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Those Slick Quarantine Band Performances Are Harder to Pull Off Than You Think
From Dua Lipa to Blue Oyster Cult to Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, bands have been figuring out how to perform remotely during the pandemic. Blue Öyster Cult has played its rampaging-beast classic “Godzilla” 2,270 times, in theaters and casinos, at state fairs and festivals — the first time at the Maple Leaf Gardens, in Toronto, on June 21, 1977, and the last time at Robins Theatre, in Warren, Ohio, on March 8. But until late April, the pioneering hard-rock band’s five members had never done it remotely from their homes, during quarantine, mixed together into a YouTube grid of separate rectangular boxes. “We basically treated it like a gig,” says Richie Castellano, the band’s guitarist and keyboardist, who produced the “lock-down” ve...
Ticketmaster President: Reps. Pascrell & Porter Are Wrong, Company Has Processed More Than $600M in Refunds
The following letter was submitted to Billboard by Ticketmaster President Jared Smith in response to a letter posted on Billboard earlier today by U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Katie Porter (D-CA). Last month Ticketmaster revealed its plan to offer refunds for all canceled and postponed Live Nation and AEG shows. Respectfully, Mr. Pascrell and Ms. Porter either misunderstand or elect to misrepresent the realities of our business and refund policies, as we outlined in our April 17 response letter to them. It is entirely disingenuous and flatly wrong to claim that we have “pointed the finger at others.” To reiterate, Ticketmaster is a platform that allows event organizers to sell tickets directly to consumers. The fact is, the money we need to refund fans is held by our clien...
Lab scientists fear coronavirus positive cases in Cross River
The Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria, AMLSN, Cross River Branch, has predicted that there were possibilities of positive cases in the state, insisting that more tests must be carried out to ascertain the level of success. The Association also said that since the first case of the pandemic was reported in Nigeria, it was difficult to believe that there were no cases in the state when only 10 persons have been tested out of over 4 million Cross Riverians. The Chairman, AMLSN, Cross River Branch, Ndem Benedict, who said this while briefing journalists on Wednesday in Calabar added that the mode of transportation sample through public transport was appalling. His words: “We can only add that the best way to validate the success of state prevention strategy is testing, tes...
Aisha Buhari, NDE support production, distribution of face masks to northern states
The First Lady, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, is collaborating with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to produce 180,000 face masks for distribution to six Northern states of Nigeria as part of efforts aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Speaking on Wednesday at the training of about 15 women who will produce the face masks in Bauchi, the Director-General, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Nasiru Ladan Argungu, said the production and distribution of the face masks will be done in collaboration with the pet project of the First Lady, Future Assured. Argungu, who was represented at the event by the Bauchi State Coordinator of the NDE, Ali Lawal Yaya, informed that the benefitting states are Bauchi, Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi and Zamfara. According ...
Gunmen kidnap army captain, three others in Ondo, demand N20 million ransom
An Army Captain has been abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers along Auga/Akunnu highway in Akoko North-East Local Government of Ondo State. The Army Captain identified as D. Gana was abducted alongside three others. It was gathered that the kidnapped captain was on transit through the state from Abuja when the gunmen struck. The Auga/Akunnu highway in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of the state has been one of the flashpoints of kidnapping activities within the northern senatorial district of the state. Suspected herdsmen had been linked to most highway crimes perpetrated in the area. The hoodlums were said to have stopped the vehicles on the highway and dragged them into the bush, leaving the vehicle on the road. According to a source, the hoodlums did not pick any item f...
Banji Akintoye: South-West won’t tolerate influx of Almajirai
The leader of Yoruba World Congress, YWC, Professor Banji Akintoye, on Wednesday, warned that the South-West would no longer tolerate the influx of Almajirai into the zone, saying most of them have been infected with the COVID-19. He called on the governors to tighten the border patrols in their respective states to prevent the influx of Almajirai into the South-West. Akintoye spoke about Almajirai in the South-West with Vanguard in an interview, noting that “the northern governors seem to have woken up from the Almajiri problem created by the northern culture. “Now, they are forcing the Almajirai to go back to their places of origin, but many of them don’t want to be taken back. So, many are finding their way southwards. “It is a very terrible situation because these are not just ordinary...
