business
Andre Harrell, Founder of Uptown Records, Dies at 59
Andre Harrell, music mogul and founder of influential R&B and hip-hop label Uptown Records, has died. Details are if his death are not yet known, but Harrell’s passing was first announced by DJ D-Nice on his Instagram Live early Saturday morning (May 9), and sources have separately confirmed it to Billboard. He was 59. Raised in the Bronx, New York, Harrell started a career in music as half of the early-’80s hip-hop duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (with Alonzo Brown). The pair had a handful of minor hits on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs chart — the biggest being the No. 31-peaking, Tom Tom Club-sampling “Genius Rap” in 1982 — but Harrell soon found other career aspirations, particularly after meeting Def Jam records founder Russell Simmon...
Zimbabwe street vendors sell cloth masks to make ends meet
Zimbabwe market stall owner Aaron Makaya saw a new business opportunity when President Emmerson Mnangagwa made face masks mandatory in public places to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The 21-year old had been stuck at home in the capital Harare and living off meagre savings since the start of a nationwide lockdown at the end of March. Confinement measures were extended by two weeks on May 1 – another month without income for informal workers like Makaya. Meanwhile, factory-made face masks turned out to be unaffordable for most in a country crippled by poverty and hyperinflation. Makaya and other informal workers jumped on the opportunity to make money by sewing and selling cheaper cloth masks at intersections. “We started selling these masks on Monday when we noticed that people intendi...
Doing Business in a Post-Lockdown World
Sourced from Business News Daily At the beginning of March, few anticipated the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on the lives of all South Africans. As the gradual easing of the strict lockdown conditions continues, thoughts turn to how companies will begin their recovery. Ian McAlister, GM of CRS Technologies, looks at what to expect. From Friday 1 May, South Africa transitioned to Level 4 lockdown conditions which will result in several more industries resuming operations, albeit in a limited capacity. And while all the details around operational issues are still to be confirmed, expectations are that at least 1.5 million South Africans will be returning to work. In part, this is designed to get the economy back up and running following several weeks of virtual non-act...
California Governor Allows Some Retail Reopening With Limits
Some Los Angeles County retailers can reopen with curbside pickup only — including stores that sell music, toys, books, clothing and sporting goods. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued the broadest loosening of his stay-at-home order so far, allowing some retailers to reopen but not have customers in stores. The guidelines were made “with an eye on turning the page and moving into a new phase in terms of our economic recovery,” Newsom said. The announcement was the result of improvement in battling the coronavirus. It moves California into the second phase of a methodical four-step process to full reopening. It covers only a sliver of retail businesses as well as manufacturers’ warehouses considered low risk for the virus. Stores that will be allowed to open with curbside...
Country Music Is Enjoying a Streaming Boom During the Pandemic: New Data
“It’s the soundtrack of our lives whether our lives are going great or going terribly,” explains Pandora head of country Beville Dunkerley. As Americans continue to shelter in place, they are turning to country music to keep them company in record numbers. Over the last two weeks, country music has enjoyed a streaming bonanza, with on-demand audio streams growing 10.7% to a record high 1.26 billion for the week ending April 23. The next week ending April 30, a new record was set as streams grew 14.3% to 1.3 billion. This is versus the baseline weekly audio average of 1.138 billion for the eight-week period Jan. 17 through March 12, according to MRC Data/Nielsen Music. A number of factors contribute to the rise. Among them are the release of new albums from Kelsea Ballerin...
Patton Oswalt Promises to Host Virtual Webby Awards While ‘Sitting Around in Pajamas’
This will be Oswalt’s fourth time hosting the show, which extends his record as the Webbys’ most frequent host. Patton Oswalt will host the 24th Annual Webby Awards on May 19. The show, typically held in New York City, will instead be an Internet celebration with a focus on those using the Internet to respond to the impact of COVID-19. This year’s show has been dubbed WFH: Webbys From Home. In a statement, Oswalt joked: “It’s going to be the same as every other night lately — sitting around in my pajamas, marveling at amazing stuff on the Internet — except I won’t even have to find it myself.” “No one on this planet gets the Internet and can make it funny quite like Patton Oswalt,” said Claire Graves, executive director of t...
Hillard ‘Sweet Pea’ Atkinson, Legendary Vocalist With Was (Not Was), Dies at 74
When Chris Blackwell signed Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson to Island Records, he wanted to do more than just make a solo album for the Was (Not Was) singer. “He wanted to make a comic book where Sweet Pea was the main character,” Don Was tells Billboard, “because he was a larger than life guy — which is how I still think of him. I don’t think of him as a regular human.” Atkinson’s large life came to an end May 5, when he suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 74 in Los Angeles, where he lived. While Was (Not Was) became Atkinson’s claim to fame, it was also the stepping stone into a career that included two solo albums — Don’t Walk Away in 1982 and 2017’s Get What You Deserve — and membership i...
Ingrooves Expands In Australia and NZ
Ingrooves Music Group, the music marketing services and distribution division of Universal Music Group, is expanding its presence Down Under. Nina Rabe-Cairns is recruited to lead its activities in the region, in the role as Country Manager of Ingrooves Australia and New Zealand, based in Sydney. A former reporter and presenter, Rabe-Cairns joins from Spotify, where she served as market strategy & operations manager for Australia and New Zealand and, earlier, as senior editor/playlist curator. Previously, Rabe-Cairns served in executive roles with Viacom in Berlin, rising to senior brand marketing manager for Nickelodeon. And before that, she was head of content for Viacom’s digital editorial team, working on MTV and Comedy Central. “Nina brings with her a wealth of expertise and deep ...
The surprising rise of Google’s new CEO
Interactively procrastinate optimal manufactured products via backward-compatible networks. Dramatically innovate B2C human capital rather than effective services. Holisticly grow premium e-markets vis-a-vis virtual scenarios. Assertively engineer standardized e-markets before collaborative portals. Assertively revolutionize client-centered best practices with pandemic models. Efficiently network resource sucking innovation with 24/7 intellectual capital. Objectively unleash innovative experiences whereas cooperative ROI. Compellingly evolve future-proof web services vis-a-vis.
The inside story of why Google is becoming Alphabet now
Dynamically brand synergistic schemas via cross functional networks. Quickly visualize web-enabled strategic theme areas for cross functional e-business. Enthusiastically productize client-centered web-readiness without cost effective outsourcing. Uniquely target integrated content whereas backend deliverables. Appropriately simplify viral bandwidth via premier users. Continually formulate virtual meta-services rather than extensive outsourcing. Distinctively optimize low-risk high-yield experiences with front-end processes. Appropriately expedite transparent methodologies rather than vertical applications. Collaboratively seize out-of-the-box. Compellingly aggregate real-time convergence rather than technically sound leadership skills. Rapidiously mesh backend networks and focused e-taile...
Anambra commissioner warns tricycle operators against peddling falsehood
The Anambra State Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Christian Madubuko, has warned Commercial Tricycle Owners and Riders Welfare Association of Anambra State, CTORWAAS, and their alleged paid agents to desist from peddling false allegations against his Ministry or face the wrath of the law. Dr. Madubuko also warned CTORWAAS, its Chairman, Comrade Sylvester Obiorah, Mr. Stanley Onunkwor, and others against peddling falsehood, mutinous and subversive comments against his person or face legal actions. Reacting to the allegation that he (Dr. Madubuko) was priming Tricycles operators, ‘Keke riders’ under the aegis of CTORWAAS, in the State, in other to remove their State Chairman, Mr. Sylvester Obiorah, the Commissioner said his Ministry is aware of some alleged inordinate conducts in the managem...