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31 Aug 2023

Beyonce Reacts to Being Honorary Mayor of Santa Clara: ‘Today Is Special’

Beyoncé took the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday night (Aug. 30), not only as a superstar performer, but also as the city’s honorary mayor.

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“I’m so happy to be on this stage,” Bey told the crowd in a fan video posted to TikTok. “Y’alls faces are so beautiful. You know today is special because today I am the mayor.”

After smiling at the crowd, who cheered at their mayor of the day, the “Break My Soul” singer continued, “This is my gratitude tour. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know after 25 years I’m still able to do what I love because of your loyalty, because of your prayers. I’m so grateful for y’all.”

The Santa Clara City Council voted on Tuesday night (Aug. 29) to name Bey honorary mayor for the day and present her with a key to the city, according to The Mercury News. “The city of Santa Clara is excited about Beyonce’s upcoming visit to the world-renowned Levi’s Stadium,” Santa Clara spokesperson Michelle Templeton told the publication. “Her concerts will certainly bring a great deal of energy and excitement.”

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, The Renaissance World Tour earned $127.6 million over 11 shows between July 8-30, claiming the largest one-month sum for any artist since the Boxscore archives began in the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, when her five-show run at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium grossed $42.2 million, it was noted that it was the highest grossing engagement ever by a woman, a Black artist, or any American artist.

31 Aug 2023

UK Music CEO Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Stepping Down To Work for the Prime Minister

UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has announced he is stepping down after three years at the helm of the British music industry trade body to become director of strategy for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.  

A date has yet to be announced for Njoku-Goodwin’s exit from the organization, although it is expected to take place imminently. UK Music Deputy chief executive Tom Kiehl will take over from Njoku-Goodwin while the search for a new CEO is underway.

Njoku-Goodwin took over as CEO of UK Music in September 2020, succeeding Michael Dugher. Prior to joining the London-based organization, Njoku-Goodwin worked in politics, serving as a special adviser to former cabinet minister Matt Hancock and the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.  

The first two years of Njoku-Goodwin’s time at UK Music, which represents all sectors of the United Kingdom’s music industry, coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and saw him campaign for government funding to help prop up the business at a time of national lockdowns and the shutdown of live shows.  

In conjunction with other music trade groups, UK Music also lobbied the government to remove barriers to touring in Europe brought about by the country’s exit from the European Union. Those barriers — many of which still exist — include new restrictions for U.K. artists and crews entering Europe (and vice versa for European acts playing the United Kingdom) and increased production costs due to cabotage, carnets, visa and work permit charges.   

A recent focus for UK Music has been ensuring that creators and rights holders receive effective protection from artificial intelligence’s (AI) transformative impact on the industry.

Last year, Njoku-Goodwin strongly criticized what he referred to as “dangerous and damaging” plans by the British government allowing AI developers to freely use copyright-protected works, including music, to train their systems without the need for creators and rights holders to provide permission.  

Speaking out against the proposals, which were met with a fierce backlash from across the music and creative industries, Njoku-Goodwin — who sits on the board of the London Philharmonic Orchestra — said they “would give the green light to music laundering.”  

After further consultation with representatives of the music and media industries, the government announced that it was shelving the proposed text and data mining exceptions in February.   

Other issues that UK Music has campaigned for in the past three years include music education and improving diversity and inclusion throughout the industry. The organization has also continued to regularly produce reports on the health of the U.K. music business, including last month’s “Here, There and Everywhere” assessment of the country’s live sector.

“The U.K. music industry is one of this country’s great national assets, and it’s been a privilege to represent it for the past three years,” said Njoku-Goodwin in a statement announcing his departure. “I’m delighted our sector is in much better shape now to take on the challenges and opportunities it faces in the future.”  

Paying tribute, UK Music chairman Lord Watson said Njoku-Goodwin had “played a key role” in helping the industry get back on its feet after the struggles of the pandemic and called him “a passionate advocate for our sector.”  

31 Aug 2023

Everything We Know So Far About Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Concert Film

Missed the Eras Tour when it came through your city? Don’t worry, you still have a chance to catch it — but this time, on the big screen.

Taylor Swift announced on Aug. 31 that she’d be bringing her massively popular global trek to AMC theaters all across North America, following the conclusion of its first U.S. leg earlier this month. Sharing an 80-second trailer jam-packed with shots from Swift’s career-spanning stage show, the 33-year-old pop star took to social media to announce the exciting news.

“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far,” she wrote. “I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon ? Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged.”

