California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday.
The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said.
Earlier this month, the Democratic governor told an audience at Dreamforce, an annual conference hosted by software giant Salesforce, that California must lead in regulating AI in the face of federal inaction but that the proposal “can have a chilling effect on the industry.”
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The proposal, which drew fierce opposition from startups, tech giants and several Democratic House members, could have hurt the homegrown industry by establishing rigid requirements, Newsom said.
“While well-intentioned, SB 1047 does not take into account whether an AI system is deployed in high-risk environments, involves critical decision-making or the use of sensitive data,” Newsom said in a statement. “Instead, the bill applies stringent standards to even the most basic functions — so long as a large system deploys it. I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology.”
Newsom on Sunday instead announced that the state will partner with several industry experts, including AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, to develop guardrails around powerful AI models. Li opposed the AI safety proposal.
The measure, aimed at reducing potential risks created by AI, would have required companies to test their models and publicly disclose their safety protocols to prevent the models from being manipulated to, for example, wipe out the state’s electric grid or help build chemical weapons. Experts say those scenarios could be possible in the future as the industry continues to rapidly advance. It also would have provided whistleblower protections to workers.
The bill’s author, Democratic state Sen. Scott Weiner, called the veto “a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations that are making critical decisions that affect the safety and the welfare of the public and the future of the planet.”
“The companies developing advanced AI systems acknowledge that the risks these models present to the public are real and rapidly increasing. While the large AI labs have made admirable commitments to monitor and mitigate these risks, the truth is that voluntary commitments from industry are not enforceable and rarely work out well for the public,” Wiener said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Wiener said the debate around the bill has dramatically advanced the issue of AI safety, and that he would continue pressing that point.
The legislation is among a host of bills passed by the Legislature this year to regulate AI, fight deepfakes and protect workers. State lawmakers said California must take actions this year, citing hard lessons they learned from failing to rein in social media companies when they might have had a chance.
Proponents of the measure, including Elon Musk and Anthropic, said the proposal could have injected some levels of transparency and accountability around large-scale AI models, as developers and experts say they still don’t have a full understanding of how AI models behave and why.
The bill targeted systems that require a high level of computing power and more than $100 million to build. No current AI models have hit that threshold, but some experts said that could change within the next year.
“This is because of the massive investment scale-up within the industry,” said Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who resigned in April over what he saw as the company’s disregard for AI risks. “This is a crazy amount of power to have any private company control unaccountably, and it’s also incredibly risky.”
The United States is already behind Europe in regulating AI to limit risks. The California proposal wasn’t as comprehensive as regulations in Europe, but it would have been a good first step to set guardrails around the rapidly growing technology that is raising concerns about job loss, misinformation, invasions of privacy and automation bias, supporters said.
A number of leading AI companies last year voluntarily agreed to follow safeguards set by the White House, such as testing and sharing information about their models. The California bill would have mandated AI developers to follow requirements similar to those commitments, said the measure’s supporters.
But critics, including former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, argued that the bill would “kill California tech” and stifle innovation. It would have discouraged AI developers from investing in large models or sharing open-source software, they said.
Newsom’s decision to veto the bill marks another win in California for big tech companies and AI developers, many of whom spent the past year lobbying alongside the California Chamber of Commerce to sway the governor and lawmakers from advancing AI regulations.
Two other sweeping AI proposals, which also faced mounting opposition from the tech industry and others, died ahead of a legislative deadline last month. The bills would have required AI developers to label AI-generated content and ban discrimination from AI tools used to make employment decisions.
The governor said earlier this summer he wanted to protect California’s status as a global leader in AI, noting that 32 of the world’s top 50 AI companies are located in the state.
He has promoted California as an early adopter as the state could soon deploy generative AI tools to address highway congestion, provide tax guidance and streamline homelessness programs. The state also announced last month a voluntary partnership with AI giant Nvidia to help train students, college faculty, developers and data scientists. California is also considering new rules against AI discrimination in hiring practices.
Earlier this month, Newsom signed some of the toughest laws in the country to crack down on election deepfakes and measures to protect Hollywood workers from unauthorized AI use.
