business
Ekiti APC chieftain: 2022, 2023 elections‘ll be based on personality, not party affiliation
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain in Ekiti, Mr Demola Popoola, says that the 2022 and 2023 elections will be about personality rather political party affiliation. Popoola stated this in Oye-Ekiti while declaring his intention to contest the governorship primaries of the party in the state. “The next general elections will be based on who the candidate is and not his political party. “Contributions and capacity of aspirants will play a critical role in the polls, but I am determined to bring my wealth of experience to bear in governance of the state, if given the opportunity in 2022. “I will work through my plans to banish poverty from Ekiti through my deliberate and concerted efforts in creating jobs through industrialisation of the state,’’ he said. Popoola, who hails from Oye-...
Olivia Rodrigo Continues to Dominate Australia’s Singles and Albums Charts
Rodrigo’s hit holds off Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ fast-moving Carnage (AWAL/Inertia), which returns to the chart at No. 2 following its release on physical formats. On its first chart appearance, following a digital-only release in February, the collaborative album peaked at No. 40. It’s the first full-length studio LP as a duo by the long-time friends and Bad Seeds bandmates, aside from several soundtracks, including The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and The Road. Carnage is the week’s best-selling vinyl album in Australia. Also new to the latest ARIA Albums Chart is Fear Factory’s 10th studio release, Aggression Continuum (Nuclear Blast/Universal). It arrives at No. 15, equaling the peak of its predecessor, 2015’s Genexus. Further dow...
New Tech Brings Blackbird Studios’ Vintage Sound to Creators’ Homes
The BB N105 plug-in, which mimics the characteristics of Blackbird’s custom Neve 8078 board, was released a day early on June 21 after a high-tech review appeared on a YouTube channel on June 17 and spurred demand. The product is an early installment in a long-term program, which may eventually offer plug-ins that mirror 100 different pieces of Blackbird equipment. It’s an unprecedented step in branding the studio, making the quality of its machines widely available while maintaining the exclusive nature of its rooms. “Where I think having the plug-in is really cool is you can record in a studio, and then you can go home and go, ‘You know, I really wish we did a little more with that vocal on the console,'” says KIT Plugins CEO/founder Matt...
Event Designer Bobby Garza In Austin, In a Pandemic: Cash-Poor Venues Have Decisions to Make
When the concert business shut down in March 2020, Bobby Garza abruptly shifted from putting on live events to tearing them down — his company, Austin-based Forefront Networks, had to cancel the California food-and-music festival Yountville Live later that month. In early April, his life changed even more dramatically: Forefront furloughed 30 percent of its staff, including him. As part of Billboard‘s efforts to best cover the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the music industry, we will be speaking with Garza, a 44-year-old former Forefront creative team leader who used to be general manager of festival producer Transmission Events, every other week to chronicle his experience throughout the crisis. As of early January, he is now vice president of programs and community ...
Senate vows to expose MDAs refusing to account for public funds
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the upper chamber will publish the names of government agencies that have refused to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to defend the interrogations of the Auditor-General for the Federation in the 2015 report. Lawan made this known in his remarks after the Senate considered the report of the Committee on Public Accounts on the annual report of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the accounts of the Federation for the year ended 31st December, 2015. According to the Senate President, any public official that refuses to account for public funds at their disposal must be shown the way out of office. He said, “This is one of our major responsibilities as a parliament, to hold the executive to account. “[And] whoever is given t...
After Long Delay, India Launches International Singles Chart
Global pop hits dominated the inaugural chart, with BTS’s “Butter” topping the list, followed by Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” (No. 2), Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” (No. 3), Justin Bieber, Daniel Caesar and Giveon’s “Peaches” (No. 4) and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” (No. 5). BTS and Rodrigo tie for the most entries with three songs each in the top 20. The K-Pop group’s enduring hits “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” sit at No. 8 and No. 20, respectively, while the fast-rising Disney star’s “Deja Vu” and “Drivers License” occupy the No. 18 and No. 19 positions. Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group jointly lead all labels with seven hits on the chart. Warner Music Group has five. The only independent label on the list is Canada’s Namah Music Group whose “Jalebi Baby” by Ca...
