Welcome back to the Spotlight, to the Spring and to Major League Baseball. As the season starts anew, I can’t help but think about this time last year when I was celebrating a New York Yankees Opening Day victory thanks in part to a game-ending out at home plate off a perfect throw from the Yankees’ then-right-fielder Juan Soto. Fast forward to today, and I am celebrating a Yankees Opening Day victory after an eventful offseason following a crushing loss in the World Series, in which Juan Soto left the Yankees to sign an obscene 12 year, $765 million contract with the crosstown rival New York Mets. If I were a petty and obnoxious Yankees fan, I might point out that Juan Soto had another game-ending play on Opening Day for his new team: he had a super expensive strikeout. And, well…I’m pointing that out. Perhaps the Soto acquisition will be an investment to help Mets owner Steve Cohen in his bid to develop Metropolitan Park—a casino and entertainment complex—near the Mets home stadium in Flushing, Queens. I’m all for that—just as long as it doesn’t come with on-field success. After all, in the Bronx, my Yankees play for ‘ships, not for chips.
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- This week brings a dose of Millennial nostalgia as Napster is back in the news, having been acquired by Infinite Reality, a 3D technology company that plans to use Napster’s capabilities to create, music-filled virtual spaces in the metaverse. The purchase price of the deal is reportedly $207 million – roughly equal to the amount of damage you did to your family’s computers using the initial iteration of Napster.
- Nintendo strikes a deal with the Seattle Mariners to be its uniform patch sponsor for the 2025 season. In a related story, the Mariners have hired some super bros. to handle plumbing issues at T-Mobile Park.
- Pop star Dua Lipa notches a copyright lawsuit victory surrounding her smash hit “Levitating,” with the court citing a case related to fellow pop recording artist Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” to conclude that “a chord progression and harmonic rhythm, in combination, could not constitute protectable expression under copyright law.” Now that’s something to sing about
- This week brings a dose of Millennial nostalgia as Napster is back in the news, having been acquired by Infinite Reality, a 3D technology company that plans to use Napster’s capabilities to create, music-filled virtual spaces in the metaverse. The purchase price of the deal is reportedly $207 million – roughly equal to the amount of damage you did to your family’s computers using the initial iteration of Napster.
For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.
Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments
Metropolitan Park casino project in Queens wins City Council zoning approval
March 28, 2025 via Gothamist
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Juju Watkins groundbreaking NIL deal with Fanatics
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Game on: Seattle Mariners add Nintendo patch to jerseys in new sponsorship deal
March 21, 2025 via GeekWire
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Why Pro Athletes Are Getting First Look at Start-Up Deals: ‘Shark Tank’ Guest Star
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Athletes’ NIL in Advertising Could Pose Legal Problems, Judge Rules
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What Could Vanessa Trump’s Ties to Tiger Woods Mean for Her Golfer Daughter’s NIL Deals?
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March Madness meets transfer portal in world’s biggest scouting combine
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How Duke Star Cooper Flagg Became The New Face Of Gatorade
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Hailey Van Lith should be viewed as a case study for athletes
March 21, 2025 via Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Music Biz
Dua Lipa wins major copyright lawsuit over hit song Levitating (with a little help from Ed Sheeran)
March 27, 2025 via Music Business Worldwide
ASCAP warns US creative economy ‘will be undermined’ if copyright laws loosened for AI developers
March 25, 2025 via Music Business Worldwide
Infinite Reality acquires revived music service Napster for $207M
March 25, 2025 via Venturebeat
Concord Acquires Stem Distribution to Boost Indie Artist Services
March 24, 2025 via Billboard
Film & TV
Our Future Festival Home
March 28, 2025 via Sundance.org
Paramount+ Acquires ‘The Children Of October 7’ Documentary About Israeli Kids Impacted By Hamas Attacks
March 26, 2025 via Deadline
Norman Salik, Who Placed Ray-Bans in ‘Top Gun,’ Dies at 93
March 24, 2025 via Women's Wear Daily
Fred Rogers Productions Partners with Milton Hershey School on First-Ever Digital Sponsorship for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
March 24, 2025 via Shippensburg News-Chronicle
Talent Manager’s Fraud Claim, Over Buyout of His Share of Company Formed With Client, Is Struck Down
March 21, 2025 via Law Technology News
Our Team
The Sports, Arts & Entertainment group at Foster Garvey provides full service legal representation on sports, entertainment and business matters, including handling transactions related to brand management, licensing, joint ventures, venture capital, private equity, technology, the Internet and new media.
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