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☆ Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’: See All the Costumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ashley Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is a three-hour musical marathon that traces her evolution as an artist. It’s also a reflection of how her style has transformed over the years. On the first two nights of the tour, which kicked off last week in Glendale, Ariz., Ms. Swift recreated iconic looks from a decade-plus of live performances, such as her shimmery fringe dress from her “Speak Now” tour and her endless array of “Reputation”-era black bodysuits. Read on for a rundown of her tour costumes.

☆ Trucking Giant Knight-Swift Transportation to Buy U.S. Xpress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Colin Kellaher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The addition of U.S. Xpress’s 7,200 tractors and 14,400 trailers would boost Knight-Swift’s truckload fleet to roughly 25,000 tractors and 93,000 trailers. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is buying rival trucker U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. in a deal valued at about $808 million that will bolster the scale of one of the country’s largest trucking operators. Phoenix-based Knight-Swift said Tuesday it would pay $6.15 a share in cash for U.S. Xpress, more than four times Monday’s closing price of $1.50 for the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based carrier and 13% above the stock’s 52-week high of $5.44 reached last April.

☆ Taylor Swift, Pop’s Maestro of Memory, Returns to the Stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Jon Caramanica | More About Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Of late, Swift — obsessive about memory and even more obsessive about lore — has made revisiting her old work integral to her public presentation. Her ongoing rerecordings project layers a veneer of artistic liberation atop a business tug of war with the owners of her master recordings. And Swift herself tackled each period of her career — the dynamic ones and the flaccid ones alike — with real gusto, in outfits covered in glitter, or fringe or glittery fringe. Her stage was set up for both big-tent power and maximum intimacy; it jutted out into the crowd for almost the entire length of the floor. She concluded with a selection of songs from “Midnights,” a challenging album to wrap a show of this magnitude — it’s more an amalgam of old Swift ideas than a harbinger of a new direction.

Persons: ”, Swift, —, ” “, John, “, King Locations: Nashville, King Kong

☆ Taylor Swift Fans Needed a Miracle. Here’s How They Got Tickets.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Joe Coscarelli | More About Joe Coscarelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When tickets for Taylor Swift’s first tour in nearly five years went on sale last November, Tina Studts, the mother of two young girls, thought she was well prepared. Her family had moved to Colorado from Kentucky in 2020, and adjusting amid a pandemic was tough, especially for her older daughter, Shannon, 15, who is autistic. But Swift had been Shannon’s “special interest” since elementary school, her mother said, and the vibrant fan culture around the pop star had provided a lifeline. With the holidays approaching, Studts knew that tickets to the stadium spectacle of Swift’s Eras Tour, which begins Friday in Glendale, Ariz., would give Shannon something to look forward to. Her daughter’s best friend from back home in Kentucky was even planning a surprise visit to Denver so they could all attend together.

Persons: Taylor Swift’s, Tina Studts, Studts, Ticketmaster’s, Shannon, Swift Organizations: Swift Locations: Colorado, Kentucky, Glendale, Ariz, Denver

☆ Morgan Wallen’s Chart-Domination Strategy? Really Long Albums
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Neil Shah | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the past few years, Morgan Wallen has become one of the most significant new stars across pop music. Morgan Wallen’s “One Thing at a Time” is an 18-wheeler of an album, with 36 songs that run for a total of nearly two hours. The album, released Friday and Mr. Wallen’s first since a public scandal in early 2021, has scored the largest first-week numbers of 2023, according to initial data from Luminate. (For comparison Taylor Swift’s 20-track “Midnights” racked up 550 million streams in its first week.) If Mr. Wallen, a 29-year-old from East Tennessee, lands at least 28 songs on the Hot 100 singles chart, he will set a new record.

☆ Merrick Garland Is a Huge Taylor Swift Fan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sadie Gurman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON – At a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, senators grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland on the Justice Department’s investigation into Ticketmaster, which botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s coming tour and is dominant in the concert industry. “Channeling Taylor Swift, I know that ‘All Too Well,’” Mr. Garland said, name-dropping the title of one of her songs. “I’m pretty familiar with Taylor Swift.”

New York CNN —Thursday afternoon will round out what has so far been a sobering earnings season for the Big Tech giants. Alphabet’s revenue will likely remain flat from last year and Amazon’s sales are expected to grow just shy of 6% year-over-year. All three companies’ profits are expected to fall from the year-ago quarter, with Amazon set to suffer the steepest drop with a decline of 40.6%. Then came the press conference, which led to a steep divergence between what the Fed thinks and what the Wall Street thinks. A cautionary tale: In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site overloaded when fans tried to purchase pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour.

