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TickPick Announces $250M Capital Raise

TickPick has raised $250 million from Brighton Park Capital and golfer Rory McIlroy’s investment partnership Symphony Ventures, it was announced Thursday (Aug. 22).

TickPick was founded in 2011 by co-CEOs Brett Goldberg and Chris O’Brien as an independent ticketing marketplace. Since launching, TickPick has been downloaded 14 million times and transacted more than $1 billion in sales, according to a press release.

“We’re thrilled to announce our latest growth investment, which will help accelerate our ability to transform the ticketing industry,” said O’Brien in a statement. “We founded TickPick with the unwavering commitment to deliver a transparent and hassle-free ticket-buying experience for consumers. This investment will allow us to deepen this commitment by accelerating the pace of product innovation, raise our brand awareness, and reach more customers than ever before.”

Goldberg added, “We have built a relationship with Brighton Park over many years and the firm is our clear partner of choice given its strong track record of partnering with founder-led companies and marketplace platforms, which we believe will help us continue to scale the business and drive a lasting impact.”

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Kevin Magan, partner at Brighton Park Capital, added, “TickPick has demonstrated tremendous growth by offering a strong value proposition that both enhances the customer experience and removes one of the biggest pain points for consumers with its no-fee model. TickPick’s recent growth and partnerships with some of the largest sports leagues and teams in the world is a testament to their appeal among a broad customer base, and we’re excited to partner with Brett, Chris and the incredibly talented TickPick team as they continue to disrupt the ticketing industry.”

As part of the transaction, private equity firm GreyLion will exit its position in TickPick following its 2019 investment in the company.

Wells Fargo served as financial advisor and Kirkland Ellis served as legal counsel to TickPick and GreyLion. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Brighton Park.

Inside Olivia Rodrigo’s LA Themed Pop Up & Sold Out Show at the Intuit Dome | Billboard News

Billboard was on the ground to check out Olivia Rodrigo’s exclusive LA themed pop up in West Hollywood and get an inside look into her final sold out concert at the new Intuit Dome.

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‘Guts’ have been spilled, Olivia Rodrigo took over Los Angeles with sold out shows, and we were with her at her last night and her exclusive pop up, we take you there in Billboard All Access. Fans were able to celebrate the pop star and her newest album in tour at an exclusive pop up in West Hollywood. There was a place you could leave your photos. Shout outs to LA, of course, and I really wish I got to put on one of those sashes. It got fans ready before they headed to the new Intuit Dome to buy even more merch and prepare to sing their hearts out. She sang her hits, floated above the crowd and displayed ultimate girl power.Thank you, Olivia.

Drake Leaks Three New Songs on His Burner Instagram Account Featuring Playboi Carti

Drop, drop, drop. Surprise, more Drake songs have arrived. The 6 God leaked three new tracks on his plottttwistttttt burner Instagram account on Friday (Aug. 23).

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The three-pack, which Elliott Wilson hilariously dubbed Lucian’s Loosies, includes “No Face” featuring an assist from Playboi Carti along with solo tracks “Circadian Rhythm (The Language 2)” and “SOD,” which is a solo version of the “Super Soak” record that Kai Cenat played on his live stream earlier in August.

Except “SOD” has now removed Yachty’s verse from the track. They previously ran into sampling issues when Mr. Hotspot refused to clear vocals due to the song’s explicit nature. DJ Akademiks teased a music video on the way for “SOD” as well.

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“No Face” finds Drake teaming up with Playboi Carti for the first time since “Pain 1993” landed on 2020’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Drizzy floats over the distorted production and addresses those he feels stabbed him in the back.

“They emptied the clip, quick, swapped that s–t out and I came back reloaded/ I’m just so happy that n—s who envied and held that s–t in got to finally show it/ I’m over the moon, yeah, we’ll see you boys soon,” he raps.

Produced by Gordo, “Circadian Rhythm” also serves as a sequel to “The Language,” which originally landed on Nothing Was The Same as a fan-favorite in 2013. Drizzy opens up about how the rap game has planned funerals for him in the past, but he continues to bounce back like a cat with nine lives. “How many funeral dates they plan for me and I dodged it like the truck,” he spews.

This isn’t the first leak of its kind from Drake on the plottttwistttttt account. His first dump came with a trio of songs earlier in August as part of the 100 Gigs delivery featuring collaborations with Latto, 21 Savage and Young Thug. The three-pack eventually hit streaming services and all of the songs debuted on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.

It remains to be seen if the latest drop will land on streaming services in the coming days. Listen to the leaks below.

