News

16 Feb 2023

Music Wholesaler Alliance Entertainment Goes Public, But Not Without a Hitch

Alliance Entertainment’s plan to go public through a reverse merger with Adara Acquisition Corp. — a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) — got sideswiped by the collapse of the SPAC market.

While the deal was finalized Monday (Feb. 13) and Alliance Entertainment is now a publicly traded company, it leaves the media wholesaler without the initial intended benefit of reaping tens of millions of dollars in new funding to continue making acquisitions to fuel growth and to modernize its warehouse equipment.

That’s because only Adara shareholders owning 167,00 shares (out of 10 million total) have chosen to participate as stockholders in the merged entity. As a result, Alliance Entertainment only received about $1.67 million, which likely isn’t enough to cover the legal and investment banking fees for the transaction.

Alliance Entertainment Company Logo.

Alliance Entertainment Holding

The company’s light stock float also leaves it ineligible to be listed by the New York Stock Exchange as originally planned, so now Alliance is being carried on the OTC pink-sheet marketplace.

Alliance Entertainment — which carried a $480 million valuation going into the deal — remains a formidable powerhouse as a one-stop rack jobber and independent distributor and overall entertainment software wholesaler, however. While the company brought in $28.62 million in net income on revenue of $1.42 billion for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, it lost $8.34 million on sales of $238.7 million for the three-month period spanning from July to September.

Alliance Entertainment announced its plans to go public via a SPAC reverse merger in June 2022. At that point, investor excitement over the SPAC route to public listings had already cooled from its high in 2021, but by the end of the year, it had totally tanked. And even if Alliance Entertainment didn’t raise as much money as it had hoped by going public, there are other benefits. As a publicly traded company with audited financial statements that need to surpass the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission, it should now be able access capital and options to raise funding through debt beyond its previous reliance on bank loans.

“We believe that today’s milestone combined with our strong revenue growth, expanding customer base and product offering, and several successful acquisitions, will help accelerate our future expansion initiatives,” said Alliance Entertainment CEO Jeff Walker in a statement. “Alliance Entertainment today is well positioned to continue to capitalize on shifts towards eCommerce and Omni-Channel strategies, especially with retailers and manufacturers’ vastly increased reliance on their DTC (Direct to Consumer) fulfillment and distribution partners. We are at an inflection point that now positions us to execute a multi-prong growth strategy that we expect will deliver a double-digit revenue growth rate with strong cash generation to the bottom line.”

Alliance Entertainment serves as a physical music, movies and video games wholesaler to retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Kohls and Gamestop, as well as independent stores; it’s also a rack jobber to chains like Walmart and Barnes and Noble. It additionally provides e-commerce fulfillment to many of those retailers and runs its own online websites including Deepdiscount.com, Popmarket.com, Importcds.com, Critic’s Choice Video, Collectors Choice Music and Movies Unlimited, while fielding its own brands on eBay, Amazon Marketplace and Discogs as well. In total, nearly $540 million, or 38% of Alliance’s revenue, is generated through the above online sales.

In total, Alliance says it stocks over 485,000 unique entertainment products from Microsoft, Nintendo, Activision, Electronic Arts, Sega, Funko, Disney, Warner Home Video, Universal Video, Sony Pictures, Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music, Mattel, Lego, Hasbro, Arcade1Up and another roughly 500 entertainment product manufacturers. Within that, the company also fields independent distribution companies like music distributor AMPED, video distributor Solutions and video game distributor Cokem that exclusively carry over 57,000 vinyl, CD, DVD and video games titles combined.

“This business combination [with Adara] will further enable our significant focus on a strategic roll-up strategy of acquiring and integrating competitors and complementary businesses which we believe will drive an accelerated competitive position and value creation,” said Alliance Entertainment chairman Bruce Ogilvie in a statement. Being a publicly traded company will allow for further investment, he added, in automating facilities and upgrading proprietary software, which he said makes management “confident we can grow revenue and expand margins.”

Ogilvie continued, “We will also continue to expand into new consumer product segments, growing our product offering and providing more to our existing customer base while attracting new customers in the process.”

Walker and Ogilvie retain nearly 95% ownership in Alliance Entertainment and their shares are subject to an extended lock-up period.

