Tag: Stars

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Entertainment

The Breakout Stars of 2021

The Breakout Stars of 2021

Okoyomon, who lived in Lagos, Nigeria as a child before moving to Texas and then Ohio, added, “I hang on to materials like earth, rocks, water and fire because I cannot control these things by myself. ”

As part of the Frieze win, Okoyomon designed and presented a performance-based installation at the Shed entitled “This God Is A Slow Recovery” that focused on communication or its lack. “It’s about destroying our language, building it up, collapsing the words,” said Okoyomon. “How do we create the language to get into the new world?”

This month Okoyomon won the Chanel Next Prize, a new award from the French fashion brand founded to promote emerging talent, nominated by a group of cultural figures and selected by jurors Tilda Swinton, David Adjaye and Cao Fei.

To dance

In September, the dancer and choreographer Kayla Farrish, together with the jazz, soul and experimental musician Melanie Charles, whisked Maria Hernandez Park in Brooklyn into a lively scene of grace and power.

The performance – as part of the four / four Presents platform, which commissions collaborations between artists – was “extensive and robust work that intertwined music and spoken word with choreography” that included the best of technical dance and athletic exercise, Gia said Kourlas, the dance critic at The Times.

The result transformed his five dancers – Farrish, 30, led by Mikaila Ware, Kerime Konur, Gabrielle Loren and Anya Clarke-Verdery – into a living union of musicality, tenderness and power, ”wrote Kourlas.

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Entertainment

JoJo Siwa to Have First Identical-Intercourse ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Accomplice

JoJo Siwa to Have First Same-Sex ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Partner

On Thursday, “Dancing With the Stars” story was made with the announcement that dancer and social media personality JoJo Siwa would be the first candidate on the ABC program to run with a same-sex partner.

Executive producer Andrew Llinares announced the milestone during a panel of the television critics association “Dancing With the Stars”.

(The show also announced that gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee would be in her 30th season and that other celebrity contestants would be featured on Good Morning America on September 8. The season kicks off on September 20. )

“I have a girlfriend who is the love of my life and who is everything to me,” Siwa told USA Today in an article published Thursday. “My journey of getting out and having a girlfriend has inspired so many people around the world.”

“I thought if I did choose to dance with a girl on this show it would break the stereotype,” she said, adding that it would be “new, different” and a “change for the better.”

Siwa emerged as part of the LGBTQ community earlier this year when she posted a photo of herself on Instagram wearing a t-shirt that said, “Best Gay Cousin Ever”. In April, she told people that “technically I would say that I am pansexual”.

On the judging panel for the Critics Association, model and TV personality Tyra Banks – who hosts and executive producer of “Dancing With the Stars” – said she supports the move.

“You make history, JoJo,” she said. “This is life changing for so many people. Especially because you are so young. That you say this is who you are and it’s beautiful, I’m so proud of you. “

Siwa, known for her sparkling hair accessories and bubbly personality, met her friend Kylie Prew on a cruise. They started dating in January and by June LGBTQ advocacy group Glaad had them on their 20 Under 20 list.

Glaad’s talent boss Anthony Allen Ramos praised the show’s move on Thursday in a statement. “At the age of 18, JoJo Siwa used her platform again to inspire and promote the LGBTQ community,” he said. “As one of the most watched and acclaimed television shows, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and Tyra Banks make the right decision to show JoJo Siwa alongside a professional dancer.”

“The show has such a wide, wide-ranging audience,” he said, “and there is a real opportunity here for people to celebrate same-sex pairing and to root JoJo and all LGBTQ youth.”

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Entertainment

Stars Congratulate Allyson Felix on Historic Olympic Win

Stars Congratulate Allyson Felix on Historic Olympic Win

Allyson Felix won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, making history. After winning a medal in the women’s 4 × 400 meter relay on Saturday, the 35-year-old is now the most decorated US athletics Olympian, surpassing Carl Lewis. “First gold medal in @bysaysh’s history, I don’t even have the words for how proud I am,” Allyson wrote on Instagram. “You are worthy of your dreams. Keep it up!” As Olympians, athletes and stars got in the mood for this year’s ceremony, it didn’t take long for wishes for both their bronze and gold medals to pour in. A handful of celebrities showed their support in the comments, while others congratulated Allyson on Twitter. Check out more celebrity reactions to Allyson’s incredible win.

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World News

Japan’s Various Olympic Stars Mirror a Nation That’s Altering (Slowly)

Japan’s Diverse Olympic Stars Reflect a Country That’s Changing (Slowly)

But Tokyo itself remains remarkably monochromatic. According to the city government, only about 4 percent of residents were born outside Japan – about twice as many as in the country. (In contrast, more than 35 percent of London and New York residents were born abroad.)