But even with Newsom’s veto, the California safety proposal is inspiring lawmakers in other states to take up similar measures, said Tatiana Rice, deputy director of the Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit that works with lawmakers on technology and privacy proposals.
“They are going to potentially either copy it or do something similar next legislative session,” Rice said. “So it’s not going away.”
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The state of California has set aside $12 million in reparations funds for its Black residents as restitution for the history of anti-Black oppression that has plagued Black people for the overwhelming majority of our existence in America.
The $12 million included in California’s $300 billion budget is far less than what activists wanted, but it’s also far more than the amount the MAGA world wants to see gifted to Black people anywhere in the country, which is zero.
“Obviously, it’s not enough, but this is the first time ever that reparations for Black people will be a line item in a state budget,” said Chris Lodgson, a reparations activist who lobbied lawmakers to make it all happen, according to the Washington Post.
California’s reparations task force, which was established by the state legislature, actually recommended billions in reparations funding, including $1.2 million in payments for Black Californians over 50 who have lived in the states their whole lives. While the state only ended up approving a fraction of the amount proposed, proponents of the initiative say it’s fortunate even the $12 million total was approved considering the state’s current financial situation, which includes a nearly $50 billion budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.
“In this tough economic climate, for us to find this money for reparations sends a signal not only to the state but to the nation that California is committed to addressing the harms that are the result of slavery in this country,” said state Sen. Steven Bradford (D).
But it’s not quite safe for state Democrats to call the reparations approval a win as they still have to contend with salty white conservative activists who will certainly fight them tooth and nail before they allow a single Black Californian to receive a check that non-Black Californians don’t also have access to.
From the Post:
Recently, Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group, filed a lawsuit to stop the country’s first government-funded reparations program in Evanston, Ill., which had already paid nearly $5 million to 193 of the town’s Black residents. And the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently dismissed a lawsuit by survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre seeking reparations.
“In the wake of the Tulsa decision and the Evanston lawsuit, folks have been asking: ‘Is the reparations movement really going anywhere?’” said Trevor Smith, executive director of the BLIS Collective, a nonprofit focused on restitution for Black and Native Americans. “So the fact that California continues to lead the way is really important.”
The state’s reparations effort is still facing resistance from state Republicans and some Latino and Asian lawmakers, who have argued that it’s unfair to make current residents, a majority of whom are people of color, pay for the sins of the state’s White founders.
“Most every Californian, regardless of race or background, comes from a lineage involving immense pain and struggle,” Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R) said in a statement. “Singling out just one demographic is extremely problematic and likely unconstitutional. The problems of the past cannot be paid for by the people of today.”
Yeah—it might be true that Black people don’t have a global monopoly on historic oppression, but we’re the only people in America who endured roughly two and a half centuries of slavery followed by another century of legally-sanctioned second-class citizenship.
So, there’s that.
The opening of a new 2,500-seat venue in the Inland Empire caught many by surprise earlier this year, but the signs of things to come had been in plain sight for months. Since January, those driving along the Southland’s busy interstates, freeways and thoroughfares have all cruised past a bombardment of billboards promoting shows by Missy Elliott, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, The Killers and Ed Sheeran.
These acts could easily sell out celebrated Los Angeles venues like The Hollywood Bowl or the Dolby Theater, but instead have elected to play a small theater 65 miles east in Highland, Calif., on land owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, one of California’s wealthiest tribal groups.
The billboard advertising campaign is part of an ambitious national marketing plan to promote the 20-year-old casino following a $750 million upgrade, a name change to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland (it was formerly called San Manuel Casino) and a first of its kind exclusive booking agreement with Live Nation Southern California aiming to bring 100 shows per year to state-of-the-art venue.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The campaign is designed to be “something that gains much greater national recognition” says Drew Dixon, Yaamava’s vp of entertainment, “something that’s not just a play for these artists, but a tour destination where they want us to be part of something larger that they’re creating.”
