CelebrityAccess

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Kobalt’s recording arm AWAL has hired Thomas Fiss as Vice President, Strategic Marketing, North America. In this new role, Fiss will oversee creative multichannel marketing, including conceptualizing and producing content offerings and partner integrations for AWAL artists, to grow relationships with brands, media outlets and other external organizations. Fiss joins AWAL with more than 10 years of music industry and partnership marketing experience. Most recently, he served as a department head at Life is Beautiful Music Festival, where he managed brand partnerships, including strategy and execution. He is also the co-founder of Partner.ly, a software platform that simplifies the artist and brand partnership process. Prior to beginning his marketing career, Fiss was a recording artist signed to Capitol Records in the US. Commenting on their latest hire, AWAL President, North America Ron Cerrito said: “We are reimagining the construct and type of serv...

PERU (CelebrityAccess) – Warner Music has officially opened its doors in Peru, hiring Angela Sarmiento Vera to head up operations in one of Latin America’s fastest-growing music markets. Sarmiento Vera joins following a six-year tenure at Warner Music Colombia, where she held various marketing roles including as head of press and TV. She will be based out of Warner Peru’s brand new Lima office and report to Maria Mercedes Montejo, general manager, Warner Music Andean Region. Commenting on the label’s latest move toward expanding its global impact, Montejo said in a statement: “Peru’s an essential destination for artists from across Latin America and it’s also developed its own incredible local music scene. Growing digital and neighbouring rights income means the market in Peru is as commercially sustainable as it’s creatively sparkling. It’s a great moment to open an office in Lima.” Iñigo Zabala, president of Latin America and Iberia at Warner Music, added: “The music market i...

INDIA (CelebrityAccess) – Global music streaming giant Spotify has agreed to remove all works belonging to India’s oldest record label, Saregama, from its platform within the next 10 days. The decision follows a copyright infringement suit against Spotify brought by Saregama and heard by Delhi’s High Court. In the lawsuit, which is available for viewing here , Saregama claims that, although it entered into negotiations with Spotify for a copyright license and permitted Spotify to upload its content a month ahead of the platform’s launch in India, the two parties never actually finalized their deal. Subsequently, Saregama, alleges that it requested Spotify block all of its work on the app, however, the streaming platform had not complied until now. Established in 1901, Saregama is India’s oldest record label and music publishing company. With a catalog that generated over a billion streams worldwide in calendar Q4 last year, according to MBW, the firm began operations as a branch ...

LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Arctic Monkeys, Hozier and George Ezra are among the nominees for the 2019 Ivors, which were announced earlier today (April 24). Now in their 64th year, The Ivors celebrate, honor and reward excellence in British and Irish songwriting and composing across categories for songs, albums, film, TV and video game scores. Works eligible for this year’s awards were commercially released in the UK in 2018 and have a British or Irish songwriting or composing contribution of at least a third. “The works nominated for The Ivors 2019 are brilliantly diverse, and we’re delighted to see so many first-time nominees recognised,” said Ivors Academy chair Crispin Hunt in a statement. “As the only peer-nominated music award in the country, they are a fantastic reflection of the exciting emerging talent of British and Irish music creators today. Our congratulations to all nominated.” This year’s winners will be revealed during a ceremony at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, ...

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (CelebrityAccess) And then, in a puff a smoke, when nobody was looking, Ticketmaster’s older connection to its patrons – communication via telephone – was no more. According to a small article in  The Vindicator , reporting on future shows at Youngstown, Ohio’s venues such as the Covelli Centre, Packard Music Hall and The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre, “Ticketmaster has discontinued its telephone ticket ordering service.” Instead, all tickets must be purchased by the newfangled World Wide Web, namely at Ticketmaster.com. Ironically, shows at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio, can be picked up at this thing called a “box office” located at 1703 Mahoning Ave., NW. Well, roll over Beethoven and tell Fred Rosen the news: people don’t pick up the phone to order tickets anymore. Ticketmaster was founded in 1975 in Phoenix and was built on licensed computer programs based off of a purchase of Ticketron. Or, as the one person to comment on the story said, “A...

