business
NMA laments security maltreatment of members
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), on Wednesday, lamented the maltreatment of its members on essential duties by security personnel and has directed doctors to leave all official duty and close when it is exactly 4 pm daily. The directive, according to the President of NMA, Dr Francis Faduyile, is to stop the doctors from working late and reduce the embarrassment they face in the process of carrying out their lawful duties. “That with effect from today, Wednesday, May 20th 2020, all medical and dental practitioners should henceforth work between the hours of 8.00 am and 4.00 pm, to give enough time for them to return back home,” the NMA president said. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dr Faduyile said: “The NMA observed with dismay the pains and anguish foisted on our members return...
Live Entertainment Is Returning Down Under
Live music is about to awaken from its lockdown slumber Down Under. From next week, Live Nation will test a weekly series of socially distanced concerts and comedy events in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. The Together Again shows will start next Friday (May 29) and Saturday (May 30) at The Tuning Fork in central Auckland, part of Spark Arena (formerly Vector Arena) with a rotating line-up of local artists and comedians. The concerts giant is “excited to be welcoming back live events in New Zealand,” comments Live Nation New Zealand chairman Stuart Clumpas in a statement, issued Tuesday (May 19). Supported by Vodafone, the gigs are an “opportunity for us to unite and celebrate the power of live with some of the country’s first socially distanced shows,” he continues. Performers acros...
Willie K, Grammy-Nominated Hawaiian Artist, Dies at 59
Willie K, the Grammy-nominated Hawaiian artist and producer, died Monday night (May 18) at his home in Wailuku after a years-long battle with lung cancer. He was 59. Born William Kahaiali‘I and known affectionately as Uncle Willie, the celebrated artist mastered the blues from a young age, taught by his dad Manu Kahaiali‘I, himself a respected musician. “My father was a great influence,” says Willie K in his biog. “He groomed me to be where I am today. He was just as diverse as I am—the guy knew how to play everything: jazz, blues and Hawaiian.” Willie’s artistry wouldn’t be tied down to any genre or instrument. He could play almost any instrument needed in his performance, from guitar to bass, ukulele and more, and his music palate was just as broad, covering jazz, reggae, rock, country a...
DaBaby Eyes Another Week Atop U.K. Chart With ‘Rockstar’
DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (Interscope) featuring Roddy Ricch is on track for a second week atop the U.K.’s singles chart, while Sleaford Mods have the early edge on the national albums survey. Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn, the Nottingham electronic duo who record and perform as Sleaford Mods, lead the Official Charts Update with the career retrospective All That Glue (Rough Trade), ahead of Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (EMI). Capaldi’s hit debut LP is surging a year to the week since it first led the chart and it’s the most-streamed album at the midweek stage. It’s tight at the top. According to the Official Charts Company, just 1,100 chart sales separate the top 5. Also new to the midweek albums chart is Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit who are looki...
Why High-Profile Hacks Could Increase Amid Pandemic-Prompted Remote Work
Employees in non-office settings create cybersecurity vulnerabilities, experts say, and without intervention more entertainment companies could fall victim to hacks like the one that hit Grubman Shire. Hackers are threatening to release a treasure trove of private data stolen from one of Hollywood’s top talent law firms if it doesn’t pay a $42 million ransom — and experts say companies are increasingly vulnerable to attacks like this because their employees are working remotely during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks earlier this month was hit by a ransomware attack — with a group called REvil taking responsibility for the hack and posting online part of a Live Nation employment contract for Madonna‘s recent world tour as proo...
Disney’s Kevin Mayer to Become TikTok CEO
Disney veteran Rebecca Campbell will succeed him as chairman of director-to-consumer and international. Kevin Mayer, the Disney executive who oversaw the launch of the streaming service Disney+, is leaving his post at the entertainment giant to become CEO of the fast-growing social media app TikTok. Disney veteran Rebecca Campbell will succeed him as chairman of director-to-consumer and international. “I am very proud of what our extraordinarily talented direct-to-consumer and international team has accomplished in creating and delivering a world-class portfolio of streaming services, particularly Disney+,” Mayer said Monday in a statement. Mayer joins TikTok at a pivotal moment for the app, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate ByteDance. Less than three years old, it has bee...
