business
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer Resigns Amid White House Pressure to Sell App
TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned Thursday amid U.S. pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app, which the White House says is a security risk. In a letter to employees, Mayer said that his decision to leave comes after the “political environment has sharply changed.” His resignation follows President Donald Trump’s order to ban TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells its U.S. operations to an American company within 90 days. “I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” he said in the letter. “Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company...
ICM Models, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber & More to Return Fraction of $1.7M Fyre Fest Promo Fees
A dozen of the agency’s models appeared in a video promoting the disastrous event that defrauded attendees and investors. ICM Models and its clients Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Alessandra Ambrosio, Chanel Iman, Elsa Hosk, Shanina Shaik, Nadine Leopold, Hannah Ferguson, Alyssah Ali, Rose Bertram, Daniela Lopez and Gizele Oliveira have reached a settlement over a combined $1.7 million fee they received for promoting the disastrous Fyre Festival in 2017. In total, they will have to repay $150,000 to a settlement account set up for the festival victims. Baldwin, Bieber, Iman and the other IMG models appeared in bathing suits in a promotional video that announced the festival, promising two “transformative” weekends that “would exceed all expectations.” While the models, along with social...
Thinking of Selling Your Catalog? How to Plan the Smart Way: Video
Watch a panel modered by Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp and hosted by A/B Bernstein offering guidance to creatives considering the move. Combine a surge in music streaming, a pause in live revenue and a slew of potential buyers seeking steady returns — it’s no wonder many songwriters are currently asking themselves, “Should I sell my catalog?” To help answer that question and many others, investment management and research firm A/B Bernstein hosted a live-streamed panel discussion this month to provide advice for songwriter catalog sellers about what to expect in the sale process, including anticipated legal issues. Also addressed? Important estate planning steps that may be relevant for long-term financial and tax planning. Hosted by A...
Australia’s Falls Festival Will ‘Raincheck’ Due to COVID-19
The 2020/2021 edition of Australia’s Falls Festival has been shelved due to the pandemic. Falls Festival, one of Australia’s biggest annual touring fests, was meant to go ahead with multiple dates on either side of New Year’s, featuring an all-Australian lineup. Those plans, however, proved too optimistic. “Falls Festival will no longer be taking place this year,” reads a statement from Falls Festival producers Jess Ducrou and Paul Piticco. “In May, as the nation seemed to be moving into recovery mode, we were optimistic about forging ahead and supporting our local industry with an all Aussie edition of Falls Festival,” the message continues. “We were especially excited to reunite many live music fans, get industry crew back on the job, and contribute to the economies of the co...
Dirty Hit Launches In Australia
Dirty Hit, home to The 1975 and Wolf Alice, expands its global footprint with a new affiliate in Australia. Leading the Sydney office is Rachel Jones-Williams, who oversees label activities for the region as General Manager, Asia Pacific. Jones-Williams joins the independent music company from Sony Music Entertainment, where she most recently served as senior manager, national promotions & communications at Sony Music. Prior to that, she worked as national promotions manager at Caroline Australia, Universal Music’s label services business. Launching a new record label in a pandemic isn’t without its challenges. “It’s definitely a strange time,” Jones-Williams tells Billboard. “In a normal world we would be seeing a debut tour from Beabadoobee and The 1975 would have been returnin...
Central bank, bankers’ committee to support airlines, media with special facilities
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee have unanimously agreed to extend special facilities to Nigerian-registered airlines and the media industry in the country to enable them adequately address the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CBN Director Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday. Okorafor said the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced this while addressing the Bank Chief Executives at the bi-monthly virtual meeting of the Bankers’ Committee on Tuesday. Emefiele urged the banks to do all within their powers to support airlines in the country, noting that such support was critical to helping the industry recover from the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the ape...