Marie Nakagawa, a former Senegalese-Japanese model, said she felt like a “foreigner” who grew up in Japan. Even today, she regularly endures shouts from men saying she is a doorbell for Ms. Osaka, whose advocacy for racial justice has forced the country to confront a problem that many here think does not apply to her.

Basics of the Summer Olympics

“I hear experts say all the time that things have changed since Naomi Osaka, but the tyrants are still the same,” Ms. Nakagawa said. “You weren’t reeducated.”

In 2019, when Ms. Osaka won her second Grand Slam at the Australian Open, Nissin featured her pale skin and brown hair in a marketing cartoon, leading to whitewash allegations.

“It’s obvious that I’m tanned,” Ms. Osaka replied. Nissin apologized.

Takeshi Fujiwara, a sprinter who specializes in the 400 meters, grew up in El Salvador, where his Japanese name raised his eyebrows. His mother is from there and his father is Japanese. Even after Mr. Fujiwara took part in the Olympic Games in Athens for El Salvador, the whispers about his nationality continued.

In 2013 he switched his loyalty to Japan and moved to his father’s homeland. The greeting was not immediate, he said, even if people commented positively on his “macho-macho” muscles.

“When I came to Japan, I thought, ‘Hey, I’m here in my country.’ They said, ‘Hey, where are you from?’ ”Said Mr. Fujiwara. “It’s gotten better, but we’re still a long way from a place where multiracial Japanese are considered normal.”

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Entertainment

N.B.A. Professionals on the Huge Display: Can These Stars Act?

N.B.A. Pros on the Big Screen: Can These Stars Act?

Does every N.B.A. superstar really want to be in movies? You might think so, judging by the long and checkered history of players going Hollywood (not to mention the amount of flopping in today’s game). As the newly released “Space Jam: A New Legacy” takes the booming subgenre of films built on hoops talent into the era of remakes, here’s a guide to the best and worst performances by pro basketball players, starting in the 1970s.

1979

Rent it on most major platforms.

If we are to believe this goofy 1979 movie — and why not? — basketball at the height of disco meant players doing the splits to celebrate buckets, coaching by astrology and Dr. J as the coolest man alive. Much of his mellow performance is shot in slow motion, adding to its swagger. In one scene, he seduces a woman by taking her to a playground and dunking in street clothes by himself in street clothes. In another, he enters a game by hot-air balloon, wearing a glittery silver uniform, backed by funky soul music. If John Travolta had a sports counterpart, this was it.

1979

Rent it on most major platforms.

In this easygoing drama about a coach (played by Gabe Kaplan at the height of his “Welcome Back, Kotter” fame) who builds an underdog college program, the Knick star Bernard King delivers an understated, lived-in performance as a pool hustler with a silky jump shot. He keeps up with an ensemble of actors without outshining them too much on the court. Compared with the hectic video-game aesthetic of “Space Jam,” this character-driven movie feels refreshingly human.

1980

Rent it on most major platforms.

There is no more famous jock cameo than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar playing himself pretending to be an ordinary commercial airplane pilot. The idea that the seven-foot superstar could disguise himself even after being challenged on it by a young fan is one of the countless jokes in this classic comedy. But when his frustration is supposed to turn into anger, Abdul-Jabbar can’t transcend his coolly unflappable stoicism.

In the greatest basketball movie of all time, this five-time all-star makes a brief but electric appearance as a guy enraged after getting hustled out of money, clearing the courts by swinging a knife around in ineffectual rage. It’s so convincing that you would never know he became famous for basketball, not acting.

1994

Stream it on Hulu and Paramount+.

This unsung morality tale about a Bobby Knight-like college coach (Nick Nolte, crusty as ever) tempted into corruption is filled with performances by famous players (Shaquille O’Neal, Larry Bird) and coaches (Rick Pitino, Knight). They all capably play versions on themselves, but the revelation here is the Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy, who transforms into a morally ambivalent athletic director. It’s a startlingly assured performance from a Hall of Famer from the early years of the N.B.A.

Shaq is the most charismatic big man in history, funny in cameos and as a talking head, but as the star of his own movie, his track record is more like his foul shooting. The year before he would make one of the most forgettable DC superhero movies (“Steel”), he delivered this much-mocked performance as a rapping genie in this schmaltzy fantasy. Trying to grant the wishes of a blandly likable white kid with divorced parents, he lumbers through, shouting his lines, mugging and even burping for laughs.

1997

Rent it on most major platforms.

Despite winning three Razzie Awards for this Jean-Claude Van Damme flop, Dennis Rodman is actually a plausible action star. He convincingly kickboxes, looks good in flamboyant get-ups (lots of hair die and leather) and wryly delivers corny lines riffing on his persona. (“You’re crazier than my hairstylist.”) All of this movie’s camp humor comes from the glint in his eye, which he needs when delivering one of many basketball references, despite the fact that he’s not supposed to be a player but rather an extremely tall arms dealer.

