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Many developments are taking place in the industry, some good, some bad. The bad news is the postponements and cancellations, namely Sundance and the Grammy’s. On the upside, Coachella has announced 2/3 of its headliners, Scotland’s events sector received a big aid package, and artists are beginning to earn royalties for their streams through new NFTs. 

Credit: Arthur Mola/Invision/APFilm Fest Goes Virtual After planning a hybrid event, the Sundance Film Festival is being moved exclusively online for the second year in a row due to Omicron concerns. The “difficult and yet compassionate decision” will certainly have an unfortunate impact on Park City’s economy, with the online event starting on January 20. Event organizers’ full statement can be found here.

Award Show UpdatesThe 64th Annual Grammy Awards, originally set for January 31, has been postponed, with a new date yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the Golden Globes took place Sunday night with no audience, no red carpet, and no television broadcast. Last year, due to controversy regarding ethical questions among HFPA members, NBC announced that this year’s event would not be broadcast.

Back-Up Plan for Super Bowl As of now, Super Bowl LVI is scheduled for February 13 at the new SoFi Stadium outside of LA. Should Covid restrictions create problems with the game, the NFL has been looking into backup venues, including the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

TodayTix Acquires Last week, TodayTix Group, known for selling e-tickets to Broadway shows, acquired Goldstar, a live events ticketing platform operating across the country. As one of TodayTix’s many Covid-era deals, Goldstar will continue to operate as an independent brand. TodayTix also became an investor in Stellar, a streaming service giving paying audiences interactive online shows.

Album Cover DisputeThe iconic album art for Nirvana’s Nevermind is facing a lawsuit by the baby on the album cover, Spencer Elden. His lawsuit for child sexual exploitation was dismissed on January 3rd after missing a deadline to file an opposition, though Elden has been granted a new deadline. Former Nirvana members and their attorneys were representing the motion to dismiss the case.

Fraud Charges When Iowa’s inaugural Newbo Evolve Music Festival took place in August 2018, they lost over $2.3 million for parent company Go Cedar Rapids. Upon selling far fewer tickets than expected, event planners lied to the bank to get an increased loan instead of canceling the event. These organizers now face fraud charges and are choosing to plead guilty.

Another Lawsuit​​In another lawsuit, Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation are being sued for violating antitrust laws by monopolizing ticket sales. Filed on January 4, the suit contends that Ticketmaster has been overcharging customers ever since the two companies merged.

Portugal Announces Reopening Despite a record high in Covid cases, Portugal has announced their reopening, with hospitalizations remaining low compared to early pandemic levels. As of this past Monday, schools will reopen, as will nightclubs and bars, which will require a negative test upon entry.

Financial Aid for Events SectorScotland’s Culture and Major Events Sector is set to receive a financial aid package worth £65m (about $88 million). With the country’s current Covid restrictions, the sector has suffered major losses. “These additional funds will help protect the livelihoods of the people working in the sector.”

In MemoriumMichael Lang, co-creator of Woodstock, passed away on Saturday following a battle with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; he was 77. In addition to the iconic 1969 festival, Lang was involved in the 1994 and 1999 iterations of the festival, as well as the ill-fated 50th Anniversary edition. A true event professional, Lang was known for his sense of calm under pressure; “My hair’s not on fire,” he said. “It’s always been kind of my nature that when things get weird, I get calm. But for us there’s a clear path…we’ll just deal with it.”Lollapalooza Co-Founder and Rock Manager Ted Gardner has died at 74. Before Lolla opened, Gardner was a tour manager for a variety of rock groups in the early ’80s. By the end of the decade, he managed rock group Jane’s Addiction full-time. Since co-founding Lollapalooza in 1991 with Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, the festival has run annually, with the exception of its hiatus and Covid cancellation. In 2007, Gardner created his own management company and record label with Scott Mesiti. Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins wrote, “RIP Ted Gardner. Our good times will live forever.” 

 C3 Presents is hiring a Digital Guest Experience Associate Manager in Austin to manage and execute correspondence and work with senior managers on guest experiences. Also in Austin, TX, Live Nation is seeking a part-time, Seasonal Fulfillment Representative to provide assistance with ticketing and festival projects. Pollen is looking for an Events Project Manager in LA to manage projects for Pollen’s centralized teams.

Will we see more 2022 cancellations?

OR

Last Week's Results:

78% of BOH readers

did not watch ABC’s New Year’s Special this year. 

Credit: Wendy Wei

The initial lineup has been announced for the two-day music festival CRSSD (pronounced Crossed) in San Diego. On March 5-6, the spring edition of the festival will return with their first event since Covid. CRSSD showcases the best in electronic music, this year featuring Glass Animals, Sofi Tukker, Adam Beyer, and many more. CRSSD promoters remain hopeful, with ticket sales beginning Wednesday of last week.

