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Management firm Wasserman has unveiled a deal to buy CSM Sport & Entertainment, the UK-based agency.
Terms of the purchase agreement were not disclosed, but Casey Wasserman’s lifestyle marketing and management business is looking to grow its presence in the pro sports business arena worldwide. The move comes as Hollywood talent agencies look to increase representation of marketable pro sport leagues and players as they seek entertainment and endorsement deals.
CSM, which arranges partnerships between marketing brands and rights holders, recently did event marketing and hospitality services for Major League Baseball games in London between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, and handled event marketing for The All England Lawn Tennis Club, the organizers of the Wimbledon pro tennis competition.
The proposed transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, Wasserman said. Founded in 2002, the firm represents sports and entertainment figures, musical artists, brands and properties worldwide.
Wasserman operates across six continents, 23 countries and more than 45 cities, including Los Angeles, New York and London and battles for market share in some areas against agencies like CAA and WME as they have also raised their presence in the global sports arena to represent media rights, athlete representation and sponsorship deals.
In 2020, Wasserman acquired the hockey-focused agency Acme World Sports as well as Lithuanian basketball agency BBaltics. And Casey Wasserman is part of LA28, which helped organize Los Angeles’ bid for the 2028 Olympics.
Since 2016, when the company rebranded from Wasserman Media Group to Wasserman, the firm has expanded further into culture, media and entertainment, adding creative and marketing agencies like Laundry Service and Boris Agency, and launched a social audience data platform called Unlock.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Rising reggaetón star Yng Lvcas has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music Mexico, the company tells Billboard. The signing comes on the heels of Yng Lvcas’ massive success with the “La Bebe” remix featuring Peso Pluma. The reggaetón song has so far spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. […]
Marilyn Manson will plead no contest to blowing his nose on a videographer at a 2019 concert in New Hampshire, according to a filing by his attorney.
The rocker, whose legal name is Brian Warner, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault stemming from the encounter at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford on Aug. 19, 2019.
A notice of intent filed Monday (July 17) says that Manson is expected to plead no contest to only one charge, and that prosecutors would dismiss the other in the fully negotiated plea. A no contest plea means Manson will not contest the charge and does not admit guilt.
Manson would face a sentence of a $1,200 fine with part of it suspended and 20 hours of community service within six months. Manson also would need to remain arrest-free and notify local police of any New Hampshire performances for two years.
A judge would have to accept the plea, which is expected to be entered Thursday (July 20) in Belknap County Superior Court. That’s in place of a final pretrial hearing that was scheduled in advance of his planned Aug. 7 trial.
It’s not clear whether Manson would be required to be in court or be allowed to participate via video. His lawyer, Kent Barker, said Tuesday it would be up to the judge.
According to a police affidavit, Manson approached videographer Susan Fountain in the venue’s stage pit area, put his face close to her camera and spit a “big lougee” at her. She was struck on both hands with saliva. He also is accused approaching her a second time, blowing his nose on her arm and hands.
Prosecutors planned to dismiss the charge stemming from the first encounter, according to the notice. Manson initially pleaded not guilty in 2021. His lawyer had said at the time that the type of filming Fountain was doing commonly exposes videographers to “incidental contact” with bodily fluids.
“The defendant’s performance for the past twenty years are well known to include shocking and evocative antics similar to those that occurred here,” Barker wrote. “The alleged victim consented to exposing herself to potential contact with sweat, saliva and phlegm in close quarters.”
Barker also had said Manson planned to argue that any contact related to spitting or sneezing was unintentional. If Manson had gone to trial on the charges, each could have resulted in a jail sentence of less than a year and a $2,000 fine if convicted. Manson also has faced abuse accusations unrelated to the New Hampshire allegation in recent years. He has denied wrongdoing.
In May, a California judge threw out key sections of Manson’s lawsuit against his former fiancee, Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood, claiming she fabricated public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to do the same.
Manson’s suit, filed last year, alleges that Wood and another woman named as a defendant, Illma Gore, defamed Manson, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and film. Several women have sued Manson in recent years with allegations of sexual and other abuse. Most have been dismissed or settled, including a suit filed by Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Mushroom Group’s talent booking division welcomes MBA, a new agency operating across Australia and New Zealand for live bookings, strategy, touring and partnerships.
MBA is a partnership with Guven Yilmaz, founder and managing director of Vita Music Group.
With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, the new agency represents a slew of artists from the Vita roster, and boasts a lineup at launch that includes Peking Duk, Bliss n Eso, Conrad Sewell, Skin on Skin, Winston Surfshirt, BIG WETT, Kaylee Bell, Milan Ring and Tasman Keith.
“Mushroom has been esteemed as the independent leader in the Australian music and entertainment industry. Partnering with a company that not only emphasises but promotes an independent entrepreneurial culture was essential to me,” comments Guven in a statement.
