business
Lou Reed Keyboardist Michael Fonfara Dies at 74
In a lengthy, eclectic career that spanned more than 50 years, Fonfara performed with the 1960s rock bands The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros, Blackstone and Rough Trade, as well as adding “keyboard textures” on Foreigner’s multi-platinum 1981 4 album on the No. 4 hit “Urgent” and the track “Girl on the Moon.” Fonfara also recorded with the Everly Brothers, Grievous Angels, Cameo Blues Band and many others in a lauded career that included a 2000 Maple Blues Award honor for piano/keyboard player of the year. Fonfara’s final recording was Downchild’s Live at the Toronto Jazz Festival 50th anniversary performance in 2019, which featured guest appearances from Dan Akroyd, Paul Shaffer, Kenny Neal, Gene Taylor, Erja Lyytinen and David Wil...
Abuja residents: Why we buy ‘second hand’ clothes
Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari Area Council say they patronise the clothes not only because of its affordability but also for the upgraded standard. The buyers spoke in separate interviews with newsmen at the Dutse-Alhaji market on Sunday in Abuja. The buyers were seen patronising the items from their dealers in the market, which was known for the cheap sale of second hand clothing in the district. Ada Micheal, one of the buyers, told newsmen that when it came to especially shoes, school or women bags, she preferred the second hand ones because they were almost new and last longer. ” Not all of these items you see here are fairly used; most of them are new or almost new. ” Some even come with tags from probably the stores they were initially hung for sale or...
2021: Banks to walk a tightrope amid low revenue environment
Nigeria’s deposit money banks (DMBs) must brace up for the challenge of 2021 that might tax their resolve to remain in business. Reason: the industry is faced with a tougher operating environment that could threaten the operators’ ability to meet their stakeholders’ needs and expectations yet perform meaningful corporate social responsibility roles. Their valuable customers such as high net-worth individuals, corporate bodies and other institutions are equally challenged. In his book, Business Stripped Bare, celebrated iconic entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson, says, “without trustworthy banks, there can be no business, no employment, no money. According to Branson, “People have got to be able to go to bed at night secure in the knowledge that the money they depo...
Taylor Swift’s Evermore Returns to U.K. Chart Summit
Harry Styles’ Fine Line (Columbia) was one of the U.K.’s most popular albums in 2020, though it has never reached No. 1 on the weekly chart. It’s inching closer to breaking the spell, rising 10-2, a new high, following the release of buzzy new video for “Treat People With Kindness.” Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (EMI), the U.K.’s biggest album for two years straight, according to the OCC, returns to the Top 10 in its 86th week on the survey. This week, Divinely Uninspired rises 12-6. Meanwhile, Sydney-based, Los Angeles-based hip-hop artist The Kid LAROI enjoys his first Top 10 as debut mixtape F**k Love (Columbia) lifts 22-10. The rising, ARIA Award-nominated artist gets a boost from his hit “Without You,” up 26-7 on the national single...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Evermore’ Extends Reign Atop Australia’s Albums Chart
Swift’s presence is felt up and down the current chart, which also features Folklore (down 4-7), 1989 (up 48-31) and Lover (up 39-34). In a result that mirrors the top tier of the U.K. tally, Evermore is followed on the ARIA Chart by Harry Styles’ Fine Line, which improves 5-2 for its 52nd week in the Top Ten. Fine Line, the current leader on the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, gets a push thanks to the viral video for “Treat People with Kindness” featuring Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Meanwhile, The Kid LAROI is back in the high life as the deluxe edition of his debut mixtape F*ck Love (Savage) rises 6-3, equaling its chart peak. It’s a third time at No. 3 for F*ck Love. The rising, Australian-born and raised rapper earned three nominations at the 2020 ARIA Awards. In a rare sight, no new ...
Spotify Stock Price Hits New All-Time High
What recession? The leader in the fast-growing music streaming market, Spotify reached an all-time high of $354.60 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, and closed at $353.48, up 7% from Thursday’s closing price and up 12.2% for the week. At Friday’s high, Spotify’s enterprise value rose to roughly $66.1 billion. Why the investor enthusiasm? An obvious factor is Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich’s price target hike from $357 to $428 on Wednesday. But a number of factors have had investors excited about the stock over the past year: It is the leader in music streaming and is aggressively expanding its podcast business, most notably with the strong — although controversial — launch for the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Plus, limited pricing experiment...