CTS Eventim Shares Gain 5.3% on Earnings Guidance as Music Stocks Rally

CTS Eventim shares finished the week up 5.3% after the company sounded upbeat about the second half of 2024 in its Thursday (Aug. 22) earnings release

Based on its performance in the first half of the year, the German promoter and ticket seller expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) “to grow significantly” in the latter half of the year. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA improved 23.3% to 110.0 million euros ($118.4 million) with the help of the June acquisition of See Tickets from Vivendi. 

CTS Eventim is among the best-performing music stocks of 2024, having gained 34.5% year to date. That gain outstrips fellow promoter Live Nation (up 25.0%) and lags behind only Believe (up 43.3%), Sphere Entertainment Co. (up 47.3%) and Spotify (up 82.3%). 

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As well as CTS Eventim fared this week, three other music companies had larger gains. iHeartMedia jumped 19.0% to $1.42, continuing its tendency to rise and fall in the absence of any market-moving news or financial releases. SiriusXM rose 6.7% to $3.00, perhaps assisted by news the company signed Gen Z podcaster Alex Cooper (Call Her Daddy) in a move that could help bring a younger audience to its new streaming app. HYBE improved 6.1% to 166,400 won ($125.60).

Chinese music streamer Cloud Music gained 1.4% to 91.60 HKD ($11.75) after the company posted revenue of 4.07 billion RMB ($571 million), up 4.1%, in the first half of 2024, it announced Thursday (Aug. 22). Like the leading Chinese music streamer, Tencent Music Entertainment, Cloud Music has two segments that are headed in opposite directions. Music subscription revenue grew 26.6% to 2.56 billion RMB while social entertainment and other revenue fell 19.9% to 1.51 billion RMB ($212 million). 

An unusually large majority of music stocks posted gains this week. The Billboard Global Music Index gained 2.7% to 1,829.18, bringing its year-to-date increase to 19.2%. Of the 20 stocks on the index, 17 were gainers and just three lost ground. Three radio companies (iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media and SiriusXM) led the way with an average gain of 8.8%. Multi-sector companies (including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and HYBE) rose an average of 3.4%. Live music companies had an average gain of 3.0%.

Streaming companies fell by an average of 0.2%. In fact, all three companies in the red this week were music streamers: Deezer (down 0.5%), Tencent Music Entertainment (down 2.8%) and Anghami (down 3.3%). Spotify, the index’s largest component, gained 1.5% to $337.38.

Stocks were up in the U.S. on positive economic news. After U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell suggested on Friday (Aug. 23) it would soon cut interest rates, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the week up 1.4%. In South Korea, where trading was closed by the time the Federal Reserve statement made news, the KOSPI composite index rose 0.2% to 2,701.69. Likewise, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.9% to 2,854.37. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 8,327.78.

Knife Attack at Festival in German City Kills 3 People and Seriously Wounds 4, Police Say

Three people were killed and at least four were seriously wounded in a knife attack on Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, police said.

Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9.30 p.m. to an unknown perpetrator having wounded several people with a knife on a central square, the Fronhof. Police said that the perpetrator was on the run, and that they so far had only very thin information on the assailant.

One of the festival organizers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and asked festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.” He said many people had been wounded by “a knifeman.”

At least one helicopter was seen in the air, while many police and emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights were on the road and several streets were closed off.

Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post that “this evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”

“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” he added.

The local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted Celine Derikartz, its reporter covering the festival, as saying that “the atmosphere is spooky.” She said a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes and she saw festivalgoers weeping.

The “Festival of Diversity,” marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.

Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf.

Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches), which is allowed now.

This story was originally published by the Associated Press.

Kamala Harris Says ‘Everyone Should Know’ This 1970s Song

Kamala Harris is a big music fan.

The Democratic presidential nominee took part in the music game Track Star, where she had to guess a song by a few seconds of its instrumental, winning money for each correct answer. Harris easily identified a song from Stevie Wonder, whom she called “one of the greatest musicians who ever lived. […] He’s a lyricist, he’s a poet, he’s very active on social justice issues and he’s actually a friend.”

Harris also admitted that because of her schedule lately, gearing up for the presidential elections, “this is probably the most music I’ve listened to in a long time.” She continued, “Both of my parents loved music. It was part of my childhood. We would go to sleep with them playing music all the time.”

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She concluded by noting that the song everyone should know is Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s 1976 hit, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” She admitted, “It’s one of my favorite songs.”

Harris recently sat down with her Vice President selection, Tim Walz, for a wide-ranging discussion, where they brought up the music that shaped their lives. For Walz, it started with Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 album The River, which he called a “transformational piece of music” for him. He also shared his love for Bob Seger. “My first car, it was the summer of 1980 and I’d been saving up. I buy a 1973 orange Chevy Camaro,” he recalled. “Got an eight-track player in it. The previous owner left Bob Seger’s Night Moves in there. I listened to it, and it’s kind of the soundtrack of my life. […] What’s really great about it is I’ve got a ’79 international that’s my car and it’s got an eight-track player in it. I have the very eight-track to this day.”

