- Esteemed filmmaker Christopher Nolan's decision to leave his 19-year-long relationship with Warner Bros. for Universal to make his next film (about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of an atomic bomb) continues to highlight the strife between studios and talent. Nolan and Warner Bros. had been clashing over ongoing issues, including disagreements over his contract, his entire 2021 slate being released simultaneously on HBO Max during the height of the pandemic, and release plans for "Tenet."
- The intersection of music and sports may have reached a fever pitch: Drake will be curating music for 10 of the Monday Night Football games, producing what CEO of Trillernet Mahi de Silva calls "four-quadrant" entertainment (starting with last Monday's Baltimore Ravens-Las Vegas Raiders game), which aims to capture a wider, and sometimes overlapping fan base, to ultimately create a cultural moment that's larger than life.
- Apple has announced it has created a new process that can properly identify rights holders of the music used in DJ mixes and will be able to directly pay them.
- NIL opportunities for college athletes continue to pick up steam. Marketing and licensing agency The Brandr Group is partnering with Altius Sports Partners to provide student athletes education around their NIL rights and group licensing opportunities in tandem with the athletic departments.
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
With U.S. Open Win, Raducanu Could
Reach 'Sponsorship Unicorn'
Status
September 15, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
This year's surprise U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu could
embody the future of tennis - and enjoy all the financial benefits
that could bring. "If she plays her cards right," and
manages to maintain her U.S. Open-level dominance, "Raducanu
has commercial potential similar to LeBron James," said Conrad
Wiacek, the head of sports analysis at GlobalData, in a phone
interview.
No Surprise: NFL Quarterbacks Making the Most
Money By Dar
September 10, 2021 via Vegas Inc - All Stories Headlines (Las
Vegas, Nevada)
On and off the field, NFL quarterbacks - no surprise here - are
making the most money. Even in a year when the salary cap has
decreased, the big name passers are getting richer. According to
Forbes, the 10 biggest earners will collect about $418 million in
salary, endorsements and other earnings. That's an increase of
9 percent over 2020.
How This Former Athlete Is Quietly Turning
Celebrity Clients Into Million-And-Billion-Dollar
Empires
September 10, 2021 via Forbes (subscription may be
required)
Financial management can be a challenge, especially for the young
and famous. Thaddaeus Koroma had a once-promising future in
basketball until a serious injury changed the course of his life.
Today, he is the President of a Business Accelerator and Private
Investment Empire.
Rapper Yo Gotti Buying Into DC United at $730
Million Valuation
September 10, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
Rapper Yo Gotti has reached an agreement to purchase a minority
stake in D.C. United, valuing the Major League Soccer club at
roughly $730 million, according to someone familiar with the plans.
The hip-hop star, whose real name is Mario Mims, is buying slightly
more than 1 percent of the team, according to the person, who was
granted anonymity because the details are private.
A Vain Attempt to Justify Selena Gomez's $30
Ice Cream Sundae
September 9, 2021 via Texas Monthly
Selena Gomez can sell her fan base on just about anything. Cooking
shows. Spanish-language albums. A comedy about upper-crust
septuagenarians. Over the past several years, the Grand Prairie
singer has endorsed everything from Coca-Cola to milk, Kmart to
Coach, and she's successfully launched obligatory lines of
clothing, makeup, and fragrance.
Burger King's Celebrity Endorsements Will
Promote its Natural Rebrand to 38 Percent of U.S. Population That
Demand Healthier Foods
September 9, 2021 via GlobalData - All news
Following today's news that Burger King will release a
celebrity endorsed meal range, 'Keeping it Real,' in line
with its recent ban on 120 artificial ingredients. Carmen Bryan,
Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics
company, offers her view: "Burger King is hoping to cash in on
the immense success that McDonald's sponsored meals have seen,
such as the popular collaboration with global sensation K-pop band
BTS. However, Burger King is taking this one step further by
utilizing it as an opportunity to spread awareness of the
Whopper's big makeover - the ban on artificial ingredients.
Celebrity-Backed Drinks Become Bestsellers
Online
September 9, 2021 via Drinks Business, The - Wine
News
Celebrity-backed brands are among the bestselling drinks online,
according to North American wine and spirits delivery site Drizly.
Lagavulin's 11-Year-Old Islam Scotch Offerman Edition, made in
collaboration with actor Nick Offerman as ranking as the site's
number two bestseller among spirits were launched last quarter,
according to Rolling Stone.
Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan Pitch In Cash as
Athletes Fund SPAC Deals
September 9, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
When special purpose acquisition company Roth CH Acquisition III
cobbled together a group of investors to fund a deal to bring
public QualTek, a builder of cell phone towers, its list of
investors contained many of the usual types of participants,
including Craig-Hallum, a brokerage that is one of the SPAC
sponsors, and a mutual fund, Wasatch Micro Cap. Joining these
mainstays of Wall Street: Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, each of
whom bought 10,000 shares apiece as part of the P.I.P.E. (private
investment in public equity), which is used to raise cash to close
proposed SPAC mergers.
