- As the pandemic continues, the question arises: Could
celebrities be the key to getting the country vaccinated? - Seemingly everyone is coming up a winner in the music business
with the top three major companies bringing in record amounts and
streaming services are booming. - The NFT craze continues to grow with everyone from star
athletes and sports leagues to fashion brands and now IBM jumping
on the bandwagon.
Endorsements, Sponsorships Investments
Female and POC Documentary Filmmakers Given
Funding and Wider Distribution Thanks to a Visionary
Studio
August 11, 2021 via Forbes Business (subscription may be
required)
Some industries thrived during the Covid-19 pandemic. But ensuring
that everyone has an equal chance in those industries takes
commitment. But just because there is opportunity doesn’t mean
all talent has equal access. Everett, a cofounder of XTR, explains
her documentary film studio’s approach to ensuring that the
world views the fresh ideas and diverse perspectives of women and
people of color.
Indiana Pacers Maintain Salary Cap Flexibility
With a Pair of Strategic Moves
August 11, 2021 via Forbes Business (subscription may be
required)
The Indiana Pacers signed TJ McConnell and Torrey Craig early in
free agency, and the team has been quiet since. Those two players
put the team’s roster at 15 players, albeit with some
non-guaranteed contracts, so the team doesn’t have a lot of
space to make additional moves. Despite the roster being mostly
complete, Indiana had a few avenues they could pursue to increase
the team’s flexibility going forward. And over the weekend, the
front office pursued two of those avenues.
Detroit Shock Rocker Alice Cooper Gets His Own
Coloring Book
August 11, 2021 via Detroit Free Press
Put up the horns and raise your lighters, because coloring is about
to get a little more hardcore. A new, officially endorsed coloring
book featuring Detroit shock rocker Alice Cooper is set to release
at the end of August. Rock N’ Roll Colouring.
Behind the Scenes With NBC at the
Olympics
August 10, 2021 via New York Business Journal (subscription
may be required)
Inside NBC’s operations area at the International Broadcasting
Center, on Tokyo Bay, posters lined the walls from the 16 previous
Olympics the network has aired, starting with Tokyo in 1964. The
signatures of more than a dozen athletes were displayed on a glass
panel inside the main studio.
Women Entertainers Are Building Their Own Business
Empires — and It’s Paying Off
August 10, 2021 via NBC News
From pop singer Rihanna’s billion-dollar clothing and cosmetic
lines to actress Reese Witherspoon’s media company, which just
sold for $900 million, female celebrities who branch out and
reinvent their brand are boosting their public image — and
their fortune.
The White House Is Enlisting Pop Stars,
Heavily-Followed Influences to Endorse COVID-10
Vaccines
August 9, 2021 via Fashion Law (subscription may be
required)
Move over Revolve. The biggest influencer campaign of the
moment is not pushing attire for previously-postponed weddings or
for long-awaited Côte d’Azur holiday wardrobes. It is one
that aims to persuade young Americans to get vaccinated. The New
York Times revealed last week that the White House has enlisted
more than fifty influencers – from heavily followed figures
on gaming platform Twitch to those on TikTok, such as 17-year old
creator Ellie Zeiler, who boasts upwards of 10 million followers
– to help promote COVID-19 vaccinations.
Is Hiring Teenage Influencers to Promote Vaccines
a Good Idea?
August 6, 2021 via Techonomy
The New York Times recently wrote about the White House’s
tactic to promote Covid-19 vaccinations using an “army of
influencers”.
For Some Olympic Athletes, Gold Is Not All That
Glitters
August 6, 2021 via The Street
For most athletes, winning a gold medal is the greatest
reward, but some elite athletes competing in the 2021 Tokyo
Games have set their sights on a much larger prize. In 1986, a
decision by the International Federation allowed professional
athletes to compete at the games alongside their amateur
counterparts.
Olympians Can Finally Earn Their Own Money on
Social Media
August 6, 2021 via Bloomberg (subscription may be
required)
Olympians are taking advantage of a sponsorship rule change
which lets them to capitalize on their social-media followings to
promote items such as sportswear and washing detergent
during the Tokyo Olympics, but agents say that the complexity of
the new guidelines and the International Olympic Committee’s
continuing control still prevents athletes from fully realizing
their earning potential.
Rihanna Enters Billionaires Club — But
It’s Not Her Music That Got Her There
August 5, 2021 via Yahoo Finance
Rihanna has entered the billionaires club. According to Forbes ,
the 33-year-old is now worth a whopping $1.7 billion — making
her the wealthiest female musician, and second only to Oprah
Winfrey, as the richest female entertainer.
