meanwhile, in addition ...
ENS dumps director of operations in condemnation of homophobic tweets
True Names Limited, the nonprofit behind distributed domain protocol Ethereum Name Service, announced it would be ending its contract with director of operations Brantly Millegan after many uncovered his previously posted anti-LBGTQIA tweets. On Feb. 6, the decentralized autonomous organization of Ethereum Name Service, or ENS, asked users to weigh in on what actions, if any, should be taken against Millegan in regards to a May 2016 tweet in which he said “homosexual acts are evil” and “transgenderism doesn’t exist.” The DAO said some had proposed suspending Millegan from his leadership roles at ENS, voting to remove him as a director of the ENS foundation, and asking him to step down from his position. Though the DAO did not officially vote on any resolution as of the time of public...
Fat Joe’s Legal Battle Over ‘All the Way Up’ Isn’t Over Quite Yet
A man who unsuccessfully sued Fat Joe and Remy Ma over allegations that he helped create the 2016 hit “All the Way Up” is now heading to a federal appeals court in an effort to revive his lawsuit. Eric Elliott claims he co-authored the song and has been cheated out of proper compensation and ownership rights, but a federal judge ruled last month that there was “no dispute” that Fat Joe had already paid him for his alleged contributions to the song. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Friday, Elliott signaled that the battle isn’t over just yet. He filed a notice that he will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a process that could take more than a year. His specific arguments are not yet available, but will be ...
Spotify CEO Addresses Joe Rogan’s N-Word Use, Doubles Down on Keeping Podcaster on Platform
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has addressed the weeks-long blowback against his company, and for the “deeply hurtful” remarks that have surfaced from Joe Rogan, whose podcast triggered the latest round of controversy. In a letter sent to Spotify employees, seen by Billboard, Ek says he “strongly” condemns Rogan’s prior use of “racially insensitive language,” which, he continues, does “not represent the values of the company.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Swedish executive has spoken with Rogan and his team about of the content in the show, and, according to Ek, the message got through. The show will go on. Rogan and his under-fire podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has been the heavily criticized in recent weeks for the raconteur’s decision...
Bill Cosby Likely to Avoid Testifying in Sex Assault Lawsuit
A Los Angeles judge on Friday (Feb. 4) appeared strongly inclined to allow Bill Cosby to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege and avoid giving a deposition in the lawsuit of a woman who alleges he sexually abused her when she was 15 in the mid-1970s. At a hearing to argue the issue, Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan agreed with Cosby’s attorney that the 84-year-old has a reasonable fear of again facing criminal charges for one or more of the many sexual assault allegations that have been publicly aired against him, and has a right to avoid saying anything under oath that might lead to such charges. Explore Explore Bill Cosby See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “It does appear he has a reasonable fear of prosecution, and if new information came out, that co...
Spotify Closing In on Sponsorship Deal With Barcelona Soccer Club
MADRID — Spotify is close to reaching a sponsorship deal with F.C. Barcelona, one of Europe’s leading soccer clubs, less than a year after Spotify’s founder, Daniel Ek, made an unsuccessful takeover bid for U.K. club Arsenal. According to Spanish media, a sponsorship deal could be announced as early as next week. The club says it would not comment on ongoing negotiations, which have been prompted by the fact that Barcelona’s current jersey sponsor, Rakuten, decided not to renew its agreement with Barcelona, which ends in June. Last year, Ek sought to buy Arsenal, saying that it would fulfill a childhood dream. “I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember,” he said. But the family of Stan Kroenke, which currently owns Arsenal, rejected the Swedish billionaire’s offer, saying they wer...
Prince Heirs & Primary Wave Spar In Court Over How To Close Out Estate
Attorneys for Prince‘s heirs and Primary Wave wrangled Friday over how best to end six years of courtroom proceedings over the iconic artist’s estate, presenting alternate plans to a judge over how to start distributing his assets. At a hearing in Minnesota state court, attorneys for three of Prince’s siblings dueled over corporate structures with attorneys representing Primary Wave – which has acquired half the estate from three other siblings. Friday’s hearing came two weeks after the estate reached an agreement with the IRS to end a dispute over the proper tax valuation of the estate, setting the value at $156.4 million and avoiding a March trial against the feds. The tax settlement was the last major hurdle to closing out a messy case that has dragged on for nearly six years, since the...
