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Over $1 Billion Dollars Worth Of Bandooloo Luxury Goods Seized In NYC

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counterfeit goods

Source: handout / Department of Justice

Federal authorities have made a significant dent within the counterfeit industry. Over $1 billion dollars worth of fake goods were seized in New York City.

Raw Story is reporting that a national task force has made into the record books when it comes to the black market. On Wednesday, November 15 prosecutors announced their biggest bust in history stating that their work has resulted in the “largest ever seizure of counterfeit goods in US history”. Over 200,000 items were hauled during the bust which roughly translates to over a billion dollars in retail value. The items ranged from knockoff purses, shoes, hats, belts, smell goods and other accessories.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, the defendants used a Manhattan storage facility as a distribution center for massive amounts of knock-off designer goods. The seizures announced today consist of merchandise with over a billion dollars in estimated retail value, the largest-ever seizure of counterfeit goods in U.S. history. This is a testament to the commitment of this Office and its law enforcement partners to combat counterfeit trafficking in New York City.”

New York Police Department Commissioner made it clear that the counterfeit industry is a plague to the safety of citizens and those work in this underworld alike. “The trafficking of counterfeit goods is anything but a victimless crime because it harms legitimate businesses, governments, and consumers” he said in a statement according to the Department Of Justice. “Today’s indictments show how seriously the NYPD and our federal partners take this offense.  And we will continue to work hard to hold accountable anyone who seeks to benefit by selling such items on the black market.”

Adama Sow and Abdulai Jalloh a/k/a “Troy Banks” are alleged to be running this operation. Both have been arrested and charged for trafficking the fake items which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

5 Comfortable Air Mattresses for Hosting Family & to Take on Travels

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The holidays typically come with family members traveling near and far to gather around the dinner table and exchange Christmas gifts. Space and bedrooms are limited, and for anyone planning to stay with you during the holidays, providing them a comfortable place to sleep (besides the couch) is essential. That’s where owning a comfy air mattress comes in handy.

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The best air mattresses will not only inflate and deflate in a breeze, but will turn into a cushy soft place you and your loved ones can crash, whether it’s a holiday gathering or you’re packing camping gear for the weekend. Size is also going to be important, as it’ll dictate how many people can lie down comfortably. If you want to top it off with your most comfortable pillows and bedding, then you’ll also want to make sure the size matches your favorite sheets.

Rather than research the best air mattresses on your own, we scoured some early Black Friday deals and rounded up our top picks that’ll keep you and your family cozy for the holidays and beyond. Keep reading to shop our favorites based on reviews below.

Amazon

overall pick

SoundAsleep Dream Series Luxury Air Mattress (Queen Size)

There’s a reason Amazon has rated the SoundAsleep air mattress a No. 1 bestseller in camping air mattresses — it’s just that good. More than 40,000 verified reviewers have given it a five-star rating for its ability to deflate and inflate fast using the built-in pump, and how it “doesn’t deflate over a night of sleep.” It’s also available in seven sizes (including a kids size), uses ComfortCoil technology to cushion and support you while you sleep, as well as has a one year warranty.

Walmart

budget pick

Intex Durabeam Headboard 18″ Air Mattress (Queen Size)

$49

$78

37% off

At less than $50, you can pick up this Intex air mattress thanks to Walmart’s early Black Friday sales. It comes with a built-in headboard for added support as well as and electric pump to inflate and deflate the air mattress in a matter of minutes. One shopper praised its features, saying they “love the headboard feature and the height of this air mattress. It has a built-in pump so you won’t have to go looking. The cord stores inside the bed as well. Overall a great little air mattress for the price.”

Target

splurge pick

Coleman Inflatable Air Mattress (Queen Size)

Elevate your sleeping arrangement with the Coleman Inflatable Air Mattress. It comes in a queen or twin size that lies on top of a foldable stand to make getting in and out of bed easier. There is also an attached side table with a built-in cupholder to hold your phone, drink and more. One reviewer even noted that it was an “easy setup and worked well for our camping trip. Mattress held air the two nights we were out. Looking forward to using it again.”

Amazon

twin size pick

King Koil Luxury Twin Air Mattress

$119.95

$139.95

14% off

For those short on space or travel solo often, this twin-size air mattress gives you comfort without taking up a lot of room. It’s labeled an Amazon Choice for camping mattresses due to the extra thick quilted top (that’s also waterproof!). The design also features spinal support to help avoid you waking up with any crooks or pain.

