business
Travis Scott’s Cacti Hard Seltzer Discontinued by Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch InBev revealed Friday (Dec. 10) that it is discontinuing its Travis Scott-backed hard seltzer brand, Cacti, less than nine months after the product first went on sale. “After careful evaluation, we have decided to stop all production and brand development of CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer,” said an Anheuser-Busch InBev spokesperson in a statement. “We believe brand fans will understand and respect this decision.” The discontinuation comes a little over a month after 10 people died and hundreds more were injured in a crowd crush that occurred during Scott’s performance at the Astroworld festival in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 5. An Anheuser-Busch representative would not confirm whether the discontinuation was related to what happened at the festival, but a spokesperson for Scott tel...
Warner Chappell Taps Christine Belden to Head Global Film, TV and Media Music
Warner Chappell Music has hired Christine Belden for the new role of vp global head of film, TV and media music. This role sees the major publisher investing more resources and attention to its film and TV music catalogs. Reporting to Rich Robinson — the company’s executive vp global sync and media original music — Belden will oversee acquisitions of broadcast rights in the film and TV industry. Coming over from Kobalt, where she was responsible for the company’s creative and strategy for its global film and television publishing business, Belden brings her experience working with some of the top names in the film business to Warner, including A24, National Geographic, Black Label Media and more. She also previously held a position as an agent at CAA, representing composers and music super...
Secretly Group Releases Sustainability Plan, Aims to Be ‘Climate Positive’ by 2026
Over the course of its 25-year history, Secretly Group has made numerous stabs at implementing more environmentally friendly practices — from nearly eliminating its usage of plastic jewel cases to installing a solar array on its main warehouse. Now, the company is unveiling a wide-ranging sustainability plan designed to cut down on its greenhouse gas emissions across the board. Officially dubbed The Secretly Affiliates Sustainability Plan, the 11-page document outlines a series of concrete actions Secretly Group will take to lessen its climate footprint, including investing in energy efficiency in its buildings, assessing opportunities to replace natural gas equipment with electric options, switching to 100% renewable energy and measuring and reducing the company’s “Scope 3” emissions — a ...
Discord Testing Subscription Feature Allowing Creators to Monetize Their Servers
Discord is introducing monthly subscriptions to its service, initially with a pilot program for select creators. The subscriptions, which have been dubbed Premium Memberships, are designed to support Discord servers – digital conversation hubs that connect Discord users via audio, video or text – and the creators who lead them. Creators have the option of dividing memberships into tiers, with each tier boasting unique pricing (subscriptions can range from $2.99 to $99.99 a month) and perks. Creators will also have access to analytics to see how their memberships are performing. Long before this announcement, which was made Tuesday, Discord creators had been figuring out ways around the lack of a subscription feature on the platform, including by tokenizing communities as well as selling ac...
Flavor Flav Domestic Battery Charge Dismissed
Attorneys for entertainer Flavor Flav said Wednesday (Dec. 8) he’s working to stay sober following dismissal of a misdemeanor domestic battery charge stemming from a scuffle with his girlfriend at home in suburban Las Vegas. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The 62-year-old former rapper, hip-hop and reality TV star, whose legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr., pleaded no contest in Henderson Municipal Court to a nonviolent misdemeanor coercion charge, admitted he took a cellphone, and paid $640 in fines, a court official and his defense attorneys said. “Mr. Drayton and his family are grateful to bring an amicable close to this matter and appreciate everyone’s support as he continues his one-year journey of sobriety,” defense attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld sai...
Kelly Bradshaw to Oversee MTV Entertainment Brands Outside U.S.
A new executive is taking charge of ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group brands abroad. Kerry Taylor is leaving her post as executive vp of MTV Entertainment International, with Kelly Bradshaw taking on the new role of senior vp of MTV Entertainment Brands International. In that role, she will lead the MTV Entertainment brands, which include the likes of MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network and VH1, outside of the U.S. “Long-time partner and friend” Taylor has “after 14 tremendous years … decided to step away,” ViacomCBS Networks International president and CEO Raffaele Annecchino said in an internal memo obtained by THR. “As many of you who have worked with Kerry Taylor can attest, she will be greatly missed as she has made remarkable contributions to our brands a...
