Sports & Entertainment Beat

Endorsements, Sponsorships & Investments

The Rise of the Celebrity Beauty Brand
September 9, 2021 via Highsnobiety
Skincare and beauty have been around for decades – centuries, even – with millions of brands making products all over the world. With an industry valued at $511 billion in 2021, more people are starting to see money-making opportunities – especially celebrities. Earlier this week, tennis player Naomi Osaka revealed her new label KINLÒ – a range of sun care products specifically designed for melanated skin.

Stephen Curry and Tom Brady Join Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX
September 8, 2021 via TechStory
Stephen Curry and Tom Brady have teamed up once more, this time to support the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. With the announcement of a long-term relationship on Tuesday, Brady, who can be seen most days on television advertisements with Curry promoting Subway sandwiches, was joined as an “ambassador” by the Golden State Warriors Guard.

U.S.SEC Warns Public of Crypto Scams and ICOs
September 8, 2021 via CryptoSlate
Crypto frauds are on the rise, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF). In its recently published investor alert, the regulator broke down some of the most obvious warning signs of crypto scams.

Jay-Z's Champagne, Post Malone's Rosé Among List of Best-Selling Celebrity Alcohol Releases
September 8, 2021 via Register Citizen
Drizly's latest stats also include actor Nick Offerman's scotch whisky and Kendall Jenner's tequila among the top celebrity launches of 2021.

Looks Like Kanye West’s New Brand Will Be Competing With Kim Kardashian
September 6, 2021 via CINEMABLEND
In recent years, Kanye West has concentrated on expanding his brand outside of his celebrated music career. His results have been fruitful so far with a successful shoe brand and a booming design firm. But West’s latest business move may put him in direct competition with his estranged wife Kim. According to E! News, Kanye West will be entering the home décor space.

The Cannabis Industry Has a Big Problem. Kanye’s Manager Just Joined a Company Fixing It
September 4, 2021 via Forbes (subscription may be required)
Just 3 percent of the cannabis industry’s market share is currently owned by Black people. Village is a national conglomerate fighting for equity for Black-owned brands, and Kanye West’s manager, John Monopoly, just joined the team.

Highest-Paid NFL Players 2021: Two Star Quarterbacks Post Records On and Off the Field
September 3, 2021 via Forbes – Business (subscription may be required)
With the regular season set to kick off Thursday, a record signing bonus and hefty endorsement deals have helped football’s top stars cash in mightily despite a free-agency clamp-down.

Film & TV

The Roku Channel Inks Deal for Big 'Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist' Holiday TV Movie
September 8, 2021 via CGMagazine
Roku, Inc. and global content leader Lionsgate today announced that an all-new feature-length Roku Channel film based on Emmy®-winning show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist will debut on The Roku Channel this holiday season.

Redbox Picks Up Rights to Morgan Freeman & Cole Hauser Action Movie ‘Muti’
September 8, 2021 via Yahoo! News
Redbox Entertainment has picked up North American distribution rights to “Muti,” the action-thriller starring Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Yellowstone star Cole Hauser.

Drake to Collaborate With ESPN on Monday Night Football Music
September 7, 2021 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
Just a couple of weeks after Drake cryptically revealed the release date of his new “Certified Lover Boy” album on ESPN’s flagship program “SportsCenter,” the network has announced that it will work with the superstar rapper throughout the entire NFL season to curate music for select Monday Night Football games.

Ozy Studios Inks Development Deals With Trio of Transgender Talent
September 7, 2021 via Deadline - Hollywood Breaking News
Ozy Studios inked development deals with three breakthrough transgender artists. They include Puerto Rican chef Paxx Caraballo Moll, Alabama-based activist Dan Eggers and model Rosalynne Montoya.

