business
Disney+ Surpasses Expectations To Hit 116 Million Subscribers
Disney has once again hit a new milestone with its very own Disney+ streaming service, beating out the Wall Street-expected 112.8 million subscribers to now boast 116 million subscribers globally after adding another 12.4 million during the third quarter of 2021 ending July 3. The new achievement comes even after Disney increased the price of its service by a dollar to now $7.99 USD a month back in March. Revenues also surpassed expectations, with the media giant recording a 45 percent growth year over year. The company’s CFO Christine McCarthy attributes much of the new subscriber success to Disney+ Hotstar, a streaming service specifically catered to India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, accounting for almost 40 percent of the 116 million. Despite the strong numbers, Variety poin...
Recording Academy’s Bill Freimuth, Lourdes Lopez and Lisa Farris Depart Following Restructuring: Exclusive
Lopez had worked at the Academy since 2002 in communications and marketing, and was promoted to VP, communications in July 2019. Farris joined in 2019 as chief digital officer, before moving to chief marketing and innovation officer last August. Mason has made other changes over the past 20 months since being named interim president/CEO in January 2020, after the Academy placed new president/CEO Deborah Dugan on leave. She was subsequently terminated in March 2020. After becoming permanent CEO/president in May (and resigning as board of trustees chair), Mason quickly relinquished the president’s title weeks later, naming Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A. Panay as co-presidents in early June. Butterfield Jones was initially hired as the Academy’s first chief dive...
INXS’ ‘The Very Best’ Sets Chart Record In Australia
Inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2001, INXS remain one of the country’s “most adored and iconic acts,” Herd notes. The hits collection was released in 2011 and features such classics as “Never Tear Us Apart,” “Original Sin” and Billboard Hot 100 leader “Need You Tonight.” Last November, The Very Best was awarded “Diamond” status, for combined sales in-excess of 500,000 in Australia. During its journey, The Very Best ruled the national tally for seven weeks and came in at No. 1 on ARIA’s End Of Decade Australian Albums Chart. “It is truly amazing news, to hear INXS’s The Very Best has been in the Top 100 album charts for nine years,” comments founding band member Andrew Farriss. INXS formed 44 years ago in Perth, Western Australia, and would g...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ Holds at No. 1 on U.K. Chart
The week’s highest new entry belongs to The Weeknd, whose “Take My Breath” is new at No. 13 (Republic Records/XO) for the Canadian artist’s 18th Top 20 hit in the U.K. Also new to the chart is KSI and Lil Wayne’s “Lose” (BMG), arriving at No. 18, while Olivia Rodrigo snags her seventh Top 40 appearance with Sour track “Jealousy Jealousy” (Geffen), new at No. 36. Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Dave returns to the summit with We’re All Alone In This Together (Dave Neighbourhood), up 2-1, and swapping places with Eilish’s sophomore album. The highest new entry in the current cycle is Will Young’s covers set Crying On The Bathroom Floor (Cooking Vinyl), new at No. 3. It’s the former Pop Idol’s eighth consecutive Top 3 studio album. Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour d...
Louder Than Life Festival to Require COVID-19 Vaccines or Negative Tests
Fans, artists, and staff at Louisville music festival Louder Than Life will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, Louder Than Life says. “To protect the health of our fans, artists, staff and crew, all attendees will be required to show proof of either a full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test,” organizers wrote in a statement. “For fans who are not fully vaccinated, a negative COVID-19 test result must be obtained within 72-hours of the first day of coming into the campgrounds or festival grounds.” Masks will be required in any indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It be...
11 Times Aretha Franklin Made Awards Show History
Feb. 29, 1968 – Won the first Grammy ever awarded for best rhythm & blues solo vocal performance, female for the immortal “Respect.” The classic hit brought Franklin a second award that year: best rhythm & blues recording. March 16, 1971 – Performed her gospel-imbued cover version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” on the first live Grammy telecast. Franklin’s single, newly released at the time, would go on to win best R&B vocal performance, female the following year. (The Temptations presented her with the award.) March 1, 1975 – Won the Grammy for best R&B vocal performance, female for the eighth consecutive year for her cover version of the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.” That eight-year stre...
