business
Benue berates Bauchi governor over comments
The Benue State Government has described as shocking claims by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed that Governor Samuel Ortom was responsible for the negative perception of Fulani by other Nigerians. The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Samuel Ortom on Animal Husbandry, Alhaji Shehu Tambaya, stated this in a chat with newsmen on Sunday. Tambaya, who described as unfortunate, Governor Mohammed’s statement about Governor Ortom, insisting that people from all works of life live do business in all parts of Benue without any problem. He maintained that although he would not want to join issues with Governor Mohammed, Governor Ortom has proven to be a lover of all Nigerians irrespective of political, ethnic or religious inclination. ‘Governor Mohammed is only trying to defend what is undefen...
Hundreds of thousands protest in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. People surround a police vehicle as they protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar February 12, 2021 in this still grab obtained by Reuters from a video on February 13, 2021. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media reported, while the military deployed soldiers to power plants only to be confronted by angry crowds. A civil disobedience movement to protest against the Feb. 1 coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi started with doctors. It now affects a swa...
Vivendi Planning to Move Forward With UMG IPO This Year
The idea is to avoid the so-called “conglomerate discount,” under which a company could be valued by the market as less than the sum of its parts — especially by investors looking for more direct exposure to the music sector at a time when streaming is fueling growth and optimism. “This plan is the result of the joint efforts in recent years by the Vivendi and the Universal Music Group, under the leadership of Sir Lucian Grainge, to further the company’s position as the music industry’s undisputed leader,” Vivendi said in a letter about the move that was shared internally at Universal by Grainge, the company’s chairman and CEO. “Recently the successful opening of UMG’s share capital to an international consortium led by Tencent has confirmed its attractiveness with strategic investor...
Jorge Drexler Signs Global Deal With Warner Chappell Music Spain
Santiago Menendez-Pidal, managing director of Warner Chappell Music Spain, said about the signing: “Jorge is an absolute legend with an army of fans across Spain, Latin America and well beyond. He is also the go-to partner for some of the biggest Latin artists in the world. I’m so excited to be working with him and know that his upcoming album is going to make a huge impact.” Born in 1964, Drexler released released two albums in Uruguay in the early 1990s before getting his “big break” after Spanish songwriter Joaquin Sabina invited him to Madrid to collaborate with a wide range of artists. Most recently, Drexler’s COVID-19-inspired “Codo Con Codo” was nominated for best song at the 21st annual Latin Grammys. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you...
Dave Grohl, Quincy Jones Join New NIVA Advisory Board
“NIVA may have been founded amidst dire circumstances, but the future of the live industry and the people who inhabit it have always been top of mind,” said NIVA executive director and managing partner of Marauder Rev. Moose. “Officially expanding our coalition to include partners new and old, allows us to innately incorporate those who have stood by our side from the very beginning, like Patronoff from See Tickets, and new voices that will help guide the future.” Advisory board members will share their diverse knowledge and professional expertise in streaming, ticketing, management and more to help NIVA and its members navigate the remainder of this pandemic and rebuild the live entertainment ecosystem in a transparent, diverse, and inclusive way. &#...
SXSW: Stacey Abrams to Keynote, Jon Platt Chatting With Carole King
SXSW’s featured sessions include a conversation about mental health between Olympian Alexi Pappas and actor Bill Hader; a fireside chat with Joe and Anthony Russo and Elizabeth Banks; and a talk about documentary series Secrets of the Whales with director James Cameron and National Geographic explorer Brian Skerry. Other people who will appear no panels during the festival include digital creator David Dobrik, late night hosts Samantha Bee and Amber Ruffin and Big Hit Entertainment CEO Lenzo Yoon. “We’re truly excited about the remarkable range of creative talent and innovators that we’ve announced today as part of SXSW Online,” said SXSW chief programming officer Hugh Forrest. “In the 30 plus years of SXSW, we’ve showcased so many incredible v...