16 Feb 2023

Techstars Music Reveals 2023 Class of Startups for Accelerator Program

Baton

Baton is a collaboration platform that solves chain of custody for work in progress material, ensuring artists are properly credited and compensated for their work. Think of them a bit like GitHub for music.

Since launching a private beta this past fall, Baton has helped connect hundreds of artists with multiple Grammy-winners and has protected the IP of thousands of songs.

The team is a mix of creative technologists from NYU ITP, an “art school for engineers or an engineering school for artists” and industry veterans that have spent over a decade working with many of the largest artists in the world.

Gabe Warshaw, CEO & Founder, Baton said, “The vast majority of music that gets made never gets released. So much of it is incredible, and it’s never been easier to create without a professional studio. At the same time, remote collaboration has left creators increasingly vulnerable to stolen IP. Baton is building an ecosystem that helps musicians find their people. It allows material to be worked on and shared safely with anyone in the world, so creators know that wherever their work ends up, they’ll get credited and compensated in the way they should.”

BEEPR

BEEPR allows fans to opt-in to push notifications about music from their favorite artists, creating ephemeral moments between fans with shared interests. Launched in Summer 2020, BEEPR has garnered 300,000 registered users and 100,000 monthly active users with $0 spent on marketing. BEEPR has helped DSP’s gain over 70 million streams this year. BEEPR’s goal is to create moments in music powered by push notifications.

Jake Zinn, CEO & Founder, BEEPR stated, “Technology has made the music listening experience more convenient. While the streaming services have provided fans what they want to hear, BEEPR provides when they want to hear it.”

Confetti

Confetti is a content creation and live-streaming app that enables couples to get the most out of their weddings by empowering in-person and virtual guests to create fun and memorable content through custom prompts. Say goodbye to stale photos, videos, and your aunt going live on FaceBook, and say hello to beautiful and unforgettable memories that will last a lifetime, whether you’re seated at Table 8 or 3,000 miles away. With Confetti, you have one less thing to worry about on your big day.

Andrew Vuu, CEO, Confetti, said: “Today, wedding guests are creating amazing content and sharing media, which has generated hundreds of billions of impressions on social platforms. However, the problem is that the only way couples can access this great content is through clunky shared albums or by harassing people via text. Currently, we are revolutionizing the wedding industry by providing social media communities with front-row access to their favorite creators’ biggest day through our platform. We are on track to reach 100 million fans across 10 different countries over the next year and have organically generated over 15 million social media views on our path to transform the wedding experience. We are thrilled to extend the power of Confetti to couples everywhere this summer.”

Five Mics

Five Mics is a digital hip-hop trading card game (think Yugioh or Hearthstone, but with rappers and DJs, not elves and dragons). Players construct their decks based around different card styles and can choose to play either casually with friends or competitively in tournaments. With each win, players can also earn new cards, which they own and can collect, trade, or gift to other players.

The collectible card game market is expected to reach $32B by 2027, and hip-hop (the #1 streaming genre in the US accounting for $2.7B in 2021) is arguably the most popular music genre in the world, influencing Latin Trap, Afrobeats, K-Hip-Hop, and more around the globe. Five Mics is determined to bring the two together in an authentic way never before seen, made by the culture, for the culture.

Ace Patterson, CEO, Five Mics, added: “Go on Twitch right now, and more likely than not you’ll find gamers streaming while playing hip-hop music. That’s the dope thing about hip-hop: it’s truly universal. It’s not just for ‘some’ people – it’s for ALL people. And as someone that’s both a hip-hop artist that loves playing trading card games, I truly believe that combining both worlds will impact culture in a seismic way.”

Haven

Haven’s network of event & lifestyle brands host sound-based experiences in stunning outdoor & unconventional indoor spaces. It could be a harpist in a canyon at sunset for Floating or a pioneering composer performing in a historic cathedral for Ambient Church, over 16,000 people gathered with us (in person!) this past year in NYC, LA, Chicago, Portland and Seattle. Other investors include 6lack, Oleg Stavitsky (Co-Founder / CEO, Endel), and Anthony Batt (Founder, SpinMedia).

