business
Phoebe Bridgers & Run the Jewels Are Top Winners at 2021 A2IM Libera Awards
Bridgers also performed “Kyoto” on the show, which aired on YouTube. Most of the performances were pre-taped, but Fantastic Negrito performed “Chocolate Samurai” live. Other performances were by Arlo Parks (“Hope”), Black Pumas (“Colors”), Mavis Staples (“Who Told You That”), Lido Pimienta (“Te Queria”), Lecrae (“Drown”), Yuna (“Don’t Blame It on Love”) and Stax Academy Rhythm Section (medley). Staples received the independent icon award during the program. Staples, 81, fronted The Staple Singers, the famed gospel-turned-R&B family group, and has gone on to a significant solo career. Staples’ Grammy nominations span nearly the entire history of that awards show. She received her first, with The Staple Singers, in 1961 (the fourth year of the show) and her most recent this past year. Th...
White House considering talks between Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping
The White House will consider arranging talks between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as the two countries spar over issues including human rights, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the two leaders are due to “take stock of where we are in the relationship.” Beijing fumed over a communique issued at Biden’s urging by the Group of Seven leaders on Sunday. It scolded the country over human rights in its Xinjiang region and Hong Kong while also demanding a full and thorough investigation of the origins of the coronavirus in China. “Soon enough we will sit down to work out the right modality for the two presidents to engage,” Sullivan told reporters on a conference call. “It could be a phone call, it cou...
Inside Track: Leadership Shakeup at UMG Latin; KAABOO’s Future Up In the Air
Universal Music Latino is home to major stars like J Balvin, Karol G and Sebastian Yatra, with Kaminsky, a seasoned and respected executive, having had a hand in the regional and international development of all of them. “I’m thrilled to be a part of this talented team and looking forward to working together with our amazing roster of artists through the next phase, making Universal Music Latino even more successful,” said Kaminsky. “I want to thank UMG for this exciting journey, and for this new opportunity to continue making history for Latin culture.” In addition, Salomón Palacios, who has been at Universal since 2013, most recently as director of live and artist services division GTS, has been appointed senior vp of marketing & artist strategy for Univ...
Naira slides again at official market
Naira for the second day in a row fell against the U.S. dollar at the official market Wednesday, but managed a rebound at the parallel market, a day after hitting its lowest black-market rate in at least four years. Data on the FMDQ Security Exchange where forex is officially traded showed that the naira closed at N412.00 per $1 at the Nafex window. The local currency performance on Wednesday represents a N0.25 or 0.06 per cent decrease from N411.75 the rate it traded in the previous session on Tuesday. The trading session on Wednesday witnessed a forex turnover of $131.86 million, this translates to a 23.44 per cent depreciation from $172.24 million posted in the previous session on Tuesday. The domestic currency experienced an intraday low of N420.97 and a high of N400.00 before closing ...
The Challenges (And Thrills) of Returning Hundreds of Tour Buses to Road Duty
“They’re like workhorses,” says Doug Oliver, general manager of Pioneer Coach in Nashville, whose 50-some buses have transported road regulars from James Taylor to Old Dominion. “They want to be running. We don’t like to let them set for long periods of time.” Financially, those who run tour bus companies view the upcoming concert schedule with relief. Hemphill Brothers lost $30 million in revenue from March through December 2020 and “had to downsize a little bit,” says CEO Trent Hemphill, who co-owns the company with his brother Joey. Coach Quarters had to take out a small PPP loan to afford the $7,000-8,000 it owes on each of its buses. Like artists, roadies, lighting and sound companies and rehearsal studios, bus companies have teetered on...
Spotify launches Clubhouse competitor Greenroom
Spotify’s live audio app, Greenroom, formally launches today on iOS and Android, marking the company’s first real attempt at creating a social media platform. The social audio app, which is similar to Clubhouse, allows users to host live conversations about sports, music, and culture. Today’s launch doesn’t come with a marquee creator announcement or specific event planned, but instead, the company is taking the opportunity to encourage people to sign up and figure out how they’ll want to use the app. Some of its core functionality, a person close to the situation says, will eventually make its way to the actual Spotify app, so the team will monitor what happens in Greenroom closely. The app is built on Locker Room, which Betty Labs created and Spotify acquired in March. That app focused s...