Yaamava’ is already well on its way, as the largest of a half-dozen Southern California tribal casinos that are serving as the gateway for artists to access new audiences and lucrative guarantees in California’s fast-growing regions like Sacramento, East San Diego and Palm Springs/Coachella Valley. The location of Yaamava’ and other Southern California tribal casinos makes them convenient tour stops when routing acts to or from Los Angeles, with these facilities just far enough outside the city that they don’t run into too much red tape around L.A. radius clauses.
Tribal gaming in California is a $10 billion business, formally legalized by voters in 2000 after years of operating under a patchwork of local ordinances and supportive rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Proposition 1A legalized the operation of slot machines and card games like blackjack, poker and pai gow on tribal land, often in areas outside of San Francisco and Los Angeles that went on to explode in growth throughout the decades that followed. Southern and Northern California, according to a source familiar, are now the most competitive regions for tribal gaming in the U.S. alongside the Atlantic City/Philadelphia area.
As a result, California’s tribal groups are now among some of the richest in the country, with some properties generating hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue. While tribal groups are not required to disclose income, a 2004 agreement between then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggar and the United Auburn Indian Community estimated the tribe’s Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, the third largest tribal gaming property in the state — about 30 minutes outside Sacramento — generated $350 million a year in revenue from its 3,000 slot machines. It’s a safe bet Yaamava’ is making even more as California’s largest tribal gaming casino with 6,500 slots. And its ownership group, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is expanding outside the state: In April 2022, the tribal group purchased the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for $650 million.
With access to millions in capital and a year-round need to draw customers, it’s no surprise that tribal gaming executives believe music and live entertainment can help drive more traffic to tribal casinos. But money alone isn’t enough, explains Seth Shoames, a former UTA agent who now runs his own company Day After Day Productions, which represents Ludacris (who opened for Jackson at her Yaamava’ performance), Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, Brian Wilson and Wayne Newton, and also owns Billy Brill’s Billy Alan Productions with Danny Wimmer Presents in a deal funded by Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies and now books talent on behalf of the company’s casino clients.
“It’s all about how artist and casino can align,” says Shoames, noting that artists can benefit from being exposed to “millions of people in the casino’s database” that the artist might otherwise not have access to through email blasts and social media.
Booking big talent comes at a cost — and often casinos are willing to overpay for talent for strategic purposes, says Shoames. On May 13, for example, Missy Elliot performed at Yaamava’ Theater a week after playing Live Nation’s Friends and Lovers festival in Las Vegas — her only two shows of the year. For Missy Elliot, the Yaamava’ show was a chance to create a more intimate follow up experience; for the casino, the show was a chance to make a statement about Yaamava’ being the host site for unique experience in an intimate setting and worth paying a premium for. A source close to the matter estimates that Janet Jackson was paid $2 million for her June 14 Yaamava’ show and that Andrea Bocelli’s May 18 performance earned the singer between $2-3 million — fees that would exceed ticket sales for the venue.
Concert tickets at Yaamava’ do run higher than average, with tickets for Lionel Richie’s Sept. 16 show at Yaamava’ starting at $250 and going up to $1,050 plus fees. Meanwhile, tickets for Richie’s Sept. 15 show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles top out at about $250. (A representative for Yaamava’ declined to comment on artist fees or ticket pricing.)
Besides underplays with major acts that boost a casino’s visibility, tribal leaders typically expect concerts to pay for themselves. “Twenty or 30 years ago, [shows at] casinos were a loss leader, but that’s no longer the case,” says Brill, who serves as a talent buyer at Thunder Mountain Casino and the Agua Caliente Casinos’ three locations in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and Cathedral City. “In Agua [Caliente’s] case, we want to make money on each show.”
Yaamava’s efforts are designed to attract younger crowds, developing a new generation of gamers while also serving as a convenient alternative to Las Vegas. Yaamava Theater was built with this younger demographic in mind, with its massive 3,800 square foot stage aiming to attract bigger and larger shows like its inaugural April 14 concert by Red Hot Chili Peppers, who performed a private show for Tribal members, journalists and other invited guests. The Black Crowes performed Yaamava Theater’s first public concert in late May.
