INDUSTRY
Petrol smuggling: Nigerian government using device to track trucks, smugglers
The Federal Government says it has facilitated the use of a tracking device to track every truck loading petroleum product from any of its depots as part of efforts to nip smuggling in the bud and arrest culprits. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this at a forum organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to gauge the achievements recorded in the oil and gas sector in the last two years. Sylva noted that a lot had been achieved in the industry but that the activities of smugglers had continued to overshadow the successes especially as it concerned fuel subsidy and the quantity of petroleum products consumed in the country. “This is one big question that we try to answer ourselves because when we look at the number of load-outs from our depots every day...
Criticism of New Red Rocks Partnership Leads to Petition to Repeal Decibel Limit at Shows
Ahead of Kygo‘s return to the stage for the first time in 18 months, Red Rocks unveiled a partnership that ruffled some feathers among some of the iconic amphitheater’s loyal following. Red Rocks’ Twitter account announced that the world-renowned venue would be rendering the services of Mixhalo, a mobile app which streams soundboard audio at studio level quality. The tweet suggested that concert-goers in rows 40 and above bring wired headphones to the show in order to listen to the concert from their phone while onsite. The idea of wearing headphones at a live concert did not sit well with fans. Additionally, many quickly connected the dots and saw this announcement as an attempt on the part of Red Rocks management to keep the overall sound low. “This is so la...
Ekiti APC chieftain: 2022, 2023 elections‘ll be based on personality, not party affiliation
An All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain in Ekiti, Mr Demola Popoola, says that the 2022 and 2023 elections will be about personality rather political party affiliation. Popoola stated this in Oye-Ekiti while declaring his intention to contest the governorship primaries of the party in the state. “The next general elections will be based on who the candidate is and not his political party. “Contributions and capacity of aspirants will play a critical role in the polls, but I am determined to bring my wealth of experience to bear in governance of the state, if given the opportunity in 2022. “I will work through my plans to banish poverty from Ekiti through my deliberate and concerted efforts in creating jobs through industrialisation of the state,’’ he said. Popoola, who hails from Oye-...
Netherlands Nightlife to Return to Full Capacity
This Saturday at exactly 12:01 AM, Netherlands nightclubs will be thumping as loud as ever before once the country moves into its fourth phase of reopening after the COVID-19 lockdowns brought the live music scene to a screeching halt. The country’s nightlife industry will now reopen at full capacity beginning June 26th. Initially planned for June 30th, the return will take place four days early after the Netherlands government made the decision to move ahead into phase four, following phase three just two weeks ago. That phase saw restaurants, cafes, and bars reopen for indoor service, and an increase on the limit of permitted house guests. Under phase four, “events where guests don’t have an assigned seat, will be allowed subject to 1.5-metre distancing or e...
U.S. blocks websites linked to Iranian disinformation
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday blocked some three dozen websites, many of them associated with Iranian disinformation activities, a U.S. government source said, adding an official announcement was expected. The source in Washington spoke after notices appeared earlier on Tuesday on a number of Iran-affiliated websites saying they had been seized by the United States government as part of law enforcement action. Iranian news agencies said that the U.S. government had seized several Iranian media websites and sites belonging to groups affiliated with Iran such as Yemen’s Houthi movement. Some sites later started to display as normal. The website of the Arabic-language Masirah TV, which is run by the Houthis, read: “The domain almasirah.net has been seized by the United States Governm...
David Guetta’s Net Worth Skyrockets Past $150 Million Following Sale of Music Catalog
David Guetta made major headlines this week with the acquisition of his recorded music catalog by Warner Music. Industry sources estimate the sale came out to more than $100 million, translating to a skyrocketing of the artist’s net worth. Previously estimated to be around $75 million, his accumulated assets have now doubled in valuation to more than $150 million, Digital Music News reports. To put that into perspective, the net worth of Skrillex sits around $50 million, Steve Aoki at $95 million, and Daft Punk at $140 million, with Calvin Harris coming in on top at an estimated $300 million, according to Wealthy Gorilla. David Guerin Bask While signing away the rights of his catalog to Warner will decrease his earnings in song royalties, Guetta will still ...