CHINA (CelebrityAccess) Live Nation Entertainment has appointed Song Ke, former chairman of Alibaba Music, as chairman of Live Nation China. Song Ke will be basked in Beijing and is tasked with guiding Live Nation’s overall business in China. Song is expected to focus on domestic artist touring, artist management and venues. Live Nation’s international concerts business in China will continue to be led by managing director Edward Liu, based in Shanghai, according to a statement. Song Ke founded Rye Music, one of China’s biggest labels, in the 1990s and spent time as head of Warner Music Group (China). He then founded Taihe Rye Music in 2004 where he worked with the big names of C-Pop. Song Ke is the current chairman of the China Music Industry Committee. Alan Ridgeway, Chairman, Live Nation Asia Pacific commented: “We have made great in-roads into China over the last few years by building up our international touring volumes, especially at the club and theatre level, and introduci...

NAPA, CA (CelebrityAccess) — Organizers for the Napa Valley-based Bottlerock Festival, announced the lineup for the festival’s culinary stage, with Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi, Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and Travel Channel’s Zimmern leading the bill. “The Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage, just like the entire BottleRock festival, celebrates the best of what can happen when food and music come together,” said Janet Hayes, president of Williams Sonoma, said in a presser. In past years, the culinary stage has seen the likes of Martha Stewart cooking with rapper Macklemore, and last year, rapper Snoop Dogg broke a World Record for making the world’s biggest gin & juice with Michael Voltaggio, owner of the trendy Los Angeles restaurant Ink. This year, the Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage will feature musicians Alice Cooper, Tisha Yearwood, Questlove, Tré Cool, Michael Franti, Ben McKee , Daniel Platzman, Taylor Hawkins, and Too $hort, alongside sports figures ...

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CelebrityAccess) United Talent Agency has named Adam Gross as Director of Internal Communications within UTA’s global corporate communications group. Gross joins UTA from Disney|ABC Television where he served as Director of Internal Communications. He is tasked with leading UTA’s internal communications initiatives, partnering with Human Resources, Finance, IT, Corporate Services and others to foster information-sharing, collaboration and company culture, and will direct its digital communications strategy. He will report to UTA’s Global Chief Communications Officer, Seth Oster. “Adam’s significant experience within the creative community and beyond creating employee engagement programs and deploying cutting-edge technology programs will be an extraordinary asset for UTA,” Oster said. “Sharing the successes of our clients and colleagues and continuing to build a best-in-class culture are among our top priorities.” At Disney|ABC Television, Gross led emplo...

( Hypebot ) — A fundamental part of the music business, advertising’s latest evolution is arriving at Pandora in the form of interactive voice ads, built in partnership with Instreamatic around AI tech and with an alleged ability to understand listeners’ speech beyond simple “yes” and “no” commands. ________________________________ Guest post by  Bobby Owsinski  of  Music 3.0 Advertising is a necessary evil. We all hate ads no matter what the format, but they help pay for the entertainment content that we consume. Simply put, no ads, no money, no content, and we all pay for subscriptions instead. The marketing industry is always trying something new to get our attention, and the latest is “interactive voice ads” that streaming service Pandora is slated to debut later this year. The interactive voice ads will allow listeners to speak directly to the advert to get more information. Pandora has partnered with ad-tech company  Instreamatic , which speci...

MEXICO CITY (CelebrityAccess) — Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Alejandro Fernández has signed an exclusive, worldwide booking and management deal with OCESA Seitrack. The deal includes the ongoing collaboration of Jason Garner, who formerly served as the CEO of Global Music for Live Nation. Alejandro Fernández, the son of Mexican music legend Vicente Fernández, has numerous #1 hits to his name, and successfully crossed over from Mexican folk music to pop, collaborating with the likes of Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Rod Stewart, Plácido Domingo and more recently Morat and Sebastián Yatra. Known as “El Potrillo” (The Colt) Fernández has sold more than 35 million records worldwide, and since 2016, is a member of the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame. His most recent album, 2017’s Rompiendo Fronteras, featured the hit “Sé que te duele” a collaboration with his label mates, the Colombian pop group Morat. According to OCESA Seitrack, is gearing up...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Sony Music Entertainment announced the promotion of label veteran Sylvia Rhone to Chairman and CEO of Epic Records. In her new role, Rhone will lead the creative direction and management of Epic, and report to Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment. “Sylvia is a trailblazing and iconic executive who has played a critical leadership role in driving Epic’s recent artist development success. Her wealth of experience and passionate support of artistic vision will help us further grow the reach of Epic’s roster around the world,” Stringer said in a press statement. Rhone’s career in the music industry spans more than four decades, dating back to her first gig at New York-based label Buddha Records in 1974 and held positions at other labels, including ABC and Ariola before landing at Atlantic, where she became director of national black music marketing. While at Atlantic, she broadened her A&R oversight until she was named Senior Vice President a...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) Heath Miller, formerly the buyer for the city’s Webster Hall and founder of concert promotion company Excess dB Entertainment, was recently named director of booking for the historic United Palace in Manhattan. The performance facility, the fourth-largest in Manhattan, is church-owned and known as a non-profit cultural and performing arts center. Its neighborhood of Washington Heights has risen in prominence with the help of the red-hot Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose musical “In The Heights” is being adapted to film. The venue has hosted acts like Lenny Kravitz, Bad Bunny, Mumford & Sons, Sam Smith, Lorde and John Legend. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Heath Miller join the team at the United Palace. We believe Heath’s vast experience in the industry will positively impact the already very popular events we offer at the Palace.” said Reverend Heather Shea, the Spiritual Director and Chief Executive Officer of the United Palace. CelebrityAccess talked...