Making your major movie debut opposite Denzel Washington must be as daunting as entering the pros and guarding LeBron James in your first game. Exuding innocence and quiet charisma, Ray Allen, in the meaty role of Coney Island basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth, accounts himself well, even if you never forget he’s moonlighting. He’s persuasive as a diffident, paralyzed high school star with buried anger at his father. It’s a role player of a performance that executes the game plan skillfully, occasionally with panache.

1998

Rent it on most major platforms.

At 7 foot 7 inches, the Romanian center Gheorghe Muresan was the tallest player in the history of the N.B.A. That was enough for a solid pro career, even if his skills, especially early on, were unrefined. But for amateurs, acting can be tougher than sports. In this Billy Crystal buddy movie, he’s stuck in a slump. It can be hard to understand him (English is not his first language), and in his reaction shots, he might hold another record: least expressive star in the history of comedy.

When it comes to movies starring Brooklyn Nets, “Uncle Drew,” featuring Kyrie Irving, is flashier and funnier. But there’s nothing in it as impressive as Kevin Durant pretending to be awful at basketball in this rigorously wholesome “Freaky Friday”-like movie in which he accidentally trades talents with a clumsy high school kid. A common trope for this genre (“Space Jam” also includes a plot point with N.B.A. stars losing their skills), Durant really commits to being bad, adjusting his form in subtle and consistent ways. It’s a cringey delight to watch this perfectionist trip making a crossover, airball a dunk and miss his patented midrange shot, over and over again.

2018

Rent it on most major platforms.

You know that old guy on the playground who everyone underestimates because he looks slow and out of shape, but then dominates the game through wily moves and sneaky change of pace. Kyrie Irving’s performance is an affectionate ode to this figure, right down to the sweatpants. Most current stars moonlighting in movies perform versions of themselves, so it’s a bold move for Irving to try a completely different character, doing a nice job shifting his posture to a hunch and affecting a weary voice. And if he seemed a little stiff, it’s not easy to act underneath such an elaborate makeup job.

2019

Stream it on Netflix.

On-court personality usually doesn’t translate to the screen, but this is a notable exception. Playing an amped-up version of himself, Kevin Garnett was as intense and ferocious getting in Adam Sandler’s face as he was with Patrick Ewing.

1996

Michael Jordan has enough star power to light up a commercial or a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, but his wooden acting needed the animation of Bugs Bunny to make the original Tune Squad a powerhouse.

2021

Stream it on HBO Max.

Who’s better: M.J. or LeBron? This endless sports-talk debate over the greatest ever usually focuses on stats amassed and rings won, but now we have another metric to argue over: Who is the best — or more precisely, least terrible — lead actor? It’s close, but James gets the edge, showing more range playing opposite cartoons, pretending to be the overbearing sports dad along with the goofy big-kid corporate hero, even tapping into sloppy sentiment that Jordan reserves for meme-able Hall of Fame inductions.

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Entertainment

A Choreographer Finds His Approach, Getting Misplaced within the Stars

A Choreographer Finds His Way, Getting Lost in the Stars

Kyle Marshall’s pandemic year was all about change. He turned 30. He moved into his own apartment. He now depends on his dance company, which he formed in 2014, for his livelihood. And he’s working with new dancers, a major shift for a choreographer whose works were populated by close friends and roommates — fellow graduates from Rutgers University.

“That transition felt like a lot, but it also felt absolutely necessary because it brings new ideas forward,” he said in an interview. “It keeps me accountable to how I want my ideas to come across. I have to communicate in a different way. I have to work with less expectation, and I think that’s really healthy.”

In this next step of his career, he said, he’s more focused and more comfortable making decisions. But the pandemic made also him realize something else: Just how exhausted he was. Before the shutdown, in December 2019, his company performed two works exploring Blackness at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. “It took a toll on me,” Marshall said. “One thing that came out of Covid that I was grateful for was just the time to rest.”

“I wish I was better prepared,” he said of dealing with the stress of his dancing life, which also includes teaching and being a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company. He added, “I wish I was in therapy sooner.”

The experiences of the past year have shifted both his work and the way he works. During the pandemic, Marshall started to embrace improvisation; he also found himself drawn to jazz, which led him to think about the role improvisation plays in Black art.

“I also thought improvisation would be a helpful way for performers to get back into material after not being onstage for so long,” he said. “I was in such a place of improvisation that it didn’t feel quite right for me to start dictating to people what to do with their bodies.”

This month, two new dances — one a film, the other live — will have their premieres. “Stellar,” a trippy piece inspired by Afrofuturism, jazz and science fiction, is a digital work for the Baryshnikov Arts Center, available for two weeks starting June 7. The other dance, “Rise,” is a celebration of club music that will be performed live at the Shed on June 25 and 26.