Universal Music Group Launches Youth Task Force in Honor of Civil Rights Pioneer John Lewis
Universal Music Group (UMG) has established the Youth Task Force for Meaningful Change (YTFMC), paying homage to recently deceased civil rights pioneer and U.S. Rep. John Lewis. The new initiative is an offshoot of the music company’s social justice and equality-focused Task Force for Meaningful Change (TFMC) that launched globally June 4 and is co-chaired by UMG executive vp, general counsel and Def Jam interim chairman and CEO Jeff Harleston and Motown Records president and Capitol Music Group executive vp Ethiopia Habtemariam. As outlined in a staff memo obtained by Billboard, the 24-member YTFMC is comprised of “dedicated, entry-level employees” ranging from UMG’s °1824 — a division of student employees from various college campuses, working in creative and marketing roles —...
Triller Aims to Drastically Boost Indian Audience With New JioSaavn Deal
Triller and leading Indian music streaming service JioSaavn have struck a new partnership designed to expand the video-sharing app’s reach in the country. Under the agreement, which was announced Monday, all music videos offered inside JioSaavn will be Triller music videos, further expanding the app’s visibility in the country. Additionally, JioSaavn’s main screen will prominently display a button inviting users to make their own Triller videos. The new partnership comes on the heels of India’s ban of Triller competitor TikTok in late June over national security concerns. Following the ban, Triller surged to No. 1 on Apple’s App Store in the country. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have partnered with not only the biggest company in India but one of the biggest and ...
Napster Sold to Virtual Reality Concert App MelodyVR for $70 Million
Napster is on the move, again. London-based virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR announced on Tuesday that it is acquiring Rhapsody International, which operates as Napster, from its majority owner RealNetworks for the price tag of $70 million. MelodyVR, which operates an app specializing in live virtual reality music experiences, plans on combining with Napster to create the “first ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming,” said Anthony Matchett, MelodyVR’s CEO. The $70 million transaction is expected to close by year’s end and breaks down as $15 million in cash, $11 million in MelodyVR stock and the assumption of roughly $44 million in payments owed by Napster to various music industry entities. “For music&...
iHeartRadio Music Awards Cancelled For 2020 — But Winners Will Still Be Announced
Eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, originally scheduled to take place March 29 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Usher hosting, were officially cancelled on Monday (Aug. 24). But fear not, awards fans: The winners will still be announced over the Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-7) on 840 iHeartRadio stations nationwide and via iHeart’s social platforms. The chain will even include acceptance speeches from the winners. This year’s nominations were announced on Jan. 8, which means eight months will have elapsed between the announcement of the nominees and the revelation of the winners. Billie Eilish and Shawn Mendes were this year’s top nominees, with seven nods each. Taylo...
Biffy Clyro Oust Taylor Swift From U.K. Albums Chart Summit
Move over Taylor Swift, Biffy Clyro is the new boss of the U.K. albums chart. The Scottish rockers open at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with A Celebration Of Endings (Warner Records), for their third leader. The new LP blasts away with 26,000 chart sales, including 8,000 vinyl units, according to the OCC. A Celebration Of Endings is the trio’s ninth album, and their seventh Top 10. With its fast start, Celebration ends the three-week streak at No. 1 by Taylor Swift’s Folklore (EMI), which dips to No. 2. English indie-rock outfit Sea Girls enjoy a No. 3 start with their debut album Open Up Your Head (Polydor). Also new to the top tier of the chart this week is Manic Street Preacher James Dean Bradfield, whose Even In Exile (Montyray) bows at No. 6. It’...
‘Masked Singer Australia’ Production Halted Following COVID Outbreak
The Masked Singer Australia has entered into lockdown mode after several crew members were diagnosed with COVID-19. The production team, which numbers 180 and includes the masked celebrities, host Osher Gunsberg and its judging panel, are now in self-isolation. With just one episode to go in the current season, production is now immediately suspended, as “the health and safety of the community, and our staff and production partners is our number one priority,” explains a statement issued Sunday. The series is filmed in Melbourne, which currently holds the unwanted status as Australia’s coronavirus hotspot, and airs on the commercial Network 10. The show will go on. All episodes are in the can, with the exception of the grand final, which means fans can tune in on Monday an...