NSCDC intercepts 70 travel ban violators in Oyo
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Oyo State Command, on Wednesday, intercepted 70 travellers for allegedly violating the ban on interstate traveling. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the travellers, who occupied three trucks, were intercrpted at 12:52 a.m. at Ogbomoso High School in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area of the state. The state NSCDC Commandant, Iskilu Akinsanya, said that the affected travellers comprised of 69 males and one female. Akinsanya said the trucks with registration numbers, KBK 826 Kano, KTG 137 ZZ and AE61KKR were coming from Bauchi and Kastina States. The commandant said the trucks were heading to Bodija in Oyo State and Alaba in Lagos State and were also carrying 10 motorcycles altogether.He said that men and officers of the co...
NASC: Farmers to access 81,000MT seeds during lockdown
The Director-General of National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo has said that Nigeria has about 81,000 metric tons of seeds during this COVID-19 lockdown period. Dr Ojo who said this during a Webinar press conference with journalists noted that the seeds would ensure that agricultural activities were not disrupted as a result of the lockdown imposed across the country as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. He said efforts were being made by the Council and relevant agencies to ensure that seeds reach the farmers in the grassroots amid the COVID-19 lockdown. “The National Agricultural Seeds Council is doing all within reach to ensure that seed sector-related activities are sustained and promoted even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic for Nigeria to be able to have a c...
Lesotho records first coronavirus case
Lesotho recorded its first case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the health ministry said, becoming the last country in southern and East Africa to be afflicted by the virus. The ministry said it had conducted 81 tests for COVID-19 from travellers from South Africa and Saudi Arabia, of which one was positive. The remote, high-altitude kingdom, nestled in a South African mountain range, had previously been spared the coronavirus, although its bigger, more industrialised neighbour has recorded more than 10,000 cases. The disease has struck at a time of political uncertainty in Lesotho, with embattled Prime Minister Thomas Thabane due to step down by the end of next week after his coalition collapsed in parliament. His exit would clear the way for a solution to a political crisis that erupted late l...
Plateau promises to commence palliative measures soon
The Plateau State Government has appealed to its citizens to be patient as it is doing more to commence palliative measures in earnest to alleviate their suffering, adding that it is aware of the people’s anxiety over lack of palliatives to them. The state Deputy Governor and Chairman, State Palliative committee on COVID-19, Prof. Sonni Tyoden, disclosed this Wednesday when it received some palliative items donated to the state by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Idris Maje. Tyoden said: “We are aware of your anxiety over lack of palliatives. In a few days, the exercise will begin in earnest. “Government is aware that you have been on lockdown for over three weeks. We thank you for your compliance. No government is happy to see its citizens suffer, but the times have...
Eventbrite Posts Big Losses in First COVID-Impacted Earnings Report, Reveals Three-Tiered Refund Plan
Eventbrite is carrying about $293 million in exposure from advance payouts to the creators on the system, official with the San Francisco-based ticketing company disclosed Monday (May 11) in its Q1 earnings report, sharing new details on plans to refund ticket holders and detailing the impact of the live music shut down on their bottom line. The top line numbers for the quarter were brutal as nearly every public event on its system had to be postponed or canceled, leading to a $146.5 million net loss for the quarter, down 489.66% from the previous quarter, equaling a $1.71 per share loss. The losses included $113.7 million of chargebacks and reserve increases and a $76.5 million increase in reserves “in anticipation of potential future chargebacks and refunds,” according to the compan...
SiriusXM CFO Says Satellite Radio Faces Uncertain Coronavirus Impact
Even if people aren’t commuting in their cars as much while they shelter in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic, satellite radio powerhouse and Pandora owner SiriusXM has yet to take a big hit to its bottom line judging by its recently released first-quarter earnings. But while listening of Pandora and SiriusXM offerings is up for stay-at-home consumers, David Frear, senior executive vp and CFO of SiriusXM, warned Tuesday that his industry faces an uncertain future. “I haven’t talked to anybody who has a good picture of what the recovery will look like,” he told the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference during a session that was webcast. Frear said the COVID-19 crisis has driven new- and used-car sales down sharply, relative to y...