The Weeknd’s Streams Increase 41% After Super Bowl Halftime Show
His second-most-streamed tune was “Save Your Tears” (6.19 million; up 23%), which is also his current radio single and most recent top 10 on the Hot 100. Combined, “Blinding” and “Save” accounted for 26% of his total streams on Feb. 7-8. Here’s a look at the nine songs heard during The Weeknd’s halftime performance. They collectively earned 23.8 million streams on Feb. 7-8 – up 51% compared to their 15.77 million on Feb. 5-6. The Weeknd’s Halftime Songs, Ranked by On-Demand Streams on Feb. 7-8“Blinding Lights” (6.54 million; up 42% compared to Feb. 5-6)“Save Your Tears” (6.19 million; up 23%)“The Hills” (2.52 million; up 79%)“Starboy” (2.16 million; up 70%)“Can’t Feel My Face” (1.69 million; up 83%)“I Feel It Coming” (1.55 million; up 87%)“Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” (1.44 mill...
Police: Wole Soyinka’s house not attacked
The Police in Ogun State on Wednesday refuted social media reports that the home of Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, located in the Kemta area of Abeokuta, the state capital, was attacked by suspected herdsmen The police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement said contrary to the reports, the incident was triggered by a stray cow sighted on Tuesday “within the vicinity of Soyinka’s home”. “The attention of Ogun State Police Command has been drawn to a video circulating on social media about a purported attack of Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka’s house by Fulani herdsmen and the command wishes to set the record straight,” Oyeyemi said. The police spokesperson said “one Kazeem, an indigene of Ijeun, who is into the cattle business, was informed by his cattle herder, Awalu Muhammed, tha...
Metallica Has Half of the Week’s Top 10 Best-Selling Albums
Here’s a look at Metallica’s five albums in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, along with a sixth that missed the region, but is at No. 15. Nearly all of the sales for each title are from their vinyl editions. Title; Rank; Total Copies Sold on All Formats (Gain)Metallica; No. 3; 10,000 (up 383%)Ride the Lightning; No. 4; 9,700 (up 617%)…And Justice for All; No. 5; 9,400 (up 776%)Master of Puppets; No. 7; 8,100 (up 1,102%)Kill ‘Em All; No. 8; 8,000 (up 917%)Hardwired… To Self-Destruct; re-entry at No. 15; 5,500 (up 2,433%) The last act to have five of the top 10 on Top Album Sales was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he claimed half of the region on the list dated May 14, 2016. Metallica also has six of the top 10 on the Feb. 13-dated Vinyl Albums chart – the third time an act has held...
Rihanna’s Fenty Fashion Line Put On Hold
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group, has put Rihanna’s Fenty fashion collection on hold. The move, confirmed by LVMH on Wednesday (Feb. 10), comes nearly two years after the fashion conglomerate announced the collaboration with the pop artist and business mogul. Rihanna became the first Black woman to head a luxury house with LVMH, which owns such labels as Christian Dior, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton. “Rihanna and LVMH have jointly made the decision to put on hold the RTW activity, based in Europe, pending better conditions,” according to the statement by LVMH emailed to The Associated Press. 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 Bea...
Country Queer Publisher On T.J. Osborne, Morgan Wallen & Moving the Genre Forward
The country industry’s response to those two developments was a tad surprising: Osborne was roundly supported, while Wallen was admonished and/or punished and/or dropped by his label, his booking agency, radio, the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. The reaction is opposite of what would have been expected in the genre during a previous era. And that’s part of the reason that CountryQueer.com exists. The country culture is experiencing a major realignment, and — as Osborne addressed in the Time piece — the progressive and conservative wings of the industry and its fans are looking at the same issues through completely different lenses. “This is the kind of central question about American culture, and country’s place in it, that we’ve b...
Every Dollar Earned by Music Biz Generates Another 50 Cents for US Economy: Study
The study will be firepower for rights holders and trade groups seeking assistance from Congress. It “charts a course for state and federal policymakers to leverage music’s ability to produce strong economic growth and high-paying domestic jobs,” said Josh Friedlander, senior vp research and economics at the RIAA. After the Music Modernization Act’s passage in 2018, no additional copyright legislation should be expected any time soon, but the RIAA always presses issues, such as the lack of a performance right at broadcast radio, and conducts regular Congressional outreach through Grammys on the Hill events. Despite the eye-grabbing numbers that reveal music’s wide-reaching impact, the pandemic’s damage to entertainment industries looms over the report. That was inevitable given the lag tim...
