business
Top Music Execs & Their Employees Aren’t Donating to the Same Political Candidates
“I don’t love that [Phil] supports all these right wing causes, but his political beliefs are so far detached from the work we do and our company values,” explains one high ranking executive, who notes that despite being very conservative, Anschutz supports LGBT causes and has given millions to groups some describe as being left of center. Employees at Liberty Media, which owns SiriusXM, Pandora and a 35% stake in Live Nation, for the first time ever have given more money to Democratic candidates than Republican ones. In 2020, individuals at the company gave $209,374 to Democrats and $92,485 to Republicans — more than a 2-1 margin. Back in 2016, Democrats only received $134,636 while $385,700 was spent on Republican candidates, while in 2012, only $12,500 was spent on Democrats with ...
Steve Earle, Bobbie Gentry, Kent Blazy to Be Inducted Into Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Three-time Grammy winner Earle has released 18 studio albums, beginning with his acclaimed 1986 debut, Guitar Town, and is known for writing songs such as “Copperhead Road” and “The Devil’s Right Hand.” Singer/songwriter/producer Gentry is best known for her 1967 No. 1 smash “Ode To Billie Joe,” as well as “Fancy” and “Mornin’ Glory.” Blazy’s songwriting credits include “If Tomorrow Never Comes” (Garth Brooks), “Ain’t Goin’ Down (’Til The Sun Comes Up)” (Garth Brooks) and “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)” (Chris Young). James has a long list of songwriting credits, including “Jesus Take The Wheel” (Carrie Underwood), “When The Sun Goes Down” (Kenny Chesney & Uncle Kracker) and “Summer Nights” (Rascal Flatts). Oldham has written such R&B and pop hits as “I’m...
‘Taylor Is Free’: Taylor Swift Can Officially Re-Record Her First Five Albums & Fans Are Celebrating
Swift herself first revealed the new recording deadline for her first five LPS — 2006’s Taylor Swift through 2014’s 1989 — back in August 2019 following her highly public feud with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta over control of her masters. (In July 2019, Braun bought Swift’s former label, Big Machine Records, in a landmark $300 million deal through his company Ithaca Holdings, effectively giving him ownership of the star’s entire pre-Lover catalog of work. At the time, Swift called the move her “worst case scenario.”) “Yeah, that’s true and it’s something that I’m very excited about doing because my contract says that starting November 2020, so next year, I can record albums one through five all over again,” she told Good Morn...
BBC exposes European pyramid scam exploiting Africans, others
A new investigation by BBC Africa Eye has uncovered a global pyramid scam, run from Europe, that is using smartphones to cheat ordinary people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Crowd1 describes itself as “the fastest growing crowd marketing company in the world” and produces social media videos which show members buying new cars and enjoying luxury holidays. Using nothing but a smartphone, Crowd1 claims, you can become a millionaire by promoting and selling a series of exciting digital products to your network. These claims have persuaded thousands of people across Africa to hand over the 99 Euros that buys an entry-level membership to Crowd1. But a six-month investigation by BBC Africa Eye reveals that, behind the slick marketing, Crowd1 is peddling a range of bogus products and fal...
Ariana Grande, Bruce Springsteen Make U.K. Chart History
Last week’s chart leader, Internet Money’s “Lemonade” (Tenthousand Projects) featuring Don Toliver, Gunna and Nav, slips to No. 2, while KSI is new at No. 3 with “Really Love” (BMG) featuring Craig David and Digital Farm Animals. It’s the rapper and YouTuber’s highest-charting single as a lead artist, and David’s highest since 2005’s “All The Way”. Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Springsteen is the boss once more as Letter to You (Columbia) blasts to the top, for the rock legend’s 12th leader. Letter to You was an express delivery, outselling the rest of the Top 5 combined and bagging 51,800 chart sales, with 95% made up of physical and download sales. It trails onlyLady Gaga’s Chromatica (Interscope) for the biggest opening week overall for an album this year, debuting at No. 1 in...
Hipgnosis Songs Buys Kobalt Music Catalog: 33,000 Songs for $323 Million
The catalog contains such songs as “Go Your Own Way” and “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “One Sweet Day” featuring Boyz II Men by Mariah Carey, “Bailando” and “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias, “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood, “Roar” and “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry, “Gimme Some Lovin’” by The Spencer Davis Group, “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith, “Never Give Up on a Good Thing” by George Benson, “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood, “Halo” by Beyoncé, “Love Shack” by the B-52s, “In Da Club” by 50 Cent, “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “Don’t You Worry C...