Gibson Acquires Iconic Amp Manufacturer Mesa/Boogie
Under the terms of the acquisition, Smith will join Gibson as master designer and “pioneer of Mesa/Boogie.” “At Gibson we are all about leveraging our iconic past and leaning into the innovative future, a quest that started over 100 years ago with our founder Orville Gibson,” said Gibson Brands president and CEO James “JC” Curleigh. “Today this quest continues with the addition of Mesa Boogie into the Gibson Brands family, along with the visionary leadership of Randy Smith and his Team who, for the past 50 years, have created an iconic and innovative brand that has stood the test of time. This is a perfect partnership based on our collective professional experiences and passion for sound.” “I’m 75 years-old and still at work every day,&...
Hip-Hop, Latin & Vinyl’s Popularity Grew in 2020 (Rock, Pop & CDs’ Did Not)
Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” (via Atlantic) was the top streaming song in 2020 with 1.3 billion on-demand streams, beating out Future’s “Life Is Good” featuring Drake (via Epic), which had 1 billion on-demand streams. Lil Baby’s My Turn (via Quality Control) was the No. 1 album for the year, generating 2.6 million consumption units, with Taylor Swift’s folklore (via Republic) coming in second at 2.2 million album consumption units — of which 1.3 million were from sales (including 796,000 from downloads), making it the year’s best-selling album. In fact, Swift placed four albums in the year’s top 200 albums, as her Lover album ranked No. 33 with 878,000 album consumption units; evermore was No. 70 with 569,000 units and 1989 was No. 116 with 428,000 units. For the 21st year in a...
Ariel Pink Dropped by Label After Attending Pro-Trump Rally at White House
Mexican Summer was set to release Odditties Sodomies Vol. 1, Sit n’ Spin, Odditties Sodomies Vol. 3, and Scared Famous/FF>> later this month, marking the final installments of its “Ariel Archives” series. Billboard has reached out to both Mexican Summer and Pink’s reps for comment. On Wednesday, documentary filmmaker Alex Lee Moyer posted a now-private Instagram picture of her with Pink and John Maus lounging on a hotel bed with the caption, “the day we almost died but instead had a great time.” She also posted a video of Maus watching crowds at the U.S. Capitol, where a crowd of Trump supporters violently stormed the building. Pink clarified on Twitter that he was not a part of the mob because “I don’t and ne...
‘Christmas village’ boost Akwa Ibom economy with N1 billionn revenue – official
Mr. Orman Esin, the Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, has said the ‘Christmas Village’ generated more than N1 billion to the state economy since Dec. 1, 2020. Esin announced this to newsmen in Uyo on Friday. He said that the opening of the village had brought some life back to holidaymakers and citizens of the state. “The Christmas village has created value of more than N1 billion since it was opened on Dec. 1, 2020,’’ he said. “More than 600 vendors attract thousands of visitors every evening, adding that the Christmas village became a must-visit place in Nigeria every December. “With the ravaging Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the 2020 Christmas season looked bleak. “Annual events were cancelled all over the world including the record-setting annual 999 events in...
Recoup, There It Is: An Artist’s Guide to Royalty Hunting (Guest Column)
The good news is that, thanks in large part to a growing coalition of artist advocates, led by SoundExchange, many countries are beginning to pay American performers. In the coming years, we expect most countries to accept the notion of “National Treatment,” which means that if you pay your citizens, you pay American citizens, too. So, now’s the time to register with a collection agent for your works. If you are a producer or musician, make sure you are properly credited for all the parts you play. That helps significantly in some countries, like Germany. This revenue can range from a few bucks to a few hundred thousand dollars. It matters, so get it straight. 2. The Desk Audit: If you are signed to a record label or music publisher, it’s a good idea to investigate ...
Lil Baby’s ‘My Turn’ Is MRC Data’s Top Album of 2020, Roddy Ricch’s ‘The Box’ Most-Streamed Song
MRC Data’s 2020 tracking year ran from Jan. 3, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020. Equivalent album units — for album titles and chart rankings cited below — comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. 2020 was the first year on-demand video streams factored into album title totals and chart rankings. For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited in this sto...