Yaamava’ Theater
Solaiman Fazel
The property’s partnership with Live Nation helps facilitate the booking of some of its larger acts, which over the next few months include Ed Sheeran, Lionel Richie, The Killers, Kali Uchis and a co-headlining set from Nas and Wu-Tang Clan. Dixon, a former market general manager for Live Nation, also spent 12 years running nightclubs and restaurants in Las Vegas and directs a staff with both casino and music industry backgrounds.
“Yamaava’ is making a substantial effort to rebrand themselves,” says UTA music agent Darius Sabet, who specializes in national casino booking for the agency. “That was obviously a strategic decision that they made, and I believe it’s starting to pay off for them in big ways.”
Monica Reeves who books shows for the three Agua Caliente locations says Yaamava’s upgrades have brought “stronger competitiveness” to the market, with new competition also coming from Acrisure Arena, a 10,000-capacity venue that opened in the Coachella Valley this past December and whose upcoming concerts include ODESZA, Sting, KISS and Madonna.
While all this competition is “great” for artists, says Sabet, the casinos are also competing for the crowds to come see them. Friday and Saturday concerts are most attractive for these properties, given that the fans who come for such events are more likely to stay the entire weekend, not only spending money at the concert, but on rooms, slots, blackjack, food, drinks, spa treatments, steak dinners and other add-ons. That’s a shift from past strategies when many of these casinos did the bulk of their business Monday through Thursday, at which point many locals would decamp to Vegas for the weekend.
Back in this era, performances at the former San Manuel would happen in a bingo hall that was converted into a concert space for shows. With this showroom shut down for years amid the remodel, Yaamava’ “wanted to come back to the market like a boss, and they are,” says Michael Scafuto, CEO of M&M Group, that bought entertainment for San Manuel before the remodel.
“The local casino market is getting to be a brute battle as most of the So Cal Properties are all fighting for the same guests and players,” Scafuto adds. “[Yaamava’] needs to ensure they appeal to SoCal guests and players, so they are dominating the market with a huge brand campaign that involves major stars.”
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Things aren’t looking good for rappers Polo G and Trench Baby as authorities executed a search warrant and uncovered some pretty damaging evidence that could put them behind bars for quite some time.
According to Deadline, police arrested both Polo G and Baby Trench after executing a raid on Trench’s Chatsworth, Calif. mansion Wednesday (Aug. 23). What authorities ended up discovering on the premises was a illegal short-barrel rifle for which Polo G (whose real name is Taurus Bartlett) was taken into custody. His younger brother, Baby Trench (Taurean Bartlett), was also taken into custody as he was wanted for a robbery he allegedly took part in.
Deadline reports:
Trench Baby was released late Wednesday after posting $100,000 bail. Polo G was released on his own recognizance, according to Los Angeles County jail records.
Trench Baby has a Sept. 13 court date. Polo G is scheduled to appear on Sept. 12.
Polo G is represented by attorney Bradford Cohen, who has represented rappers Draze, Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. It is unclear who represents Trench Baby.
Taurus Bartlett, performing as Polo G, is a Columbia Records artist. His 2019 debut, “Die a Legend,” went double-platinum. The following year, his second album, “Goat,” had 10 songs chart in Billboard’s Hot 100.
No word on what kind of time the two men are facing, but expect Polo and Baby Trench to speak on the situation in their music in the near future.
What do y’all think of their situation? Sound off in the comments section below.
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MoneySign Suede, a young rising rapper from Huntington Park, Calif., lost his life after he was reportedly stabbed in a shower while in prison and succumbed to the wounds. On Twitter, fans of MoneySign Suede are saluting the rapper as they mourn the loss across social media.
MoneySign Suede, real name Jaime Brugada Valdez, was signed to Atlantic Records in 2021 according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. Valdez was housed at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) in Soledad, Calif., which is where he was found dead inside a shower stall this past Tuesday.
