business
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Surpasses $600M USD in North America Box Office
Sony and Marvel‘s Spider-Man: No Way Home has officially surpassed $600 million USD at the domestic box office. According to reports, the Tom Holland-lead film earned an additional $52.7 million USD over the New Year holiday to increase its North American total to $609 million USD. No Way Home is now the 10th highest-grossing domestic release ever, sitting just below Incredibles 2, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Avengers. It also extends its lead as the highest-grossing pandemic film by almost $400 million USD, above Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Meanwhile, No Way Home has earned $1.37 billion USD globally and surpassed Black Panther’s $1.34 billion USD as the 12th biggest film ever. International ticket sales make up a majority of that $1.37 billion USD at $759 million USD....
Going meta: Paris Hilton, Times Square and ETFs
Following the announcement that Facebook’s parent company would be rebranding in a shift towards the Metaverse, many projects have started similar initiatives entering the virtual space, from buying property to testing the limits of what this universe has to offer. Virtual ball drop on NYE The Ethereum-based virtual reality world Decentraland announced on Wednesday that a New Year’s Eve celebration would be taking place in the Metaverse. Grayscale owner Digital Currency Group has partnered with real estate firm Jamestown to create a virtual One Times Square — the iconic New York City location where a giant ball descends on a flagpole, stopping at midnight to mark the start of the new year. The virtual event starting at 11:00 pm EST will feature a live feed of the real Times Square as...
Concerts’ Comeback Brought a Record Year for Latin Tours
In February, when Maluma unveiled details of his 24-city Papi Juancho tour, at the time it was the biggest and most ambitious announcement yet, for any genre, as concerts began returning from the pandemic shut down in the United States. “It was difficult to go back on stage during COVID,” the Colombian artist told Billboard earlier this year, after completing a few shows. “You have to be brave to announce a tour after all the things that happened, but I feel like everyone is just looking forward to feeling normal — and this type of concert will give that back to them.” Soon after, a wave of Latin artists announced North American tours, including Banda MS, Marc Anthony, Rauw Alejandro, Camilo and Karol G. Since, Latin acts have set a new record for the genre, accounting for n...
Rob Stringer, Bernie Taupin Among Names on 2022 New Year Honours List
Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer, lyricist Bernie Taupin, singer Pauline Black and the Spice Girls’ Mel B are among the music industry professionals recognized in the 2022 New Year Honours List, the annual U.K. tradition dating back to 1890 that bestows titles upon a number of individuals in recognition of their work and is presented in the name of Queen Elizabeth II. Rob Stringer, leading as chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) honor for his service to creative industries, social justice and charity. He notably launched Sony’s $100 million Social Justice Fund to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives globally. Bernie Taupin, longtime lyricist for Elton John — the pair have been c...
Jon Batiste’s Grammy Noms Are Validation for Verve and the ‘Exciting’ State of Jazz
On Nov. 23, Dahlia Ambach Caplin was walking through her Brooklyn neighborhood, listening as a series of artists announced the nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Over the course of an hour, as the genre categories and Big Four honors were revealed, one name kept surfacing again and again: Jon Batiste, the Late Show With Stephen Colbert bandleader whom Ambach Caplin had signed to the Verve Label Group in 2018. In all, Batiste scored 11 nominations, the most of any artist, including nods for record and album of the year for his single “Freedom” and We Are album, respectively. “I was [multitasking] on a Zoom call, on a completely different subject, as all the album and record of the year stuff started coming out, and I was just like, ‘I can’t stay on the phone right now!’ ” she says...
Quavo Sued for Allegedly ‘Unprovoked’ Beating of Limo Driver in Las Vegas
A new lawsuit claims that Migos rapper Quavo and several associates assaulted a limo driver outside Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, and that hotel security simply stood by and watched. In a complaint filed earlier in December in Nevada state court, a man named Terrill R. Cowans alleges Quavo and others attacked him “unprovoked” after they mistakenly believed he’d left a different member of the group behind at a club on July 3. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “When plaintiff responded, the Migos artists and affiliates told plaintiff to ‘shut the f–k up,’ and one of the Migos artists threw a bottle at plaintiff,” attorneys for Cowans wrote in the lawsuit obtained by Billboard. “Plaintiff was then attacked by three to five Migos artists and/or affiliates...