Survey of Top Dance Music Labels Highlights Artists’ Rush to Replace Lost Tour Income
The fast-paced music industry is in a constant state of flux, but few periods have been more anomalous for the industry at large than the last 15 months. The onset of the pandemic caused a shutdown of the entertainment business virtually overnight, accelerating seismic shifts in trends in unpredictable ways. Music demo submission platform LabelRadar surveyed A&R from some of the most vital organs of the dance music ecosystem including Monstercat, Dim Mak, Anjunabeats, and others to gain insight on how their role has changed and to identify emerging trends they’re observing. Yago Álvarez In their “The State of A&R in 2021” report, it’s clear artists have turned to expanding their media footprint to supplement lost touring income. As...
Warner Music Acquires David Guetta’s Recorded Music Catalog for Nearly $100 Million
When David Guetta in 2010 penned his timeless lyric, “Those will be the best memories,” little did he know those memories would fetch nearly $100 million. Warner Music has has acquired the rights to the dance music luminary’s recorded music catalog, which contains global hits “Hey Mama,” “Titanium,” and “Turn Me On,” among many others. The pact sees the music giant acquiring Guetta’s worldwide catalog from the last two decades and inking a new deal for future recordings. While the exact sum of the pact has not been publicly confirmed, the Financial Times reports that Warner spent over $100 million. Variety, on the other hand, spoke to two industry sources who asserted that the figure is in the “dozens of millions.”...
Nintendo Warns Against Co-Streaming E3 Showcase
While Microsoft encouraged co-streaming this year’s massive Twitch-hosted E3 showcase, Nintendo took a different approach in warning streamers against it. E3’s 2021 showcase took place mostly online, in light of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Nintendo opted out of co-streaming the event from the official Twitch platform, and warned that co-streamers may receive DMCA copyright strikes for streaming E3 due to licensing issues with the music that was used in this year’s festivities. Microsoft actually obtained retransmission rights for all of the music that was used in this year’s streamed event, though those rights will expire after one year. Should co-streamers not delete their VOD (video on demand) before that year-long period is up, they may rece...
IPC, NGO reject bill seeking to empower NBC to regulate DSTV, Startimes’ tariffs
A bill seeking to regulate tariff of digital satellite service providers was on Wednesday rejected by several participants at the public hearing on the bill. The bill, sponsored by Unyime Idem (PDP, Akwa-Ibom), seeks to give the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the powers to regulate the tariff charged by digital television platforms. The bill proposed that NBC “Regulates and review through broadcasting codes the tariff being charged by the digital satellite television services broadcasting in Nigeria and other subscription policy for subscribers.” If passed, digital satellite service providers like DSTV, StarTimes, TSTV, GOTV and others will have their subscriber fees regulated. It was first introduced to the House on March 19, 2020 and was consolidated with other NBC bills on the ...
Survey Suggests 50% of UK Nightlife Businesses Won’t Survive Without Government Aid
Ahead of a pivotal announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the UK government will delay its impending lift of COVID-19 restrictions, a survey conducted by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has produced some grim insights into the immediate future of nightclubs. The survey, which polled 300 businesses, suggested that 50% of the region’s nightlife businesses would shutter in two months without government aid. One in four will not survive longer than a month. According to NME, 54% businesses have spent over £15,000 in preparation for the June 21st reopening and 17.8% have allocated over £40,000. One in five businesses estimate losses of £40,000 per week in revenue as a result of the delay, while 58% foresee weekly losses of over £10,000. ...
Groove Cruise Will Not Require COVID-19 Vaccination to Attend
As major cruise lines remained locked in a dispute with the state of Florida over the requirement of COVID-19 vaccination proof for passengers, Groove Cruise has announced that vaccination status will not be required to attend the event’s 2022 edition. The news arrives after Royal Caribbean, the organization hosting Groove Cruise 2022, confirmed that none of its passengers will need to provide proof of vaccination to board a ship moving forward. While Royal Caribbean is strongly encouraging passengers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before embarking, the line will not require them to do so, according to The Wall Street Journal. Groove Cruise owner and “Chief Excitement Officer” Jason Beukema took to YouTube to address the decision, announcing that Royal Caribbe...
