Matty Roberts, founder of the “Storm Area 51 ” Facebook page, has officially cancelled the AlienStock Music Festival. The cancellation came without warning, as Roberts had promoted the long-planned event as late as last week. AlienStock was arranged af…
Author archives: Marsha Silva
Taylor Swift Threatened to Sue Microsoft Over Its ‘Tay’ Bot — Before It Went on a Racist Rampage
Taylor Swift has been involved in quite a few legal actions. But one that never got off the ground may be the most interesting. The strange tale of a threatening Taylor Swift is included in a new book by Microsoft president Brad Smith. In Tools and Wea…
Podcast Ad Spending Projected to Hit $1 Billion by 2022
Spotify’s aggressive push into podcasting isn’t based on a hunch. According to the latest lofty projection, podcasting revenue is rapidly approaching $1 billion. That’s pretty good for a format that has already died once. According to The Podcasting R…
Billionaire Mark Cuban Sells AXS TV — AEG Remains an Active Partner
Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban has sold a majority interest in HDNet, LLC., the parent company of AXS TV and HDNet Movies. Though the financial terms of the deal weren’t publicly revealed, it seems likely that Cuban turned a sizable profit. The Dal…
Musicians, Fans Demand That Ticketmaster Stop Using Facial Recognition at Concerts
Musicians and fans alike are demanding that Ticketmaster stop utilizing facial recognition technology at concerts. Last year, Ticketmaster announced that they would begin using facial recognition devices to admit ticketholders, who wouldn’t need to pre…
After Being Moved by ‘The Friend,’ Robert Plant Agrees to License Two Led Zeppelin Songs at a Steep Discount
It’s all too common to hear stories about greed in the music industry, which makes stories of the opposite downright exceptional. One of these occurred just days before Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s film The Friend was scheduled to premiere at the Toronto F…
Guns n’ Roses Announces 9 Different Opening Acts for Its Latest ‘Not In This Lifetime’ Leg
Guns n’ Roses recently revealed that the fall leg of their ongoing tour, Not In This Lifetime, will come with nine separate—and very different—opening acts. The band will make 15 stops between the end of September and the beginning of November, with ev…
Cardi B Fights Back After Getting Sued for $5 Million Over a Tattoo Design
The strange case of a man suing rapper Cardi B over a tattoo that appears on the cover of one of her mixtapes is continuing toward its dramatic climax. Legal representatives of Cardi B have officially answered the original complaint in a California U.S…
BMI Reports Fiscal Year Revenues of $1.283 Billion; $1.196 Billion in Distributions
It was a record-breaking year for BMI. The music rights management conglomerate reported that its annual revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 was nearly $1.3 billion. This represents an increase of 7% from the preceding year. It was also a …
Billboard Parent Valence Acquires Soundscan from Nielsen
With Rolling Stone’s charts threatening, Billboard acquires Soundscan. Billboard parent company Valence is set to acquire Soundscan, Nielsen’s music data and analytics subdivision. Billboard has long used Soundscan to craft their charts, but now, the b…