Brian Schopfel, CEO, Haven, said: “Tech, entertainment and wellness industries have continued to become more algorithmic, reward based, and impersonal; only fueling burnout long term. Haven encourages being vs. doing, inclusion vs. achievement, and IRL vs. URL, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the Techstars Music program to continue to learn, grow and share our experiences with as many people as possible.”

Highly Liquid

Highly Liquid is a streetwear brand born on the internet: a fashion house that combines both digital and physical worlds to create limited-edition drops of apparel, software, and CPG. Our products are designed to spark meaningful conversations around sexuality, gender, and identity, and their role within the financial landscape.

Izzy Howell, CEO, Highly Liquid, said: “Selling panties on the internet doesn’t really sound like the start of a revolution, but by creating NFTs that can be redeemed for IRL panties that say ‘highly liquid’ on the crotch, we are effectively starting a new wave in streetwear – one that puts hyper-femininity at the forefront of culture.”

HomeRoom

HomeRoom is a software platform that unlocks the powerful growth potential of online communities. In the digital age, it’s become increasingly difficult for businesses, creators, and musicians to cut through the noise. HomeRoom provides a suite of tools to enable community leaders to save time with their daily tasks, analytics to measure success, and plugins for hosting memorable community events.

Launched to the public in September 2022, HomeRoom now powers 170+ communities of over 200k combined members and has scaled to $22k MRR with only 70 paying customers. With integrations planned for Twitch, Mastodon, and GitHub by the end of 2023, HomeRoom is building the “Google Analytics for community.”

Arjay Ruggles, CEO, HomeRoom says: ”Audiences are exhausted by the deluge of ads inserted into every aspect of their online experience and have turned to online communities as a source of respite. In response, we’ve seen several companies capitalize on the moment: AirBnB ramped up their community strategy in 2020, cut their marketing spend in half for two years in a row, and have reached a $71 Billion market cap. I believe all businesses and creators should have access to the tools necessary to build the same opportunities for themselves. Community is the future of growth, and HomeRoom is building the foundation upon which all businesses can thrive.”

OBEYme

OBEYme is a social platform where African music fans compete to make songs go viral globally by hosting virtual parties. The most engaging users are rewarded with a pro-rata share of net subscription revenues daily. The result: African tastemakers can host the continent’s hottest parties but also monetize their local influence sustainably. In its first 3 months, 50k South African youth party-hopped virtually on OBEYme’s Beta platform.

Ygor Francisco, CEO/founder, OBEYme, stated: “The time is ripe for leveraging a music-based social platform that rewards Africa’s most influential music fans for driving the culture. Pop culture is dominated by Afrobeats and Amapiano, yet offers African fans and artists disproportionate compensation for their contribution to global music culture.”

RYLTY

RYLTY is a back-office application that helps music catalog owners maximize their investments. The first tool scans owners’ catalogs to seek out errors and omissions that cause royalty underpayments. What used to take a team of royalty accountants, analysts, and administrators days to complete, can now be done with the push of a button. To date, RYLTY has corrected over 3,000 errors and recovered more than $20 million in catalog value. Select customers include Tempo Music, Influence Media Partners, Doja Cat, Troye Sivan, and J.I.D.

Nicholas Judd, CEO, RYLTY, said: “You can’t build a company like ours in a bubble and Techstars Music is the perfect partner to help us expand our reach to help more musicians and catalog owners. We are taking a practical, multi-disciplinary approach to solve this multi-billion dollar problem. Our team is made up of some of the brightest minds in both music and fintech allowing us to take what used to be a manual process and scale it to reach every recording artist, songwriter, and catalog owner in the music industry.”

Seed

Even though Latin artists dominate the music industry today, there’s at least 25 million Latin music creators that don’t have access to music business education, losing time, money and opportunities.

Seed helps Latin music creators and their teams navigate the music industry, protect their rights and make money through an ever-growing catalog of online courses and community. Think of a private business school minus the crippling debt.

In just 15 months, Seed has enrolled more than 921 students from 36 countries, made almost half a million dollars in revenue, and closed more than 5 corporate partnerships. If you want to become a music business professional or entrepreneur, join Seed today!