A statement from CTF reads as follows:
At approximately 9:55 p.m. on April 25, correctional officers responded when Brugada was not accounted for in his cell after a regular institutional count. During a search he was found unresponsive in another area of the housing unit with injuries consistent with a homicide.
Staff quickly initiated life-saving measures and summoned emergency services to transport Brugada to an on-site medical facility for treatment, where he was pronounced deceased at 10:00 p.m.
Officials have limited movement at the institution to facilitate the investigation being conducted by the CTF Investigative Services Unit, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office and the Monterey County Coroner. The Office of the Inspector General was notified and the Monterey County Coroner will determine Brugada’s official cause of death.
MoneySign Suede released his album, Parkside Baby, last September. He also released a self-titled EP in early 2022 as well.
On Twitter, reactions to MoneySign Suede’s death continue to take place and we’ve got those reactions below.
He was 22.
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Photo: @moneysignsuede / Instagram
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Humboldt Family Farms, one of the top brands cultivating cannabis in California’s famed Humbolt County, has a brilliant idea for folks to celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Instead of reaching for sips and suds, Humboldt Family Farms wants you to trade the usual for another kind of sticky green leaf if you catch our drift.
Humboldt Family Farms was established in 2007 by founder Scott Vasterling and stands out as one of the premier locations to obtain high-quality cannabis. From flower, pre-rolls, and vape cartridges, the brand has just about everyone covered when it comes to getting their medicine via their preferred method.
Last fall, HFF rolled out a variety of new products to the market with delivery options in some regions. Check out the offerings below:
Premium Flower
The Original F1 Blue Dream Premium Flower: A fan-favorite Sativa dominant hybrid delivering a balanced high with stimulating cerebral effects, thanks to the terpenes Pinene and Myrcene. On the farm for over 12 years, this legendary flower delivers a sweet fruity aroma and keeps you in a good mood.
The Original Galaxy OG Premium Flower: This Indica dominant hybrid was brought to Humboldt in 1996 and has been a favorite ever since. Offering the quintessential terpene profile of Caryophyllene, Limonene and Myrcene, this strain provides a completely relaxing, chill vibe.
Vape Cartridges
The Original Train Wreck Vape Cartridge: Starting with 100% Humboldt flower and extracted by Emerald Cup Winning Arcata X, this vape cartridge was created by extracting and refining the terpene profile to reveal a rare co-dominant terpene, Ocimene, which presents a calming effect. Terpinolene, the primary terpene, provides energy and creativity. This sweet-tropical flower-forward Sativa provides a calm, inspiring and euphoric effect.
The Original Galaxy OG Vape Cartridge: This strain has been extremely sought after, as it has been cultivated by Humboldt farmers for generations and with the vape cartridge, you can enjoy it on the go. To deliver the highest quality product, Emerald Cup winning Arcata X used 100% Humboldt-grown Cannabis for extraction. Just like the flower, this Indica dominant Hybrid vape cartridge delivers a relaxing and mellow experience.
Pre-Rolls
Galaxy OG & Saphire Tsu Pre-Roll: This collaborative joint is a perfect blend of 50% Saphire Tsu from Neukom Family Farms and 50% Galaxy OG from Humboldt Family Farms. This Indica leaning pre-roll is nearly 3:1 THC:CBD and certainly provides a relaxed and blissful effect.
The Blue Dream & Maui Waui Pre-Roll: This quintessential Sativa dominant pre-roll is how it has been enjoyed on the farm for over a decade, offering the perfect balance of fruity flavors with a heady high that is sure to please and set you at ease.
Pretty cool, right?
While we’re certainly not going to avoid all the green beer and cocktails this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Humboldt Family Farms and its array of options is perfect for swapping out booze for the burn.
Learn more about the brand here.
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Photo: Humboldt Family Farms/Getty
Desert Hearts returns with a strong beat for 2023, dropping the lineup for its May bacchanal on Wednesday (Feb. 1).
The stacked lineup of mostly house and techno features heavyweights includes legends such as Skream, Tiga, DJ Minx, DJ Seinfeld, Claude VonStroke, Derrick Carter going b2b with Mark Farina, along with up-and-comers including DJ Holographic, Prospa and Mary Droppinz along with core Desert Hearts crew Mikey Lion, Porky, Marbs, Lee Reynolds, Rinzen and Lubelski.