Gregory Porter Channels His Inner Chef on ‘The PorterHouse’ Cooking Series
“Like music, cooking is another way to make somebody smile,” says Porter, one of eight children. “Growing up, I knew singing songs for my mother made her happy. And whatever I needed to do to help prepare the food and cook made her happy too. I’m just trying to express that through the things that I love.” For Porter that includes giving back. Episode six centers around donating food to a local ministry and soup kitchen operated by his brother Dionne. In addition, the series’ sponsor Citi has pledged an additional donation to longtime partner No Kid Hungry to provide meals for U.S. families in need. The day after the season finale, Citi will host an exclusive, hour-long virtual event on June 17. It will open with an intimate Q&A featuring Porter before the singer takes the stage to per...
Eshy Gazit Launching New Label With BMG To Release Monsta X, Wonho
Along with Monsta X and the group’s former singer, Wonho, who launched a solo career in 2020, Gazit worked with BTS during that group’s early attempts to break through in North America. Gazit will remain a partner at Maverick, as well as president at Gramophone, an artist and brand development company that was acquired by LiveXLive Media last month. “Eshy has played a vital role in strategically developing the K-pop subculture as the new mainstream music not only in the US, but around the world,” says Thomas Scherer, BMG executive vp repertoire & marketing, Los Angeles. “His relentless passion, expertise, knowledge, and track record of success speaks volumes. BMG is proud to deliver exciting new K-pop music to fans around the world. Hallyu!.” Gazit confirms that Monsta X, the...
ACM Honors Will Salute Hillary Lindsey & Jay Joyce With Top Prizes
Other honorees at the ACM Honors are Ken Burns’ Country Music, RAC Clark, Luke Combs, Ross Copperman, Dan + Shay, Joe Galante, Toby Keith, Lady A, Loretta Lynn, Gretchen Peters, Curly Putman and Rascal Flatts. The evening is dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 55th and 56th ACM Awards. Studio recording awards and industry award winners from the 55th ACM Awards weren’t properly recognized last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ACM special awards are voted on by the ACM board of directors. The show is executive produced by Damon Whiteside, CEO of the ACM, and written and produced by Lisa Lee. Three of the awards will be presented posthumously: the ACM poet’s award to songwriter Curly Putman, guitar player of the year to J.T. Coren...
Demi Lovato Signs With UTA For Worldwide Representation
According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Lovato’s tours have grossed $56.8 million and sold 1.1 million tickets. Their most recent tour, 2018’s Tell Me You Love Me Tour, was their biggest yet, earning $21.5 million. In 2020, Lovato kicked off a career resurgence when they debuted their ballad “Anyone” during a stripped-down performance at the Grammy Awards and performed the national anthem at Super Bowl LIV. In April, Lovato’s Dancing With The Devil…The Art of Starting Over reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The album coincided with the launch of Lovato’s powerful four-part documentary series from YouTube Originals and director Michael D. Ratner entitled Demi Lovato: Dancing wit...
Music Discovery Is Entering New Age, With Streaming at the Helm (Guest Column)
MusicWatch’s latest project on music discovery surveyed 1000 music listeners in the US, covering their music listening habits and topics around the discovery experience. For generations, radio, retail and recommendations drove music discovery. These “3 R’s” helped to create awareness of new music; curated by DJ’s, record store staff and our closest friends. By the late aughts the discovery scene began to shift, with digital downloads and nascent streaming models taking a greater role, CD sales waning, and increasing emphasis on re-discovery of catalog music. Fifteen years ago MusicWatch collaborated with MusicBiz (then NARM) on a comprehensive study devoted to understanding music discovery. Broadcast radio was the top source of music discovery. We implored ret...
Deborah Dugan’s Arbitration Could Be Delayed If Recording Academy Successfully Opposes Open Hearing
“We acknowledge your request for ‘transparency and accountability’ as set forth in your January 29, 2020 letter to the Executive Committee, and we wholeheartedly agree with your proposal to have the dispute between you and the Academy heard publicly — so that the ‘public and the music industry’ can hear what happened between you and the Academy,” wrote Mason to Dugan. “In short, we welcome a full public airing of your allegations against the Academy as well as the Academy’s many claims and defenses against you,” Mason was named the official president/CEO of the academy on May 13, following a protracted search. Now, the academy’s attorney, Anthony Oncidi of Proskauer Rose, has written the arbitrator, Sara Adler, asking that the hearing be private, according to the New York Times,...