Film & TV
Stephen Curry's Unanimous Media Signs
Multiplatform Deal With Comcast NBCUniversal
September 14, 2021 via TheWrap
on behalf of their Unanimous Media, Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton
have signed a multiplatform deal with Comcast NBCUniversal. The
multiyear agreement will include first-look development deals for
Universal Studio Group and scripted and unscripted television
projects and another for DreamWorks Animation for kids and family
content.
Comcast Faces $2 Billion U.S. Battle for Premier
League Rights
September 14, 2021 via Bloomberg Quint - Stories
Having secured the rights to the Olympics and the National Football
League well into the next decade, Comcast Corp. is now turning its
attention to another major sports franchise: the English Premier
League. Comcast's current deal with soccer's EPL expires at
the end of the 2021-2022 season, and the bidding for the next
contract is about to begin.
How Universal Beat Other Studios to Land
Christopher Nolan's New World War II Epic
September 14, 2021 via Variety
Christopher Nolan is making his next movie at Universal, severing
the director's nearly two-decade long creative partnership with
Warner Bros., the company that has backed many of his biggest
blockbusters. Getting to this point has involved months of
courtship, clandestine meetings, big promises and a willingness to
take a creative leap with one of the boldest, but also most
demanding, filmmakers in the business. It also represents a major
victory for Universal and its film chief, Donna Langely, who moved
aggressively to forge a relationship with "The Dark
Knight" director after he grew dissatisfied with Warner
Bros.
Music Biz
Sports, Music Tie-Ups at All-Time High as
Industries Cast Wide Net
September 15, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
In recent weeks, Drake "hacked" ESPN's SportsCenter
to announce the date of his forthcoming album release,
"Certified Lover Boy." Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi
Leonard appeared in the multi-platinum award winning artist's
newly released "Way 2 Sexy" video. The Worldwide Leader
announced Drake would be curating the music for 10 select Monday
Night Football games throughout the 2021 season (starting with last
Monday's Baltimore Ravens-Las Vegas Raiders clash).
The Forgettable David Bowie Song That Changed the
Music Industry Forever
September 13, 2021 via News Break - Top Stories
If the music industry was going to undergo a tumultuous shift, it
might as well have had David Bowie providing the soundtrack. On
September 11, 1996, Bowie's "Telling Lies" became the
first ever downloadable single by a major artist, arriving on
Bowie's website in three different formats, released over three
weeks (a traditional single was later released in November).
This Payments and Distribution Platform Used by
Frank Ocean and Childish Gambino Is Fighting the Music
Industry's 'Starving Artist' Culture
September 12, 2021 via News Break - Top Stories
Music revenue is forecasted to reach $131 billion by 2030. Even
still, many smaller artists struggle to get paid. Stem, a
distribution and payments platform used by Frank Ocean and Childish
Gambino, is trying to change that. "There's a lack of
infrastructure and tools to support the modern music
industry," Stem's CEO told Insider.
Nickelback Pushes Back Against 'Rockstar'
Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Following Dismissal
Attempt
September 10, 2021 via Digital Music News
About two weeks back, Nickelback doubled down on its attempt to
dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit centering on
"Rockstar." But this far-reaching effort to end the
courtroom confrontation doesn't appear to have been successful,
for the Alberta-based rock group has now filed a point-by-point
refutation of the action.
Apple Music Unveils Program to Pay Rights Holders
in DJ Mixes
September 10, 2021 via Variety
Since the advent of streaming services, one of the major problems
with DJ mixes has been ensuring that every musical element in those
mixes is identified and paid for. Well, Apple Music has unveiled a
new process - in cooperation with major and independent labels -
whereby it can properly identify and directly pay the rights
holders whose music is used within a DJ mix, building on technology
from Shazam, which it acquired several years ago.
Spotify Playlist Curators Says 'Copyright
Abuse' Is On the Rise - And Spotify Isn't Doing Much About
It
September 9, 2021 via Digital Music News
Spotify playlist curators say the platform isn't doing enough
to combat bad faith copyright abuse complaints. Curators say
playlists are being reported for a variety of reasons, though
oversight is lacking and claims aren't properly investigated.
Playlists can be reported for a variety of reasons, including
sexual, violent, deceptive, or hateful content.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Decreasing Mania? NFT Trading Volumes Have Started
to Decline
September 14, 2021 via CryptoPotato
While NFT trading volumes saw impressive peaks in August, they
significantly declined in September. Investors' appetite for
trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seems to have significantly
decreased after the all-time highs recorded in August.
