business
Executive of the Week: Columbia Records Exec VP/Co-Head A&R Imran Majid
While buzz for “Calling My Phone” first began to simmer when the song was teased on TikTok, helping it vault into the top five of the Hot 100, Majid says the song’s success comes more from Columbia’s track record of artist development and trusting the A&R process. And Tjay, despite being just 19, is far from a brand new sensation, as his debut album, State of Emergency, reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in 2019, while Polo-Tjay collaboration “Pop Out” climbed all the way to No. 11 on the Hot 100 that same year. But “Calling My Phone” is a singular moment for the Bronx-born MC and one that Majid says reflects on Columbia as a destination for great music. Here, Majid talks the success of “Calling My Phone,” the crop of rising hip...
Kanye West Spent Millions of His Own Money on Presidential Campaign
A snapshot of West’s contributors’ professions provides some insight into the citizens backing his campaign. More than one third — 1,191 — self-identified as students, pitching in $60 to $4,220. More than 20% identified as self-employed and nearly 11% as not-employed. The majority of West’s campaign funds went to “ballot access” services and consulting. After entering the race in July, missing numerous deadlines to appear on state ballots, West qualified for ballot access in 12 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont. His second largest single expense of $918,130 went to Los Angeles Apparel for campaign apparel. West managed to earn 66,636 total votes for about 0.04...
Nigerian government announces additional economic zones for agric, textile
The federal government has approved the expansion of the existing Free Trade Zones (FTZs), as well as the activation of existing ones to respond to the demands of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Managing Director, Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, who disclosed this Wednesday, further identified the new economic zones to include Funtua FTZ Katsina for textile and cotton, Lagos FTZ for medical, as well as Kwara for agriculture. Speaking while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), led by Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu in his office, Adesugba said the move seeks to boost the industrialisation agenda of the present admi...
Australia’s competition chief claims victory after Facebook standoff
The architect of Australian media reforms being watched around the world claimed victory on Wednesday, even as critics said concessions to the laws forcing Big Tech to pay for news content have given Facebook and Google a get-out clause. The Australian government made late changes to the laws after Facebook last week blocked news content in Australia, escalating a dispute over the proposed legislation and catching international attention. The amended legislation is expected to pass the Senate this week, despite opposition from some minor opposition parties and independent politicians who argue it disadvantages smaller news companies. Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told Reuters the bargaining power imbalance he was tasked with correcting...
Michael Bolton Wants You to Dump Robinhood in New Ad
Though several online brokerages (including, until recently, Public.com) use PFOF, the video’s clear target is Robinhood, which received an avalanche of publicity during the recent Gamestop scandal. The well-timed ad piggybacks on recent Reddit outrage around the practice, which last week spawned a House inquiry that resulted in Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev being grilled by members of Congress. In a blog post, Public noted that it is “officially PFOF-free” as of Feb. 16. As an incentive to investors, the company is offering to cover any fees charged by an existing brokerage to transfer their portfolio to them. “I could hardly believe it, what I saw on Reddit today,” sings Bolton in the revamped lyrics, his vocals accompanied by stock images of romance gone wrong (shattering wine gla...
Strictly Discs in Wisconsin, in a Pandemic: ‘We Have Decided Not to Apply’ for Federal Assistance
Now that cases are going down, we’ve had a lot of states lifting restrictions, including in California. I’m wondering if you’ve seen any restrictions on retail establishments being lifted or relaxed at all? Nothing for retail, but there have been quite a few modifications of some of the gathering regulations, as well as some initial conversations about reopening schools. So there’s certainly some movement towards reopening, but nothing that specifically impacts us. Last time, we talked about government assistance, and you said you might qualify for something. Have you figured out what you might be eligible for at this point? We’re eligible to apply, [but] so far, we have decided not to apply because we don’t need it as much as others do. So for now, that...
Breaking Down BTS Label Big Hit’s 2020 Earnings
A new BTS album, Map of the Soul: 7, and four mini album releases by the group Seventeen from Big Hit’s investment in K-pop label Pledis in May, helped Big Hit sell 13.2 million albums. That’s up 54% from 2019, with $288.5 million of revenue — a 196% improvement. Eight tracks from Map of the Soul: 7, released last February, spent time on the Billboard Global 200 Chart in 2020, with BTS’ later singles “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” both reaching No. 1. In the U.S., Map of the Soul: 7 sold 674,000 units in 2020 while its tracks were streamed 715 million times, according to MRC Data. Normally, Big Hit’s holistic business model is well suited to the modern music business. But the pandemic killed touring, traditionally Big Hit’s largest revenue stream, and favored record companies that can...
Appeal Court strikes out Facebook’s appeal against trademark judgment
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, Tuesday, dismissed Facebook’s appeal challenging the judgment of a Federal High Court, Lagos, which awarded N10 million against it (Facebook) in favour of a Nigerian firm, Double Paws Enterprise, as damages for unlawfully interfering with the use of the firm’s trademark. The appellate court justices that decided the matter were Justices Haruna Tsammani, Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, and Abdullahi Bayero. Justice Bayero read the lead judgment. Facebook had appealed the lower court judgment through its counsel, Jackson Etti. However, counsel to the respondent, Double Paws Enterprise, was Mr Gideon Okebu. Facebook challenged the competence of the appeal and urged the Appeal Court to dismiss the same for being fundamentally flawed. Justice Bayero in the lea...
Sex worker detained for intent to sell own four-month-old baby
Police in Ebonyi on Tuesday detained a commercial sex worker on allegations she intended to sell her son for N40,000. The baby is four months old and breastfeeding. The mother said she needed to raise money to start a beer parlour. Briefing journalists at the command headquarters, Abakiliki, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Loveth Odah, said that the woman was arrested on Friday following a tip off. “So, her name is Chukwube Victoria, she actually told us that she is a commercial sex hawker and that she has this babe which she carrying. “She said that if she leaves here, she would continue to look out for prospective buyer. “But we try to talk to her and to make her see the value of been a mother but she refused. “She even told us that if we allow her to go home with the baby, she ...
Recording Academy’s Virtual ‘Women in the Mix’ Event Will Champion Female Producers & Engineers
The event will spotlight female producers and engineers in the music industry while encouraging and facilitating mentorship between established women in the industry and aspiring female music professionals. The Recording Academy has been focused on the gender gap in the recording studio for a while. This event follows follows the academy’s Women In The Mix Pledge in 2019. Grammy history bears out the need for more progress in this area. In the 47 years that the Grammys have awarded producer of the year, non-classical, female producers have been nominated in the category just eight times — and only four of the eight have been nominated on their own, not in collaboration with male producers. Those four are Paula Cole (1997), Sheryl Crow (1998), Lauryn Hill (1998), and Linda Perry...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
Sheikh Gumi: Fulani herdsmen were pushed into criminality
Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has maintained his position that some Fulani herdsmen were forced into criminality because they were victims of cattle rustling. Sheikh Gumi restated his position during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday. Sheikh Gumi said: “When I listened to them, I found out that it is a simple case of criminality which turned into banditry, which turned into ethnic war, and some genocide too behind the scene; people don’t know.” The cleric said that while “there is no excuse for any crime; nothing can justify crime, and they are committing crime,” the bandits were forced into criminality. “I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality,” he said. “And this is what we should look, let’s remove the pressure, let’s...