Alexiomar Rodriguez, CEO, Seed, stated: “The Latin music market is a driving force behind the global music industry, with US Latin music revenues reaching $1 billion in 2022. However, in many Latin American countries, there are no music business schools, and most Latin music creators and aspiring professionals can’t afford to move to the US to attend a university and pay $40,000 in tuition per year. As a music lawyer and producer, I believe bridging this gap will open a whole new world of possibilities.”

16 Feb 2023

Dave Davies Asks Elon Musk to Stop Twitter Blocking His Band: ‘Just Trying to Promote Our Kinks Music’

Dave Davies learned the hard way this week what happens when there’s a glitch in the Matrix. After The Kinks announced the upcoming release of a 60th anniversary celebration of the legendary British band with a two-part anthology called The Journey, Twitter apparently flagged the band’s name as “sensitive content.”

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That sent guitarist Dave Davies down a Twitterhole, unleashing a flurry of tweets in which he told chief Twit, Elon Musk, that he’s tired of waiting for him to get it right. “Dear @elonmusk would @twiiter please stop putting warnings on everything from ‘the Kinks’. We are just trying to promote our Kinks music,” Davies tweeted on Wednesday. The tweet linked to a previous one in which Davies invited fans to check out the band’s TikTok promo for the set, which featured a message at the bottom that read, “We put a warning on this Tweet because it might have sensitive content.”

A short time later, Davies gave Musk a bit of a lesson on his group’s background, tweeting, “The Kinks are a brand name. We have been called the Kinks since 1963.” When another user told Davies that Twitter had apparently reviewed the matter and removed the sensitive content warning, apologizing for helping them “catch that mistake,” Davies was not impressed.

“That’s impossible,” he wrote. “The word robot should be banned. We got robots running our lives. At least I’m a Kink and not a f–in robot.” He also had a bit of fun in the end, responding to a fan’s plea to Musk to “Give the People What They Want!” — a play on the title of the band’s 1981 album — quipping, “give the people what Elon Musk wants.”

The Twit Snit came just hours after The Kinks announced the March 24 release of The Journey — Part 1, a 2CD, 2LP collection that will kick off a two-year celebration of their 60th anniversary. Part one of the anthology — curated by the band according to themes including “Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl” — will feature such beloved hits as “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” “Tired of Waiting For You” and “Waterloo Sunset.”

Check out Davies’ tweets below.

16 Feb 2023

Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’ Returns to Top 10 on Album Sales Chart After Grammy Awards

Beyoncé’s Renaissance returns to the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Feb. 18) for the first time in three months, rising 56-10, following the diva’s multiple wins at the Grammy Awards (Feb. 5). The set sold 5,500 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 9 (up 138%), according to Luminate.

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The album was last in the top 10 on the Oct. 29, 2022-dated list, when it ranked at No. 7.

Renaissance won the Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album (an award presented on-air during the CBS-TV broadcast of the main ceremony) while three of its songs won individual awards. “Break My Soul” won best dance/electronic recording, “Plastic Off the Sofa” took home best traditional R&B performance and “Cuff It” won best R&B song.

Beyoncé won four Grammys on Feb. 5, bringing her total of awards to 32 – breaking the record for the most wins in the Awards’ history (a feat that was promoted extensively during the CBS show).

In total, Beyoncé was nominated for nine Grammys at the ceremony, winning four. She was also up for album of the year (Renaissance), record of the year, song of the year (both for “Break My Soul”), best R&B performance (“Virgo’s Groove”) and best song written for visual media (“Be Alive”).

Elsewhere on Billboard’s album charts, Renaissance runs 30-8 on Top Current Album Sales, 24-11 on the Billboard 200 (its highest rank since the Nov. 12 chart, when it placed at No. 10), 10-5 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 4-3 on Top R&B Albums and holds at No. 1 for an 11th week on Top Dance/Electronic Albums.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top R&B Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums rank the week’s most popular R&B/hip-hop, R&B and dance/electronic albums, respectively, by units.

Back on Top Album Sales, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION, which debuted atop the list a week ago, spends a second week at No. 1, with 43,000 copies sold (down 72%). The set has shifted 195,000 copies in its first two weeks of release – with 98% of that sum from CD sales.