Watershed Music Festival in Washington Tied to Over 160 COVID-19 Cases
More than 160 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed so far among people who attended the Watershed Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in central Washington. More than 20,000 fans packed the Gorge, in George, Wash., for the three-day outdoor country music festival in late July, The Seattle Times reported. The Grant County Health District said Friday (Aug. 13) the cases are tied to residents in counties including King, Grant, Pierce, Skagit, Kittitas, Okanogan, Whatcom, Kitsap, San Juan, Lincoln and Stevens. There’s also one case tied to an Oregon resident. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by ...
Executive Turntable: Dick Clark Productions Taps New VP; PULSE Promotes Creative Director
Annie Aberle has been elevated to the role of senior creative director at PULSE Music Group, where she previously served as director of A&R. She’ll work with the publishing company’s A&R team and its roster of songwriters and producers. Aberle brings a packed resume to her new role, having worked with clients like Tyler Johnson, who most recently co-wrote & produced Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” and co-wrote “Adore You,” ALDAE, who co-wrote five songs on Justin Bieber’s album Justice and SG Lewis, who has collaborated with artists like Dua Lipa, Nile Rodgers, Khalid, Robyn, Clairo and Lucky Daye. “I’m eternally thankful to Ashley, Scott and Josh for the opportunity they have given me, and for everything they’ve done to help me grow and be successful since I joined PULS...
Ariana Grande Song Streams Spike After ‘Fortnite’ Concert
The second-biggest gains went to Sweetener’s “R.E.M,” streams of which rose 94% from 43,000 on Aug. 5 to 84,000 on Aug. 8. Streams of “The Way,” Grande’s 2013 collaboration with Mac Miller, rose 44% from 146,000 to 211,000. Streams of thank u, next standout “7 rings” rose 23% from 446,000 to 552,000. “Positions,” Grande’s most recent hit single, gained an extra 10,000 or so streams – from 611,000 to 621,000 – but given the song’s high starting stream count, the surge only accounted for a 2% increase. Grande’s concert also included a handful of tracks by other artists, which enjoyed streaming gains as well. Australian rock band Wolfmother‘s “Victorious” saw the biggest percentage jump of all: Streams rose from close to 3,000 ...
Publishing Briefs: Marty Stuart Signs to Sheltered Music; Round Hill an Owner of a ‘Lonely Heart’ Stake
Round Hill Music has acquired an interest in Trevor Rabin‘s publishing catalog, according to a statement from the Board of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited. The former guitarist turned film composer’s lengthy catalog contains over 3,500 film cues and songs as well as cuts from his tenure as a member of prog rockers Yes, most notably “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the band’s lone Hot 100 No. 1. Over the course of his storied career Rabin has earned an induction into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and 11 BMI awards for his work, which includes the scores of National Treasure, Remember The Titans, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Bad Boys II, Glory Road, and more. Rabin notes his decision to partner with Round Hill Music stemmed from the company’s history of...
Univision Ad Revenue Jumps 72 Percent
Quarterly ad revenue jumped 72 percent from the coronavirus pandemic-hit year-ago period to $407.2 million and “surpassed the second quarter of 2019,” when it had recorded $405.1 million, the company said. Core ad revenue, which is adjusted for political and advocacy ads, rose 70 percent. Media networks unit ad revenue increased 66 percent, or 63 percent when looking at core results. “The increase in media networks core advertising revenue was due to higher ad revenue driven by new brand activations, strong scatter volume and pricing, growth in previously low volume accounts, two major soccer tournaments, and improvements in the auto, retail, and beverage sectors, which are recovering from the negative impacts of COVID-19,” the company said. Said Davis: “This quarter marks another period o...
Kanye West’s Latest ‘Donda’ Event Is Most-Watched Apple Music Livestream Ever
West held a first Donda listening event on July 23 and since then has been living at Mercedes-Benz Stadium while putting the finishing touches on Donda, his 10th studio album. Between the two listening parties, West made considerable tweaks to the album, adding and removing features and entire songs, so it remains to be seen what the definitive version of Donda will sound like once the album is released. After numerous delays, Donda is expected to be released in the coming weeks. The second event on Aug. 5 also pulled in $7 million in revenue from in-person merchandise sales, sources say. That number matches the revenue for the first drop from Yeezy x Gap, West’s new collaboration with the Gap, which former Gap CEO Mickey Drexler told Yahoo Finance generated $7 million overnight when ...