How We Work Now: Duck Club Presents/Treefort Music Festival Co-Founder Eric Gilbert
In a new series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to HowWeWorkNow@Billboard.com. Read the full series here. This installment is with Eric Gilbert, co-founder of Duck Club Presents and Boise, Idaho’s Treefort Music Festival. Eric Gilbert: Treefort was scheduled for March 25-29 and we [initially] postponed it two weeks. At that point, the state nor the city hadn’t really done anything. We made the decision in consultation with them, but we had to take the lead on that. Two weeks after we postponed, the state fully s...
Bluesman Lucky Peterson Dies at 55
American bluesman Lucky Peterson, a master of the six string and the Hammond B3, died Sunday (May 17) at his home in Dallas. He was 55. Peterson was at home when he “became ill and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, but unfortunately did not recover,” reads a statement posted on his social pages. The cause of death is not immediately known. Born Judge Peterson in Buffalo, New York in 1964, Peterson had blues in his veins. His father James Peterson was a notable blues guitarist and owner of The Governor’s Inn, a roadhouse club where many of the genre’s greats would stop by. [embedded content] A prodigious talent, “Little” Lucky Peterson gave his first concert when most of us were still learning to use cutlery and his talents were spotted early on by blues legend Willie Dixon....
Drake Retains Australian Chart Crown, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s ‘Stuck With U’ Starts High
Drake’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes (Republic/Universal) enters a second week at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart, while SAINt JHN’s “Roses” (Sony) scores a sixth week atop the national singles survey and “Stuck With U” (Universal), the Ariana Grande–Justin Bieber collaboration, is the week’s highest debut. “Stuck With U” opens at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart, just behind The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” (Republic/Universal), to give Grande her first Australian chart entry for 2020 and Bieber his fourth. Proceeds from the single will benefit the First Responders Children’s Foundation, which funds scholarships for kids of frontline workers who’ve been affected by the health crisis. Over the past two weeks, DaBaby’s “Rockstar” (Interscope/Universal) has risen 14-9–4 and no...
Emirates plans to cut about 30,000 jobs amid virus outbreak
Emirates Group is planning to cut about 30,000 jobs to reduce costs amid the coronavirus outbreak, which will bring down its number of employees by about 30 per cent from more than 105,000. A media reported on Sunday that the company was also considering speeding up the planned retirement of its A380 fleet. An Emirates spokeswoman said that no public announcement has been made yet by the company regarding “redundancies at the airline”, but that the company is conducting a review of “costs and resourcing against business projections”. “Any such decision will be communicated in an appropriate fashion. Like any responsible business would do, our executive team has directed all departments to conduct a thorough review of costs and resourcing against business projections,” the spokeswoman said....
Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’ Producer Yeti Beats Signs Warner Chappell Admin Deal
Warner Chappell has signed an exclusive administration agreement with Yeti Beats, co-producer of Doja Cat‘s current Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Say So” feat. Nicki Minaj. Announced Friday (May 15), the deal covers all catalog and future works by Yeti Beats, who also served writer, producer, executive producer and A&R roles on Doja Cat’s first two albums — Amala and Hot Pink — and produced such hits as “Candy” and “Juicy” feat. Tyga. He also served as an executive producer on Doja Cat’s 2014 EP Purrr! “I’ve known Yeti for a while, and it’s been incredible to see what he’s accomplished with Doja Cat and her team,” said Warner Chappell Music senior director of A&R, Wallace Joseph, in a statement. “Yeti’s in a great positi...
Arkansas’ Socially-Distanced Concert Now Trying to Reschedule, Adhere to State Law
The venue says Alcohol Beverage Control removed its license on Thursday morning, effectively shutting down the business. At a press conference on Thursday (May 14), TempleLive announced it was rescheduling its socially-distanced Travis McCready concert scheduled for Friday night in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The show was set to be one of the first shows hosted after mass gatherings were banned throughout the county due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The venue is now hoping to hold the concert Monday, in order to adhere to state law. Despite what TempleLive described as an open line of communication with the Governor’s office over the past few weeks, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told reporters on Tuesday that he did not approve of the event, which was scheduled for three...
