business
Metallica Rock Australia’s Albums Chart With ‘S&M2’
Metallica come out swinging on Australia’s albums chart as S&M2 (Virgin/Universal) bows at No. 1, while Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” (Atlantic/Warner) enters a third straight week atop the national singles survey. More than 20 years after Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony led the ARIA Albums Chart with S&M, the unlikely partnership yields another leader. The live compilation, recorded last September at San Francisco’s Chase Center, gives Metallica their seventh No. 1 album Down Under following Metallica (August 1991), Load (June 1996), S&M (November 1999), St. Anger (June 2003), Death Magnetic (September 2008), Hardwired…To Self-Destruct (2016). New mom Katy Perry returns to the top tier of the albums chart with Smile (Capitol/EMI), new at No. 2. It’s th...
Patrick Donovan, Founding CEO of Music Victoria, Announces Departure
Patrick Donovan is stepping down as chief executive of Music Victoria, the trade association that he played a central role in launching a decade ago. “It’s been an exciting journey over the last ten years being at the helm of Music Victoria,” Donovan tells Billboard. “I remember when I went to SXSW in 2011 and I struggled to get people to meet with me because they had hardly heard of Melbourne. And now we’re recognized globally as a leading music city with best practice live music laws.” Prior to joining MV as its founding CEO, Donovan was The Age newspaper’s chief music writer, and he’s an adjunct professor of RMIT’s Bachelor of Arts (Music Business) Course. Donovan will leave the organization later this year having ticked-off a long list of accomplishments. During his tenure, MV pl...
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ Takes Early Lead In U.K. Chart Race
Its rise to the summit took the best part of a month. Now “WAP” looks set to hang around at the top for a little while longer. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s hit climbed to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart last Friday (Sept. 4), and it’s atop the leader board on the Official Chart: First Look, which crunches sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours of the chart week. The chart blast also sees Nathan Dawe and KSI’s “Lighter” gain one place to No. 2, while “Mood” by 24kGoldn featuring Iann Dior lifts 4-3. Joel Corry and MNEK “Head & Heart” enjoyed a six-week streak at No. 1, but that joyride appears to have come to its end. The summer dance track slips to No. 5 on the preliminary chart. The strongest performing new track so far this week is Sigala and James Arthur’s “L...
Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ Becomes First-Ever No. 1 Female Rap Collab In U.K.
It took four weeks to get there, but Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” (Atlantic) is now the U.K.’s best-selling single. The U.S. hip-hop artists’ hit lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, to become the first-ever female rap collaboration to go to the summit in that territory. After two weeks at No. 2, the track snags 65,000 charts sales, including 8.5 million streams, to take the title, the Official Charts Company reports. It’s a person best for both artists. Cardi’s previous peak on the U.K. chart was No. 5 for 2018’s “Finesse,” her collab with Bruno Mars. Megan’s previous high point was a No. 3 for “Savage” in May of this year. “WAP” is just the second female-led single to hit the top this year, following Lady Gaga’s “Rain On Me” featuring Ariana Gr...
R. Kelly Attacker Confesses, Singer Requests Release on Bail
An inmate claims he was “forced” to assault Kelly “in hopes of getting spotlight attention and world news notice to shed light on the government corruption.” R. Kelly is asking a judge to release him on bail after he was attacked last week by an inmate. In a motion filed Friday (Sept. 4), Kelly’s attorney Michael I. Leonard says not only did the Bureau of Prisons not protect his client, but also that personnel at the facility actually encouraged the inmate to attack the singer. As proof, Leonard presented to the judge a handwritten motion from inmate Jeremiah Farmer confessing to the attack. In the motion, titled “The Government Made Me Attack R-Kelly,” Farmer said after he told a mental health professional at the facility of his plan to attack Kelly, the person enc...
Live Nation Discrimination Case Moved To Binding Arbitration
The move came after Live Nation produced a 2009 letter in which plaintiff Candace Newman agreed to arbitrate disputes with the company. A furloughed touring executive who sued Live Nation in July for race and gender discrimination and wrongful termination will have her case heard by a third-party arbitrator, according to court records in LA County Superior Court. Candace Newman, 38, who identifies as an African American single mother, filed a lawsuit against the touring giant in July, alleging she was furloughed by the company after complaining about a lack of diversity and alleged race discrimination. Newman was one of more than 2,000 employees affected by job cuts at the company, where she had worked for more than 10 years, including her most recent stint as tour director for North ...