Amazon

king size pick

OhGeni King Size Air Mattress

For even more space, this king-size air mattress will give you ample room to sprawl out. Reviewers love how fast it inflates and deflates (thanks to the built-in electric pump), and one shopper even praised how “it holds its shape remarkably” and they “[don’t] feel the need to continue refilling the mattress during [a] two week visit.”

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best portable grills, music coolers and travel backpacks.

‘La_Original.Mp3’ Takes Emilia & TINI to No. 1 on Billboard Argentina Hot 100

Emilia and TINI unite atop the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart as their team-up, “La_Original.Mp3,” bursts in at No. 1 on the Nov. 18-dated ranking. It’s the second song to launch at the summit in 2023, after another Emilia collaborative track, “Los Del Espacio,” with the all-star team comprising LIT killah, Maria Becerra, FMK, Rusherking, Duki, Tiago PZK and Big One (seven weeks in charge).

“La_Original.Mp3” sends Luck Ra’s “La Morocha,” featuring BM, to No. 2 after the latter’s seven-week domination.

“La Original,” which also scores the Hot Shot Debut of the week, belongs to Emilia’s sophomore album, .Mp3.



Further, three other .Mp3 tracks debut this week. With those new recruits, Emilia boasts 10 concurrent tracks on the tally this week — seven from her new set, including a re-entry. Here’s a look at her song collection on this week’s Billboard Argentina Hot 100.

No. 1, “La_Original.Mp3”, along with TINI (debut)
No. 5, “GTA.Mp3”
No. 13, “Los del Espacio”, along with LIT Killah, Tiago PZK, Maria Becerra, Duki, Rusherking, Big One
No. 22, “No_Se_Ve.Mp3”, along with Ludmilla and Zecca
No. 35, “Salgo a Bailar”, along with FMK
No. 36, “Exclusive.Mp3” (debut)
No. 41, “En la Intimidad,” with Big One and Callekero Fino
No. 58, “Jagger.Mp3”
No. 67, “Iconic.Mp3” (debut)
No. 71, “Facts.Mp3” (debut)

The Greatest Gainer honors goes to Tan Bionica’s “La Melodía De Dios,” which climbs 25 places from No. 88 to No. 63.

Finally, one other song debuts: Jung Kook’s “Standing Next to You” at No. 97.



Dua Lipa Says Buying Back Publishing Rights to Her Music Is ‘Something I’ve Always Wanted’

Dua Lipa is back in the driver’s seat when it comes to control of her music, and that’s just how she likes it. The pop star discussed for the first time buying back the publishing rights to her music catalog in a new interview with Audacy Check In Thursday (Nov. 16).

“I think it’s just something I’ve always wanted — to be in control of my own music,” the three-time Grammy winner told host Bru. “And I think all young artists should really understand the business behind music, especially in the beginning — I think it’s incredibly important. And so, to be able to have all the rights back to my songs feels really good. It’s my life’s work, so it’s good to be the person to say what happens with it.”

As for whether Taylor Swift served as an example for Lipa regaining control of her music, the “Houdini” singer said it wasn’t necessarily so. “I think what had happened to Taylor obviously was something that completely started getting people to understand that they should have a lawyer, and understand the business of music, for sure!” she explained. “I think owning your publishing was just something that I really wanted to have.”

“I think a lot of artists go, like, independent, or do their own thing,” she added. “I just wanted to have my whole catalog under my own company, which is something I started this year, which is like, publishing, and a production company. I just wanted to have everything under one umbrella. It just felt like a new chapter!”

TaP Music Publishing announced on Nov. 2 that it had sold Dua Lipa back her publishing rights. The artist signed with TaP management in 2013, and parted ways in 2022. She is now managed by her dad, Dukagjin Lipa.

Dua Lipa is nominated for two 2024 Grammy awards, both for “Dance the Night,” her song for the Barbie soundtrack. She’s competing for song of the year, as well as best song written for visual media. The Grammys will be presented Feb. 4.

Watch her interview below:



*NSYNC, AJ McLean, Camila Cabello & More: All the Stars at the ‘Trolls Band Together’ Special Screening

Trolls Band Together, and so do the members of *NSYNC! The cast of Dreamworks’ latest Trolls movie installment gathered at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday (Nov. 15) night to walk the purple carpet and catch an early screening of the film — which marks the third in the series — ahead of its global premiere on Friday, Nov. 17.

*NSYNC fans can thank Trolls Band Together for the boyband’s musical reunion — the quintet contributed the track “Better Place” to the film, in which they star as former boy group BroZone. Members JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Justin Timberlake, who stars in the movie franchise as lead character Branch, all walked the carpet together alongside their partners. Kirkpatrick took his purple carpet appearance even further, posing with his own bespectacled Troll figure, Trickee.