Mushroom Group Parts With Harbour Agency Following Investigation
Mushroom Group, the Australian independent music powerhouse, has ended its decades-long association with The Harbour Agency. The split, confirmed in a statement from Melbourne-based Mushroom Group, was triggered by an investigation into claims from former Harbour Agency staff on past management behavior and workplace culture. “Mushroom Group can confirm that The Harbour Agency is no longer part of the Mushroom Group of Companies,” reads the message, seen by Billboard. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “For many years now Harbour has operated independently of the Mushroom Group,” the statement continues. “Unlike all other Mushroom Group companies it has not shared HR, legal, finance or other group corporate services.” Mushroom has distanced itself...
Troubled Music Festival Hit With Lawsuit, Claiming Fyre Fest–Like Conditions
Disgruntled concertgoers filed a class action Tuesday on behalf of thousands of people who attended the Elements Music and Arts Festival in September, a troubled EDM festival that has drawn comparisons to the infamous Fyre Festival. Held on Labor Day weekend, the Elements festival drew thousands of fans to rural Pennsylvania with a lineup that featured EDM stalwarts like Diplo, CloZee and Griz. But in the days after, fans flooded social media with complaints of muddy conditions, shoddy staffing, little water and 10-hour waits to enter. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that echoed those complaints, three Elements attendees accused the event’s organizers of gross negligence, deceptive business practices and other wrongdoing over an “understaffed, disorganized, and unsanitary f...
‘Eye of the Tiger’ Writer Strikes Catalog Deal With Primary Wave
Jim Peterik — a songwriter and band member of The Ides of March, ’80s pop-rock band Survivor and southern rock group .38 Special — has sold a majority stake in his full publishing catalog to Primary Wave. According to sources close to the deal, the acquisition is purported to be in the ballpark of $20 million. It includes Peterik’s stake in the perennial rock anthem “Eye of the Tiger,” which became Survivor’s greatest hit after its placement in Rocky III‘s montage training scene. Along with “Eye of the Tiger,” Peterik’s new partnership with Primary Wave will include other Survivor co-writes like “Burning Heart,” “High On You” and “I Can’t Hold Back.” It also includes .38 Special’s platinum-selling hits “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up In You” as well as “Vehicle” by The Ides of March. Prim...
100 Thieves Raises $60 Million USD In Series C Funding
Gaming and lifestyle brand 100 Thieves has now raised $60 million USD in its Series C funding round. The new injection of money comes two years after its Series B round in 2019 where it raised $35 million USD and now brings the company’s total valuation up to $460 million USD. Green Bay Ventures led the funding for the team, which grew from a modest 20 employees back at its foundation in 2017 to now more than 100 staff strong, boosted by its recent acquisition of gaming hardware firm Higround. “Our performance in 2021 exceeded all of my expectations,” said founder and CEO Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. “We have delivered on our core promise of elevating gaming culture while building a strong business and brand for the long term. 100 Thieves now has the capital to launch and acquire new companies...
Anthony Martini Joins Slip.Stream as Chief Music Officer
Music industry veteran Anthony Martini has joined record label, distribution platform and music licensing startup Slip.stream as chief music officer and partner, it was revealed today. The announcement comes several months after Slip.stream acquired the brand and name of Martini’s indie hip-hop label, Commission Music, along with the recording contracts for Powers Pleasant, Big Havi, DJ Envy and DJ Holiday, in August. At the time, it was announced that Martini would join Slip.stream’s board to help guide the development of the company’s frontline record label. He will now lead that process, while also developing new music products across the intersection of gaming, content creators and brands. Martini joins Slip.stream from a brief stint at Royalty Exchange, where he was appointed CEO in M...
Live Nation Finalizes $416 Million Acquisition of Mexican Promotion Giant OCESA
More than two years after it was first announced, Live Nation has finalized the acquisition of a 51% interest in Mexican concert promoter OCESA Entretenimiento, the company announced Monday. Live Nation bought its stake from CIE, a Latin American entertainment company, and media company Grupo Televisa, for MXN $8.84 billion – $416 million at Monday’s exchange rate but $444 million when the deal was announced in July 2019. OCESA significantly improves Live Nation’s presence in Latin America and further expands its international business. In 2019, OCESA’s holding company, Grupo Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, reported $233.2 million in ticket sales to 936 events for 4.3 million fans from 3,400 shows spanning from the U.S. to Colombia, according to Billboard’s 2019 y...
