business
Banijay France Acquires Music TV Specialist DMLS TV
With the acquisition, Banijay now controls 11 production labels across the French TV landscape, including Adventure Line Productions, Endemol France, H2O Productions Shine Fiction, and Marathon Studio. The group’s shows range from hit reality formats Survivor and Fort Boyard to high-end drama series Versailles, to daily talk show Touche Pas à Mon Poste hosted by Cyril Hanouna. “As we continue to widen our offering in France and cement our stronghold in the market, DMLS TV is the perfect addition,” said François de Brugada in a statement. “Aligned in our commitment to high-quality, unscripted hits, Anne and Mathieu further bolster our entertainment and music catalog and I’ve no doubt their titles have the capacity to travel the group worldwide.” In a joint statement, Marcassus and Vergne sa...
Ed Sheeran and Dave Battle For U.K. Singles Chart Crown
The competition is Dave, who makes an almighty splash on the chart blast with three entries inside the Top 5. The London rapper’s collaboration with Stormzy, “Clash,” lifts 8-2 and is on track for a new peak. Close behind is “Verdansk” at No. 3, and “In The Fire” starts at No. 4, potentially taking the homegrown hip-hop artist’s career total of Top 10 songs into double figures (10). The Dave takeover follows the release of his new album, We’re All Alone In This Together. Also shaping for a Top 20 debut is Anne-Marie and Little Mix’s new collaboration, “Kiss My (Uh Oh).” Lifted from Anne-Marie’s latest album Therapy, “Kiss My (Uh Oh)” is at No. 14 on the First Look survey. Finally, Lil Nas X and fellow U.S. rapper Jack Harlow’s new release “Industry Baby” opens at No. 16 on the chart ...
KSI, Ed Sheeran Rule U.K. Charts
All Over The Place goes one better than KSI’s 2020 debut Dissimulation, which peaked at No. 2. Also arriving in the Top 10 this week is Pop Smoke latest posthumous album Faith (Republic Records), new at No. 3. The late rapper has the highest new entry on this singles chart this week with Faith track “Deameanor” featuring Dua Lipa, new at No. 14. Meanwhile, John Mayer’s eighth studio record Sob Rock (Columbia)arrives at No. 4. It’s Mayer’s third U.K. Top 10. Foo Fighters’ have a 14th Top 40 album with Hail Satin (Columbia), their Record Store Day release recorded under their disco alter-ego, Dee Gees. It’s new at No. 17. Over on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, Ed Sheeran enters a fourth week at No. 1 “Bad Habits” (Asylum). Sheeran’s latest hit puts up another impressive ta...
Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin & More of the Most Awarded Producers of the 2000s
Williams won multiple Grammys in all three of these years. He also took the 2003 award for best pop vocal album for co-producing Justin Timberlake’s solo debut Justified; the 2013 award for album of the year for co-producing Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories (and two other awards for its breakout hit “Get Lucky”); and the 2018 award for best pop vocal album for co-producing Ariana Grande’s Sweetener. Rick Rubin and Greg Kurstin are runners-up, with two wins each for producer of the year, non-classical since 2000. Rubin won the 2006 and 2008 awards. Kurstin won the 2016 and 2017 awards. Kurstin was the first producer to win back-to-back awards in this category since Babyface won three years running — 1995-97. Remarkably, Rubin produced or co-produced three of the 2006 album of ...
Tones And I Flies to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Welcome To The Madhouse’
Welcome To The Madhouse features the previously released songs “Fly Away” and “Cloudy Day,” which this week lifts to a new peak, up 44-31. “Dance Monkey” appeared on Tones’ debut 2019 EP, The Kids Are Coming, which peaked at No. 3 on the national survey. “Wow wow wow! Thank you so much Australia for your ongoing love and support, I am blown away,” comments Tones on her latest chart feat. “I can’t bloody believe it, I will not be quitting any time soon. Haha.” In a busy week for new releases, John Mayer’s Sob Rock (Columbia/Sony) starts at No. 3, for the U.S. blues-rocker’s seventh ARIA Top Ten, while Pop Smoke’s second posthumous album Faith (Universal) opens at No. 4. Faith is the followup to Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, which shot to No. 1 in July 2020. Also making an impact on...
LeBron James Said To Be the First Active NBA Player To Earn $1 Billion USD
LeBron James, a Los Angeles Lakers player, businessman and now movie actor, is the first active NBA player to earn $1 billion USD, according to Sportico. According to Sportico‘s sports valuation reporter Kurt Badenhausen, the 36-year-old’s career earnings, which include salaries and endorsements, currently total just over $1 billion USD. Badenhausen says that James is the “first athlete in a U.S. team sport to hit $1 billion USD, with $330 million USD in playing salary and $700 million USD off the court.” Badenhausen adds that James’ off the court earnings include “current endorsement partners AT&T, Beats, Blaze Pizza, GMC, Nike, PepsiCo, Rimowa and Walmart,” and most recently, a Fortnite skin through an endorsement with Epic Games. Badenhausen clarified that there is a “big difference...