The extremely vibey indie festival happens May 5-8 in Lake Parris, Calif. Tickets for the lakeside camping festival go on sale Thursday (Feb. 2.) Fans can text 619-586-6779 to register for tickets and will receive a direct link to purchase at 10 a.m. PT.
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Since launching in 2012, Desert Hearts has carved out a place as one of the loosest and grooviest events for true house and technoheads, bringing in many of the global greats to grace lineups over the years. (Hear exclusive sets Desert Hearts 2022 sets from Rinzen, Carl Craig, Juan Maclean and Heidi Lawden here.)
As live events were put on pause during the pandemic, the Desert Hearts crew also created a significant online space, with their Twitch channel generating revenue that was key to Desert Hearts maintaining financial solvency after canceling its 2020 and 2021 shows. During the pandemic, Desert Hearts made roughly as much profit via donations and Twitch subscriptions (of which they hit a peak of 4,000) as they typically do from their IRL events. This revenue made it possible for Desert Hearts to keep the company funded, retain its four full-time employees and come back strong post pandemic.
See the Desert Hearts 2023 lineup below:
For evidence that California’s Prop 28 — which seeks to provide nearly $1 billion in new funding annually for arts and music education in all K-12 public schools — has become a pet cause among music luminaries, one need look no further than the industry’s most famous structure. The Capitol Tower in Hollywood, whose cylindrical shape has long drawn comparisons to a stack of records, currently has a “Yes on 28” flag flying prominently from its roof.
Universal Music Group, which owns the famed building and has given $25,000 to support the measure, isn’t the only high-profile supporter of Prop 28, which voters will weigh in on Nov. 8. Authored by former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Austin Beutner, the proposition has been endorsed by more than 350 individuals and organizations, including companies like Fender Music and CAA; legendary executives such as Quincy Jones and Irving Azoff; and A-list artists like Dr. Dre, will.i.am, Lil Baby and Katy Perry. In mid-October, Christina Aguilera and her fiancé Matthew Rutler (investor and founding executive of MasterClass) hosted an event at their home in support of the proposition that featured performances by musicians Lady Bri, One Republic’s Tim Myers and Aloe Blacc.
So why has the music industry, which Prop 28 does not directly support, come out to endorse it so heavily? As advocates put it, the money invested in students now will benefit the music business down the road.
“The most important beneficiaries are the kids themselves,” says Andy Mooney, CEO of Fender Music, which provided $100,000 in seed money for the proposition and donated another $1 million to collect signatures and market the proposition. But, he adds, “the benefit for companies like ourselves, or anybody who’s in the music and arts business in California, is the long-term investment that may yield dividends beyond my tenure.”
Currently, according to proposition authors, “barely one in five public schools has a full time arts or music teacher” and “arts and music programs have often been the first to get cut” at California public schools – a problem Prop 28 is designed to fix. The money allocated by the measure – which must be spent on arts and music education such as teachers, supplies, arts partnerships, training and materials – would include accountability and require schools to publish annual reports on how they spend funds, including specific programs and how students benefited.
Important in garnering support from voters is the fact that Prop 28 “is not taking any money away from existing school funding,” says Beutner, who retired as superintendent last year and has spent his newfound free time focusing on the measure. The money provided by Prop 28 would be 1% of the California school funding budget, which is currently 40% of the state’s general fund. But instead of siphoning that 1% from other school needs, it increases the school budget from 40% to 40.4% of the state’s general fund. Based on the current year, that would amount to $950 million – 1% of the state’s $95 billion school budget.
Also important to many supporters is the fact that Prop 28 offers a route to diversify the creative sector. While all 6 million public school students in California would have access to the new funding proposed by the measure – which will come from the state’s general fund without raising taxes – 30% would go to schools based on their share of low-income students enrolled statewide (with the remaining 70% going to schools based on their share of statewide enrollment).