Obama’s Meatless Birthday Menu to Feature
Impossible, Eat Just
August 5, 2021 via Bloomberg (subscription may be
required)
President Barack Obama’s upcoming birthday celebration
will offer a meat-free menu, according to people familiar with the
matter, giving buzzy plant-based brands like Impossible Foods Inc.
and Eat Just Inc. a high-profile endorsement.
Can High School Athletes Profit off of Their Name,
Image, and Likeness?
August 4, 2021 via St. Louis Fox 2
College athletes are a full month into being able to make money in
a variety of ways, through product endorsements, private coaching
opportunities and other methods which now fall under what is known
as name, image and likeness (NIL) reform. While some of the
doomsday predictions from those who are concerned about the
prospect of student-athletes getting paid haven’t materialized
yet, an interesting debate has emerged: what about high school
athletes?
Taiwan Celebrity Host Dee Hsu Loses RM4.9m in
Endorsements for Referring to Taiwanese Olympians as ‘National
Competitors’
August 4, 2021 via Asia Newsday
Taiwanese celebrity host Dee Hsu has lost millions of endorsements
after referring to Taiwan’s Olympians as ‘national
competitors.’ Bloomberg reported that Hsu’s have
distanced themselves from her, saying they would not extend
contracts with her.
Film TV
Redbox Continues Rapid Expansion of Its Free
Streaming Service via Content Deal With DMR
August 11, 2021 via Kane Republican Online
Redbox, a leading entertainment company, today (August
11) announced it has signed an agreement with DMR
(www.digitalmediarights.com), one of the world’s largest
aggregators and distributors of content. Fueling Redbox’s rapid
growth in the streaming space, this latest content agreement
includes launching a new free streaming channel –
“RetroCrush”.
Does Scarlett Johansson Have a Case Against
Disney?
August 11, 2021 via Japan Times
In the court of public opinion, Disney may well lose its battle
with Scarlett Johansson. But the legal question is important,
carrying implications for business well beyond the borders of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe and the actor who has for more than a
decade portrayed the character known as Black Widow..
Genius Sports, DraftKings Ink Supplier Deal That
Includes NFL Data
August 5, 2021 via Sportico – Business (subscription
Genius Sports and DraftKings have signed a new multi-year supplier
agreement that will give the sportsbook the full range of data and
live video content from Genius, including products it has built
around its new pricey NFL rights.
Music Biz
The Major Music Companies Now Turn Over
$2.5 Million Every Hour – and Will Generate More
Than $20 Billion Between Them This
Year
August 10, 2021 via Music Business
Worldwide
The record industry is headed for a gangbusters year – and
we’ve got the receipts to prove it. MBW has crunched the
reported calendar Q2 financials of each of the three major music
companies for our analysis below.
Music Streaming Subscription Service Market Is
Booming Worldwide | Amazon Prime, Apple Music, YouTube
Music
August 9, 2021 via iCrowd Newswire
Music Streaming Subscription Service Market and factors such as
driver, restraint, past and current trends, regulatory scenarios
and technology development. A thorough analysis of these factors
including economic slowdown, local global reforms and
COVID-19 Impact has been conducted to determine future growth
prospects in the global market.
Fleetwood Mac Keyboardist Christine McVie Sells
115-Song Catalog to Hipgnosis
August 9, 2021via Digital Music News
Hipgnosis just recently unveiled the high-profile deal, which
represents the latest in a decidedly long line of
multimillion-dollar plays for the entity. To be sure, the Merck
Mercuriadis-founded business dropped north of $1 billion on music
IP in the 2021 fiscal year (covering the 12 months ending on March
31st), including all or part of catalogs from Beats by Dre
co-founder Jimmy Iovine, Shakira, L.A. Reid, and Chrissie Hynde, to
name just some.
Aaliyah’s Estate Calls Out “Unscrupulous
Endeavor” to Release Late Star’s Music
August 6, 2021 via BruDirect
It’s been nearly two decades since Aaliyah tragically died in a
plane crash at the age of 22. While her legacy lives on, much of
her music has been kept off digital music services and out of
print.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
DraftKings Launches NFT Marketplace With First
Drop Featuring Tom Brady
August 10, 2021 via The Block Crypto
The daily fantasy and sports-betting company has launched its new
non-fungible token marketplace and will host its first drop
tomorrow (August 11). The post DraftKings launches NFT
marketplace with first drop featuring Tom Brady appeared first on
The Block.