HULL, UK (CelebrityAccess) — UK promoter and venue management company VMS Live revealed that company founder and Managing Director Steve Forster died on April 19th from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. According to a statement from VMS, Forster was involved in an accident on March 30th while returning from watching a Leeds United football match. “Steve sustained a number of serious injuries which were treated in Sheffield after which he was transferred to Royal Surrey Hospital but following complications, Steve passed away peacefully on Friday, April 19th, 2019,” VMS said. Forster launched VMS Live in 2007 and the company offers programming, venue development, management, promotional and operational, as well as developing and promoting their own brands, including, Innercity Live and more than 750 concerts annually as VMS Live presents. VMS Live also owns and manages The Welly, Welly 2 and The Polar Bear venues in Hull as well as Hull Box Office. “Whether you knew St...

LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — James Barton’s private equity-backed Superstruct Entertainment has acquired a portfolio of music festivals from event producer Global Festival Ltd. The deal includes Victorious Festival, South West Four, Kendal Calling, Truck, Tramlines and Boardmasters in the UK, as well as the Croatian Hideout Festival. The deal did not include other Global festivals, including Snowbombing, Field Day, Festival No.6., MusicWeek reported. “This acquisition further demonstrates that Superstruct is committed to building a strong portfolio of live entertainment brands. We look forward to supporting the different festivals in their growth in their respective markets,” said Superstruct’s James Barton. The deal expands Superstruct’s portfolio of festivals in EU, including Hungary’s Sziget, Finland’s Flow Festival, the Sónar festival in Barcelona, the Øya Festival in Norway, and Spanish EDM promoter Elrow. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but as IQ-Magazine repo...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM has launched a new challenge to rivals in the music streaming world with the debut of a new, cheaper streaming-only subscription package. The New Essential subscription tier is aimed at SiriusXM customers who want to listen on a mobile phone, tablet, desktop, and on connected devices in the home including devices with Amazon Alexa, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, Sonos speakers, Xbox, Sony PlayStation and more. The service provides access to more than 200 channels of SiriusXM content, including music, comedy, news, and sports for $8 a month, making it comparable in price to on-demand streaming services. The channel selection for Essentials includes artist-branded music channels like Diplo’s Revolution, The Garth Channel and Eminem’s Shade 45, concept-based channels like the popular Pop Rocks, Coffee House and Yacht Rock Radio channels, as well as the new Pandora NOW channel, which features trending music from S...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — New York’s City Parks Foundation announced the return of SummerStage, a series of more than 100 free concerts and performing arts events staged around the city. Scheduled to take place in Manhattan’s Central Park, as well as 17 neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs, Summerstage 2019 will feature 200 recognized and rising artists from around the world, performing everything from dance music and hip-hop to jazz. Financial services company Capital One has signed on as festival’s new multi-year title sponsor (Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage) and its official bank and credit card. A presenting sponsor since 2015, Capital One has helped SummerStage bring more than 500 artists to 800,000 audience members in parks all around New York City. The launch of the 2019 season will take place on SummerStage in Central Park on Saturday, June 1 with performances by R&B singer-songwriter Emily King, deep soul revival band Durand Jones & the...

NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) Steve Lassiter has been promoted to Co-Head of Worldwide Music at APA, it was announced today by Jim Gosnell, President, and CEO of APA. Lassiter, who first joined APA in 1998 and most recently served as Partner, senior VP and head of concerts at APA Nashville, will oversee all APA Music operations for APA’s Concerts division alongside fellow Co-Heads of Worldwide Music Bruce Solar and Steve Martin, who are headquartered in Los Angeles and New York, respectively. “Steve has done a tremendous job guiding the success of our Nashville operations,” Gosnell said in a statement.  “The quality of his leadership and contributions to our overall success cannot be understated, and I’m very pleased to honor his hard work and dedication with this well-deserved promotion.” “This is an exciting chapter in my life,” Lassiter added.  “I look forward to creating new success stories with Jim, Bruce, and Steve as our agency continues to grow and evolve in lock-ste...