NFT Company Recur reaches $333M valuation
Following Steve Cohen-Backed Fundraiser
September 14, 2021 via CryptoPost
NFT company Recur has seen its valuation swell to $333 million
after concluding a successful investment round endorsed by
billionaire Steve Cohen's family office. The Series A raised
$50 million, mainly through contributions from the Cohen-backed
investment platform Digital, according to a statement.
NFTs have Cathie Wood excited: 'This is how I
felt when the internet came about'
September 14, 2021 via Yahoo Finance - Top Stories
Cathie Wood, Founder and CEO of Ark Investment Management, which
manages more than $50 billion in assets, said that she's
keeping an eye on the explosive growth of non-fungible tokens, or
NFTs, though she doesn't hold any. In the SALT conference held
by alternative-asset manager SkyBridge on Monday, September 13,
Wood talked about her favor for Async Art, an NFT platform that
allows users to buy pixels for digital artworks and create layers
on them.
SkyBridge Capital Launches A New Platform For NFT
Art, Collectibles And Experiences
September 13, 2021 via Yahoo Finance - Top Stories
SkyBridge Capital and SALT founder Anthony Scaramucci announced the
launch of Flatter, a first-of-its-kind company combining NFTs, or
non-fungible tokens, with exclusive experiences and sought-after
collectibles to create a new level of utility for this emerging
market.
Karl Lagerfeld Latest Luxury Brand to Launch
NFTs
September 13, 2021 via Charged Retail
Karl Lagerfeld has become the latest luxury fashion brand to enter
the world of NFTs as it launches new digital figurines. To mark
what would have been the late designer's birthday, the fashion
retailer has today released two limited-edition 3D avatars in his
image on digital fashion platform The Dematerialised.
Hip Hop Star Ja Rule Discusses the Growing NFT
Space and Crypto - 'I Like the Fact That Bitcoin Is
Decentralized'
September 11, 2021 via Bitcoin
The NFT industry has exploded in 2021 as millions of dollars worth
of cryptocurrencies continue to be traded for these blockchain
collectibles every single day. This week, Bitcoin.com News chatted
with the popular American rapper Ja Rule about NFTs as he has
partnered with James Cropcho and Robert Testagrossa to build a
marketplace called flipkick.io.
Anthony Hopkins Releases Thriller for NFT Movie
'Zero Contact'
September 11, 2021 via Cryptopolitan
"Thriller for Zero Contact," Anthony Hopkins' science
fiction movie to be distributed as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) on
Vuele platform has been released.
Kings of Leon Become First Band to Have NFT Played
in Space
September 11, 2021 via Sentinel Assam
Rock band Kings of Leon's new single 'Time in Disguise'
is making history as the first music NFT to be played in space. On
September 15, 'Inspiration4' will make history as the first
all-civilian mission to orbit the earth, as a crew member will
include the first-ever minted NFT song to be played in space.
Matt Levine's Money Stuff: Fungible Slices of
Non-Fungible Token
September 10, 2021 via Bloomberg Law - News Top Stories
(subscription may be required)
Which 20 percent of a picture of a dog? We talked yesterday about
some people who bought an online pointer to a digital picture of a
dog (a non-fungible token, or NFT) for $4 million and, a few months
later, "fractionalized" it into 16,969,696,969 tokens and
sold 20 percent of them for $45 million, giving the picture of a
dog a total market value of about $225 million.
Rebecca Minkoff's Spring Capsule and NFTs
Could Change the Way We Shop for Fashion
September 10, 2021 via Forbes - Business (subscription may be
required)
Rebecca Minkoff is taking a trip to the Metaverse for fashion week,
becoming among the first female designers to create NFTs, those
controversial works minted on the blockchain and surrounded by a
hype bubble.
Right of Publicity
Unhappy Accidents: the Bob Ross Saga and IP Rights
Explained
September 13, 2021 via Bloomberg Law - News Top
Stories
At the root of the scandal and drama in a Netflix documentary about
painter Bob Ross is an intellectual property fight revolving around
the nature and proper management of assets like publicity
rights.
Jay-Z's Right-of-Publicity Claims Survive
Photographer's Motion to Dismiss
September 10, 2021 via Reuters - Legal News
Photographer Jonathan Mannion, who took the photo of rapper Jay-Z
that appears on the cover of his debut album "Reasonable
Doubt", lost his bid to escape Jay-Z's claims in Los
Angeles federal court that he has been misusing the rapper's
image to sell merchandise.
The Brandr Group Brings Altius On Board as College
Group Licensing Grows
September 13, 2021 via Sportico - Business (subscription may be
required)
Marketing and licensing agency The Brandr Group has tapped Altius
Sports Partners as its official education provider for college
athletes on an NIL hot topic: group licensing. Altius, an NIL
education and advisory consultancy, will facilitate in-person
sessions for athletes at schools where The Brandr Group has
established group licensing relationships.
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