In each, there is a sense of elation, of wonder. “‘Stellar’ was thinking about something that was sci-fi and still rooted in Black culture and Black art-making, but stemming from other things besides just pain,” he said. “There’s more that I want to explore and more that I want to sit in to make work.”

For “Stellar” Marshall conjures a universe, meditative and otherworldly, in which three dancers, Bree Breeden, Ariana Speight and Marshall himself, move to a dreamy score by Kwami Winfield, featuring the cornet, bits of metal, a hand drum and a tambourine. The dancers, in painted and dyed sweatsuits designed by Malcolm-x Betts, practically glow, lending a sense of mysticism to the darkened stage where Marshall’s circular patterns and revolving bodies, seem to regenerate the space over time. There’s a weightlessness to them; at times, they seem like particles.

“Stellar” unfolds in five sections, each a different grouping or exploration. “The first opening, as we call it, is ‘expansion,’” Marshall said. “I was trying to create a body that was floating.”

The work has a ritualistic quality, which owes much to the music. Before he started working with the dancers, Marshall spent time figuring out the structure and the concept with Winfield. Sun Ra, the avant-garde musician with a passion for outer space, was a big influence.

“Sun Ra represents an alternate vision of the future — the potential to be more than what we’re born into as humans and specifically Black people in America,” Winfield said. “Sun Ra is sort of in between traditionalism in jazz and expanding it outward into noise. And something that Kyle and I talked about specifically was the way Sun Ra treats his keyboard like the controls of a spaceship.”

Marshall was also inspired by other jazz artists, including John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane and Albert Ayler. The sound that they produced felt out there to him — in a good way. And it also came as a surprise: His knowledge of experimental music was linked to the composer John Cage. But “these people were also working on breaking down boundaries of sound, creating distortion, creating noise, working in dissonance,” Marshall said. “That was not a part of my education, and I found it very empowering: Here are Black artists working in a very radical way.”

It led to him to consider his own improvisational practice as he tried to explore new ways of moving. The transcendence of Alice Coltrane’s music was particularly meaningful. “It’s just not playing to perform,” Marshall said. “It feels like she’s pulling something out of her. It felt like it held me and kept me feeling that I can access that for myself.”

And as Winfield — a former roommate of Marshall’s — worked on the piece, he also participated in the dancers’ warm-up. That gave him, he said, “a holistic understanding of my role in reference to everyone else — just knowing the energy and focus required to maintain connections to the material, time and each other in space.”

“Stellar,” which the dancers hope to perform live in the future, creates a world where even the makeup (by Edo Tastic) is a space for Marshall to explore Afrofuturism: “I thought it added a little royalty to it,” he said.

But nailing the right makeup — or anything related to the look of a dance — doesn’t come naturally to him. “I’m a very, like, structural, embodied person,” he said. “Everyone asks me: ‘What about hair? What am I doing with my hair?’ And I’m like: ‘Don’t. I don’t know.’ Hair and makeup and costumes don’t come last, but they’re not my strengths. I’m trying to embrace that a little bit more and to get more people involved and see how it can inform the work.”

The music for “Rise,” his first live group piece since the pandemic, is composed and performed by Cal Fish, and inspired by house music. The feeling Marshall is going for? “It’s what you get both in the church and the club — that kind of opening and uplift,” he said. “I’m thinking about uplift as both an energetic feeling, but also a choreographic idea that the work ascends: It goes from a low place to a high place. Leaning into that expectation is something I’ve never indulged in choreographically.”

Again, it’s all about change. “Creating something that actually feels joyful,” he said with a smile.

It might seem odd, but Marshall’s embrace of joy is in response to the death of George Floyd and his aversion, he said, to displaying more pain. “A lot of my work was thinking about trauma and either displaying it or showing it,” he said. “I just think that cycle is toxic. I think about displaying Black violence: What does that do for the viewer?”

And what, he wonders, do we need coming out of this time? “I need a bit more space in my life, a bit more dreaming,” he said. “More affirmation and positivity. I just don’t think that right now for me is the time to sit in my trauma. I need more joy in my life.”

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Business

What TikTok Stars Owe ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Present’

What TikTok Stars Owe ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’

In May 2010, well before the TikTok era, a 12-year-old from Oklahoma named Greyson Chance was called to the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”. A few weeks earlier, Greyson had reached viral fame early on after posting his middle school talent show performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” on YouTube. When Greyson got on the show, where he was sitting in a plush chair directly across from the daytime star, discussing his Gaga cover, the YouTube video had a million page views.

His “Ellen” performance brought him into a new stratosphere. In the days that followed, media coverage of the 12-year-old sensation exploded, and its performance surged to over 30 million views. Madonna and Lady Gaga’s managers represented him. Ms. DeGeneres signed a recording deal with him.

“It’s crazy to think of 30 million people,” Greyson said when he returned to the show two weeks later. “It just makes me happy.”