(CelebrityAccess) Online manuscript seller Moments In Time is offering up one of the rarest pieces of memorabilia to ever go on sale regarding Queen frontman Freddie Mercury: the only setlist written by Mercury to ever be offered to the public. The setlist comes from a 1978 concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the price for the two-page list of songs is going for $35,000. It was originally owned by a private collector but that person appears it is time to let it go. The setlist includes all the good stuff – “Bohemian Rhapsody,” (written as “Bo Rhap”), “Keep Yourself Alive,” “Tie Your Mother Down” and “We Will Rock You” – in that order. It wraps with “Jailhouse Rock” and Mercury put underneath it “Hotel!!” – always the best part of the night for a traveling band. The going price is actually pretty cheap, considering some other items up for sale: A bullet-dented medallion worn by Tubac Shakur the night he was shot in 1994 is going for $125,000 and the Beatles’ breakup contract is g...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – BMG has entered into a new long-term global partnership with Los Angeles-based DEL Records, an indie label focused on regional Mexican music. Under the terms of the new deal, BMG will become the exclusive worldwide publishing administrator for each of DEL’s publishing entities: DEL Melodies, DEL World Songs and DEL New Music. BMG, which has been named ASCAP’s Latin Independent Publisher of the Year for the past three years, has been the publishing administrator of the DEL catalog since 2016. Commenting on the partnership, DEL founder and CEO Angel de Villar said in a statement: “My philosophy has always been to lead and create markets. This has been driven by the love for what I do and the fans who connect with it. As we continue to grow and redefine what it means to be a music label in today’s age, we look forward to having BMG as our partners as we look to the future.” DEL president Luca Scalisi added: “As a record label that moves markets, DEL ...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) Childish Gambino, Jimmy Fallon, Will Smith, Kesha and Spotify were some of the many winners of the Webby Awards, unveiled today by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards, which celebrate the best work on the Internet, will have an awards ceremony hosted by comedian Jenny Slate in New York City May 13. Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” won the Webby Award and Webby People’s Voice Award for Music Video (Video). Kesha’s “I Need A Woman” won the People’s Voice Award for Best Editing (Video). “The Carter III Anniversary” by Spotify won for Celebrity/Fan (Social). Best podcast series went to Slate Magazine’s Slow Burn, season 2. Fortnite won the award for best multiplayer/competitive game3s (games). Will Smith: The Jump won for events and live streams. “Undercover Lyft” with Chance the Rapper won the Webby Award for Branded Entertainment Viral (Video). The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon won the Webby Award and Webby Peop...

LONDON (CelebrityAccess) – Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited has acquired the music catalog of American songwriter, producer and singer Brittany Hazzard, aka Starrah. Starrah co-wrote Camila Cabello’s global smash hit “Havana,” which together with the Spanish language remix featuring Daddy Yankee, reached No.1 in 95 countries. To date, the song has been streamed 2.6 billion times globally. Starrah also co-wrote Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You,” which spent 33 weeks in the Top 10 in the US and reached No.1 in 11 countries. The catalog includes a total of 14 US singles that have reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 including Rihanna’s “Needed Me”; Drake’s “Fake Love”; Halsey’s “Now or Never”; and Nicki Minaj’s “No Frauds.” Overall, Starrah’s songs have achieved 94 No.1, 199 Top 5 and 277 Top 10 Chart positions globally. Commenting on his latest acquisition, Mercuriadis said: “Starrah is at the forefront of today’s song writing revolution. She is taking pop artistry ...

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Twitter has exceeded Wall Street estimates, reporting modest user gains in the first quarter and better-than-expected revenues. Analysts predicted earnings per share of 15 cents; Twitter far exceeded that with a 37 cent earnings per share. Revenue was expected to be $776.1 million; revenue, in fact, reached $787 million. Twitter reported monthly active users, minus SMS users, of 330 million; analysts anticipated 318 million. The social network is expected to abandon this reporting for “monetizable daily active users,” according to Deadline. The shift comes after Twitter purged bot / fake accounts causing it to miss user estimates for two straight quarters. “The health of the public conversation on Twitter remains our greatest priority, so people feel safe being a part of the conversation and are able to find credible information on our service,” the company said in its earnings release. TWTR stock is up more than 7 percent in pre-market trading. The...