Harris added that while Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and John Coltrane were main fixtures within her family home, one of her “personal favorite musicians” is Minnesota’s own Prince. “My husband Doug and I — I’m more of a hip-hop girl, and he’s more Depeche Mode,” she shared. “However, in the Venn diagram of things, Prince he and I love the same. Talk about how Prince was with that guitar, man. I almost know by heart every one of those songs.”

SB19’s A’TIN Wins 2024 Billboard Fan Army Face-Off | Billboard News

SB19’s A’TIN has won Billboard’s 2024 Fan Army Face-Off for the second consecutive year. The fandom triumphed over strong contenders, proving once again that they are keeping their crown this year. Congratulations to A’TIN!

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After millions of votes were tabulated, we have a winner of Billboard’s Fan Army Face Off 2024,
A’Tin put in the work to get SB19 crown for a second year in a row. Congratulations, A’Tin for becoming this year’s ultimate goal. They topped 63 other acts to claim the top spot, directly taking out SZA, Karol G Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and then Rihanna, via landslide. Josh, Pablo Kin, Justin and Steele made the Philippines proud tying Super Junior who has the second most Fan Army Face Off titles. Only one more win and they’ll match Tiara’s record for three titles. Congrats to SB 19 A’Tin.

SB 19
Look forward to comfort more heights with all of you, thank you. Congratulations.

Lil Yachty Has All-Time Crash Out Session Over Karrahbooo & ‘A Safe Place’ Co-Host Mitch

In case you were living under a rock or just woke up from coma, last night Lil Yachty had a public meltdown on Instagram Live over his former artist Karrahbooo and his podcast co-host and friend Mitch.

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First, a clip of his podcast A Safe Place went around of him, Mitch, and Key Glock having a discussion about trying to understand why some want what others have when things got awkward. “Some people gotta eat, gotta feed they family, however the case may be,” Yachty said. “That’s when the militant part comes into play because sometimes, unfortunately, don’t wanna put in work and just want what you have. And that’s a whole different conversation because I ain’t been rich forever.” Adding, “I done been broke before, so who am I to tell this n—a not to go do what you gotta do.

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Mitch disagreed and said you can give them different advice.” However, Yachty then replied, “Like what? You ain’t never had a job. What you gonna tell a n—a to get a job?” The Atlanta rapper then brought up what Mitch would be doing with his life if Yachty wasn’t around and all Key Glock could do was sit there in silence.

Naturally, Rap Twitter had a field day with said clip and criticized Yachty for being a bad friend. Boat addressed the viral clip during his IG Live session and stated he started the podcast to help his friend and said he was going to end it because Mitch wouldn’t defend him on social media. “I aint want to do no motherf—king podcast, n—a, I’m a f—king rapper.”

Mitch then took to X to clear the air, suggesting him and Yachty joke around and are often brutally honest with each other.

As for Karrahbooo, a waitress at Red Lobster set fire to this whole night. X user @C_Staxxz claimed the former Concrete Boy member walked into the restaurant chain to buy some Cheddar Bay Biscuits said she was kicked out of the group after being asked why she left. The user also claimed Karrahbooo told her that “they were really mean to her and bullying her a lot.”

Those two now-deleted tweets bothered Yachty so much, he decided to hop on Live and finally address the situation. He responded by saying, “Tell people how you verbally abuse people. Don’t get on here to make it seem like niggas kicked you out… bullying you? Bro, go ‘head and tell people how you talk to people… You talk to people like they’re small, like they’re beneath you.”

He then claimed that he wrote all of her verses and styled her and the other members of the Concrete Boys. “I wrote every f—king verse you’ve done,” he said. “I dressed you. I dressed all five of y’all n—as, bro. I dressed five n—as every time we stepped out the house. I put an outfit on everybody. I put eight carat earrings in everybody ear. I put three chains on all y’all neck.”

Adding, “We bought a Cartier watch. I gave you that chrome Rolex, bro. You was waiting tables… What are we talking about, n—a? I changed your motherf—king life and you are here lying, talking about some, ‘We bully you’… That sh—t got me f—ked up, bro. You got me f—ked up, bro. You disrespectful, bro. You talk to people crazy. You tell people that they are nothing. You tell people you’re going to spit on them. You tell people they poor and you talk to my f—king label crazy. You claim I was stealing money from you. Stealing money from you how? You ain’t made no money.”