Mushroom Group CEO Matt Gudinski is said to be keen to grow his independent music company’s booking capacity. MBA, he says, boasts some of the best in the business.
“We’re delighted to have Guven join the Mushroom family,” Gudinski comments. “He’s a very well respected agent and operator, with an incredible track record to boot.”
Supported by a “first-class team” including Shelley Liu, Sam Rogers, and Matt Thomson, Gudinski continues, “I am excited about the offering we are going to create for the talent we represent.”
For those artists repped by MBA, Mushroom’s doors will remain open for talent to work with the group’s production specialists to help build and design their live-show, in addition to accessing the Mushroom Creative House and the brand’s sprawling network.
Mushroom Group this year celebrates its 50th anniversary with a “once-in-a-lifetime” all-star concert and the release of a documentary, Ego, a study of the indie powerhouse’s former chairman Michael Gudinski, who at 21 years of age, founded the company.
Today, the Melbourne-based group numbers more than two-dozen affiliates active in every conceivable area of the music and entertainment industries, from touring to publishing, merch and marketing services, venues, exhibition and events production, neighboring rights, branding, labels, talent management and more.
The late Gudinski formed Mushroom Records in 1972 but had had learned the ropes by booking artists in the region years earlier. In 1970, he established the Consolidated Rock agency, which evolved into the Premier Artists/Harbour Agency.
Mushroom Group cut ties with Harbour Agency in 2021, following an investigation into claims from former Harbour Agency staff on past management behavior and workplace culture.
MBA sits alongside Premier Artists, which reps Jimmy Barnes, Vika & Linda, Marcia Hines and others.
The U.K. live music industry enjoyed a post-pandemic boom in 2022, resulting in a windfall for the country’s economy, according to new figures published Tuesday (July 18).
According to a new report from umbrella trade organization UK Music, more than 37 million people attended live concerts and festivals in the country last year, contributing £6.6 billion ($8.6 billion) to the local economy. It was the first full calendar year that the U.K. live music industry was open for business after months of intermittent COVID-19 restrictions led to the cancellation of thousands of concerts.
The report, called “Here, There and Everywhere,” also found that the resurgence of live music events such as the Glastonbury Festival — which returned in 2022 after two years away — and sell-out tours by big-name artists like Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Stormzy helped attract more than 14 million international and domestic tourists to British gigs last year, reports UK Music.
Included among the 14.4 million “music tourists” — which UK Music defines as someone who has traveled at least three times the average commuting distance for their region — were 1.1 million overseas visitors.
Overall, the report found that more than 30 million people went to concerts in the United Kingdom last year — spanning everything from arena shows to tiny grassroots gigs — while 6.5 million music fans attended festivals.
“Here, There and Everywhere” is UK Music’s first report measuring the economic benefits of music tourism since its 2020 “Music by Numbers” study, meaning that accurate comparable numbers for preceding years are not available. According to 2020’s “Music By Numbers” report, which covered the prior 12 months, 33.7 million people attended U.K. live music events in 2019, including around 850,000 overseas visitors, contributing £4.7 billion ($6.1 billion) to the economy.
In 2022, 56,000 jobs were sustained by live gigs, said the London-based organization. The £6.6 billion ($8.6 billion) in music tourism spending for the year encompasses money spent on ticket sales, food and beverage sales, merchandise, venue parking, camping fees, accommodation, travel and additional spending outside of venues.
On a regional basis, London was the United Kingdom’s most popular destination for attending gigs, drawing 4.9 million music tourists who contributed £2 billion ($2.6 billion) in spending. The North West of England, a region which includes the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, was the second most popular destination for traveling music fans, with 1.9 million people visiting for live shows and spending £696 million ($907 million).
UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said in a statement that last year’s figures were a “testament to just how important a thriving musical ecosystem is for our towns and cities,” but warned that the sector still faces huge challenges as it continues its post-COVID-19 recovery.
“With a venue closing every week, one in six festivals not returning since the pandemic, and many studios facing huge economic pressures, it’s vital that we protect the musical infrastructure that does so much for our towns and cities,” added Njoku-Goodwin, citing research from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) and Music Venue Trust (MVT).
Shortly after its initial official launch, TikTok Music is already in expansion mode.
The new app, which is a full-catalog subscription music streaming service that ties into a user’s TikTok account, is launching in three additional countries: Mexico, Australia and Singapore, the company announced today (July 18). The announcement comes just two weeks after the company announced the creation of TikTok Music, with its initial availability limited to Brazil and Indonesia.
The launch in the three new countries will initially be in closed beta, with users being invited to try the service with a three-month trial after downloading the app.