☆ Will Ticketmaster be able to handle Beyoncé going on tour?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In an Instagram post, the superstar posted simply “RENAISSANCEㅤ ㅤWORLD TOUR 2023.” Her website shows tour dates from May to September. Fans have been eagerly awaiting news of the tour, but many are already bracing themselves for a Ticketmaster disaster, following the recent Swift ticket debacle. On the Ticketmaster site, a search for Beyoncé tickets led to a page that says there are no upcoming events. Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would be selling tickets or if it can handle demand. In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site overloaded when fans tried to purchase pre-sale tickets for just a handful of dates.

☆ John Malone prepares for a victory lap
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Now the cable cowboy’s Liberty Media (FWONA.O) empire is trotting out its trademark financial razzle-dazzle to try and wring additional value out of its assets. Malone, Liberty Media’s chairman, is as renowned for his dizzying array of specialized equity issues, spinoffs and splits as he is for the telecom and entertainment companies that have been subjected to the intricate machinations. It excludes broadcaster Discovery, spun off from Liberty Media in 2005, and international broadband provider Liberty Global (LBTYA.O), hived off a year earlier. A more logical starting point would be 2001, when Malone carved Liberty Media out of telecom giant AT&T (T.N). Likewise, Liberty Media’s accompanying shakeup of its tracking stocks stands to further spotlight the value of Formula One.

☆ People Can’t Stop ‘Spotify Snooping’ on Friends, Exes and Crushes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Ann-Marie Alcántara | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When we play songs on Spotify to get us through the day, they can be intimate—and sometimes also publicly visible. Many people have sharing settings enabled on the music-streaming service, making it easy for friends or strangers to find out what they’re listening to, and by extension, what they’re doing or how they’re feeling. A guilty pleasure (“MMMBop,” anyone? ), your repeat listen (yes, Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”) or a playlist name may reveal personal information to those who are snooping.

☆ Senate Hearing on Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift Meltdown: Five Takeaways
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Anne Steele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Taylor Swift didn’t appear at a Senate hearing looking into last year’s botched ticket sales by Ticketmaster for her coming tour. Live Nation Entertainment Inc. faced questions from lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday, in a Senate hearing stemming from Ticketmaster’s botched ticket sales last year for Taylor Swift’s coming tour. Senators pressed Live Nation , which owns Ticketmaster, over the company’s exclusive arrangements with venues, ticketing fees, defense against cyberattacks and consumer-data protection practices. Lawmakers also sought to portray the company as a monopoly, accusing it of anticompetitive practices and suggesting that an unwinding of the 2010 merger that united the two companies be considered.

☆ Taylor Swift Ticketmaster Debacle Prompts Lawmaker Scrutiny of Live Nation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Anne Steele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. faced accusations of exorbitant ticket fees, flawed customer service and anticompetitive practices during a Senate hearing Tuesday, held after the company’s Ticketmaster unit last year botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s coming tour. “This is all the definition of monopoly,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), laying out complaints from venues that fear losing Live Nation concerts should they choose to use a ticketing provider other than Live Nation’s ticketing unit, Ticketmaster. “Live Nation is so powerful that it doesn’t even need to exert pressure, it doesn’t need to threaten because people just fall in line,” she said during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

☆ Senators Press Live Nation Over Taylor Swift Ticketmaster Debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Anne Steele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The film won nominations for best picture, best director and its stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan won nods for best performance by an actress and actor in a leading role. The nominations were announced by Allison Williams and Riz Ahmed on Tuesday morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Voting for the nominations concluded Jan. 17, and 9,579 members of the academy were eligible to vote, according to Variety. Neither women of color made it to the list for best leading actress. The Oscar nominations come just weeks after the Golden Globes returned to the airwaves.

☆ Ticketmaster under fire: 6 takeaways from hearing over Taylor Swift concert fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The venues controlled by Live Nation set fees that are “consistent with the other venues in the marketplace,” he said. Entertainment industry pushes back at Ticketmaster’s dominanceMembers of the entertainment industry and one rival spoke out against Ticketmaster’s dominance in the industry. Andrew Harnik/APClyde Lawrence, a singer-songwriter on the witness panel, explained how the company acts as a promoter, a venue and the ticketing company, which eats into performing artists’ revenues. Artists, he said, have no leverage over Live Nation. Lawmaker says Ticketmaster merger should ‘be on the table’Lawmakers repeatedly questioned the US government’s past handling of the Live Nation merger with Ticketmaster.

☆ Live Nation exec will face lawmakers about Taylor Swift concert tickets fiasco
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” Swift wrote on Instagram in November. The mergerCriticism of Ticketmaster’s dominance dates back decades, but the Swift ticketing incident has once again turned that issue into a dinner table discussion at many households. Concert promoter Live Nation and ticketing company Ticketmaster, two of the largest companies in the concert business, announced their merger in 2009. ‘Customers are the ones that pay the price’While irate fans were left scrambling to wade through the Swift ticket confusion, their collective anger caught lawmakers’ attention. To me, what happened with the Swift concert tickets was not necessarily the result of Ticketmaster being the dominant player in the industry,” he said.