Next year, Ms. DeGeneres will step down from her talk show on the day and opt out after a 19 year streak of light jokes, celebrity interviews, and cash gifts. But perhaps one of her show’s most enduring legacies was her host role in the early viral video industry: an appearance on “Ellen” brought a viral sensation with a whole new wave of clicks, fame, and money.

“She was the originator of creating viral content from other viral content,” said Lindsey Weber, one of the hosts of Who? Weekly, a podcast that focuses on celebrity culture. “She would take a moment that went viral and improve it. She had so many viral people on her show and being on her show was the height of her viral success. “

When viewing habits changed, Ms. DeGeneres’ role as patron saint of digital stars also changed.

Last year, shortly after Warner Bros. conducted an investigation into workplace misconduct on the set of “Ellen,” Ms. DeGeneres’ role on daytime television diminished. Their audience numbers have dropped 44 percent this season, and competitors like “Dr. Phil “(2.4 million viewers) and” Live With Kelly and Ryan “(2.6 million) now beat” Ellen “by around one million viewers.

When a YouTube or TikTok performance gets going, a stop at “Ellen” is no longer an important step in reaching a new threshold of fame.

“Ellen could rip you off YouTube and make you a star,” said Joe Kessler, global director of UTA IQ at the United Talent Agency, which uses data analytics to advise clients on digital strategies.

Now, he said, artists can achieve similar or even greater success by engaging their fans and mastering the various digital platforms themselves.

“It’s interesting that the end of Ellen’s show coincides with YouTube and other video platforms exploding to the point that they’re now mainstream,” he continued. “Creators don’t need traditional mainstream endorsement to build huge audiences right now.”

But before do-it-yourself content creation became an industry, there was “Ellen”. In 2010, five years after YouTube was founded, the show introduced a segment titled “Ellen’s Wonderful Web of Wonders,” which promised to “find undiscovered talent online and share with you!”

As more viral stars hit their show, every time an online video gained prominence a decade ago, people would reply or comment on these videos: ‘Tell Ellen!’ ‘Call Ellen!’ “Said Mrs. Weber. “Strangely enough, that was the supposed next step for everyone.”

A year after Greyson Chance appeared on Ellen, the show invited 8-year-old Sophia Grace, an aspiring internet personality, and her cousin Rosie to come from England and do a cover for a Nicki Minaj song. The video now has more than 144 million views on YouTube.

An “Ellen” gig usually had a twist as well. When Greyson arrived, Lady Gaga called the show herself to express her admiration for his performance. When Sophia Grace appeared in “Ellen”, Nicki Minaj appeared surprisingly and the 8-year-old threw herself into the arms of the singer.

And an appearance on “Ellen” served a dual purpose: it would both draw attention to the viral content, and the appearance itself could go viral as well, which is a two-on-one way to reach millions.

“The interviews she conducted with these viral personalities would get millions or tens of millions of views,” said Earnest Pettie, who leads YouTube’s Trends and Insights team. “It would be as visible as the original source material. For many people, the interviews were their first encounter with viral personalities. But people who have already faced it might go deeper than they would on a viral video. “

Money could be made even if it wasn’t at the influencer level now. When David DeVore posted a video of his 7-year-old son, also named David, in 2009, and returned home dazed from a trip to the dentist, the video quickly garnered millions of views and became an early YouTube hit. By 2010, Mr. DeVore estimated the family had made $ 150,000 from all exposure, including T-shirt sales. And they’re not quite finished milking either. Earlier this month, Mr. DeVore auctioned “David After Dentist” as an NFT or non-fungible token, a digital collector’s item, BuzzFeed reported. It sold for $ 13,000.

Mr. Kessler from UTA estimated that great digital personalities could be in the mid six-digit range in the early 2010s.

An influencer can now make millions and in a few cases tens of millions. And when YouTube and TikTok helped the influencer industry escape, Ms. DeGeneres’ role as digital kingmaker began to wane.

“If we compare it to now, people’s viral moments are shorter,” said Ms. Weber. “In the time it takes for a producer to call and say, ‘Come on, Ellen! ‘There’s a new viral moment somewhere else. It will be a thing of the past. “

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Business

Why there is a growth in boomer rock stars promoting their songs

Why there's a boom in boomer rock stars selling their songs

Paul Simon performs on stage during the Nearness Of You benefit concert at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 20, 2015 in New York City.

Ilya S. Savenok | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

From Bob Dylan plugging his electric guitar on for the first time to Super Bowl commercials, there have always been moments in music history when die-hard fans accuse their idols of doing the unthinkable: selling out. But right now, “sellout” has a new connotation and it’s a booming market for both investors and superstar recording artists.