“TikTok Music is a new kind of music service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a music streaming service offering millions of tracks from thousands of artists,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “We are now beta testing TikTok Music in Australia, Mexico [and] Singapore, and will have more news to share on the launch of TikTok Music in the coming months.”
TikTok Music grew out of, and is replacing, TikTok’s initial foray into music streaming, which it called Resso and which had been operating in India and Indonesia since March 2020, before later expanding into Brazil. That service was initially a free, ad-supported streamer before TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, announced in May that it would become subscription-only. Resso’s availability in Indonesia and Brazil is sunsetting on Sept. 5.
The announcement caps a big day for TikTok, which also unveiled a major new licensing partnership with Warner Music Group (WMG) allowing the company’s music to be used on the main app as well as in its commercial library, among other uses, while giving WMG artists greater access to some of TikTok’s tools to reach fans and sell merchandise. TikTok also announced the launch of a new emerging artist program called Elevate to promote artists both on and off the app.
TikTok Music is a significant step in the relationship between the wildly-popular social media app and the music business, which has been contested in recent years but has since begun to thaw with an increased partnership between the sides. Sony, which had pulled its catalog from Resso in recent months, struck a deal to return its catalog to both Resso and TikTok Music, for example. TikTok has also been rolling out tools to help creators, and additionally to help users find artists on the platform. The expansion of its streaming service could be a huge change in the digital service provider landscape, which hasn’t seen a new major player emerge in several years at this point — particularly one with as massive and engaged a user base as TikTok.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities in Nevada confirmed Tuesday (July 18) that they served a search warrant this week in connection with the long-unsolved killing of rapper Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years ago.
Shakur, one of the most prolific figures in hip-hop, was killed on the night of Sept. 7, 1996, in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He was 25.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the search warrant was executed Monday in the nearby city of Henderson.
Department spokesperson Aden OcampoGomez said he could not provide further details on the latest development in the case, including whether it was served at a home or a business, citing the open investigation.
Nevada does not have a statute of limitations for prosecuting homicide cases.
Tupac was gunned down inside a black vehicle stopped at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip. Shot multiple times, the rapper was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died a week later.
Largely considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, the six-time Grammy-nominated Shakur has had five No. 1 albums: 1995’s Me Against the World, 1996’s All Eyez on Me and three posthumous releases: 1996’s The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which was recorded under the name Makaveli, as well as 2001’s Until the End of Time and 2004’s Loyal to the Game.
In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Snoop Dogg. In June of this year, the rapper received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His professional music career only lasted five years, but Tupac secured 21 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including two top 10s: “Dear Mama/Old School” in 1995 and his best-known track, 1996’s “How Do U Want It/California Love,” featuring K-Ci and JoJo. The latter spent two weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 from his final studio album and Death Row Records debut, All Eyez on Me.
According to Luminate, Tupac has sold 33 million albums (41 million when including track sale and streaming equivalents). The rapper’s on-demand video and audio streams total 10.1 billion.
He’s also had some museum exhibits that paid homage to his life including “Tupac Shakur. Wake Me When I’m Free,” which opened in 2021.
KOMI, a creator commerce tool used by Lizzo and Elton John, said on Tuesday (July 18) that it raised $12 million from a group of investors including venture capital firms RTP and Third Prime, as well as Sony Music and Live Nation. In addition to the $5 million in seed funding KOMI says it raised […]
Houston-based rapper KenTheMan (born Kentavia Miller) signed a label deal with Roc Nation, which released her latest single, “I Love a Freak,” on Friday (July 14), with an EP on the way. The rapper, known for tracks including “Not My N*gga” and “He Be Like,” is slated to perform at Rolling Loud Miami on Sunday (July 23).
YG Entertainment K-pop group TREASURE signed a label deal with Columbia Records in the United States. Columbia will release the group’s forthcoming album in partnership with YG.
Paris-based indie distributor IDOL signed a direct artist partnership with U.S. rapper-producer (and Flatbush Zombies founding member) Erick the Architect (“Death by Dishonor,” “Let It Go”). IDOL will handle global digital distribution and marketing for his debut solo album, to be released on his own label, Architect Recording Company; the first single, “Parkour” (produced by James Blake), dropped on July 11. He is managed by Quincy Jones Productions.
Virgin Music signed an agreement with Paul Rosenberg‘s Goliath Records for Rise of the Silverback, the upcoming album from battle rapper and social media personality Nems. The album will be preceded by the single “Drip.” Nems is represented by managers Busy Rivera and Mex Guevara, the latter of whom also serves as his booking agent.