Just like with the Eras Tour tickets, anticipation for the concert film is so high, Swifties brought down the ticketing app — in this case, the AMC app instead of Ticketmaster — with Swifties tweeting about wait times, and some noting that they couldn’t even get the app to load. Ahead of the concert announcement, the company had even upgraded its website so that it could handle more than five times thelargest ticketing traffic it previously experienced.

“AMC is … aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans when tickets are first placed on sale,” the company had said in a statement announcing the concert film, which also warned fans of possible delays and outages of its website.

Keep reading to see everything Billboard knows so far about the Eras Tour concert film, below:

31 Aug 2023

Tinashe Reveals ‘BB/ANG3L’ Album Cover & Track List: Here’s When It Arrives

It’s about to be peak Tinashe season. After treating fans to a pair of sultry pre-release singles, Tinashe has revealed the track list and release date for her forthcoming sixth studio album.

The singer-songwriter shared the news on her Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) pages on Thursday (Aug. 31). Her new album, BB/ANG3L, is currently slated for a Sept. 8 release with a seven-song track list that includes the pre-release singles “Talk to Me Nice” and “Needs.” The album’s artwork finds a blond Tinashe gazing into the camera, while the track list graphic features a borderline-incomprehensible font (“Girl, I can’t read this. Let me go put my contacts in,” joked one Instagram commenter).

Tinashe has already announced a tour in support of her new album. She is set to hit the road with Shygirl and Uniiqu3, starting Oct. 28 in Chicago. The tour will conclude Nov. 18 in Oakland, California. BB/ANG3L will be the follow-up to 2021’s 333, Tinashe’s most recent LP. That album peaked at No. 175 on the Billboard 200; spawned the singles “Pasadena” (with Buddy) and “Bouncin’”; and housed additional collaborations with Jeremih, Kaash Paige, Absolutely, Wax Motif, Channel Tres and more. There will be no featured artists on BB/ANG3L.

Tinashe has earned four entries on the Billboard Hot 100 over the course of her career. She reached her highest peak on the chart in 2014 with the ScHoolboy Q-assisted “2 On.” On the Billboard 200, she has notched five entries, reaching as high at No. 27 with 2014’s Aquarius. She has also climbed as high as No. 41 on the Artist 100.

31 Aug 2023

HHW Gaming: Sony Is Jacking Up PlayStation Plus Subscription Prices, Gamers React On X

PlayStation Plus Subscription Price Is Going Up, Gamers React

Source: PlayStation / PlayStation Plus

Yesterday’s price is not today’s price for the PlayStation Plus subscription service.

Sony announced that the price of a PlayStation Plus is going up. An annual Essential plan jumps from $60-$80, the Extra plan goes from $100 to $135, and the Premium plan from $120 to $160.

Brace yourselves. The new prices for the tiers go into effect on September 6.

Those still locked into their current subscriptions won’t experience the price hike until November 6, but if you make any changes “such as upgrades, downgrades, or buying additional time,” you will have to pay the extra money for the new subscription price.

As for the reason for the price hike, Sony says it will allow the company to “continue bringing high-quality games and value-added benefits” to the service.

Basically, if you want them to continue to drop those great games free to subscribers, the price has to go up. Sony also adds that yearly plans continue to come at a discount and are a better value than month-to-month or three-month subscriptions.

New PlayStation Plus was Sony’s answer to Xbox’s subscription service, Game Pass, and offered its users free titles every month, and for the most part, there were plenty of bangers.

Hilariously, the news of the price hikes comes on the heels of the very mid Saints Row coming to the PlayStation Plus service as the month’s free title. It is a rare miss for Team PlayStation regarding its monthly offerings.

Gamers React To The PlayStation Plus Price Hike

As expected, gamers have been sounding off about the news, and no one is happy about the price hike.

“I just saw that PlayStation plus is going up so they can provide us with better games each month and the first month of the price hike is saints row. What a world we live in,” One X user wrote.

Another user noted in an X post, “No dedicated Sony multiplayer games No Day 1 first parties No extra incentives or perks PlayStation: “We’re gonna increase the prices of plus.”

Welp.

You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

—

Photo: PlayStation / PlayStation Plus

2. Good times

3. Interesting

31 Aug 2023

Texas Drag Restrictions Blocked By Federal Judge, Who Says They’re Likely Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Texas ruled Thursday that the state’s new law restricting drag performances was likely unconstitutional, issuing a temporary restraining order blocking the statute from going into effect on Friday.

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Following similar rulings by federal courts on such laws in Tennessee and Florida, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that Texas’ statute, called Senate Bill 12, likely violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech.