Dead & Company Offering Refunds for Mexico Shows Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases
12/29/2021 Refund requests for the Playing in the Sand concerts in January must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on Friday. 12/29/2021 John Mayer, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir of Dead and Company perform during the Band Together Bay Area Benefit Concert at AT&T Park on November 9, 2017 in San Francisco, California. C Flanigan/FilmMagic Dead & Company announced Wednesday (Dec. 29) it will move ahead with its back-to-back concert weekends in Riviera Cancún, Mexico, next month, but any ticket holders who no longer wish to attend as the omicron variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases around the world are now eligible to receive refunds. Playing in the Sand is scheduled for Jan. 7-10 and 13-16, all performances will be held outdoors on the beach. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Re...
Coinone will stop withdrawals to unverified external wallets
South Korean crypto exchange Coinone has announced it plans to no longer allow withdrawals of tokens to unverified external wallets starting in January. In a Wednesday announcement, Coinone said users would have from Dec. 30 to Jan. 23 to register their external wallets at the exchange, after which time it would restrict withdrawals. The exchange specified that crypto users could only register their own wallets, and the verification process “may take some time” and could change in the future. According to Coinone, it planned to verify users’ names and resident registration numbers — issued to all residents of South Korea — to ensure crypto transactions were “not used for illegal activities such as money laundering.” Customers at the exchange likely won’t be able to withdraw funds to wallet...
Robinhood plans to launch beta crypto wallets in January as HOOD drops to $17
Cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood plans to roll out the beta version of its digital wallet feature starting in January 2022. In a Wednesday blog post, Robinhood said tens of thousands of users currently on the waitlist for the trading app’s crypto wallet would have access to the beta version starting in mid-January. The trading app said more than 1.6 million people were waiting for the wallet, which will support depositing and withdrawing Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and other tokens. The trading app has been testing its digital wallet feature since it was first announced in September, completing its first alpha transfer — using DOGE — on Nov. 22. According to Robinhood chief operating officer Christine Brown, the beta rollout would be focused on the secur...
FTX exchange floats $1M prize for banks to accept stablecoins
Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is calling on banks to reach out and discuss the possibility of accepting stablecoins in exchange for a $1 million reward. In a Tuesday Twitter post, FTX said it was exploring forming relationships with banks in different regions to allow users to have “near-instant and near-free deposits and withdrawals” through stablecoins. The exchange floated the idea of offering a $1 million prize for the first bank in each region to accept the tokens but hinted it would be open to giving more. How much would it cost to convince a bank to accept stablecoins? If we offered a $1m prize for the first bank in each region that does it is that enough? Do you work for a bank and want to discuss this? — FTX – Built By Traders, For Traders (@FTX_Official) December ...
Getting paid in BTC was a ‘big part’ of the reason this MMA fighter signed with Eagle FC
Kevin Lee, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, has said a major factor in his decision to sign with a new promotion company was Bitcoin (BTC). According to a report from MMA news outlet BJ Penn, the Russia-based Eagle Fighting Championship will be paying Lee in BTC as part of a four-fight contract. The fighter has reportedly been a HODLer since before the 2017 bull run, later using some of the profits to live off of after paying for knee surgeries. “To be paid in Bitcoin and not give me any pushback on it whatsoever, was huge in the decision [to sign with Eagle FC],” said Lee. “It gives me a lot more financial security and will help me fight better, too.” Уважение орёл #EagleFC pic.twitter.com/tgmCQyYK2R — Kevin MTP Lee (@MoTownPhenom) December 15, 2021 Payments concerning the ...
Some Salvadorans claim funds are missing from their Chivo wallets
Some of the money from El Salvador’s state-issued Chivo wallets is reportedly missing, according to many Salvadorans posting on social media. In a Dec. 16 Twitter thread started by user “the commissioner,” at least 50 Salvadorans have reported December losses totaling more than $96,000, following the setup of the Bitcoin (BTC) wallets by the government. Some of these transactions were for as little as $61, but others said they were missing thousands or more. 2- $3,921 pic.twitter.com/fvP8aLHQyP — El Comisionado (@_elcomisionado_) December 18, 2021 “There is a security flow on the wallet where money and transactions disappeared,” said Luis Guardado in a direct appeal to President Nayib Bukele. “No tech support and only useless calls, where is my money.” Bukele said in October that 3 million...