The First Billboard: All That Was ‘New, Bright and Interesting On the Boards’
Upon its premiere, the eight-page magazine (priced at 10 cents an issue, or, 99 cents per year), was “devoted to the interests of advertisers, poster printers, bill posters, advertising agents & secretaries of fairs.” The magazine’s first cover subject was R.C. Campbell, then-president of the Associated Bill Posters’ Association. “No more fitting tribute can be paid to Mr. Campbell than to state that he is a man of infinite resource, progressive ideas and tireless industry,” Billboard noted in the inaugural issue. “In selecting his photograph for the first number of this magazine, the Editor was actuated by the fact that he is the acknowledged leader, the first and foremost and most eminent man in the field which we aim to cover.” THE CHA...
The Players Behind Gabby Barrett’s ‘I Hope’ (feat. Charlie Puth): See the Full Credits
ArtistsMain Artist – Gabby BarrettFeatured Artist – Charlie Puth Songwriters:Writer – Charlie PuthWriter – Gabby BarrettWriter – Jon NiteWriter – Zach Kale Producers:Producer – Ross CoppermanProducer – Zach Kale Production Team:Assistant Production – Scott Johnson Programmer – Zach Kale Engineers:Assistant Mixer – Jeremie InhaberAssistant Mixer – Robin Florent Digital Editor – Daniel RossDigital Editor – Ross CoppermanDigital Editor – Trey KellerDigital Editor – Zach Kale Masterer – Michelle Mancini Mixer – Manny Marroquin Mixing Engineer – Chris Galland Recorded By – Ross CoppermanR...
Water Resources Bill: Minister decries misinformation of Nigerians
The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, has said that Nigerians are being misinformed about the Water Resources Control Bill. The minister made the statement while interfacing with the House of Representatives Committee on Water Resources in Abuja, following the public outcry that trailed the passage of the bill. Newsmen recall that sequel to a motion of personal explanation by Rep. Benjamin Mzondu (PDP-Benue) the house withdrew the bill which had already been passed on the grounds that it was not gazetted. The minister recalled that the bill was presented in the 8th Assembly and there was a two-day public hearing with Rep. Aliyu Ahman-Pategi as chairman. According to him, there was no issue at all until some unpatriotic Nigerians gave bad and dangerous colouration, and tried t...
Executive Turntable: Downtown Ups Tracy Maddux to CCO; AIM Adds 5 Women to Board
Over in London, Dean Luck — who was previously the Finance Director at Extreme Music — now serves as International Controller. Reporting to Vice President of Finance Dan Bettes, Luck is in charge of international financial matters at Downtown. His responsibilities include financial reporting, treasury management, and multi-jurisdictional compliance. “Even in the midst of a global pandemic, we’ve continued to hire at a steady clip in 2020 to support our growth. I’m regularly impressed with the amazing talent we are able to bring into the Downtown organization from both within the music industry and beyond,” said Downtown CEO Kalifowitz in response to the company’s new appointments. At Endless Noise, founder/Grammy-winning composer Jeff Elmassian has named Dave Chapman as the sou...
#EndSARS: Lagos Chamber reschedules international trade fair
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says that it has rescheduled the 2020 edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair. Dr Muda Yusuf, Director-General of LCCI, said that the fair which was scheduled to hold from Nov.5 to Nov. 15, 2020 has been rescheduled for between Dec. 4 to Dec. 13, 2020 at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos; both physically and virtually simultaneously. Yusuf in a statement on Thursday also said that the postponement was occasioned by the economic disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent #EndSARS protests across the nation. “The resolve to hold the 2020 edition of the fair is in line with the need for quick restoration of normalcy to the economic and commercial activities in Lagos State and our support for the ongoing ‘Protect Lago...
YouTube Reports Revenue Up 32%, Paid Music & Premium Subscribers Top 30M
CFO Ruth Porat acknowledged the increase in advertiser spend for Alphabet’s Search and YouTube groups in a statement. Alphabet does not break out YouTube’s non-advertising revenue, which comes from subscriptions and other entertainment transactions, like movie rentals. Those revenues are reported as part of the “Google other revenues” line item, which contributed $5.5 billion during the period. Alphabet began disclosing YouTube revenue in February of this year when it announced that the world’s largest ad-supported video platform had brought in $15 billion in advertising in 2019. The company also shared updated subscriber figures for its music and premium services, now topping 30 million paying customers and 35 including those on free trials. A version of this...