“The Court finds there is a substantial likelihood that S.B. 12 as drafted violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution under one or more of the legal theories put forward by the plaintiffs,” the judge wrote.

The ruling went in favor of a group of drag performers, drag production companies and non-profits that challenged the law. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, they argued that that S.B. 12 “criminalizes and restricts an enormous swath of constitutionally protected activity.”

Thursday’s order came as a temporary restraining order, which will only be in effect until the judge can issue a full written ruling. But the wording of the order indicates that he will likely strike down the law whenever he issues the more detailed decision.

Such a TRO, which can only be issued if a plaintiff proves they will suffer “irreparable harm” without one, was necessary because the law was set to go into effect on Friday.

“The court considers the impending infringement on the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights sufficient irreparable harm to warrant enjoining S.B. 12 while a final judgment is drafted,” Judge Hittner wrote.

Following the ruling, Paige Willey, spokeswoman for the Attorney General of Texas, told Billboard: “The people of Texas were appalled to learn of an increasing trend of obscene, sexually explicit so-called “drag” performances being marketed to families with children. The Office of the Attorney General will pursue all legal remedies possible to aggressively defend SB 12, the state law that regulates such performances to protect children and uphold public decency.”

A spokesperson for the ACLU did not immediately return a request for comment.

Passed by Texas lawmakers in May and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, S.B. 12 expands criminal restrictions on public performance of sexual conduct. The original bill included explicit references to drag shows, but they were removed in response to criticism. Instead, the final version bans sexual gestures that use “accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.” Violators can face up to a year in jail, and businesses hosting events can be fined $10,000 for each violation.

Critics say such statutes, proposed or passed in states across the country over the past two years, are a thinly-veiled attack on the LGBTQ community. The new laws have been closely-watched by the music industry, over concerns that aspects of concerts could run afoul of broad new restrictions.

The ACLU filed its lawsuit earlier this month, arguing that – despite the changes to the wording – the new statute “unconstitutionally singles out drag.” They said it was also “sweepingly overbroad and vague and fails to give adequate notice of what it proscribes.”

“In its zeal to target drag, the Legislature also passed a bill so yawning in scope that it criminalizes and restricts an enormous swath of constitutionally protected activity, including theater, ballet, comedy, and even cheerleading,” the group wrote.

The suit was filed on behalf of nonprofit LGBTQIA+ organizations The Woodlands Pride and Abilene Pride Alliance; drag entertainment companies Extragrams, LLC and 360 Queen Entertainment LLC; and drag performer Brigitte Bandit.

Earlier this week, Judge Hittner held a two-day trial-like hearing on the arguments from both sides. A final ruling is expected early next week.

31 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Fans Crash AMC App From Buying ‘Eras Tour’ Film Tickets

The Swifties’ support for Taylor Swift is so strong, they crashed an entire app.

After the “Anti-Hero” singer surprised fans by announcing her Eras Tour concert was turned into a movie, fans flooded the AMC app attempting to buy tickets, which led to a site crash. According to Collider, the app shared a message noting that online reservations were temporarily unavailable due to high volume, and that that anyone looking to purchase tickets should visit their local AMC Theatre in person.

Billboard has reached out to AMC for more information. “AMC is also aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans when tickets are first placed on sale. Guests wanting to be the first to buy their tickets online may experience delays, longer-than-usual ticket- purchase waiting-room times and possible outages. AMC is committed to ensuring any delays or outages are addressed as quickly as possible,” the company told The Hollywood Reporter earlier in the day.

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According to a release, beginning October 13, every U.S. AMC Theatre location will run the movie at least four times per day on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, with tickets for priced at $19.89 plus tax for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors plus tax (except for AMC’s branded premium large-format screens.) The film will be available in AMC theaters in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with tickets on sale now here and here.

Swift herself also posted a trailer for the film, writing, “The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon. Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at http://taylor.lnk.to/TSTheErasTourFilm…. Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged. 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk).”

31 Aug 2023

Mexican President Defends Yahritza y Su Esencia Amid Backlash Over Comments About Mexico


Following the criticism that Yahritza y Su Esencia received weeks ago for comments about Mexican food, for which the Mexican-American group has already apologized, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador advocated for the sibling trio on Thursday (Aug. 31), and said that he would agree that they be invited to join Grupo Frontera on Sept. 15 at the Zócalo in Mexico City.

“Yahritza and her brothers have a musical group. They were born there, in Washington, their parents are Mexican, I think from Chiapas, and they did an interview where they said they ‘don’t like Mexican food,’ [or] something like that,” the president said in his morning press conference. “It was very bad for them, but they did not do it in bad faith. It is that they were born over there, they did not want to offend.”