ComercioPartners urges corporate organisations to leverage on pandemic opportunities
Investment banking company ComercioPartners has tasked fellow corporate organisations in the country to tinker their business model in order to take advantage of the opportunities provided by COVID-19 pandemic, The company said while other companies are lamenting the effects of the pandemic, it has leveraged on the new business environment, provided by the pandemic, to deepen its resources. Head, Financial Advisory of the company, Steve Osho, said: “Occurrences such as the pandemic brings an opportunity which forward-looking organisations leverage on to hit it big. “For us, even with the pandemic, we see a great future in Africa.” Osho, at a recent virtual investment lecture, stated that in Comercio, the dream of the future is better than the history of the past. He added that “by leveragi...
UTA to Reinstate Staff Pay, Lay Off 50 Employees
United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer told staff Wednesday of impending increases in pay for hourly employees. In a memo to staff on Wednesday, United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer delivered both “positive” and “difficult” news, writing that the agency would be reinstating full pay to its employees in the next two weeks, but would also be laying off 50 staffers. UTA is the first of the major agencies that cut salaries at the beginning of the pandemic to offer to reinstate full pay. The layoffs will affect both current and some furloughed employees across several divisions, at both the assistant and agent level. (The agency will cover the COBRA health insurance payments of that laid off for an indeterminate period of time.) In May, UTA, which employs more than 1,1...
Gary Clark Jr., Tones and I to Headline The Surf Lodge Virtual Concert Benefit
The Endless Summer series isn’t quite over: Gary Clark Jr., Tones and I, Oli Benz and Blackillac will take the stage this weekend. This weekend, The Surf Lodge will close out its summer programming schedule with a two-night concert event. In partnership with Bumble and The Governors Ball, the virtual celebration will feature Australian breakthrough artist Tones and I on Saturday evening with opener Oli Benz at 7:30 p.m. EST. On Sunday night, Gary Clark Jr. will close out the weekend with opener Blackillac, also at 7:30 p.m. EST. One of Clark’s previous performances at The Surf Lodge has been viewed 5.6 million times on YouTube. The events serve as fundraisers for Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishme...
The Mavericks Debut at No. 1 on Latin Pop Albums Chart with ‘En Español’: ‘This is Beyond Us’
The set marks the country music band’s first full-length foray into its Hispanic roots. The Mavericks debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Latin Pop Albums chart (dated Sept. 5) with En Español. The band concurrently earns its first top 10 on the all-genre Top Latin Albums chart, where the set bows at No. 8. The new album marks the first visit to the Latin album charts by the group, which has notched five top 10 efforts on the Top Country Albums chart dating back to 1994. “This is an amazing feeling,” Raul Malo, The Mavericks’ lead singer, tells Billboard. “To wake up and receive a text from our manager that we have a No. 1 record. That’s not in the cards, this is beyond us. But you feel good about the work because you’ve put a lot of effort, a lot of love and time...
Bigsound 2020 Switches to All-Virtual Event
Bigsound 2020 is flicking the switch to an all-digital program. Earlier, the Australian industry conference and showcase event was pushed back by almost two months with a condensed COVIDsafe format, spread over two days and nights from Oct. 21. “We feel like we’re looking after an event that’s owned by the industry,” Angela Samut, CEO of QMusic, told Billboard in mid-July. “It’s an export event,” noted Samut, whose organization produces the annual event in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, now entering its 19th year. “That’s our point of difference.” This being the year of the pandemic, expect the unexpected. With coronavirus hotspots blowing up on Australia’s east coast, domestic border closures and the city of Melbourne entering a second lockdown, Bigsound organizers on Thursday (Sept. ...
NOA mobilizes Sokoto communities against open defecation
File Photo The National Orientation Agency (NOA), has commenced active community engagements against open defecations in rural communities in Sokoto State. The state Director of NOA, Alhaji Maude Danchadi disclosed this at a stakeholders meeting on ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign, held on Wednesday in Sokoto. He said that the campaign was in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. He said that NOA would deploy its robust structures and officials in local government areas to promote reorientation and mobilise Nigerians for social change and prevention of open defecations. Danchadi noted that open defecation and poor sanitation have implication on public health, especially in the outbreak of water-borne diseases, and high mortality rate in rural areas. According to...