A wave of boomer rock icons are selling out their song catalogs. The steps of which Paul Simon took the last last week point to a clear truth about the intersection of art and money: music has always been a business where creative genius deserves to be richly rewarded. And it’s a business that is currently going through big changes from streaming and further disruption from the pandemic. The deals of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Neil Young (in Young’s case 50% of the shares) and Stevie Nicks (80% of the rights to their songs) highlight important trends in the entertainment industry, capital markets and wealth management.

Music publishers like Hipgnosis Songs Fund and Primary Wave Music, as well as conglomerates like BMG, Sony, Warner Music Group, and Vivendis Universal Music Group, are buying up top-notch song catalogs in big deals fueled by record low interest rates, with the belief that they will generate more lucrative returns in the future by selling the rights to these songs through entertainment platforms.

Pick up cheap fuel music deals

Larry Mestel, CEO of Primary Wave Music, the company that just acquired a controlling stake in the catalog of two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame candidate Stevie Nicks, told CNBC the economic environment that the coronavirus pandemic created have had a positive impact on companies looking to acquire large assets. These low interest rates make it easy to borrow money, and high returns have created a perfect opportunity for buyers.

“They talk about a low interest rate environment and they can get 7% to 9% … and then increase that through marketing and get returns for teens. This is a very attractive place for people to invest money,” he said.

Music catalogs have also proven recession-proof, and the pandemic has only increased the number of deals done as the music industry is going through a massive disruption caused by the closure of live venues and touring.

Streaming music is increasing

The deals also come at a time when streaming music – despite all the controversy and skepticism of the musicians themselves about getting a raw deal – has proven to be an economic juggernaut, at least for the record companies. In 2020, Goldman Sachs predicted that global music sales will hit $ 142 billion by the end of the decade. This corresponds to an increase of 84% compared to the level in 2019 of 77 billion US dollars and a streaming of 1.2 billion users by 2030, four times the level in 2019. Companies like Sony, who have bought Simon’s catalog, will benefit most from this , and Universal, who purchased Dylan’s songs.

Worldwide revenue from streaming music hit an all-time high in the industry last year (83% according to a recent report) and is also favoring the superstars. Spotify said its mission is “to enable one million creative artists to make a living from their art”. A recent analysis by the New York Times found that Spotify’s data generated only about 13,000 payments of $ 50,000 or more over the past year.

It’s not just streaming, however. Once purchased, the rights to larger catalogs of acts can be used for dubbing placements that license music for a variety of media including movies, television shows, advertising, and video games.

“From a publisher’s point of view, having the rights to a particular catalog that we can make available for dubbing is extremely valuable,” said Rebecca Valice, copyright and licensing manager for PEN Music Group. “A catalog can pitch its own just because of its legendary success.”

Appreciation of rock icons

The more recognizable a catalog is, the more valuable it becomes for businesses to buy and use films or television. The best catalogs “pay off over time,” she says, as syncing helps regain the money spent, “and then some over time”.

“I think the icons and legends are worth more than the other artists,” said Mestel. Primary Wave owns the catalogs of stars like Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.

Some famous boomer-era musicians have grappled with the situation the industry has put them in, like David Crosby, who said in a December tweet, “I’m selling mine too … I can’t work …” and streaming stole my record money … I have a family and a mortgage and I have to take care of them so it’s my only option … I’m sure the others feel the same way. “

In March, he sold his entire catalog to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, which had recently also acquired a controlling stake in the Beach Boys’ intellectual property, including part of the song catalog.

“Given our current inability to work live, this deal is a boon to me and my family and I believe these are the best people to do it with,” Crosby said in a statement setting out the deal was announced.

Boomer Generation Estate Planning

For the musicians themselves, there is a megatrend: the estate planning needs of America’s richest generation. Boomer musicians age just like their fans. “Artists are getting older now so they can use cash and make estate plans,” says Mestel.

The downside, of course, can be the loss of control over an artist’s most valuable asset: the creative genius who made his career.

“These aging rock stars may want to cash out to care for their estates … but you lose some control of your brand and heritage depending on the protections you’ve put in place as part of the business,” said John Ozszajca , Musician and founder of Music Marketing Manifesto, a company that teaches musicians how to sell and market their music.

Crosby and Azoff have been friends for a long time, a point Azoff addressed in the deal’s disclosure.

It seems like everyone who has a relationship in the music business knows someone is trying to raise money.

Larry Mestel

CEO of Primary Wave Records

Some fans aren’t particularly happy to hear hits like Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” or Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” selling cars and clothes – although Dylan has made several Super Bowl commercials for GM, IBM and his has songs featured in others alone – but choosing to sell catalogs can also help musicians avoid the posthumous litigation that they endured the estates of Tom Petty, Prince and Aretha Franklin.

