business
11 Times Aretha Franklin Made Awards Show History
Feb. 29, 1968 – Won the first Grammy ever awarded for best rhythm & blues solo vocal performance, female for the immortal “Respect.” The classic hit brought Franklin a second award that year: best rhythm & blues recording. March 16, 1971 – Performed her gospel-imbued cover version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on the first live Grammy telecast. Franklin’s single, newly released at the time, would go on to win best R&B vocal performance, female the following year. (The Temptations presented her with the award.) March 1, 1975 – Won the Grammy for best R&B vocal performance, female for the eighth consecutive year for her cover version of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.” That eight-year stre...
Watershed Music Festival in Washington Tied to Over 160 COVID-19 Cases
More than 160 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed so far among people who attended the Watershed Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in central Washington. More than 20,000 fans packed the Gorge, in George, Wash., for the three-day outdoor country music festival in late July, The Seattle Times reported. The Grant County Health District said Friday (Aug. 13) the cases are tied to residents in counties including King, Grant, Pierce, Skagit, Kittitas, Okanogan, Whatcom, Kitsap, San Juan, Lincoln and Stevens. There’s also one case tied to an Oregon resident. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by ...
Executive Turntable: Dick Clark Productions Taps New VP; PULSE Promotes Creative Director
Annie Aberle has been elevated to the role of senior creative director at PULSE Music Group, where she previously served as director of A&R. She’ll work with the publishing company’s A&R team and its roster of songwriters and producers. Aberle brings a packed resume to her new role, having worked with clients like Tyler Johnson, who most recently co-wrote & produced Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and co-wrote “Adore You,” ALDAE, who co-wrote five songs on Justin Bieber’s album Justice and SG Lewis, who has collaborated with artists like Dua Lipa, Nile Rodgers, Khalid, Robyn, Clairo and Lucky Daye. “I’m eternally thankful to Ashley, Scott and Josh for the opportunity they have given me, and for everything they’ve done to help me grow and be successful since I joined PULS...
Ariana Grande Song Streams Spike After ‘Fortnite’ Concert
The second-biggest gains went to Sweetener’s “R.E.M,” streams of which rose 94% from 43,000 on Aug. 5 to 84,000 on Aug. 8. Streams of “The Way,” Grande’s 2013 collaboration with Mac Miller, rose 44% from 146,000 to 211,000. Streams of thank u, next standout “7 rings” rose 23% from 446,000 to 552,000. “Positions,” Grande’s most recent hit single, gained an extra 10,000 or so streams – from 611,000 to 621,000 – but given the song’s high starting stream count, the surge only accounted for a 2% increase. Grande’s concert also included a handful of tracks by other artists, which enjoyed streaming gains as well. Australian rock band Wolfmother‘s “Victorious” saw the biggest percentage jump of all: Streams rose from close to 3,000 ...
Publishing Briefs: Marty Stuart Signs to Sheltered Music; Round Hill an Owner of a ‘Lonely Heart’ Stake
Round Hill Music has acquired an interest in Trevor Rabin‘s publishing catalog, according to a statement from the Board of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited. The former guitarist turned film composer’s lengthy catalog contains over 3,500 film cues and songs as well as cuts from his tenure as a member of prog rockers Yes, most notably “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the band’s lone Hot 100 No. 1. Over the course of his storied career Rabin has earned an induction into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and 11 BMI awards for his work, which includes the scores of National Treasure, Remember The Titans, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Bad Boys II, Glory Road, and more. Rabin notes his decision to partner with Round Hill Music stemmed from the company’s history of...
Univision Ad Revenue Jumps 72 Percent
Quarterly ad revenue jumped 72 percent from the coronavirus pandemic-hit year-ago period to $407.2 million and “surpassed the second quarter of 2019,” when it had recorded $405.1 million, the company said. Core ad revenue, which is adjusted for political and advocacy ads, rose 70 percent. Media networks unit ad revenue increased 66 percent, or 63 percent when looking at core results. “The increase in media networks core advertising revenue was due to higher ad revenue driven by new brand activations, strong scatter volume and pricing, growth in previously low volume accounts, two major soccer tournaments, and improvements in the auto, retail, and beverage sectors, which are recovering from the negative impacts of COVID-19,” the company said. Said Davis: “This quarter marks another period o...
