business
ABBA ‘Gold’ Is First Album to Log 1,000 Weeks on U.K. Chart
The career-retrospective sits behind just one title on the U.K.’s all-time bestsellers list, Queen’s Greatest Hits (Virgin) from 1981. “To have racked up 1,000 weeks on the Official Albums Chart, a solid 20 years of chart presence, is quite remarkable,” comments Martin Talbot, CEO of the Official Charts Company. “It not only highlights their incredible popularity, but just how closely they have connected with a succession of new generations.” The two albums trailing ABBA Gold on the longevity list aren’t far behind. Bob Marley & The Wailers’ collection Legend (Tuff Gong) is at No. 2, with 984 weeks, while Queen’s Greatest Hits is on 952 weeks. For the record, ABBA Gold (via Polydor) lifts 23-17 on the latest weekly chart. ABBA’s career went supernova following th...
IMN: Sheikh El-Zakzaky is not an enemy of Nigeria
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) says that its leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, is not an enemy of Nigeria. The Islamic group also says that the message of El-Zakzaky differs from the struggle by leader, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and the secessionist, Sunday Igboho. The Coordinator, Resource Forum of IMN, Prof. Abdullahi Danladi, gave the clarification on Saturday, following the recent social media pictures of El-Zakzaky, Kanu and Igboho displayed side-by-side. “Recently, the social media went awash with the pictures of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky framed on both sides with the pictures of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho. “Beneath the pictures is the caption: ‘Buhari is respecting Federal Character in the fight against the enemies of Nigeria’ was posted. “First, Shei...
Myanmar protesters burn junta leader’s images on his birthday
Protesters burned mock coffins and pictures of Myanmar’s army ruler Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday in the latest demonstrations against the coup over five months ago that has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos. “May you not rest in peace” and “may your birthday and deathday be the same,” read the messages on funeral wreaths in Theinzayet township in eastern Mon state. Similar protests took place in many parts of Myanmar. “We are burning this as a curse,” said one protester in the second city of Mandalay, setting ablaze a small pile of picture of the general, 65. A spokesman for the military authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Min Aung Hlaing took power on Feb. 1, overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and cutting short a decade of democratic reforms that had...
HYBE Leadership Shakeup: Bang Si-hyuk Out as CEO, Scooter Braun to Lead U.S. Unit
HYBE’s purchase of Ithaca married the two companies’ diverse range of services, including management, labels and publishing, for a deep roster that includes K-pop supergroups BTS and Seventeen, and U.S. pop stars Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Braun will continue to lead Ithaca Holdings, the parent of SB Projects and Big Machine Label Group, while also acting as co-CEO of HYBE America. Jaesang Lee, who led HYBE’s acquisition of Ithaca, will be moving to the US as Braun and Yoon Seok-jun’s chief operation officer. Over in Japan, HYBE is establishing a new regional division, HYBE Japan, that will be led by CEO Han Hyun-rok. The subsidiary will focus on signing local talent (a new boyband will be introduced soon) and managing the interests of other HYBE arti...
Ethiopia urges Tigray rebels to join ceasefire, hostilities persist
Ethiopia’s government urged Tigrayan rebels to join a unilateral ceasefire in their conflict on Thursday as aid agencies struggled to reach hundreds of thousands of people facing famine. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former rulers of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, said on Monday it was back in control of the regional capital Mekelle after nearly eight months of fighting. The government declared a unilateral ceasefire but the TPLF dismissed it as a joke. Hostilities persisted on Thursday and pressure built internationally for all sides to pull back. “Operations are under way … and the number of prisoners of war is increasing by the minute,” TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda told Reuters by satellite phone, with light artillery fire crackling in the background. “We are closing in on...
Motown Records Hires Brian Nolan to Lead Marketing Team
Motown Records announced Thursday (July 1) that music marketing veteran Brian Nolan has been appointed executive vp of the label and evp, marketing, effective immediately. Previously, Nolan was executive vp, Capitol Music Group. Nolan will report to chairman and CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam — Billboard‘s latest Executive of the Week — as he takes the lead on the label’s marketing teams and initiatives. Motown’s roster spans artists like Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Migos, Ne-Yo, Asiahn, City Girls, Erykah Badu, Kem, The Hxliday, Tiana Major9 and Vince Staples. “I have been preparing for this role for over 20 years and I am so grateful to Ethiopia for the opportunity,” Nolan said in a statement. “We are building an incredible new legacy at Motown and ...