New York-based nonprofit Daniel’s Music Foundation launched Just Call Me By My Name, a new record label focused on musicians with disabilities. Distributed by The Orchard, the label will release compilation albums coinciding with “key disability awareness dates.” The first EP, Just Call Me By My Name: Volume 1, will drop on Friday (July 21). It features five artists: singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James Ian (who has spinal muscular atrophy type 3); singer-songwriter, piano player and mixer-arranger Devin Gutierrez (on the autism spectrum and with optic nerve hypoplasia, which causes blindness); 12-year-old opera singer Iolanta Mamatkazina (who is blind); rock and blues guitarist Jake Nielsen (who has cerebral palsy); and singer-songwriter/Daniel’s Music Foundation co-founder Daniel Trush and his songwriting partner Gerard Powers. Musicians on the label are sourced through the Danny Awards, an annual awards show produced by Daniel’s Music Foundation that recognizes musicians with disabilities.
Madrid-based artist Ralphie Choo signed to Warner Records, which will release his debut album, SUPERNOVA, in partnership with RUSIA IDK on September 15. The album is preceded by the single “MÁQUINA CULONA” featuring Mura Masa.
Republic Records China signed Mandarin pop star Hannah Rebecca Jin, who has been a recording artist in her native country for over 20 years and broke through in the late ’90s with albums including Wake Up Your Ears and So Proud. The signing marks a reunion between Jin and Tony Wen, the producer Jin worked with at the beginning of her career who now serves as MD of Republic Records China. Jin’s first single for the label is a reimagined version of her hit single, “So Proud.” She will next team up with Wen to co-produce an all-new original album for the label.
Big Noise Music Group signed 16-year-old rapper and pop-punk singer and content creator Gavin Magnus to a multi-album deal. Magnus previously signed with Columbia Records at age 12. His first release on Big Noise will be the single “PSYCHO.”
New Jersey-based band Nicotine Dolls, whose lead singer, Sam Cieri, previously appeared on America’s Got Talent, signed to Nettwerk. The label will release the band’s new single, “How Do You Love Me,” off its forthcoming EP. Nicotine Dolls is represented by manager JR Schumann and booking agents Winston Simone and Sara Schlievert at Paladin Artists.
Golden State Entertainment signed tiny deaths, a project from Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Claire de Lune, who was a founding member of all-women group The Chalice alongside Lizzo and Sophia Eris. Formed in 2022, Golden State Entertainment is an affiliate company of the Golden State Warriors that creates original content. In addition to her artist career, de Lune works as a sportswriter for The Guardian, where she is a regular NBA columnist. She was previously signed to Handwritten Records.
WME signed Seedphrase (born Daniel Maegaard), an artist, DJ, entrepreneur and early-stage crypto investor whose digital art collection includes some of the rarest NFTs in the world. He is slated to drop original music this year, in addition to various Web3 releases. Seedphrase is managed by Three Six Zero.
Vere Music and Brickhouse Entertainment signed pop singer-songwriter Mary-Clair, with Vere serving as her distributor and Brickhouse as her management. The first release under the deal is Mary-Clair’s debut single, “Heaven in the Way,” which was co-written by Tedd T.
Amazon Music elevated Ryan Redington to general manager on Tuesday (July 18). The announcement was made by Steve Boom, who joined Amazon’s senior leadership team in December, where he now oversees not just Amazon Music but Audible, Wondery, Amp, Twitch and Amazon Games.
Redington has “played a number of critical leadership roles in Amazon Music’s journey to becoming one of the leading global streaming services today,” Boom wrote to staff in an email. “… He’s earned trust with the industry across dozens of artist partnerships, finding new ways to scale their new releases through global concerts and festival livestreams. Amazon Music already pays rightsholders billions annually, and under Ryan’s leadership we will continue to build a foundation to help artists scale and monetize their fanbases in new ways.”
Redington is a 15-year veteran of Amazon, starting on the video team and then moving over to the physical sales side of the organization, focusing on CDs and vinyl. He subsequently shifted to digital and was part of the team that launched Amazon Music back in 2014.
In his wide-ranging current role, he oversees artist and genre marketing, label and artist relations, playlisting and programming, livestreams and editorial content, physical merchandise, and artist analytics.
Last year, Amazon Music Unlimited raised its price for Prime subscribers and expanded its ad-free offering for Prime members from 2 million songs to more than 100 million songs. Prime members can only listen to all that music on shuffle, unless they upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited.
“We need to think about a streaming service as not just being a catalog of recorded music, but being a host of services that connect artists and fans together,” Boom told The Verge in November. “… When you get into areas like merch, there are unlimited amounts that people are willing to spend to connect with their favorite artist and to represent their fandom. Obviously, Amazon has a position as a pretty big global retailer that is good at e-commerce and logistics, and it is a brand that people really trust as a place to spend money. I think that sets us up really well for the future.”
In January, Amazon announced that it was upping prices again for U.S. and U.K. subscribers. Amazon Music Unlimited went from $9.99 to $10.99 for individual subscribers in the U.S. and increased from $4.99 to $5.99 for subscribers to the student plan.