business
BPE chief’s tenure extended by four more years
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Mr. Alexander Ayoola Okoh as the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for a second term of four years in accordance with the provision of Section 17 (1)(a) and (2)(a) of the Public Enterprise (Privatization & Commercialization) Act, 1999. Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Thursday, said his renewal would take effect from 10th April 2021. The BPE is the Federal Government agency charged with economic reforms especially the privatisation and commercialisation of government-owned enterprises in the country. BPE also serves as the secretariat of the National Council on Privatisation. In the last four years, BPE has witnessed a notabl...
Justin Bieber Earns Fourth No. 1 In Australia With ‘Justice’
He also starts at No. 22 with “Unstable” featuring Sydney singer and rapper The Kid Laroi; at No. 23 with “As I Am”; at No. 40 with “2 Much”; and No. 42 with “Off My Face”. Bieber previously hit the summit with the albums My Worlds (May 2010), Believe (June 2012) and Purpose (November 2015). Close behind is Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over The Country Club, new at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Chemtrails is the best-seller on this week’s ARIA Vinyl Chart, and it’s the U.S. singer’s sixth Top 10 on the all-format ARIA Albums Chart. Homegrown country hero Troy Cassar-Daley enjoys his highest-charting album to-date with The World Today, which opens at No. 3. The World Today is Cassar-Daley’s sixth Top Ten on the Albums Chart and sixth No. 1 on the ARIA Country Album Chart. Dua Lipa’...
Women Making Music Study: Sexual Harassment Is ‘By Far The Most Widely Cited Problem’
The first is that “gendered expectations have skewed recognition and reward in the music industry,” with 81% of women surveyed reporting that they think it’s harder for female artists to get recognition than male artists. Additionally, almost two-thirds of female creators identified sexual harassment or objectification as a major issue. The study labeled it “by far the most widely-cited problem.” The study notes that this sexualization and objectification “are a consequence (or symptom) of unbalanced power dynamics” as they relate to as ageism (reported by 38% of the women polled), lack of access to male-dominated industry resources (36%) and lower pay (27%). Challenges related to tokenism, the fabrication of competition between female artists and ...
Australia’s Music Biz Applauds Government Rescue Package
“This investment by government will help us keep companies alive, projects moving and people in jobs,” enthuses Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia. The latest announcement is the culmination of year-long lobbying efforts from the music industry, which crescendoed with a round of meetings last week with the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Minister of the Arts. Its timing couldn’t have been any sweeter. There was no time left on the clock, with JobKeeper wage subsidies due to disappear by month’s end. From across the music industry on Thursday, plaudits to a government for giving the crippled live sector a leg-up. “We commend the federal government wholeheartedly for this package and its recognition that our industry just wants to get back to business,”...
Connie Bradley, Longtime ASCAP Nashville Head and Music Row Trailblazer, Dies at 75
During her long tenure at ASCAP, Bradley became known as a staunch advocate for music creators. Upon being awarded the Country Music Association’s prestigious Irving Waugh Award of Excellence in August 2018 by Kenny Chesney, the country star remarked, “I’ve been very blessed to have won Entertainer [of the Year] four times with this organization and one of the years that I won, I actually saw Connie standing in the audience, and I thanked her by saying she was one of the best friends that a dreamer could ever have.” “She was one of the many trailblazers, along with Frances Preston and Jo Walker Meador, for women in the Nashville music business,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern in a statement. “Her passion for artists, songs and the Country Music industry as a whole paved the way for...
National Recording Registry Adds Titles From Nas, Janet Jackson, Kool & the Gang and More
The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage. Several artists and songwriters whose works land on this year’s registry roster spoke with Billboard about the legacy of their work. “A Soundtrack for Life in Queensbridge”Illmatic, Nas’ debut studio album, swept onto the scene in 1994 with masterful rhymes, sample-soaked production and lyrics that painted an unabashed portrait of life growing up in the Queensbridge housing project in Queens, NY, home to a bevy of rap and hip-hop luminaries. Producers, including Q-Tip, Large Professor, Pete Rock, L.E.S. and DJ Pre...