BMG acquired the catalog interests of Nicks’ bandmate Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac earlier this year and in its announcement noted some stats that show that, as old as boomer acts, they can get a new lease on life from streaming viral hits . The Fleetwood Mac song ‘Dreams’ generated over 3.2 billion streams worldwide (in a period of eight weeks from September 24 to November 19, 2020) based on a video with a cranberry juice-loving fan and introduced a new generation who is used to TikTok to Fleetwood Mac. The band’s album “Rumors” peaked at number 6 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart 43 years after its release.

Dylan’s deal is the largest to date, valued at $ 300 million, although no sales price has been officially announced, and Universal said in only one publication that it was “the most significant music publishing deal of this century.”

Mestel believes the boom is not going to end.

“It seems like anyone who has a relationship in the music business knows that someone is trying to raise money. But that doesn’t mean they can identify assets to sell or even know what they’re doing.”

BMG and private equity giant KKR recently signed an agreement for a major acquisition of music rights. A senior executive told Rolling Stone, “We’re not chasing hits as of January 2021. We’re looking for a repertoire that has proven itself.” be a part of our life. “

KKR has made big music deals in the past and the trend of buying rights is not new, but the current boom is remarkable and fits in with the asset class appreciation that is happening in so many parts of the market as investors look for more avenues in their business Bring money to work. While the boomer deals are the biggest headlines, the latest acts are also seeing big paydays. Earlier this year, KKR bought a stake in OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder catalog for a supposedly large sum.

Companies like Primary Wave are partnering with artists like Nicks to try to keep them as part of the deal and make that deal even better for them in the future, according to Mestel, who says many didn’t understand they were signing a contract partnership, sell a piece of their catalog, and that piece may become more valuable in the future than the 100% they previously owned.

“If everything goes right, [artists] Get the most of what they want to sell it for and it’s usually a win-win scenario for both buyers and sellers, “Valice said.

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Business

Maggots, Rape and But 5 Stars: How U.S. Rankings of Nursing Houses Mislead the Public

Maggots, Rape and Yet Five Stars: How U.S. Ratings of Nursing Homes Mislead the Public

The pandemic has exposed the shortcomings in the state’s rating system.

State health inspections do little to punish homes with poor records of preventing and controlling infection. According to The Times, from 2017 to 2019 inspectors cited nearly 60 percent – more than 2,000 – of the country’s five-star facilities for failing to follow basic safety precautions such as regular hand washing. Nevertheless, they received top marks.

In San Bernardino, California, inspectors have written to Del Rosa Villa about four different infection control violations. It kept its five stars. Ninety residents at the 104-bed facility contracted the coronavirus and 13 have died.

Del Rosa Villa officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The Life Care Centers of Kirkland, Washington, the first nursing home in the United States to document coronavirus cases, reported poor infection control despite its five stars in 2019. State inspectors wrote it down because they “failed to consistently implement an effective infection control program”.

Thirty-nine residents of the facility have died from Covid-19. The house has 190 beds.

Leigh Atherton, a spokeswoman for Life Care, said the citation was the only infection control flaw that inspectors had found on more than 32 previous visits. She said the house quickly fixed the problem.

If the rating system had worked as intended, it would have provided indications of which houses were most likely to get out of hand and which houses would be likely to get messed up.

That didn’t happen.

The Times noted that there was little correlation between star ratings and the condition of homes during the pandemic. In five-star facilities, the death rate from Covid-19 was only half a percentage point lower than in facilities with lower ratings. And the death rate was slightly lower in two-star facilities than in four-star homes.

The location of a facility, the infection rate in the surrounding community, and the race of nursing home residents were all predictors of whether a nursing home would have an outbreak. The star rating didn’t matter.

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Entertainment

In Australia, Hollywood Stars Have Discovered an Escape From Covid. Who’s Jealous?

In Australia, Hollywood Stars Have Found an Escape From Covid. Who’s Jealous?

MELBOURNE, Australia – In the photo posted on Instagram, actors Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba and Matt Damon, all wearing 1980s style sweats, hug each other. You are maskless. Touch. Happy even. The headline reads: “A little 80s themed party never hurt!”

Your outraged fans peppered the post with comments. What about the pandemic? Social distancing? Masks? We are still suffering from a pandemic that has all but crippled the travel industry and prevented most people from casually flying on vacation to paradise.

However, the Hollywood Brigade was in Australia, a country where coronavirus has been effectively eradicated, allowing officials to relax restrictions on most gatherings, including parties (with dancing and finger food). Due to the near-lack of the virus and generous subsidies from the Australian government, the country’s film industry has been buzzing at an enviable pace for months compared to other regions.

Australia has managed to lure several Hollywood directors and actors into continuing film production. In fact, many celebrities including Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa McCarthy found freedom from the pandemic there.

One person wrote on Mr. Hemsworth’s Instagram post, “Before you comment, remember that not everyone lives in America.”