Shania Twain’s new studio album Queen of Me debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 34,000 sold. It’s the country/pop superstar’s sixth top 10-charting effort on the list.

Taylor Swift’s former leader Midnights is a non-mover at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 15,500 sold (down 12%).

Harry Styles’ Harry’s House zooms 21-4 with 10,000 sold (up 119%), following its two wins at the Grammy Awards (best pop vocal album and album of the year). Styles also performed the album’s hit single “As It Was” on the CBS broadcast. Meanwhile, best new artist winner Samara Joy reaches the top 10 for the first time as her album Linger Awhile vaults 87-5 with 6,500 sold (up 317%). The set also won the Grammy best jazz vocal album.

The charity compilation A Philly Special Christmas rises 7-6 on Top Album Sales despite a decline in sales (down 31% to 6,000 for the week). It’s the highest charting non-soundtrack compilation since 2020, when the all-star Now 74 set also hit No. 6 (May 16, 2020 chart). (Speaking of the Now That’s What I Call Music! franchise, the new Now 85 compilation debuts on the new chart at No. 13.)

The Philly album continues to perform well thanks to vinyl sales. 65% of its cumulative sales (20,500 of 31,500) are vinyl, with the remainder digital album purchases.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller rises 10-7 on Top Album Sales with nearly 6,000 sold (down less than 1%), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours rebounds 13-8 with 5,500 (up 4%) and Stray Kids’ former No. 1 MAXIDENT climbs 22-9 with nearly 5,500 (up 21%).

In the week ending Feb. 9, there were 1.778 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 5.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.414 million (down 8.9%) and digital albums comprised 364,000 (up 9.9%).

There were 606,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Feb. 9 (down 16.2% week-over-week) and 801,000 vinyl albums sold (down 2.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 3.659 million (up 0.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 5.299 million (up 25.6%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 11.037 million (up 6.4% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 9.009 million (up 13.8%) and digital album sales total 2.029 million (down 17.4%).

16 Feb 2023

Tyrese Announces Double Album, Credits Divorce From Ex Wife As Inspiration

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'Vice' film premiere, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 11 Dec 2018

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Tyrese is back—and of course, he’s giving fans an in-depth look at what led to the very public divorce between him and Samantha Lee with his new double album, Beautiful Pain.

During a recent interview with Lifestyle Specialist Kenny Burns, the triple threat revealed not only how the divorce inspired his new project but he also shared the obstacles that he and his current girlfriend, Zelie, have overcome in their blossoming relationship while going through his divorce; before being dropped from his label.

While discussing the upcoming project, Tyrese shared his thoughts on why it’s hard for Black men to open up while going through mental health issues, stating that oftentimes their struggles are overlooked due to others focusing on their social status and wealth.

“You tell someone you’re depressed and the first thing is, ‘yea ok, you got a Rolls Royce, n***a you’ll be alright.’ When the truth is when you’ve been getting money as long as we’ve been getting money, that ain’t going to stop you from carrying and feeling and trying to navigate through that sh*t.”

The two legends also discussed the inspiration behind Beautiful Pain, to which the Fast X star attributes both his ex-wife, Samantha, and current girlfriend Zelie Timothy for the inspiration.

“I want to give ya’ll the heads up,” Tyrese continued. “For all of you uber-sensitive people out there, let me tell you what you’re not going to do—and that is stop me from speaking up, living, and walking in my truth.  And if your brain is triggered by a man speaking his truth and sharing what he experienced and you look at that as bashing or tearing down someone because they happen to be a woman—then your whole process is wrong.”

While Tyrese is in a great place regarding his music currently, the triple threat took to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 14) to announce to fans and ask for love before sharing that he had been dropped by his music label, Voltron Recordz, on the one-year anniversary of the death of his mother, Priscilla Murray Gibson.

In his lengthy caption, Gibson explained all of the tragic events that have taken place on Feb. 14.

“My Label just dropped me on the same day my mother passed! [heartbreak emoji],” Gibson wrote on top of a copy of what he’s shared as a termination agreement. “Today my mother transitioned of all days on Valentine’s Day last year 2022… Same year my father died [REGGIE ANDREWS LOCKE SAINTS Father figure, [and it] just so happens to be the same day that I got married to Samantha. Still to this day, I have no clue as to why she filed for divorce.. Just so happened to be the same day that I just got dropped from my label…. Imagine that?”