SBA Has Delivered $1 Billion in Shuttered Venue Grants
The SBA’s grant website states that roughly 27% of the more than 14,600 applications are currently under review, with another 21% awaiting consideration. About 1,600 applicants will be receiving a notice to fix technical corrections from the SBA as well. According to an SVOG stakeholder, these are entities that meet the criteria for approval, but something in their application needs to be fixed. The SBA is working on a process to send emails to those that need technical corrections and show them on the portal how to address them. Also in the works is an appeals process for those who have been denied but believe they are still eligible for the grant. While details of the process are still being worked out, it is estimated that businesses will have around two weeks t...
FRSC to auction unclaimed vehicles in Akwa Ibom
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Akwa Ibom Command, on Wednesday said that it would auction all unclaimed vehicles in its custody. In a statement issued by Mr Paul James, the command’s Public Enlightenment / Public Relations Officer said that all vehicles impounded within the last six months and unclaimed would soon be auctioned. James said the corps reserved the right to invoke relevant sections of the law to auction any impounded vehicles not claimed after six months. He said traffic offenders offered with offence sheets and their documents confiscated and vehicles impounded should claim their vehicles or be auctioned. “Consequently, traffic offenders who are issued with notice of offence sheet, either have their documents confiscated or vehicles impounded to secure payment of their...
How Will #FreeBritney Deal With a ‘Ruthless’ Probate System? Law Experts Assess
After Spears gave a lengthy, emotional statement about her desire to end the arrangement, Judge Brenda Penny told Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, to file a formal petition. Benny Roshan, chair of Greenberg Glusker’s trusts and probate litigation group, says probate code is vague when it comes to termination protocols. (It merely says, “If the court determines that the conservatorship is no longer required or that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship of the person or estate, or both, no longer exist, the court shall make this finding and shall enter judgment terminating the conservatorship accordingly.”) Penny will have wide latitude when it comes to what factors into her decision. “The statute does not specify the type...
Jay-Z’s Lawyer and Damon Dash Clash Over Truth, NFTs and Conflict of Interest
Roc-A-Fella was founded in 1995 by Dash, Jay-Z and Kareem “Biggs” Burke, each of whom own a third of the company. Dash writes that he does not oppose the preliminary restraining order preventing him from selling the Reasonable Doubt copyright, “as I do not own the copyright nor have I ever represented that I do.” The Roc-A-Fella lawsuit allegations are based on a press release promoting the Reasonable Doubt NFT sale, but Dash claims that the press release for the since-cancelled auction was incorrect. Dash says that what he was actually attempting to sell as an NFT was his one-third ownership of Roc-A-Fella, which he says Jay-Z tried to buy at a low price in March (and suggests that the lawsuit was Jay-Z’s form of revenge). As such, Dash writes ...
Jack Savoretti Looks to Depose Olivia Rodrigo on U.K. Albums Chart
Europiana accumulates the most physical sales and downloads over the weekend, and should give Savoretti his fourth consecutive Top 10, the OCC reports. Meanwhile, Tyler, The Creator enjoys a solid start with his sixth record Call Me If You Get Lost (Columbia). It’s new a No. 3 and is on track for the U.S. hip-hop artist’s highest-charting album ever in the U.K., outpacing the No. 4 best of his 2019 album Igor. Doja Cat could snag her first Top 10 with Planet Her (Ministry of Sound), which starts at No. 4 on the chart blast, while alt-rock artist John Grant’s latest, Boy From Michigan (Bella Union), is new at No. 5. Further down the list, Anaheim rock outfit Buckcherry is targeting a first-ever appearance in the U.K. Top 40 with Hellbound (Earache), new at No. 8, while British metal gi...
Juul to pay US state $40 million for targeting teens with e-cigarettes
Electronic cigarette giant Juul Labs Inc will pay $40m to North Carolina and take more action to prevent underage use and sales, according to a landmark United States legal settlement announced on Monday after years of accusations that the company had fueled an explosion in teen vaping. A state judge accepted the first-of-its-kind agreement with a US state. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein had sued Juul, accusing it of employing unfair and deceptive marketing practices that targeted young people to use its vaping products, which deliver addictive nicotine. As part of the agreement, Juul will not advertise to anyone under 21 in North Carolina and will limit sales amounts of Juul products online to any state residents. It will also sell its products only behind counters at retailer...