Although the accelerated pace of vaccination in the United States has raised hopes of returning to some semblance of normality by summer, the country is still the world leader in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. The cinemas only reopened in New York City last week. Some fans are cautiously sneaking back while others are still cautious about contracting the virus.

But thousands of kilometers away, many stars who appear on the big screens can frolic or film on location in Australia. (Mr. Hemsworth is a fixture himself – he moved back to Australia in 2017 after several years in Los Angeles.) In the US, where hundreds still die every day, some fans watched jealously.

“These Hollywood stars have been transported to another world where the world’s problems don’t exist,” said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University in New York. He added that the temporary exodus from the United States revealed another disintegration of the myth that Hollywood was the endgame for celebrities.

Australia has become a “hip place” that “fabulous people want to go,” said Professor Thompson. “If you’re trying to be a star, you have to go to the west coast to make your bones.” When you become “a really big star” you are buying property in an exotic location like Australia, he added.

“It definitely feels like a time machine,” said Ms. Portman, who called from Sydney, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in December. “It’s so different, all animals are different, all trees are different, I even mean the birds, there are multicolored parrots that fly around like pigeons,” she added. “It’s wild.”

A spokeswoman said the government helped 22 international productions bring hundreds of millions into the local economy. Paul Fletcher, Federal Minister of Communications, said: “There is no doubt that this is a very significant increase over previous activity.”

But even as celebrities dress up and pose on social media, some Australians grumble that the country’s strategy to fight the virus has stranded tens of thousands of citizens overseas. The strict border measures have also contributed to a shortage of agricultural labor.

Exceptions have been made for tennis players who participated in the Australian Open last month, as well as for the staff who run the tournament. The presence of Hollywood’s rich and famous has further angered critics who see a clear bend of the rules for those with money and power.

“Everyone knows that there seem to be separate rules for anyone who is a celebrity or has money,” said Daniel Tusia, an Australian who was stuck overseas with his family for several months last year. “There are still a lot of people who couldn’t get home, who don’t fall into that category and who are still stranded,” he added.

In a statement emailed, the Australian Border Force said travel exemptions for film and television productions have been considered “if there is evidence of the economic benefits the production will bring to Australia and support from the relevant government agency . “

A year ago, Hollywood Everyone’s Tom Hanks made the threat of the pandemic all too real when he and wife Rita Wilson tested positive for the coronavirus in Queensland, Australia while filming an unnamed Elvis biopic. Her illness made a personal threat, the seriousness of which was only just beginning to crystallize at this time.

But in May, Australia appeared to be well on its way to quelling the first wave of the virus, and the soap opera “Neighbors” was one of the first scripted TV series in the world to resume production. The federal government has allocated more than $ 400 million to international productions, which, along with existing subsidies, gives film and television producers a discount of up to 30 percent for filming in the country.

More than 20 international productions including Thor: Love and Thunder, a Marvel film with Hemsworth, Damon, Portman, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson and Bale; “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” a fantasy romance with Mr. Elba and Tilda Swinton; and Joe Exotic, a spin-off of the podcast that preceded the popular Netflix series Tiger King, which stars Saturday Night Live actress Kate McKinnon as Big Cat enthusiast Carole Baskin all filmed either in production or in preparation next year.

Ron Howard directs Thirteen Lives, a dramatization of the Thai rescue of a football team from a Queensland cave in 2018 (the Australian coast is a good proxy for the tropics). And later that year, Julia Roberts and George Clooney will arrive in the same state to direct Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy.

Although a number of American temporary employment stars have landed in the country, some like Ms. McCarthy, who was originally in Australia to work on “Nine Perfect Strangers,” have decided to shoot more projects, according to industry representatives. “Oh the birds!” she raved in a YouTube video. “I love seeing a spider the size of my head.”

Others, like Zac Efron, appear to have settled here permanently.

His Instagram is flush with Australiana: Here he is in a hammock in the desert of the red earth, seems to be participating in an indigenous ceremony or is wearing the Australian cowboy hat, an Akubra. Last year, Mr. Efron even got what an Adelaide barber called a “mullet,” a vicious hairstyle popular in Australia.

“Home, sweet home,” he captioned a picture of himself in front of a $ 100,000 motor home.

Chances are the stars will keep popping up. They were seen camping under the stars as they went to dinner without a mask and partied (yes, like it was 1989). Mr Damon said in January that Australia was definitely a “happy country”.

But locals in Byron Bay – the seaside town that has gone from hippie to glitter in recent years – have complained that the influx of stars over the past year has changed the city beyond repair.

“The actors and the famous people are the tip of the iceberg,” said James McMillan, a local artist and director of the Byron Bay Surf Festival. He added that the large cohort of production workers from Melbourne and Sydney had priced locals out of real estate.

“It has definitely changed more than it has ever done in the past 12 months,” added McMillan, who has lived in Byron Bay for two decades. “People have stars in their eyes.”