WME Artists Urge Boris Johnson to Fix Travel Between UK and EU
In the letter below, agents and music artists ask that the government act without any further delay and engage with its EU counterparts to ensure visa-free touring for artists. RT Hon Boris Johnson MPPrime Minister10 Downing StreetLondon, SW1A 2AA Dear Prime Minister: The UK music industry, which sustains over 197,000 full-time jobs, is amongst the most affected by COVID-19’s devastating impacts, and thousands of musicians whose livelihoods depend on touring are keen to get back to work. However, due to the changes brought about by Brexit, we are facing a crisis that may prevent that from happening, and we need your help. Over the past several decades, the UK has experienced a consistent upward trajectory in live touring, bringing with it a significant and positive economic impact. Much of...
Sony Germany’s Urban Music Chief Stresses Need For More ‘Diverse Styles of Music’
Omerbegovic was a street basketball star — including a year playing in Kentucky — before studying political communication in Düsseldorf, with a stint at the Harvard Business School . He subsequently started performing hip-hop as Slick One. He is founder of the clothing label Pusher Apparel and the co-founder of the Suckit frozen cocktail popsicle company. A joint venture with Universal Music followed in 2014, where he was President of Rap for UMG’s German subsidiary. Under the new linkup with Sony, Omerbegovic’s title is President of Urban Sony Music Germany. In March this year, RIN‘s anthem “Dior 2001” reached platinum status – his most successful single with over 120 million streams. “Dior 2001” was previously released via Groove Attack, as were Eros from 2017 and...
Private polytechnic owners set to clamp down on illegal operators
The National President of the Association of Private Polytechnic Founders/Rectors in Nigeria, Pastor Bassey James, has said that illegal school operators across the country would soon run out of business. He stated this in Uyo while briefing newsmen as part of the activities marking the maiden matriculation of Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, scheduled for Saturday, June 26, 2021. James mentioned that a total of 300 students would partake in the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, even as admissions were still ongoing in the institution. According to him, the association had written to both the national and state assemblies to inform them of the ugly incident even as he had met with some of the perpetrators of the illegal business and had given them a timeline...
APC group commends President Buhari, security agents for ‘decimating’ IPOB
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Legacy Awareness and Campaign has commended President Muhammadu Buhari and federal security agents for decimating separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The group, in a statement issued by the quartet of Barr Ismail Ahmed, Lanre Issa-Onilu, Tolu Ogunlesi and Salihu Moh Lukman, claimed that the country will in the next few months witness even more progress on all fronts. ‘On security, the fear that has gripped the nation in recent times is receding while confidence is being renewed as the security agencies are chasing down the criminals, taking the battle to the bandits, unknown gunmen, kidnappers, and other criminal elements who have been holding the country by the jugular and turning Nigeria to a killing field,’ the group stated. ‘From the...
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’ ‘Carnage’ Challenges For U.K. Chart Crown
Cave, the ARIA Hall of Fame inducted singer and songwriter, and Ellis, the dynamic Dirty Three violinist, have been bandmates in the Bad Seeds and Grinderman, and they’ve jointly composed film scores. Carnage is their first entire album of works as a duo, and it reenters the midweek U.K. chart at No. 2, just behind Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour (Geffen), which lifts 2-1. Cave has never landed a No. 1 in the U.K., his adopted home. His chart best is a No. 2 for 2016’s Skeleton Tree, one of six Top 10 efforts across his career. Also new to the Official Chart Update is BRITs Rising Star winner Griff, whose debut mixtape One Foot In Front Of The Other (Warner Records) bows at No. 4. It’s the most downloaded album of the week so far, the OCC reports. Completing the Top 5 is veteran singer and songwrite...
Roc-A-Fella Records Sues Co-Founder Damon Dash Over ‘Reasonable Doubt’ NFT
Roc-A-Fella Records is seeking a ruling that states the label exclusively owns all rights to Reasonable Doubt. The label is also asking that Dash transfer ownership of “any NFT or other asset in his possession, custody, or control reflecting rights to Reasonable Doubt” to Roc-A-Fella Records Inc. Dash co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records alongside Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1995. It was officially incorporated in New York on Jan. 8, 1996, and became a division of Def Jam in 1997. The label became defunct in 2013. Dash disputed the claims to Rolling Stone on Monday (June 21), claiming the lawsuit is inaccurate. He says he was not attempting to sell an NFT of the album, but that he was trying to auction his stake in Roc-A-Fella Records after he claims the label attempted ...