Tottenham Hotspur Teams With Sky on World’s First Net Zero Carbon Soccer Match – Global Bulletin
September 6, 2021 via Variety
SOCCER Sky and London’s Tottenham Hotspur, featured in the 2020 edition of Amazon Prime Video’s hit “All or Nothing” documentary series, will work together to make the club’s Sept. 19 fixture against London rivals Chelsea Football Club the world’s first net zero carbon major soccer match, ahead of next month’s UN COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Kevin Hart and Rich Paul to Produce Bishop Sycamore Docudrama
September 3, 2021 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required0
Deadline reports that Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions is teaming up with youth entertainment company Complex Networks, Klutch Originals and Haven Entertainment on what they say will be the definitive documentary series on one the wildest sports tale of 2021: the story of Bishop Sycamore High School’s football team.

BBC’s Joan Collins Documentary Scooped by Abacus Media Rights – Global Bulletin
September 3, 2021 via Variety
ACQUISITION Abacus Media Rights (AMR) has picked up global distribution rights to BBC Two’s Joan Collins documentary, produced by Salon Pictures and commissioned by Mark Bell at BBC Arts.

Music Biz

Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, Spotify, and the Destruction of the All-Dominant Streaming Superstar
September 8, 2021 via Music Business Worldwide
The MBW Review is where we aim our microscope towards some of the music biz’s biggest recent goings-on. This time, we crunch the numbers of Drake’s record-breaking release versus his last record-breaking release…and ponder what it all means for the fan-artist relationship.

UK Competition Watchdog Expresses ‘Significant’ Concerns With Sony Music’s AWAL Purchase, Prepares ‘In-Depth Phase 2 Investigation’
September 7, 2021 via Digital Music News
Back in May, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began investigating Sony Music Entertainment’s $430 million buyout of Kobalt-owned AWAL. Now, the government agency has outlined a number of “competition concerns” and given the Big Three record label five days to address the potential hang-ups before the investigation enters a new phase.

YouTube is Free. But 50 Million People Pay for It Anyways
September 5, 2021 via Bloomberg - Top Stories (subscription may be required)
Four years ago, I sat next to music mogul Lyor Cohen in Austin, Texas at the annual South by Southwest festival to discuss YouTube's plans for a new paid music service. I really only had one question. How was YouTube going to get anyone to pay to use a product they already get for free?

Latrobe dDad, Daughter Develop Song Texting App for iPhone Users
September 3, 2021 via Pittsburgh Tribune Review - Top Stories (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
If you’re tired of texting words, photos and GIFs, a Latrobe father and daughter are hoping you’ll try a new app they developed that sends song clips. Lyritext launched Sept. 1 in the Apple App Store, offering brief clips from a catalog of more than 100,000 songs in numerous genres, from golden oldies to current sounds, from American artists and others around the world.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Green NFT Platform 'OneOf' Partners With Coinbase, Doja Cat
September 8, 2021 via Yahoo Finance - Top Stories
OneOf, a "green" music-focused non-fungible token (NFT) platform on the Tezos blockchain, released the first drop of rapper/singer Doja Cat's genesis NFT collection, “Planet Doja" Wednesday. OneOf has also partnered with Coinbase to allow fans to purchase Doja NFTs with credit cards in addition to cryptocurrencies.

Rarible DAO Demos Programmable NFT Royalties Smart Contracts
September 8, 2021 via Yahoo Finance - Top Stories
Content creators and artists will likely be pleased with the news that there is now a solution for maintaining royalties on non-fungible tokens (NFT) even when a piece is sold on secondary markets. Rarible DAO has unveiled a system that allows royalties to be programmed directly into the smart contract for non-fungible tokens. Content creators can still receive royalties every time their work is resold.

NFT Survey With Over 40,000 Respondents Indicates Americans Trust NFT Investments More Than Britons
September 8, 2021 via Crypto News Australia - Top Stories Worldwide
In 2021, two very distinct crypto trends stood out which include non-fungible token (NFT) assets and decentralized finance (defi), as billions of dollars in crypto has flooded into these sectors. On September 7, Piplsay, a global consumer research platform, polled 30,870 Americans and 9,170 Britons to get some insight on what consumers think about NFTs today. According to the survey, 48 percentof American respondents think NFTs are a good and safe investment.

Investors Need More Than Regulators for Protection
September 7, 2021 via Washington Post - Top Stories (subscription may be required)
If financial regulators want to continue protecting investors as new technologies like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens proliferate, they'll need to give investors the tools to protect themselves.