Bayern Munich Star Alphonso Davies on NFT
Collection, Playing Without Pressure and Messaging
Messi
August 10, 2021 via Forbes Business (subscription may be
required)
Alphonso Davies knows how it feels to be a fan. Not long ago the
Bayern Munich and Canada left-back was watching his heroes on TV
and had Lionel Messi posters on his bedroom wall. Now one of the
world’s most exciting young players, the 20-year-old can still
get starstruck.
Russell Simmons Launches NFT Collection to Help
Pioneers of Hip-hop
August 10, 2021 via New York Post
Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons wants to give back to the
pioneers of hip-hop with a new NFT. On Friday (August 6),
Simmons will launch hip-hop’s first collection of NFTs —
digital files known as NFTs that use blockchain, the
technology that secures cryptocurrencies — titled
“Masterminds of Hip-hop.”
Audi NFT Set for Release on xNFT
Protocol
August 9, 2021 via Crypto News
Chinese media reports that Audi plans to release limited-edition
NFTs in conjunction with xNFT. Audi is set to release
limited-edition NFTs in collaboration with xNFT. The German car
manufacturer recently announced it could start minting the
non-fungible tokens on the xNFT platform from August 10th.
Luxury Fashion Houses Louis Vuitton and Burberry
Dive Into the World of NFTs and Online Gaming
August 9, 2021 via Business Insider
Luxury fashion houses Burberry and Louis Vuitton are turning to
NFTs and gaming to promote their brands. Burberry is releasing a
NFT game character called “Sharky B,” while a Louis
Vuitton game offers 30 NFTs, including 10 by Beeple.
Luxury Fashion Brand Philipp Plein Will Now Accept
Cryptocurrency Payments
August 6, 2021 via Crypto Daily
As Blockchain technology takes the world by storm, it isn’t
only the finance sector that is benefitting from the latest
innovation. Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry are
also getting involved with the blockchain, turning
to NFTs to market their brands. Now, fashion brand
Philipp Plein has announced it will accept various
cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum – the first
major fashion brand to do so.
Lionel Messi’s Enters the NFT Category With
Messiverse
August 6, 2021 via Crypto Newsz
NFTs are slowly but surely climbing up the popularity ladder. These
digital art pieces are stored on the blockchain, and thanks to the
immutability characteristic of the open ledger, they cannot be
tampered with. Adding momentum to the popularity of NFTs, star
soccer player Lionel Messi has now come up with his NFT
collection.
What Goes Around Comes Around: Storied IBM PC Will
Be NFT
August 5, 2021 via Atlanta New Online
NFTs spawned by the digital revolution are allowing the
resurrection of an all-time great personal computer, the IBM PC,
which this year celebrates its 40th birthday. On August 12, 1981,
IBM unveiled the 5150 personal computer, which enabled users to
experience enhanced computing power at home.
‘A Lazy Way to Showcase NFTs’ — Mark
Cuban’s Lazy.com NFT Platform Integrates With
Polygon
August 5, 2021 via Bitcoin
On Thursday (August 4), the NFT platform and digital art
gallery backed by Mark Cuban announced the project has integrated
with Polygon. The platform allows anyone to showcase NFTs by
leveraging a unique lazy URL to social media profiles, and the
integration announcement highlights the protocol is now live.
UFC to Sell First NFTs as Fighters Gain Share of
Licensing
August 5, 2021 via Sportico Business (subscription may be
required)
UFC will sell its first-ever NFTs through Panini America in a
licensing deal that will see fighters share in more of the
royalties from digital collectibles than they do from clothing and
apparel.
Vinco Ventures’ Subsidiary Emmersive
Entertainment Announces Music Streaming NFT
Platform
August 4, 2021 via Pottsmerc
Vinco Ventures, Inc. a leader in selective acquisitions leveraging
new market opportunities by utilizing the B.I.G. Strategy: Buy.
Innovate. Grow., is pleased to announce the launch of its
subsidiary Emmersive Entertainment’s first ever music streaming
platform.
Right of Publicity
IP Rights Again Brandished to Silence
Critics
August 11, 2021 via Likelihood of Confusion Trademark
Copyright Blog
The Associated Press reports: The distinctive chocolate bar on the
dust jacket of a new book about the founder of The Hershey Co.
violates its trademark, the candy maker said in a federal
lawsuit.
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