UMG’s chief people and inclusion officer and co-chair of the Taskforce for Meaningful Change Eric Hutcherson, who says this is the first proposition UMG has officially gotten behind as a company, notes that by exposing more kids to music education, the new funding will inevitably inspire future leaders in a variety of music industry roles that go beyond just being an artist or producer. “What you find is that these industries have all of those opportunities available,” he says.
Entertainment veteran Tim Sexton, who executive produced the Emmy-winning Live 8 benefit concert and has been working with Beutner to drum up artist support, adds that for media companies “worried about diversity, equity and inclusion, you don’t need to look further than our public schools to see that’s the population looks like that’s what the workforce ought to look like.”
The proposition would ideally be investing nearly $1 billion into California’s creative economy as well. According to Bloomberg, the state of California is on the verge of becoming the fourth largest economy in the world by overtaking Germany and, according to a study conducted by Otis College of Art and Design, nearly a quarter of the state’s economy comes from the entertainment sector.
“Companies like ours, that moved to California to be at the nexus of entertainment and technology, rely on a skilled workforce to fill the high-quality jobs we create here,” said Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge in release in April. “If enacted, this initiative will ensure a future job-ready workforce and secure California’s position as the global epicenter of music and the arts.”
Informal opposition to the measure argues that the increased usage of general funds should be used to address other issues like homelessness or paying down state debt, but the Official Voter Information Guide for California residents – which provides arguments in favor and against each proposition – states that “no argument against Proposition 28 was submitted.”
“I’m not a ballot initiative expert, but I have asked some and no one can recall the last time [an argument against wasn’t submitted,” says Beutner. “It’s truly a unicorn.”
The impact of Prop 28 could be felt far wider than California. If the initiative is successful this election cycle, supporters say they would be interested in taking tailored versions of Prop 28 to other states.
“The money that we spent in support of this initiative is one of the best investments the company has ever made for the future,” says Mooney. “We can replicate that investment in other states where music and art is also really important. Think of Tennessee or Florida with Miami, which is the heart of Latin music in the U.S. these days. There’s a lot of opportunities.”
Live Nation Concerts has announced Geni Lincoln will be joining the company as their new president of California region. Lincoln will oversee all booking, marketing and business operations in California for the leading live entertainment promoter. She previously served as the GM and senior vp of live events for the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
“I am very excited to return to Live Nation and join the stellar California team,” said Lincoln. “I have been fortunate enough to have worked with some of the best teams in the business and look forward to continuing growing those relationships in this role at Live Nation.”
Concert industry veteran Rich Best, who previously served as president of California is now joining Live Nation’s global team. Under the leadership of Arthur Fogel and Omar Al-joulani, the global promoting team produces and promotes Live Nation’s worldwide tours for artists including The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Post Malone, Bruno Mars and more. Best has been with Live Nation for over 20 years, and in his time as a promoter has continued to help a roster of artists plan worldwide tours including Pearl Jam, Rufus Du Sol, and more.
Lincoln has worked at the Kia Forum for nine years and was part of the team responsible for maintaining the legendary venue’s high rankings every year and transforming the artist experience there. Live Nation booked hundreds of shows during Lincoln’s time at the Forum and Lincoln has worked very closely with much of the team she is now leading.
“We are thrilled to welcome Geni back to Live Nation, leading our California team,” said Jordan Zachary, co-president of US Concerts. “In her prior role at the Forum she has worked incredibly closely with our teams and we’re excited to see her continue to support even more of our division and the artists we support across California.”
Best added “This is a great opportunity for my friend Geni and I give her a warm welcome to one of the most vibrant concert markets in the world. At the same time I’m incredibly excited to take the next step living out my dream working with artists on a global stage.”
Her move to Live Nation is full circle as she began her career working for House of Blues Entertainment at Universal Amphitheatre in Hollywood, which became part of Live Nation during her tenure. (Universal Amphitheatre closed in 2013). In addition to her work in live events, Geni has also spent the last five years volunteering with Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Los Angeles – a non-profit social justice organization empowering young girls through music education.
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