Anna Kendrick, who reprises her role as Poppy in the latest Trolls installment, posed for photos alongside Camila Cabello, who voices Viva (Poppy’s long lost sister) in the film. But there were a few more major celebrities in attendance at the carpeted event — at one point during the special screening, Poppy appeared dressed in her best Queen outfit, complete with a crown and bright blue crocheted dress, to pose with Kendrick.

The PG-rated movie also drew a few famous families to the special screening, with Kirkpatrick taking wife Karly Skladany and their son Nash Dylan to the event. And despite not being in the movie, Backstreet Boy AJ McLean was in the building as well, bringing along wife Rochelle DeAnna Mc:ean and their two daughters out to see the film.

See photos from the special screening of Trolls Band Together below.

10 Top Songs Miranda Lambert Wrote For Other Artists

Miranda Lambert has always been in her songwriting era.

From her very first charted song on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, “Me and Charlie Talking,” which Lambert co-wrote with her father Rick Lambert and fellow songwriter Heather Little, the Lindale, Tex. native has consistently chased her own vision for her music — resisting the influence that radio programmers or industry trends might wield on other artists. She’s co-written many of her own radio singles, including “Vice,” “Kerosene,” “Automatic,” “Only Prettier” and “Bluebird.”

Lambert’s open-hearted, unfiltered approach to writing is woven into the defiance of early songs including The Weight of These Wings magnum opus “Gunpowder and Lead,” the technicolor rock-tinged hues permeating Wildcard, the stripped-back campfire country of The Marfa Tapes and the free-spirited ethos threaded through Palomino. With “Y’all Means All,” she turned her songwriting muscle to causes she believes in, co-writing the inclusive song for season six of Queer Eye. Along the way, she’s earned seven Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 hits, along with seven CMA female artist of the year wins, and two CMA Awards album of the year wins (for Platinum and Revolution).

In addition to her solo projects, the Academy of Country Music triple crown and entertainer of the yer winner has earned acclaim for several collaborative projects, including albums with her Pistol Annies cohorts Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe, as well as her The Marfa Tapes collaborators, longtime co-writers Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.

But over the past year, Lambert has been putting in extra time in the writing rooms, with her songwriting credits showing up on new songs recorded by Chris Stapleton, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen. The Wallen-recorded “Thought You Should Know,” which Lambert wrote with Wallen and Nicolle Galyon, became Lambert’s first No. 1 single on which she was solely a songwriter.

Here, we rank some of Lambert’s top-written songs that have been recorded by other artists.

CreateSafe’s TRINITI, Music Platform Behind Grimes’ AI Voice Model, Raises $4.6M in Seed Round

CreateSafe, a music technology studio known best for its work on Grimes’ AI voice model, has raised $4.6 million in seed round funding for its new AI music creation toolkit, TRINITI.

Offering a “full creative stack” for musicians from the inception of songwriting to its release, TRINITI’s round was led by Polychain Capital, a cryptocurrency and blockchain tech investment firm, as well as Crush Ventures, Anthony Saleh (manager of Kendrick Lamar, Nas and Gunna), Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, MoonPay, Chaac Ventures, Unified Music Group and Dan Weisman (vp at Bernstein Private Wealth Management).

Grimes has also joined CreateSafe’s advisory board to continue to collaborate with the brand.

Starting today, TRINITI will offer five tools:

  • Voice transformation and cloning: make your own voice model and offer it up for licensing, transform your voice into someone else’s
  • Sample Generation: create audio samples from text-based prompts
  • Chat: ask questions to a chat bot trained on music industry knowledge
  • Distribution: share music on streaming services
  • Management: manage rights to songs and records

“Music is the core of humankind,” said CreateSafe founder/CEO Daouda Leonard. “However, the story of music as a profession has been corrupted by middle men, who have misguided the industry while taking money from artists. For a few years, we’ve been saying that we are building the operating system for the new music business. With AI, it’s possible to fulfill that promise. We want to pioneer the age of exponential creativity and give power back to creators. With TRINITI, you can turn inspiration into a song and set of visuals. That music gets distributed to DSPs, a marketing plan can be generated, and all of the business on the backend can be easily managed. This whole process takes seconds.”

“As a team we’d always discussed finding novel ways of wealth redistribution via art,” added Grimes. “We immediately hopped onto blockchain tech because of the new possibilities for distribution, cutting out middle men, etc. Throwing generative music into the picture and removing all our label strings so we can reward derivative music — combined with everything we’d been working towards the last few years with blockchain — allowed a unique approach to distribution.

