business
Malcolm Cecil, Synth Pioneer and Stevie Wonder Collaborator, Dies at 84
Cecil designed and built the TONTO — The Original New Timbral Orchestra — an instrument that’s acknowledged as the world’s first and largest multi-timbral, polyphonic analog audio synth. He teamed up with Robert Margouleff to form TONTO’s Expanding Head Band, which led to some surprise collaborations. Cecil and Margouleff’s sonic mastery caught the attention of Stevie Wonder, who tapped the pair to co-produce a string of classic albums, including Music Of My Mind through Fulfillingness’ First Finale. “Music of My Mind was made with the best hearts in the world. Everything we did was done in that three-point of view aspect,” he told OkayPlayer’s Chris Williams for an interview published in 2019, “and we were trading hats during the process of making this album....
Lana Del Rey Earns Fifth U.K. No. 1 With ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’
With Chemtrails crowned this week, Justin Bieber’s sixth studio album Justice (Def Jam) starts at No. 2. Justice begins its chart journey at No. 1 in the U.S. and Australia and is the most-streamed album of the week in the U.K. Also new to the albums survey this week is Black Honey’s Written and Directed (Foxfive), at No. 7. It’s the indie rockers’ first Top 10 appearance. Veteran singer-songwriters Bob Dylan and Sting claim Top 20 berths on the latest U.K. chart. Dylan’s commemorative boxset 1970 (Sony Music CG) opens at No. 13, for his 64th Top 40 LP as a solo artist; while Sting debuts at No. 17 with Duets (Polydor/UMC) for the former The Police frontman’s 20th Top 40 album as a solo artist. Meanwhile, Nathan Evans’ sea shanty “Wellerman” (Polydor) with 220 Kid and Billen Te...
7 Best Moments From the 2021 NAACP Image Awards
With appearances from President Biden, Vice President Harris and former first lady Michelle Obama, the night was full of heartfelt and memorable moments as the ceremony reflected on the issues that America — and especially its Black community — faced in 2020. In its first show since the nation’s reckoning with racial inequality spurred by the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, the ceremony was especially meaningful as it highlighted many of the triumphs achieved by the Black community in the last year. From Regé-Jean Page’s sweet acceptance speech to Michelle Obama’s moving words, below are seven of the best moments from the 52nd NAACP Image Awards. 1. President Biden and Vice President Harris kick off the show To start the show, Pr...
2021 NAACP Image Awards Winners: Complete List
Davis and Boseman each won a second Image Award this year. Davis won for outstanding actress in a drama [TV] series for the second time for ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder. Boseman also won outstanding supporting actor in a motion picture for Da 5 Bloods. In the music categories, announced March 25, Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo, a Grammy nominee for album of the year, won outstanding album. Beyoncé was named outstanding female artist for a record-extending sixth time. Drake won outstanding male artist for, surprisingly, the first time. Beyoncé won four NAACP Image Awards this year, more than anyone else. Meghan Thee Stallion, Chloe x Halle, Jon Batiste and Marsai Martin of ABC’s black-ish each won two (as did Boseman and Davis). D-Nice took the award for entertainer of the year. In March ...
Court declares SEC sanctions against Oando management null, void
Wikipedia Oando shareholders in the persons of Alhaji Yakubu Gumel; Alhaji Kabiru Tambari, suing for himself and on behalf of the Sokoto Zone Shareholders Association; Tunde Badmus, suing for himself and for the benefits of Pacesetters Shareholders Association, bagged yet another win at the Federal High Court (FHC) Kano, in a suit filed against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for overreaching its powers. Justice A. Lewis Allagoa presiding over the ruling dismissed the regulators preliminary objection and granted all the reliefs sought by the Oando Shareholders. The FHC Kano dismissed SEC’s objection on the basis that the shareholders’ claims fall under their rights as shareholders according to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and is therefore not a capital markets i...
Bob Dylan Argues Co-Writer Gets No ‘Double-Dip’ From $300M Songs Sale
According to the memorandum in support of dismissal, Dylan was one of the rare songwriters who owned copyrights to his musical compositions. He evidently maintained full publishing control, and with respect to songs co-written with others, sole ownership also came because he treated these musicians as employees in contract. As for the catalog sale last November, Dylan says he “no longer owns the copyrights or has any right to royalties from their exploitation.” But, Dylan’s court papers add that while he’d no longer be getting new money from exploitation of his legendary songs including “All Along the Watchtower,” “Tangled Up in Blue” and “The Times They Are A-Changin,'” he ensured that Universal would assume obligations...