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – TIDAL has launched a contest aimed at fans who want into Jay-Z’s sold out performance at New York’s Webster Hall on Friday, April 26. The intimate concert, which is being dubbed “B-Sides 2” and will mark the famed East Village venue’s re-opening following extensive renovations, sold-out within minutes when it was first announced early last week. Now, fans will have a last-minute chance to win free tickets, and all they have to do is offer up their best rendition of one of Jay’s B-Sides songs, according to TIDAL. “Hov wants to see your best rendition of one of his B-Sides songs,” TIDAL announced via Twitter on Monday (April 22). “Post a video spitting your best tagging @TIDAL using #TIDALXJAYZ + #Contest by 4/24 at 5pm ET.” The contest is open to TIDAL users who are at least 18 and live in either New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Pennsylvania. Fans are limited to one entry in the giveaway per person. “When we were thinking about who would be th...

GEORGIA (CelebrityAccess) – Rapper T.I. and VH1′s Love and Hip Hop personality Scrapp Deleon joined forces with the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, over the weekend to post bail for 23 nonviolent offenders who would have spent Easter behind bars. The “Bail Out” program, which helped those living in DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Rockdale counties, is reportedly expected to extend beyond the weekend, with each offender being connected to a mentor and possibly even financial assistance for college. While the church set out to raise $40,000 at the start of Lent, donations topped $120,000 within a month, according to The Associated Press. Senior church pastor Jamal Bryant says this was a way for the church to be more outspoken when it comes to prison reform. The post T.I., VH1’s Scrapp Deleon Aid Nonviolent Offenders In Georgia appeared first on CelebrityAccess . from CelebrityAccess http://bit.ly/2KXfKVk via IFTTT

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Steve Golin, 64, one of the most decorated producers in Hollywood, died after a long battle with cancer in Los Angeles April 21. Golin is the Oscar-winning producer behind “The Revenant” and “Spotlight” as well as earning two Golden Globes in 2016 for best dramatic film (“The Revenant”) and best TV drama (“Mr. Robot” – starring Rami Malek, who would go on to an Oscar-winning portrayal of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”). He also was the catalyst behind movies such as “The Game,” “Wild At Heart,” best picture nominee “Babel,” “Being John Malkovich, and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” In 1986, Golen and fellow American Film Institute alum Joni Sighvatsson launched Propaganda Films, which became the world’s largest production company for music videos and commercials at the height of MTV’s powerful influence. It was around that time when he produced most of Tears For Fears’ videos, among others.  At Anonymous, he is credited with launchi...

DETROIT (CelebrityAccess) An appellate court has held up the original court decision that Live Nation nor the Michigan International Speedway are responsible for an injury sustained by a patron at the 2016 Faster Horses country music fest after she walked into an unlit, wooded area of the grounds and fell into a ravine. Brandi Roe claims that on Friday, July 16, she was part of a group that camped at the M-50 Creekside campsite and began playing beer pong and cornhole around 1 p.m. and went to watch the bands around 5 p.m. At some point, she and a companion separated from the rest of the group and stayed until the end of the last act, around 11:30 p.m. “Plaintiff testified at her deposition that she had begun drinking beer and mixed vodka drinks at the campsite around 1:00 p.m. and had continued drinking consistently throughout the day and during her time at Faster Horses,” the Strate of Michigan Court of Appeals said in its decision. Roe and her companion decided to forego waiting ...

Now on The Promoter 101 Podcast, we feature Coda’s Nick Matthews talking about his career path. And 7S Management’s Chris Tetzeli Turns The Tables on Steiny.     Direct Link: https://is.gd/ngUM9h Email Dan + Luke: steiny@promoter101.net Spotify: https://is.gd/T5SPEC‬ Tweet the Guys: https://twitter.com/Promoters101 Tweet Dan: https://twitter.com/TheJew Tweet Luke: https://twitter.com/wlukepierce Follow us on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/promoter101-29260148/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steinypromoter101/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/promoter101 Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/promoter101 Website: http://www.promoter101.net/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/promoter101/id1163910658?mt=2 Google Music: https://is.gd/onEmSt Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/promoter101?refid=stpr Tumbler: http://promoter101.tumblr.com/ Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/user/promoter101 YouTube: https://www.yout...