☆ Taylor Swift ticket sales debacle manages to unite bitter rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Some people may even find a kind of beauty in the way the system was designed to keep special interests in check. “To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar, who called the hearing. “You can’t have too much consolidation — something that, unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say, we know all too well.”(Nice one, Ames.) ICYMI, tickets for Swift’s Eras Tour, which begins in March, went up for pre-sale on Ticketmaster in mid-November. But the bigger question of whether Live Nation is a monopoly is up to the Department of Justice.

☆ Live Nation CFO to testify in Senate after Taylor Swift ticketing woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo for Live Nation Entertainment is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidWASHINGTON (Reuters) -Live Nation Entertainment President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold will testify at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday after its Ticketmaster’s unit had problems managing the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets, the committee said. Live Nation did not immediately comment. “As Live Nation leverages its power across the concert ecosystem to increase its profits, concertgoers see higher prices, and artists experience challenging touring dynamics,” Lawrence wrote in a New York Times essay last month. In November, Ticketmaster denied any anti-competitive practices and noted it remained under a consent decree with the Justice Department following its 2010 merger with Live Nation.

☆ Live Nation CFO defends Ticketmaster, blames bots for Taylor Swift debacle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo for Live Nation Entertainment is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2019. Ticketmaster has come under harsh criticism from fans and lawmakers, accusing it of having too much control over the market for concert tickets. Berchtold’s testimony said Live Nation has invested over $1 billion over the years to improve Ticketmaster. “Whether it meets the legal definition of a monopoly or not, Live Nation’s control of the live music ecosystem is staggering.”Ticketmaster has denied any anti-competitive practices and remains under a consent decree with the Justice Department following its 2010 merger with Live Nation. Live Nation included letters of support with its testimony including one from singer Garth Brooks who asked” My question is, as a country, why don’t we just make scalping illegal?

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 24 on the lack of competition in the ticketing industry after Ticketmaster's problems managing the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is titled "That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment." "We will examine how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike." Consent decrees are often used to prohibit potentially anticompetitive practices or impose other requirements as a condition of merger approvals. A previous Ticketmaster dispute with the Justice Department culminated in a December 2019 settlement extending the consent agreement into 2025.

☆ What to know about 'Naatu Naatu,' the song that beat out Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga at Golden Globes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Brahmjot Kaur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“Naatu Naatu,” a song from the hit Telugu-language film “RRR,” was the unexpected and historic winner for best original song at the Golden Globes Tuesday, beating out Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Majumdar said she was surprised but thrilled “Naatu Naatu” took home the award. “Earlier, that was seen as a feature that was strange about Indian cinema. Keeravani accepts the Best Original Song award for "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR" during the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday. “When I envisioned the ‘Naatu Naatu’ song,” Rajamouli told Variety.

☆ 'M3GAN' is an internet star thanks to her TikTok-esque dance. Director Gerard Johnstone calls the viral reaction 'unbelievable.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kahlan-Rosenblatt.Jpg | Kalhan Rosenblatt | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Before she ever hit the big screen, M3GAN was a social media icon. The killer android doll is the star of the film "M3GAN," which released nationwide Friday. Models perform the viral dance at a special screening of "M3GAN" in New York on Wednesday. Like other viral phenomena before it, M3GAN’s social media success was a happy accident — something Johnstone didn't see coming. "That’s incredible”He credits some of the film's early praise to social media buzz.

☆ A solo Ticketmaster might attract financial fans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The drums are beating louder for a breakup of Live Nation Entertainment (LYV.N). For Live Nation, it’s not entirely clear that the flywheel is spinning smoothly. Live Nation says it is so dominant because it’s so much better than the competition. Putting the complicated legal and regulatory questions aside, there’s probably a financial case for Ticketmaster to become a solo act. Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010.

☆ Taylor Swift set to make her feature directorial debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Taylor Swift’s about to yell action! The singer-songwriter will make her feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures, the studio announced. Swift also wrote the original script for the movie, which will be produced by Searchlight. The film is also eligible for the short film category at the upcoming Academy Awards. Searchlight has made Oscar winners like Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” and Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland.”

“After the Infowars interview, we were disgusted by his behavior,” CalmYe said. “We didn’t want to give a platform to what he’s saying anymore.”After the Infowars interview, we were disgusted by his behavior. The subreddit became increasingly difficult to moderate, and Ye’s praise of Hitler was the tipping point. CalmYe said most fans seem “disgusted” with Ye’s recent behavior, and this latest interview caused many to ditch the artist for good. Other Ye-focused creators have tried to steer their followings through the aftermath of the Infowars interview.

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