“I’m really proud of the team that they were able to execute this so fast and with such vision,” Grimes continued. “There’s a lot to talk about but ultimately, art generates so much money as an industry and artists see so little of it. A lot of people talk about abundance as one of the main end goals of tech, acceleration, AI, etc… for us the first step is actually figuring out how to remove friction from the process of getting resources into artists’ hands.”

Zach Bryan, Leon Bridges Set for Bud Light Pre-Super Bowl Show in Las Vegas

“I Remember Everything” hitmaker Zach Bryan is set to help launch the second year of the Bud Light Backyard Tour, headlining The Bud Light Backyard Tour Presents Zach Bryan during Super Bowl LVIII weekend, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, at the 3,000-capacity The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The show will take place two days prior to Super Bowl LVIII at the city’s Allegiant Stadium. 

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Leon Bridges, known for songs including “Coming Home” and “July,” will open the show.

Bryan, who grew up in a military family and served in the U.S. Navy for eight years, noted the event’s integration with the nonprofit Folds of Honor, which aids families of fallen and disabled service members and first responders.

”I’ve been drinking Bud Light since I was old enough to drink, and partnering with them now after all the songs I’ve written while swigging them is full circle for me,” Bryan said in statement. “When Bud Light asked if I would be involved, I didn’t hesitate after I learned the immense amount of support going into Folds of Honor, fallen service members, first responders’ families and loved ones. It is a privilege and honor to provide help in any way to veterans and all the people who make this country as great as it can possibly be.” 

Since releasing his breakthrough top 10 Billboard Hot 100 song “Something in the Orange,” Bryan has skyrocketed into a stadium-headlining artist. This year, he earned his first Hot 100 No. 1 with the Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything” (which also spent seven weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart), while his self-titled album vaulted to the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.

“Anheuser-Busch and our brands have brought unparalleled experiences to football fans and to country music lovers for decades. We could not be more excited to partner with Zach Bryan and to showcase his all-star talent during Super Bowl LVIII weekend,” said Brendan Whitworth, CEO, Anheuser-Busch. “All of us at Anheuser-Busch are thrilled to work alongside Zach to bring positive experiences to country music fans and to local communities nationwide.“ 

“Bud Light has always been at the center of great music moments, we couldn’t be more excited to return to our country music roots by teaming up with Zach Bryan, who is one of the most compelling artists in country music right now,” said Todd Allen, VP of Marketing for Bud Light. “Bryan is known for connecting with and bringing fans together, and we can’t wait to put on a great show for fans ahead of the Super Bowl.” 

Tickets to The Bud Light Backyard Tour Presents Zach Bryan will be on sale beginning Thursday (Nov. 16) at 3 p.m. ET, with tickets selling for $20. Future dates on the tour have yet to be announced, and the tour is separate from Bryan’s own Quittin’ Time Tour, which launches in March.

The 2024 Bud Light Backyard Tour builds upon previous events including Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest, Bud Light Dive Bar Tour and the Bud Light Seltzer Sessions. Earlier this year, artists including Midland and OneRepublic were announced as part of the Bud Light Backyard Tour summer concert series. The slate of country and country-adjacent shows follow the recent controversy and backlash that ensued against Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch, after the company teamed with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who posted a video on social media featuring a customized can of Bud Light that Mulvaney received from the company.

Artists including Kid Rock and Travis Tritt spoke out against the brand, while Bryan offered his thoughts on the controversy and spoke out against Tritt, saying via X (formerly Twitter), “I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where can all just be who we want to be,” and later adding in comments that he has “family transitioning” and “blood to defend here.”

Owners of Madison Record Store Strictly Discs Sell Business After 35 Years

Ron and Angie Roloff, owners of Madison, Wis.-based record store Strictly Discs, have sold the business after 35 years.

Stepping in as the store’s new president/owner is Rick Stoner, who takes over following an 18-year marketing agency career. The Roloffs will continue in their day-to-day roles through the end of 2023 before assuming an advisory relationship with Strictly Discs starting next year as they transition into retirement.

“Angie and I are grateful to our staff and customers, who we’ve had the privilege to work with for 35 years,” said Ron in a statement.

Stoner has served in several vp-level leadership, business development and digital and event marketing roles at prominent consumer brands. He’s a 2006 University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate and a board member at Communications Arts Partners (CAPs), an alumni organization that supports the university’s communications arts department.