Kanye West’s Latest ‘Donda’ Event Is Most-Watched Apple Music Livestream Ever
West held a first Donda listening event on July 23 and since then has been living at Mercedes-Benz Stadium while putting the finishing touches on Donda, his 10th studio album. Between the two listening parties, West made considerable tweaks to the album, adding and removing features and entire songs, so it remains to be seen what the definitive version of Donda will sound like once the album is released. After numerous delays, Donda is expected to be released in the coming weeks. The second event on Aug. 5 also pulled in $7 million in revenue from in-person merchandise sales, sources say. That number matches the revenue for the first drop from Yeezy x Gap, West’s new collaboration with the Gap, which former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler told Yahoo Finance generated $7 million overnight when ...
Inside Kanye West’s ‘Donda’ Event, 4 Out of 40,000 Fans Got COVID-19 Vaccine
Before the event, the stadium remained active in its attempts to get fans vaccinated. On Aug. 4, the venue announced a two-hour pop-up for Atlanta Falcons fans looking to attend that weekend’s team open practice. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium rep informs Billboard that “about 30” vaccines were distributed for the Falcons Open Practice and that they “will continue to have vaccines available for Falcons games this NFL season.” From January to June, the sports and entertainment stadium has served as a community vaccination site for Atlanta residents. On Saturday, a mobile vaccination clinic operated for four hours ahead of Garth Brooks’ concert at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, and only 35 of the more than 70,000 concertgoers took advantage of...
Will Jennifer Hudson Extend Oscar Nomination Streak for Biopic Performances?
Three times before this streak, actors received lead acting nods two years in a row for playing real-life music personalities. Jamie Foxx won best actor for playing Ray Charles in Ray (2004). The following year, Joaquin Phoenix was nominated in that category for playing Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, and his co-star, Reese Witherspoon, won best actress for playing June Carter Cash. Twenty years earlier, Tom Hulce was nominated for best actor for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus (1984), while his co-star, F. Murray Abraham, won in that category for playing his rival, Antonio Salieri. The following year, Jessica Lange was nominated for best actress for playing country legend Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams. The first time that actors received back-to-back Oscar nominations for playing r...
Will Young Leads Midweek U.K. Chart With ‘Crying On The Bathroom Floor’
Young shot to fame after winning the first edition of the U.K.’s Pop Idol in 2002. In the years since, he has bagged four U.K. No. 1 singles (including his first three releases) and 11 Top 10s. His albums have led the national albums chart on four occasions, with eight cracking the Top 10. Crying On The Bathroom Floor, a covers album, is the followup to 2019’s Lexicon, his first via indie label Cooking Vinyl, which peaked at No. 2. Earlier in his career, Young won two Brit Awards, for best British breakthrough act and best single, for “Your Game.” Close behind is George Harrison’s 1970 chart-topping solo album All Things Must Pass (Apple Corps), which surges following its 50th anniversary reissue. The late Beatles great blasts in at No. 2 on the Official Chart Update. Another British...
iHeartMedia Stock Drops 21%, Even as Radio Recovers
But iHeartMedia’s net loss per share was $0.22 compared to the $0.14 loss per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet, according to DowJones Newswire, and investors were clearly hesitant about the company’s future. iHeartMedia shares began Friday at $26.49 — 415% above its pandemic-era low of $4.31 — but fell by 17% on the day and another 4.9% on Monday (Aug. 9), bringing the two-day drop to 21.1%. Investors have also continued to hammer Audacy, the country’s third-largest radio company, after its $0.01 earnings per share on Friday fell well below the $0.09 consensus estimate. Audacy’s forecasted 10% revenue growth from the second to the third quarter was lackluster compared to iHeart (20%), and investors reacted accordingly. Audacy shares dropped 10....
Sony’s Funimation Completes $1.175 Billion USD Acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T
Originally announced back in December of 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment and AT&T have announced that Sony‘s Funimation Global Group has officially acquired Crunchyroll from AT&T. Funimation’s purchase of the leading anime streaming platform cost $1.175 billion USD and was paid in cash at closing. Although it is unclear of how Funimation and Crunchyroll will merge, AT&T is expected to use proceeds from the sale for its debt reduction efforts. In an official statement, Crunchyroll wrote, “The two brands you know and love will be working together, and we believe this is a great thing for fans and the industry, alike! Both teams are knowledgeable, passionate, and have been committed to the anime community for decades. We couldn’t ask for better partners. We know you may have que...
