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☆ Music Catalog Giant Hipgnosis Agrees to $1.4 Billion Sale to Concord
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the British company that helped kick-start the music industry’s rush for catalog deals — acquiring tens of thousands of songs by Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira and others — but has seen its share price plummet, has reached a tentative deal to sell itself to Concord, a major independent music company, for $1.4 billion. Hipgnosis, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, said on Thursday that its board had given unanimous approval. But the deal still faces what could be a significant hurdle in the form of a contractual option held by an affiliated company to buy the catalog at a set price. Robert Naylor, the chairman of Hipgnosis, said in a statement: “The acquisition represents an attractive opportunity for our shareholders to immediately realize their holding at a premium, mitigating the risks we see ahead to achieving a material improvement in the share price.”Bob Valentine, the chief executive of Concord, which has a portfolio of labels like Stax and Craft, and large holdings in music publishing, added: “We believe we can integrate Hipgnosis’ catalogs into our wider portfolio of 1.2 million songs in a way that will deliver benefits for composers, performers and all our stakeholders.”

Persons: Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Shakira, Robert Naylor, Hipgnosis, Bob Valentine Organizations: London Stock Exchange, Concord, Stax Locations: British, Concord

☆ Crypto firm Ledger to launch iPod-inspired crypto wallet in May, after months of delays
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — Crypto wallet maker Ledger says it is set to launch its much-anticipated hardware wallet Ledger Stax, which was designed by iPod inventor Tony Fadell, in May. Ledger, which makes hardware and software wallets for crypto investors, first announced Ledger Stax in 2022 after a plunge in crypto prices in the wake of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Speaking with CNBC at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit in London, Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier said that he expects the Ledger Stax will launch soon. "Stax is coming out in two months," Gauthier told CNBC onstage Tuesday at the event. The Ledger Stax has been beset by a series of shipment delays over the past year due to issues with getting its E-ink display to work smoothly.

Persons: Ledger, Tony Fadell, Stax, Pascal Gauthier, Gauthier Organizations: LONDON, CNBC, Amazon, Asset, Ledger Locations: London

☆ Premarket stocks: Main Street is still investing like it’s 2023
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Before the Bell spoke to Joe Mazola, director of Schwab Trader Education, about the growing importance of retail investors in markets, where Main Street is investing and why people are still enamored with Elon Musk. Why is it so important to single out retail investors and track where they’re putting their money? Is there a big difference between what retail investors and institutional investors are doing right now? That means the Fed is due to cut rates in 2024, which officials themselves projected in December. We just want some more confidence before we take that very important step of beginning to cut interest rates,” he told “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley.

Persons: Elon Musk’s, Tesla, Charles Schwab, Schwab, Bell, Joe Mazola, Elon Musk, Joe Mazzola, it’s, they’re, there’s, They’ve, Powell, Jerome Powell, “ We’ve, ” Powell, ”, Price, “, Scott Pelley, Read, 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki, ” Wojcicki, they’ve, Wojcicki Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Tesla, Big Tech, Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, Devices, Schwab Trader Education, Elon, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Investors, CBS, Fed, Nasdaq, CNN Locations: New York, Street, Silicon Valley

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Fans of the soulful sounds of Detroit’s Motown and Memphis’ Stax Records will be able to enjoy music from both brands in the same place if they watch and listen to a free, online show streaming during Black History Month in February. Registration has begun for “Stax Meets Motown,” which features musicians from Stax Music Academy playing hits from both of the influential soul and R&B music labels. “Think Glee meets Grease meets Fame meets Hairspray, all with classic 1960s soul music,” Stax said in the release. Stax Music Academy began these virtual presentations in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This year’s show is a lively comparison of Stax and Motown,” said Stax Music Academy Executive Director Isaac Daniel.

Persons: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Marvis Gaye, Tammi Turrell, Otis Redding, Sam, Dave, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, Booker T, “, ” Stax, Stax, ”, Isaac Daniel Organizations: Motown, Memphis ’ Stax Records, Stax, Stax Music Academy, Jackson, Booker, Washington High School, Detroit Riots Locations: MEMPHIS, Tenn, Memphis

(AP) — Jean Knight, a New Orleans born soul singer known for her 1971 hit “Mr. Family, friends, fans and veterans of the music world mourned the loss of the Grammy-nominated singer who was considered a musical powerhouse and an integral part of New Orleans' music legacy. Knight died Wednesday of natural causes in Tampa, Florida, where she was residing, said family representative Mona Giamanco. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music said in a news release that Knight was Stax Records' top-selling female artist. Big Stuff” Knight went on to record several more albums — including ones that featured songs “(Don’t Mess With) My Toot Toot” and “Bill" — and former her own label, Comstar.

Persons: — Jean Knight, ”, Knight, Mona Giamanco, “ Jean Knight's, “ Mr, Bill, —, Reginald Toussaint, Allen Toussaint —, Toussaint Organizations: Associated Press, Stax Museum, American, Music, Stax Records, New Orleans Jazz Locations: BATON ROUGE, La, New Orleans, Tampa , Florida, Mardi Gras

☆ Jim Stewart, a Country Fiddler, Nurtured Soul Stars at Stax Records
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jim Stewart , a bank employee who moonlighted as a fiddle player in a country band, realized in the late 1950s that he was never going to hit the big time as a musician. The next best thing, he figured, was to become a record producer. With makeshift equipment and no training as an audio engineer, he launched his own Satellite label. The first two discs, a cloying country ballad and a rockabilly number, went nowhere. His sister Estelle Axton mortgaged her home to provide more capital, and they founded what became Stax Records, housed in a former movie theater in Memphis.

☆ French startup Ledger launches new hardware crypto wallet Ledger Stax
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFrench startup Ledger launches new hardware crypto wallet Ledger StaxResembling a smartphone but roughly the same size as a credit card, the new Ledger Stax weighs less than an iPhone. Its launch comes at a time when trust in centralized crypto platforms is fading after the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX.

☆ iPod creator Tony Fadell designed a $279 credit card-sized device for storing your crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowThe creator of the iPod, Tony Fadell, designed a new hardware wallet for people to store their cryptocurrency. The Ledger Stax sports a black-and-white E-ink display, similar to that of Amazon's Kindle e-readers. The Ledger Stax is the latest hardware crypto wallet from French startup Ledger. The Ledger Stax, which retails at $279, is available for preorder starting Tuesday and will start shipping in the first quarter of 2023, Ledger said. In 2018, during the last so-called "crypto winter," HTC launched the Exodus 1, a mid-range phone with a crypto wallet included.

☆ Man behind the iPod launches new cryptocurrency wallet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Tony Fadell, a well-known Silicon Valley executive known as the father of the iPod, on Tuesday unveiled his latest project - a hardware wallet used to store cryptocurrency offline. Now Fadell has teamed up with Ledger, the French technology firm, to design a new offline cryptocurrency wallet. Previous models released by Ledger, such as the Nano S and Nano S, have been shaped like USB memory sticks. Fadell's new design, the Ledger Stax, is a credit-card sized device featuring a curved spine and electronic-ink display. The Ledger Stax will sell for $279 online from early 2023.

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