On Eve of Michael Gudinski’s State Memorial, ARIA Unveils Award In His Honor
The announcement was made early Wednesday, just hours before Australia’s music community was due to gather with Gudinski’s friends and family for a state memorial at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. The late entrepreneur was a giant of Australia’s music industry who launched the Mushroom Records brand at the age of 20, and turned his Mushroom Group of Companies into a sprawling, independent empire with more than two-dozen businesses reaching into every conceivable area of music and beyond. He passed away unexpectedly on March 2, aged 68. “In the past few weeks,” notes ARIA chairman Denis Handlin, “we have seen an outpouring of love, respect and admiration from so many around the world for the late Michael Gudinski who was a pioneer and true legend that changed the...
Alfonso Perez-Soto Elevated to Warner Recorded Music’s President of Emerging Markets
In recent years, WMG has opened affiliates in India, Turkey and the Middle East, and has inked a string of strategic deals with key labels and distributors, including Doğan Music (Turkey), Ziiki Media (Punjabi music), Africori (Africa), Sky Digital (Punjabi music) and Tips Music (Bollywood). “I want to unlock huge opportunities for artists from the diverse tapestry of countries that we classify as emerging markets,” said Perez-Soto. “I’ll work round the clock to build a global stage for them to stand on, connecting them with fans in their home countries and far beyond.” Robson added: “The increasing connectivity of music fans in emerging markets is opening doors for artists worldwide, but the huge volume of music on streaming services means that, mo...
SoundCloud Taps 9 Artists for ‘First on SoundCloud’ Accelerator Program
The campaigns will additionally entail introductory profiles by SoundCloud guest editor and music journalist Kiana Fitzgerald; original content such as artist interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes peeks at their first photoshoots; features on the new “First on SoundCloud” playlist on the SoundCloud homepage; career development from SoundCloud’s music industry veterans and experts; and a live event that will bring together the selected artists with the SoundCloud community. Each of the artists will receive a further lift by having their participation in the accelerator announced by artists and tastemakers including D Smoke, Rico Nasty, creative photographer and designer Ciesay of Places + Faces and NBA star De’Aaron Fox. Since its inaugural edition in 2018, First on SoundClou...
DPR seals 16 filling stations over ‘irregularities’ in Adamawa
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has sealed off 16 petroleum stations over alleged irregularities in Adamawa. Sadiq Ibraheem, DPR Operation Controller in Adamawa, disclosed this to newsmen on Monday in Yola. He said that the exercise was conducted during the weekend as part of DPR’s routine surveillance. “We were able to inspect 43 filling stations in Jimeta, Yola, Numan and Maiha and out of which 16 were sealed for various offences. “The offences ranged from sales above official pump price, lack of safety facilities displayed and we discovered some stations were slightly under dispensing,” he said. According to him, the sealed stations have to pay certain fees to the Federal Government and rectify their pump price to official price before they could be allowed to operate. He ad...
Dolly Parton’s 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year Gala to Air on Netflix
“I am so happy that Netflix is going to be showing the MusiCares tribute to me,” Parton said in a statement. “MusiCares has done so much for the people in this industry and continues to be a beacon of light for those in need. I am so proud and impressed with all of the great artists. It was such a joy and a humbling experience to be able to sit and watch all of the great artists singing songs that I had written or had been a part of. I am so thankful to the Grammys and the people that worked so hard to put this together, and I hope that you enjoy watching it as much as I did.” Parton was the first country star to be named Person of the Year. She was the seventh female solo artist from any genre to receive the accolade, following Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, ...
Nathan Evans’ Sea Shanty ‘Wellerman’ Lifts to No. 1 In U.K.
“Wellerman” surges to its biggest week of chart sales, including 5 million streams, the OCC reports, thanks to Evans’ debut TV performance of the song on Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Meanwhile, newcomers A1 & J1 complete a 10-2 vault with their own viral track “Latest Trends” (EMI), featuring Aitch, while KSI enjoys the week’s highest new entry with “Patience” (BMG/Interscope) featuring Yungblud and Polo G. It’s new at No. 3, for the rapper’s sixth Top 10 and first for Yungblud and Polo G. Also climbing the chart is Joel Corry, Raye and David Guetta’s “Bed” (Asylum/Perfect Havoc) which flies 17-8, for a new peak, while London rapper Central Cee bags a Top 20 start with “6 For 6,” from his debut mixtape Wild West (Central Cee). “6 For 6” starts at No. 16. There’s a new leade...