Check out the clips below.

16 Feb 2023

Get Ready For ‘The Show’: Niall Horan Teases First Single, Cover of Third Album

Niall Horan is gearing up to release his third solo album. The singer announced on Wednesday that The Show will drop on June 9, with the first taste of the collection, “Heaven,” due out this Friday (Feb. 17).

“This album is a piece of work I’m so proud of and now it’s time to pass it over to you to go and make it your own,” Horan wrote on Instagram in a post that featured the cover, in which he is depicted leaning on his elbows in a window and staring up at the title. “Thank you so much for being there for me all this time and I can’t wait to share the next couple of years of this new era with you. I’ve missed you all so much. It’s good to be back.”

Earlier this month Horan posted a short clip of what appears to be the video for the dreamy, Beach Boys-inspired “Heaven,” in which he sings “Doesn’t get, doesn’t get better than, better than this/ God only knows where this could go/ And even if our love starts to go out of control/ And you let me go up in flames/ Heaven won’t be the same,” over a montage that takes fans from baby Niall’s first plastic toy microphone to his teen troubadour years, through the X Factor audition process, the rise of One Direction and his solo stardom.

In his latest TikTok tease of the album, Horan said it is “by far and away my favorite stuff I’ve ever worked on.”

“Heaven” is Horan’s first new release since “Our Song” and “Everywhere,” his pair of 2021 collaborations with Anne-Marie. The singer’s last full-length album, Heartbreak Weather, contained singles “Nice to Meet Ya,” “Put a Little Love on Me,” “No Judgement” and “Black and White”; the album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 after its March 2020 release.

Check out Horan’s announcement and the “Heaven” preview below.

16 Feb 2023

Oscar Nominees Son Lux, Diane Warren Among Winners at 2023 SCL Awards (Full List)

Two 2023 Oscar contenders, Son Lux and Diane Warren, each won awards in competition at the fourth annual SCL Awards, presented by The Society of Composers & Lyricists. Emmy winner Darren Criss hosted the event, which was held on Wednesday (Feb. 15) at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Son Lux, Oscar-nominated for best original score for Everything Everywhere All at Once, won outstanding score for an independent film. The award was accepted by the trio’s Ryan Lott. Warren, Oscar-nominated for best original song for “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman, won outstanding song for a drama/documentary.

Michael Abels was a double winner on the night. He won outstanding original score for a feature film for Nope as well as a Jury Award for Omar, an opera he composed with Rhiannon Giddens.

The SCL presented two 2023 Jury Awards in recognition of the increasing number of ways music is used in an audiovisual context. These awards are voted on by the SCL board of directors. The other went to the audiovisual concert experience Women Warriors: The Voices of Change, for which Amy Andersson is musical director.

The Spirit of Collaboration Award was presented to composer Justin Hurwitz and director Damien Chazelle, who have collaborated on five films, including La La Land, for which they each won Oscars, and the 2022 film Babylon, for which Hurwitz is again nominated for an Oscar for best original score. The presentation was accompanied by a musical performance which included “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land, the First Man theme for harp and theremin, and a Babylon medley.

The Spirit of Collaboration Award, considered the SCL’s most distinctive and perhaps most meaningful, is presented to a composer and filmmaker who maintain a distinguished creative partnership. Previous recipients are Thomas Newman and Sam Mendes, Carter Burwell and the Coen Brothers, and Terence Blanchard and Spike Lee.

Additionally, filmmaker/lyricist Guillermo del Toro and lyricist Roeban Katz accepted their award for outstanding original song for a musical or comedy for “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which they co-wrote with Alexandre Desplat.

Nami Melumad, who became Star Trek’s first female composer with Star Trek: Prodigy, won the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Stephanie Economou, who received the first ever David Raksin Award at last year’s ceremony, won best original score for interactive media for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök. Also, Emmy-winning composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer won outstanding original score for a television production for White Lotus for the second year in a row.

The Society of Composers & Lyricists is a leading organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists. The 77-year-old organization is focused on education and addressing the creative, technological and legal issues affecting the music for visual media community.