Tencent Makes $1.3 Billion USD Bid to Acquire ‘Forza’ and ‘Hitman’ Studio Sumo Group
Chinese tech and gaming giant Tencent has now made a $1.3 billion USD bid to acquire Sumo Group. The British company was founded in England back in 2003 and has since expanded to own more than 10 studios, boasting an inventory of games including Forza Motorsport 7, Hitman 2, Team Sonic Racing, Crackdown 3 and Little Big Planet 3. The pending acquisition forms part of Tencent’s continuous expansion into the gaming industry through acquisitions and purchasing stakes in other developers. The Chinese firm currently owns 100 percent of League of Legends developer Riot Games, 40 percent of Fortnite‘s Epic Games, 23 percent in Dontnod, and five percent each in Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft and Paradox. As of now, no deal has been finalized yet, with Sumo Group sa...
These 4 Motown Stars Received Kennedy Center Honors Before Label Founder Berry Gordy
Gordy, 91, founded Motown Records in 1959. Four of his biggest stars received the honor before he did. Take a look: Stevie Wonder: Wonder was just 49 when he got the honor in 1999. That makes him one of the youngest Kennedy Center Honorees in history, along with LL Cool J (2017) and Midori (2021), who were also 49 when they were honored in 2017 and 2021, respectively, and the creators of Hamilton: An American Musical, who were even younger when they received a special Kennedy Center Honor in 2018. Wonder is the only artist in Grammy history to win album of the year with three consecutive studio albums: Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976). Wonder has amassed 25 Grammys and also won an Oscar for “I Just Called to Say I...
KSI’s ‘All Over The Place’ Races to U.K. Chart Lead
KSI will hope to go one better than the performance of his debut album Dissimulation, which peaked at No. 2 in 2020. Also new to the chart blast is John Mayer with Sob Rock (Columbia), his eighth studio album. It’s at No. 3 on the midweek chart, and should give Mayer his third U.K. Top 10. Just one place behind is Pop Smoke’s second posthumous LP, Faith (Republic Records), new at No. 4 midweek. Meanwhile, Hail Satin (Columbia), the Record Store Day release from Foo Fighters, as the disco alter-ego Dee Gees, is tracking for a No. 7 bow. If it holds it momentum, it’ll mark the Foos’ 12th Top 10 album. Over on the Official Singles Chart Update, Ed Sheeran stays on track for a fourth week at No. 1 with “Bad Habits” (Asylum), ahead of the fast-rising “Heartbreak Anthem” by Galantis, ...
Farm Aid to Return Live in September With Willie Nelson & More: ‘We Need Each Other’
Farm Aid’s mission is to build a strong, family-farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Since 1985, with the support of artists who contribute their performances, the organization has raised more than $60 million to support programs that help family farmers thrive and expand the markets for their food. “Live performances by artists who are passionate about agriculture and good food are the deep roots that sustain Farm Aid’s year-round work for family farmers,” says Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar. More than a concert, the Farm Aid festival is an annual gathering place for activists involved in the Good Food Movement and related concerns with the environment and social justice. Attendees in Hartford will have access to Homegrown Concessions, Farm Aid’s trademarked menu of ...
Bill Ackman on Pivoting UMG Bid: ‘There’s No Business I Have More Confidence In’
In an interview with Billboard, Ackman emphasized that Pershing Square — the hedge fund with $13.7 billion under management, not the SPAC it founded — will step in and acquire a stake in UMG. “Our largest investment is going to be Universal Music Group, so that should tell you something,” he says. “There’s no business I have more confidence in the long-term trajectory of than this company — or the music industry in general. Piracy almost killed this business and streaming has made it better than it was with CDs and records in the ’90s.” Ackman likes that companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon shoulder the load of building the streaming services and acquiring customers, leaving record labels to develop, promote and license their music. “You have the most well capitaliz...
Netflix Hires Former EA Executive to Lead its Gaming Venture
Netflix has hired a former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive to spearhead its new venture into gaming. Mike Verdu — the former Facebook vice president heavily tied to working with developers on Oculus — joins Netflix as vice president of game development. Amongst the many titles worked on, Verdu was also instrumental in the Star Wars and Sims video game franchises for EA. According to a report by Bloomberg, the streaming giant looks to offer gaming “within the next year” on its platform. Verdu has noted that gaming, like other immersive technology, is “an important sort of modality to deepen that fan experience.” Netflix shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to $566 USD after Bloomberg broke the news. Although a bold move, entering the gaming world is showing to be the right directi...