NFTs Are the New Status Symbol for Athletes
September 7, 2021 via BitcoinerX
NFT assets are one of the fastest-rising digital assets this year, with celebrity endorsements and high-profile personalities venturing into these assets. NFTs have become one of the most sought-after status symbols of athletes today because aside from being rare, they are also expensive assets.

The Dream Hollywood Hotel Hops on the NFT Trend
September 6, 2021 via Forbes – Business
Hollywood, California is obviously no stranger to cutting-edge nightlife. So when the Dream Hotel opened in this famously vibrant section of Los Angeles five years ago, it needed to come correct. This took the form of diverse lounge and leisure options accompanying its 178 stylish guest rooms.

Dale Steyn Releasing Limited Edition NFT Collectibles
September 6, 2021 via MyBroadband News
South African pace bowler Dale Steyn announced on Monday that he is releasing a set of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the OpenSea platform.

Remember NFTs? They're back, big time
September 5, 2021 via CNN – Business
Plenty of ink was spilled earlier this year when investors, hobbyists and art enthusiasts started frantically buying up non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, in another crypto world craze.

Ether Biefly Tops $4,000 as Upgrade, NFT Momentum Gathers Pace
September 4, 2021 via Bloomberg - Top Stories (subscription may be required)
Ether briefly rose above $4,000 late Friday amid a month long surge around a major upgrade, and as demand for non-fungible tokens continues to widen.

Direct-to-Fan NFT Social Network Momento Announces New Partnership with Dapper Labs
September 3, 2021 via MENAFN - Top Stories
Momento has partnered with Dapper Labs, the creators of NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties, to create the first direct-to-fan social media experience.

NFTs Boom Anew as DOG Coin Becomes $550 Million Asset Overnight
September 3, 2021 via Bloomberg – News (subscription may be required)
The frenzy for digital artwork is breaking new ground as one of the Internet’s best-known memes gets turned into a near $550 million asset overnight. The DOG coin —a fraction of the NFT depicting the famous Doge meme -- has doubled in value in less than 24 hours.

New NFT by Artist Bitfried Features Kanye West as Jesus, Picasso Style
September 3, 2021 via Kane Republican Online (Kane, Pennsylvania)
Crypto By Design announced the latest NFT entitled Lord Kanye. Featuring Kanye West as Jesus Christ in the style of Picasso, the NFT is now up on Mintable.app with the auction ending September 9.

Right of Publicity

Alabama QB Bryce Young to Host Podcast for Cowherd’s The Volume
September 8, 2021 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
On Saturdays this fall, University of Alabama quarterback Bryce Young will lead the Crimson Tide as they vie for yet another national title. But on Tuesdays this season, Young will have another role: podcast host.. As part of a deal the quarterback signed with Colin Cowherd and iHeartRadio’s The Volume podcast network, Young will talk college football each week on The Bryce Young Podcast alongside Jake Crain, host of The Volume’s Jboy Show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sac State Athletes Sport New Sponsorships
September 5, 2021 via Cal-State Hornet News
As of July 1, 2021, the NCAA has suspended its policy that previously prevented student-athletes from monetizing their own name, image and likeness (NIL) in licensing agreements, endorsements and sponsorships. Now, collegiate athlete participants can financially benefit from their NIL in a commercial and promotional context. Whether it’s University of Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler who inked a deal with Raising Canes, or Fresno State basketball guards Hailey and Hana Cavider who partnered with Boost Mobile after achieving fame on TikTok, the NIL policy is allowing athletes to cash in nationwide — even right here at Sacramento State.

U.S. Tourism Brands Take Quick Advantage of New Rules to Sign Elite College Athletes to Endorsement Deals
September 3, 2021 via Skift Travel News (subscription may be required)
When the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced on June 30 that all athletes under its umbrella would be permitted on the very next day to receive benefits based off of their “name, image and likeness,” the floodgates opened for collegiate athletes in the United States to finally earn money based on their status as student-athletes. Not surprisingly, several companies wasted little time in inking so-called NIL deals with elite NCAA athletes — including a growing number in the travel industry.