EBIDTA, AOI, OIBDA, WTF? Why Companies Report Different Financial Metrics
With music companies’ fourth quarter earnings starting to roll out this week, news reports have been filled with the usual alphabet soup of accounting jargon, abbreviations and acronyms. It can get confusing, especially since some of the most visible financial metrics don’t have strict definitions. Spotify, Warner Music Group, Live Nation, SiriusXM and other companies publicly traded in the U.S. adhere to what are called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. GAAP standards allow investors to reasonably trust companies will fairly represent their business results using the same rules and language. Left to creatively interpret their own finances, companies would have different approaches to measuring their revenue, expenses and liabilities....
Turnpike Troubadours Signs With TMWRK for Management Ahead of 2022 Reunion Tour
Turnpike Troubadours have signed with Andrew McInnes‘ TMWRK for management ahead of the group’s 2022 reunion tour. TMWRK’s Sydney Clark will serve as day-to-day manager for the group, while longtime agent Jon Folk with Red 11 Music in Nashville will continue to book their live performances. McInnes tells Billboard that he and TMWRK senior vp Paddy Scace were introduced to the band by David Macias at Thirty Tigers and that they eventually agreed to manage the six-person group after meeting the members in Oklahoma. He said Scace will manage the band’s touring business, while the staff at TMWRK will work with the group to develop a strategy around their independent record label, Bossier City Records. “They’ve always released their own records, and we excel at that business,” McInnes tell...
FTX exchange acquires Liquid and absorbs its subsidiary Quoine
The acquisition deal is yet to receive the green light from the financial markets regulator and shareholders Japan-based FTX users will be moved to Quoine after the completion of the deal Following a successful $400 million Series C funding round at the end of last month, FTX has moved to acquire Liquid – a Japan-based crypto exchange firm. The Bahamas-based exchange, led by Sam Bankman-Fried, is looking to seal the acquisition deal for Liquid by March. Neither party revealed the deal’s specifics, including the financial sum involved. This is not the first time that Liquid and FTX have crossed paths. Last year in August, the former suffered a hack that saw it lose up to $90 million worth of funds in almost 70 various crypto assets. Following the hack, FTX financed the exchange, offer...
Executive Turntable: Warner Records Taps Commercial SVP, Stem Strengthens Artist & Label Team
Josh Remsberg was named senior vp, commercial revenue at Warner Records. The Los Angeles-based Remsberg joins Warner from Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records, where he’s served as senior vp, commerce & business development since 2020. In his new role, he’ll report to and work closely with Warner Records executive vp, promotion & commerce Mike Chester to develop and implement the label’s new release and long-term sales strategy and artists campaigns across streaming, digital and commercial platforms and accounts. Remsberg joined UMG in 2001 as an 18-year-old college representative at the University of Michigan. After graduating, he was hired as a field rep for Geffen Records in Detroit. He later worked for UMG’s distribution arm with a focus on the Republic and Motown labels. He...
South Park destroys Matt Damon’s Crypto.com ad in season premiere
More than three months after its release, the ad from crypto exchange Crypto.com featuring Hollywood star Matt Damon was the subject of ridicule in the latest episode of the animated series South Park. In the first episode of its 25th season titled “Pajama Day”, the creators of South Park took on people in the United States refusing to wear a mask and once again associated crypto investments with scams. Characters in the show attacked Damon’s appearance in an TV spot titled “fortune favors the brave”, showing the actor speaking about Crypto.com amid a digital landscape of historic figures. “My dad said he listened to Matt Damon and lost all his money…” “Yes, everyone did! But they were brave in doing so!” The criticism is likely related to cryptocurrencies losing more than $500 billion in ...