Here are the nominees for the 2023 SCL Awards, with winners identified:

Outstanding score for a studio film

Alexandre Desplat – Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Carter Burwell – The Banshees of Inisherin

Winner: Michael Abels – Nope

Michael Giacchino – The Batman

John Powell – Don’t Worry Darling

Outstanding score for an independent film

Leo Birenberg, Zach Robinson – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Sharon Farber – Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power

WINNER: Son Lux  – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Rob Simonsen – The Whale

Mark Smythe – The Reef: Stalked

Outstanding song for a musical/comedy

WINNER: Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo Del Toro – “Ciao Papa” From Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick – “Good Afternoon” From Spirited

Danny Elfman – “Light the Match” From Central Park

Billy Eichner, Marc Shaiman – “Love Is Not Love” From Bros

Weird Al Yankovic - “Now You Know” From Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Outstanding song for a drama/documentary

WINNER: Diane Warren – “Applause” From Tell It Like a Woman

Taylor Swift – “Carolina” From Where the Crawdads Sing

Lady Gaga, Bloodpop – “Hold My Hand” From Top Gun: Maverick

Tems, Rihanna, Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Coogler – “Lift Me Up” From Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – “(You Made It Feel Like) Home” From Bones and All

Outstanding score for television

Nicholas Britell – Andor

Siddhartha Khosla – Only Murders in the Building

Bear Mccreary – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Theodore Shapiro – Severance

WINNER: Cristobal Tapia De Veer – The White Lotus

Outstanding score for interactive media

Nainita Desai – Immortality

WINNER: Stephanie Economou – Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök

Bear Mccreary – God of War Ragnarök

Winifred Phillips – Jurassic World Primal Ops

Christopher Wiliis – Cat Burglar

David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent

Dara Taylor – The Invitation

Anna Drubich – Barbarian

DeAndre James Allen-Toole – God’s Country

Esin Aydingoz – Simchas and Sorrows

WINNER: Nami Melumad – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

15 Feb 2023

Here Is The First Look At Lady Gaga As Harley Quinn In ‘Joker’ Sequel

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Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of Camp: Notes on Fashion, Arrivals, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA - 06 May 2019

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The world is getting its first sneak peak at one of the most anticipated movies in history. Lady Gaga has shared a visual from The Joker sequel.

As per People Magazine Lady Gaga might have the Instagram post of the week. On Tuesday, February 14 the songstress took to social media to share the first look at the second installment of The Joker series. In the photo she is seen holding Joaquin Phoenix by his throat in what seems to be a personal moment of  awe between the two. According to the press release the two are shown after a passionate kiss with her red lipstick smudge all over his face. The caption read “Folie à Deux”; which is the title to the sequel. The term is defined defined as “an identical or similar mental disorder affecting two or more individuals, usually the members of a close family.”

The “Bad Romance” singer will be playing Harley Quinn in the film. Margot Robbie, who first brought the character to life on the big screen in Suicide Squad showed her support to Lady Gaga in an interview with MTV News back in 2022. “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor” she said.

Joker: Folie à Deux is slated for an October 2024 release.

Photo: Lady Gaga Instagram

15 Feb 2023

Drake Will Not Be Deposed During XXXTentacion Murder Trial, Judge Rules

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Last week, we reported that attorneys for Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams, three of the four men accused of robbing and murdering rap star XXXTentacion in 2018, suggested that Drake might have been largely responsible for the “Look at Me!” rapper’s killing.

The defendants’ attorneys floated the possibility that despite their clients being tied to the shooting through surveillance footage and cellphone spots, as well as the testimony of a fourth participant in the crime, Robert Allen, it was actually an obscure rap beef between Drake and XXXTentacion that ultimately resulted in the victim’s death. In fact, the attorneys named Drake, Joe Budden, The Migos and others as eyewitnesses to the crime, which they said was not committed by their clients.

This, of course, set Black Twitter into a frenzied debate about whether or not the “Hotline Bling” rapper was the killer this whole time.