BPE chief’s tenure extended by four more years
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Mr. Alexander Ayoola Okoh as the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) for a second term of four years in accordance with the provision of Section 17 (1)(a) and (2)(a) of the Public Enterprise (Privatization & Commercialization) Act, 1999. Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Thursday, said his renewal would take effect from 10th April 2021. The BPE is the Federal Government agency charged with economic reforms especially the privatisation and commercialisation of government-owned enterprises in the country. BPE also serves as the secretariat of the National Council on Privatisation. In the last four years, BPE has witnessed a notabl...
Justin Bieber Earns Fourth No. 1 In Australia With ‘Justice’
He also starts at No. 22 with “Unstable” featuring Sydney singer and rapper The Kid Laroi; at No. 23 with “As I Am”; at No. 40 with “2 Much”; and No. 42 with “Off My Face”. Bieber previously hit the summit with the albums My Worlds (May 2010), Believe (June 2012) and Purpose (November 2015). Close behind is Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over The Country Club, new at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Chemtrails is the best-seller on this week’s ARIA Vinyl Chart, and it’s the U.S. singer’s sixth Top 10 on the all-format ARIA Albums Chart. Homegrown country hero Troy Cassar-Daley enjoys his highest-charting album to-date with The World Today, which opens at No. 3. The World Today is Cassar-Daley’s sixth Top Ten on the Albums Chart and sixth No. 1 on the ARIA Country Album Chart. Dua Lipa’...
Women Making Music Study: Sexual Harassment Is ‘By Far The Most Widely Cited Problem’
The first is that “gendered expectations have skewed recognition and reward in the music industry,” with 81% of women surveyed reporting that they think it’s harder for female artists to get recognition than male artists. Additionally, almost two-thirds of female creators identified sexual harassment or objectification as a major issue. The study labeled it “by far the most widely-cited problem.” The study notes that this sexualization and objectification “are a consequence (or symptom) of unbalanced power dynamics” as they relate to as ageism (reported by 38% of the women polled), lack of access to male-dominated industry resources (36%) and lower pay (27%). Challenges related to tokenism, the fabrication of competition between female artists and ...
Australia’s Music Biz Applauds Government Rescue Package
“This investment by government will help us keep companies alive, projects moving and people in jobs,” enthuses Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia. The latest announcement is the culmination of year-long lobbying efforts from the music industry, which crescendoed with a round of meetings last week with the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Minister of the Arts. Its timing couldn’t have been any sweeter. There was no time left on the clock, with JobKeeper wage subsidies due to disappear by month’s end. From across the music industry on Thursday, plaudits to a government for giving the crippled live sector a leg-up. “We commend the federal government wholeheartedly for this package and its recognition that our industry just wants to get back to business,”...
Connie Bradley, Longtime ASCAP Nashville Head and Music Row Trailblazer, Dies at 75
During her long tenure at ASCAP, Bradley became known as a staunch advocate for music creators. Upon being awarded the Country Music Association’s prestigious Irving Waugh Award of Excellence in August 2018 by Kenny Chesney, the country star remarked, “I’ve been very blessed to have won Entertainer [of the Year] four times with this organization and one of the years that I won, I actually saw Connie standing in the audience, and I thanked her by saying she was one of the best friends that a dreamer could ever have.” “She was one of the many trailblazers, along with Frances Preston and Jo Walker Meador, for women in the Nashville music business,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern in a statement. “Her passion for artists, songs and the Country Music industry as a whole paved the way for...
National Recording Registry Adds Titles From Nas, Janet Jackson, Kool & the Gang and More
The addition of 25 recordings this year brings to 575 the total number of titles in the registry, which selects recordings worthy of preservation based on their cultural, historical and/or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage. Several artists and songwriters whose works land on this year’s registry roster spoke with Billboard about the legacy of their work. “A Soundtrack for Life in Queensbridge”Illmatic, Nas’ debut studio album, swept onto the scene in 1994 with masterful rhymes, sample-soaked production and lyrics that painted an unabashed portrait of life growing up in the Queensbridge housing project in Queens, NY, home to a bevy of rap and hip-hop luminaries. Producers, including Q-Tip, Large Professor, Pete Rock, L.E.S. and DJ Pre...