The parents of the trio, José Francisco and Rosa Martínez, are originally from the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico.

Earlier this month, the members of Yahritza y Su Esencia apologized in a video posted on their TikTok, after receiving severe criticism from Mexican fans for their comments.

Specifically, Yahritza jokingly said that she didn’t like hearing “the cars and police sirens and everything” when she woke up in the city, while Jairo and Mando said they didn’t love local food. The statements generated strong criticism from a sector of Internet users.

“We want you to know that what motivates us every day to write songs and music is the great pride of having Mexican blood in our veins,” said Yahritza, the band’s vocalist, in her apology. “We are proudly Mexican and we greatly appreciate the love of the public, especially in Mexico.”

Some Mexican media even published that the group’s participation in the Fesitval Arre, which will take place on Sept. 9-10 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, had been cancelled. That information has not been confirmed by the promoter Ocesa, and the name of the band is still on the official poster. A rep for the trio told Billboard Español that they are confirmed to perform on Sept. 10.

“We cannot do that, we cannot in any way (cancel their concerts),” López Obrador said during the conference. “I am sure that they will reflect and we have to grant forgiveness. In other words, we always have to forgive if someone is wrong or makes a mistake, but they are also children and there is an explanation. They were born there. Their parents are Mexican, but they already have their life over there.”

When asked if he considered it a good idea that Yahritza y su Esencia joined Grupo Frontera at the Zócalo to perform their hit collaboration “Frágil” — which landed the trio their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart (dated Aug. 12) — the president said he would agree.

The song is even part of López Obrador’s playlist that deal with corridos tumbados, a genre that the president has criticized for containing some songs that advocate drug trafficking.

31 Aug 2023

50 Cent Allegedly Hits Fan With Microphone He Threw Offstage

50 Cent is coming under fire after he allegedly hit a fan in the face with a microphone.

The rapper (real name Curtis Jackson) was performing at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Aug. 30) as part of his Final Lap Tour, when he’s seen in videos circulating social media looking frustrated with a microphone issue. He then throws the mic down off the side of the stage, and hands off a second microphone to a crew member. Later in the performance, while Nas was onstage, 50 gets increasingly annoyed with the microphone issue, before he hurls the new mic to the same offstage section.

While the viral video doesn’t show the microphone hitting anyone, Power 106 radio host Bryhana Monegain appeared in photos shared by The Neighborhood Talk with a gash on her forehead allegedly from the incident.

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According to TMZ, who first reported the news, 50 Cent wasn’t targeting Monegain. The artist’s attorney mirrored that sentiment in a statement to Billboard: “Let’s be very clear, as I told LAPD this afternoon, my client Curtis would never intentionally strike anyone with a microphone. Anyone saying something different doesn’t have all the facts and is misinformed.”

50’s Final Lap tour is scheduled to continue throughout the fall, wrapping up on Nov. 12 at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England. The Live Nation-produced outing is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of his 2003 debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and features a set list comprised of 50’s greatest hits and tracks he hasn’t performed live in decades according to a release.

31 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Is Officially Coming to Theaters: How to Get Tickets

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It’s officially not a “Cruel Summer” for Swifties! Fans who were unable to score tickets to Taylor Swift‘s sold-out stadium tour are now getting the opportunity to see it on the big screen. On Thursday (Aug. 31), the Midnights singer surprised fans by announcing her Eras Tour concert was turned into a movie — and you can get tickets right now.

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Taylor Nation, an account from Swift’s official management team, took to social media on Thursday (Aug. 31) to make the announcement with the official Eras Tour film account.

“Karma is the girl on the screen coming to a theater near me! Whether it’s your first or 13th time, grab your tickets to see #TSTheErasTourFilm only in theaters in North America starting October 13th so we can experience our favorite tour memories together again. Tickets available at AMC, Cinemark, Regal and Fandango,” the caption read.

Which shows were filmed? The movie will feature footage from across Swift’s three-night takeover of SoFi Stadium in California. Whether you plan to relive the concert again or are a first-time viewer, this film will show off every outfit change and the full setlist that fans were able to see live and in-person during her first leg of the U.S. tour.

Make sure you snag tickets for you and your friends to attend opening night through retailers like Cinemark, Atom Tickets or Fandango. You can also catch the concert movie experience at your closest AMC or Regal within the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Click the buy button below to snag your tickets.

‘Eras Tour’ Movie Tickets on Cinemark