“I’ve been a Strictly Discs customer since I was a student here in Madison,” said Stoner in a statement. “I view the store as everything right about the culture of the Madison community and look forward to maintaining that presence. Entrepreneurship has long been a destination for me and my family. Owning Strictly Discs is a dream come true. I can’t wait to meet our dedicated and loyal customers and get to work with our team to grow the business.”

The acquisition includes nearly half a million records, carefully curated over close to four decades. The business will maintain an e-commerce presence, which Stoner views as a key area for growth initiatives such as a subscription-based record club as well as pop-up, event-based record stores.

In June 2024, Strictly Discs is slated to open a second retail location in nearby Cambridge, Wis. in a space that hosts the majority of the store’s inventory.

Several Strictly Discs employees will remain with the business following the transition. They include 14-year employee Evan Woodward, who leads the buying team and works the front counter, as well as assistant manager Mark Chaney. Joining the team are Dru Korab, a record collector, DJ, media production professional and Stoner’s college classmate who will step into a part-time operations role in addition to his minority investment in the business. Also holding a minority investment is Stoner’s friend Kyle Nakatsuji, founder/CEO of Clearcover, principal at American Family Ventures and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.

Opened in 1988, Strictly Discs was a subject of Billboard’s “In a Pandemic” series from 2020-2021. During this time, Angie discussed the challenges she and Ron faced and the creative solutions they employed at the store during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angie tells Billboard that an evaluation of Strictly Discs’ worth, performed during the pandemic, “planted the seed” that ultimately led her and Ron to sell the business. After listing it in early May, they were approached by Stoner in June; a letter of intent was signed in July. The deal finally closed on Oct. 31.

Starting next year, Ron will continue on with the store in an outside buying capacity, while Angie will serve as the “boots on the ground” for the Milwaukee-based Stoner when he’s not in Madison, she says. “We’re invested in his success because we’ve lent him money as part of this process,” Angie continues. “So we’re definitely not leaving and we’ll be available to him really in any capacity that he needs us for.”

Angie says Stoner brought a good mixture of knowing what made the business work while proposing solid ideas about where it could grow: “He already understood that the things that have made Strictly Discs successful are the people and the product and certainly the experience. I think he respects all of that, and he knows that there are areas that he wants to grow the business but he doesn’t want to fundamentally change what we’ve already done.”

At the heart of Strictly Discs’ more than three-decade run is a love story: Angie and Ron met at Strictly Discs in 1994, when Angie was a customer and Ron was working the front counter. In the years since, says Angie, the store has become their baby.

“We don’t have kids and so it’s kind of like Strictly Discs takes that place,” Angie says, adding that with both she and Ron being “super high-strung type A personalities,” even while on vacation, they would end up talking about the store. “That’s the part of it that I’m looking forward to having go away,” she says.

Farruko Returns to No. 1 As a Soloist on Latin Pop Airplay With ‘Pasajero’

Farruko returns to the top of Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart as a soloist as “Pasajero” lifts 3-1 on the Nov. 18-dated list. The song, released June 15, entered the ranking at No. 23 in June and wraps the longest journey to No. 1.

“Pasajero” leads with 7.1 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 9, according to Luminate; that’s a 28% gain from the prior week.

The song climbs 3-1 in its 22nd week, the longest trek to No. 1 on the Latin Pop Airplay’s 29-year history, passing the 21-week hike of another Farruko song: “Chillax” featuring Ky-Mani Marley in 2016.

With “Pasajero,” Farruko collects his seventh champ on Latin Pop Airplay and returns to the summit as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act since “Obesionado” ruled for two weeks in 2016. Since then, he’s led the list with five collaborations:

Here’s his collections of No. 1s:

Peak, Title, Artist, Weeks at No. 1

  • April 16, 2016, “Obsesionado,” 2
  • Dec. 3, 2016, “Chillax,” featuring Ky-Mani Marley, 1
  • April 13, 2019, “Calma, with Pedro Capo, 1
  • June 13, 2020, “Si Me Dices Que Si,” with Reik & Camilo, 2
  • Dec. 26, 2020, “Perfecta,” with Luis Fonsi, 2
  • Oct. 2, 2021, “Me Pasé,” with Enrique Iglesias, 1
  • Nov. 18, “Pasajero”



The new champ also secures a new achievement for Carbon Fiber label, which last landed at No. 1 on Latin Pop Airplay with Farruko’s “Chillax” featuring Ky-Mani Marley in 2016.

Elsewhere, “Pasajero” rises to its new No. 8 peak on the overall Latin Airplay chart, Farruko’s first top 10 in a year, after “Nazareno” rose to No. 6 in Aug. 2022.