But fans can rest assured that Drake will not be taking the rap for XXXtentacion’s murder, nor will he be required to appear at the trial at all. According to TMZ, Judge Michael A. Usan granted a motion by the Certified Loverboy to avoid taking part in a deposition he was previously ordered to appear for after attorney Mauricio Padilla, who represents Williams, requested his presence during the trial to answer questions.

Apparently, Usan agreed with Drake’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, who argued that Drake had no relevant information to offer about the case. TMZ noted that “Padilla could convince the judge there’s some other cause for Drake to be deposed, and get a new subpoena,” but that’s unlikely considering the fact that the trial has already started. (And there’s also the fact that a rap beef no one really paid attention to is hardly evidence that Champagne Papi was involved in a murder.)

Either way, the defense team maintains that their clients, who are all charged with first-degree murder, are the victims of lies told by Allen.

15 Feb 2023

Mustang Talks Galloping Away From ‘Masked Singer,’ Belting a Rock Classic

Spoiler alert: This story contains information about contestants eliminated on Wednesday’s (Feb. 15) episode of The Masked Singer.

The ninth season of Fox’s The Masked Singer launched with formidable competition, with night one seeing the Mustang—an Academy of Country Music award-winning artist—galloping off into the sunset on the season’s premiere episode.

The evening featured Mustang showing off some serious vocal power on the Whitesnake classic “Here I Go Again,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. It was an unexpected song choice from this sometimes traditional-leaning country vocalist. Guesses from judges ran the gamut, from P!nk to Suzanne Somers, with only one judge picking up on the hint of twang in Mustang’s voice — and even then, guessing (incorrectly) that Mustang might be Wynonna Judd.

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Guesses for Nancy Wilson and Joan Jett were also tossed into the mix, before it was revealed that hiding under the decadent red-and-black costume was “A Little Bit Stronger” singer Sara Evans.

Before her elimination, Evans spoke with Billboard about singing the Whitesnake classic, her reactions to the judges’ guesses and why she didn’t tell her family members she was competing on The Masked Singer.

What drew you to being part of The Masked Singer?

I thought it would be fun and something different to experience, and of course, being on television is good for anyone’s career. It’s also different from our normal routine of writing and touring, so any chance I get to do something different and exciting, it gives you a new energy.

Had you watched the show before?

I had watched maybe a handful of episodes. I didn’t realize everything that went into it and it’s just incredible and the secrecy is so fun. Some of my good friends, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black, I saw their time on the show.

Did they give you any advice on the show?

They were just like, “The costume can be claustrophobic, just know that going into it and they’ll do what they can to help you feel comfortable.” But it was great because my costume was, aside from a big horse head, which was heavy, it was really just like leather pants and a leather top. It wasn’t too restrictive.

How did you decide on the Mustang as a costume choice?

Producers and people sometimes help with those decisions. They came to me with that idea and I loved it. It was great because I grew up on a farm and I grew up on a horse and adore horses. There couldn’t have been anything better.

You performed “Here I Go Again” from Whitesnake, and also did the battle round, performing Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Those were perhaps unexpected choices for you.

I was going to be on a different episode, doing ABBA Night. But then someone had to drop out and the producers asked me if I would fill in for that person and take their songs to be on the first episode of The Masked Singer instead. So I already knew the Whitesnake song; of course, everyone knows it, but I got it at like 11:30 the night before we had to film it, at the last minute. Everyone was really appreciative, though, and I ended up having so much fun singing the Whitesnake song, especially.

The judges had some great guesses—P!nk and Joan Jett among them. Were you surprised by any of their guesses?

I was flattered. Everyone they guessed, I was like, “Oh, my god. I’m a fan of hers, and hers, and she’s a legend.” It was great. I felt like it was a huge compliment.

It sounded like you didn’t tell anyone in your family that you were going to be on the show.

Yeah, ’cause I wanted my kids to be surprised and I didn’t trust my mom not to tell people. [laughs] I’m going to tell my mom and siblings and everyone tonight, like around five or six o’clock and ask them to watch.

What is coming up for you, musically?

I’m gonna make a new album. I’m still writing songs for it, and we will go into the studio probably around April and start recording it. I haven’t had an album out since 2020, so that will be a big part of our year. We’re also on the road. We usually do about 80 shows a year and that starts next week, so we are just always busy working and on the road.