He continued, “This the problem with you new artists. Y’all get poppin’ online and then you become more popular than your actual music. You $900,000 in the whole and I got every f—king receipt.” Boat then brought up her viral On the Radar freestyle and said he was trying to make her pop off and it worked. “I slowed the beat down, I put 808s specifically on your verse so when it got to your part and the beat dropped, everyone would be like, ‘This girl is the craziest one.’”


https://youtube.com/watch?v=lWC5amYjMEk&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

For whatever reason, Boat finds himself in these situations and even went as far as to claim he was going to stop talking on the Internet. “I’m not doing no more talkin’,” Yachty said on Instagram Live last month. “I don’t got s—t else to say. I’m gone off this internet s—t. I think I’m gone for the rest of the year. I swear to God. I ain’t got s—t else to say.

Karrahbooo has yet to respond.

Beauty Lovers Are Gushing Over the Glossier Eyebrow Pencil That Gives You a ‘Perfectly Defined’ Brow (For Only $24)

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If you are a makeup enthusiast, you know that brows can make or break your entire look. TikTok has uncovered yet another hidden gem: Glossier’s Boy Brow Arch. This 2-in-1 eyebrow pencil features a pencil tip on one side and a tiny brow brush on the other side. This brow pencil allows you to create precise angles, shape your natural arches, and fill in sparse areas for a fuller, more defined look. TikTok users are raving about its natural finish and long-lasting wear, making it the ultimate brow tool for anyone aiming to level up their brow game.

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While finding a brow pencil that meets your needs can be a challenge, Glossier’s Boy Brow Arch simplifies the search by delivering precise definition and effortless shaping in one easy-to-use product. One TikTok user shared their experience with this brow pencil, describing the results as “perfectly defined, fluffy, and sculpted brows.”

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Glossier’s Boy Brow Arch is available in nine different shades: Black, Cool Dark Brown, Warm Dark Brown, Cool Brown, Warm Brown, Auburn, Cool Blond, Warm Blond, and Grey. One reddit customer said, “I’m a natural redhead and Boy Brow in Auburn was a game changer for me because so many other brow products on the market are too dark for me.”

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Glossier Boy Brow Arch 2-in-1 Eyebrow Pencil

According to the brand, this beauty must-have is designed to be water-resistant, smudge-resistant, and sweat-resistant, offering long-lasting wear for up to 12 hours. With its vegan and cruelty-free formula, this brow pencil is gentle on the skin and great for all skin types.

Its clean ingredients ensure that you can achieve stunning brows without compromising your skincare needs. According to the brand, this eyebrow pencil contains Coconut Moisturizer for a soft, smooth look and Botanical Clay Complex for all-day comfort.

For more product recommendations, check out ShopBillboard‘s roundups of the best beauty products, best makeup bags, and alternative celebrity-approved must-have makeup products.

Madonna Celebrates Her Birthday With ‘Perfect’ Family Trip to the Vatican

There was one extra Madonna in the Vatican recently.

One week after turning 66, Madonna gave fans a peek at her family trip to the Catholic Church headquarters via Instagram on Friday (Aug. 23). While in Rome, she snapped glamorous photos showing off a chic floral dress, hat and gloves, posing in front of the ancient Vatican City architecture and admiring some of the gorgeous marble statues and religious paintings immortalized on the walls inside the holy buildings.

“Arrivederci Roma!!!” she captioned the post. “a perfect ending to a Glorious Birthday Celebration with friends and family! … Ciao Italia!!!!”

The “Material Girl” singer also included a snap of her 11-year-old twins Estere and Stella wearing matching polka-dot dresses on the outing, as well as a photo in which she stands next to her rumored boyfriend, Akeem Morris. In the latter, Madge cools herself off with a delicate fan while the soccer player sports a white scarf as a veil over his head.

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The post comes nearly four months after Madonna wrapped up her Celebration Tour in early May, closing out a career-spanning showcase that kicked off later than expected due to the superstar being hospitalized in June 2023 for a bacterial infection. On the Fourth of July this year, the Queen of Pop reflected on her recovery in a heartfelt Instagram post, writing, ”A year ago today, I had just come home from the hospital after surviving a life threatening illness, I could barely stand in my backyard holding one sparkler.”

“I made a miraculous recovery and had an amazing year,” she added at the time. “Thank you God. Life is beautiful!”

Later that month, Madonna and her twin daughters walked the red carpet at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in celebration of the icon’s 1989 hit “Like a Prayer” being used in the superhero film. In an interview with SiriusXM shortly before the premiere, the film’s star Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy opened up about the process of getting the song cleared for the project, which apparently involved a personal visit to Madge’s house.

“It was a big deal to ask for it and certainly a bigger deal to use it,” Levy recalled. “We went over and met with her and and sort of showed her how it was being used, and where, and why.”

“She gave a great note,” Reynolds added. “She watched it, and I’m not kidding, [she said], ‘You need to do this.’ And damn it, if she wasn’t like spot on.”