Kanye West and Billie Eilish are tagged as headliners for this year’s Coachella, with a third headliner on the way. Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, and Rage Against the Machine were supposed to headline in 2020, but since the festival’s 2021 cancellation, some things have changed. Scott and Rage Against the Machine were then set to play for 2022’s Coachella, and Ocean in 2023. Travis Scott has since been removed from Coachella’s headliners due to the Astroworld tragedy, and Rage Against the Machine recently pulled out of the festival. As for a third headliner for 2022, Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator both passed on offers, while Swedish House Mafia may still be an option. The official lineup announcement is set to come out sometime soon.

Meanwhile, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, also known as

DJ Diesel

, will be performing at Social House Soulard on February 26 for Soulard Mardi Gras. And the latest to drop is BottleRock's lineup which includes Metalica, Pink, and Twenty One Pilots. 

In the world of cryptocurrency, Nas will be the first artist to allow fans to invest in his music on the

Royal

platform, which uses blockchain-based technology. Fans can invest beginning today, January 11, buying royalty shares earned from the streaming of two of his tracks, Ultra Black and King’s Disease II. There will also be VIP concert tickets, a signed vinyl, and more. Royal co-founder Justin Blau, otherwise known as 3LAU, has already tried this process with his own single, Worst Case, with fans holding half of the $12 million song's worth. Royal’s digital tokens have already seen $1 million in secondary trading volume. On Nas being the first artist to sell through Royal, Blau says, “It’s proof that artists across genres feel strongly about democratizing ownership of their music, and that they want to be connected to their listeners on a deeper level.”

After the highest priced NFT in history was bought in March of 2021, NFTs have been attracting an increased amount of hype - and funding. NFT Marketplace OpenSea raised $300 million in Series C funding, with the company as a whole valued at $13.3 billion. In 2021 alone, the company’s transaction volume increased by over 600x. Founded in 2017, OpenSea now has over 600,000 users and lists NFTs relating to music, arts, sports, and beyond. Co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer wrote in a blog post, “Our ambition is to foster the scale and growth of the broader NFT ecosystem including raising the profile of emerging creators and investing in the people who shape the NFT space for the better today.”The late Nipsey Hussle’s final album has been set to release through “a limited collection of NFTs.” Producers and involved parties hope to release 1,000 NFTs for the album, allowing buyers to unlock exclusive streaming rights to Nipsey’s final release. 50 of the NFTs have been “reserved for Nipsey collaborators and production team.” The NFT drop called the “Nipsey Experience,” will include not only an unreleased album but also a documentary, behind-the-scenes footage, and access to an exclusive Nipsey community. Originally set to release on January 6, the project has since been delayed due to legal issues. Other artists have been promoting their own NFT projects, such as Ozzy Osbourne, the Whitney Houston estate, and Baby Shark. Universal Music, Primary Wave, and BTS agency Hybe have also dipped their toes in the Blockchain market. Clearly, the NFT craze is turning out to be more than just a fad.

This week's spotlight is on ...  CID Presents Mexico Events 🔦

Credit: Jay Blakesberg 

On January 5, John Mayer, who was supposed to perform at Playing in the Sand festival in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, tested positive for Covid right before his flight. The event, originally scheduled across two weekends, January 7-10 and 13-16, changed its plans that same day to feature Dos Hermanos con Amigos, joined by further artists and special guests. But the next day, January 6, Dead & Company along with promoter CID Presents announced the cancellation of both weekends. This decision was made as a combined result of rising Covid cases, Mayer’s positive diagnosis, and Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann dropping out earlier due to health concerns. CID Presents had a detailed contingency plan for this possibility, telling ticket-holders that a full refund will still be provided to those who already arrived or had their trip booked for the first event weekend. Those who purchased ticket packages for the second weekend have the option to get a full refund or a discounted price on their trip.As for the crew, their expertise was put to the test to handle exceptionally quick event changes that affected all departments. All plans CID staff had spent the pandemic carefully detailing in each part of their operation were flipped in a matter of hours. CID Presents still has a busy season ahead with five more destination events in Cancun. With a little bit of extra time on their hands, the staff is enjoying socially-distanced beach time and some reading by the pool. While the R&R is greatly appreciated, this downtime also means more space to prepare for the upcoming events — the crew is already knee-deep in prepping for Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa, working to make it their best event yet.

 Pitchfork created a list of 2022’s most anticipated tours, featuring Dua Lipa, Adele,  Bad Bunny, and many more. Let’s hope their tour plans don’t change too much!

 Read about the amazing feats of Broadway’s understudies, who have stepped up in immense ways this season.

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