Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 106

Why Madonna Isn't Getting Paid For Her Super Bowl Halftime Gig

Spotify's Secret Weapon

D.A. Wallach (left) is Spotify's secret weapon.

When D.A. Wallach set out to tour the U.K. as one half of the indie pop duo Chester French, he wasn't quite sure what to expect from city to city. Sure enough, there were some early surprises–in Manchester, a few hundred people showed up; in Bristol, there were only two.

"I've got tons of love for Bristol and for the two people that showed up," he says, peering through a pair of fashionably over-sized spectacles over lunch in Manhattan. "But that ...

What Is It With Yale Football And The Rhodes Scholarship?

[image error]

Yale's biggest game of the year. Why lie?

When I made the trek to New Haven this fall to see Yale, my alma mater, take on Harvard in the annual installment of one of college football's most bitter grudge matches, I was intrigued to learn t...

Romney Earned More Than Lil Wayne, Eminem, Kanye West

Mitt Romney caked up.

Mitt Romney's idea of a hip-hop song might be "Who Let The Dogs Out," but he's got major street cred on one important front: money-making.

Romney's tax return, released early this morning, revealed $45 million in earnings over the past two years. That's a great deal more than his fellow candidates–and more than all but two of hip-hop's top-earning artists.

The former Massachussetts governor banked more in 2010-2011 than a list of rappers including Lil Wayne ($35...

Swizz Beatz Is Not An Owner Of Megaupload, Says Court Filing

Swizz Beatz: Mega problems?

Megaupload.com was shut down today after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted seven owners of the popular file-sharing site. But contrary to some of the rumors floating around online, superproducer Swizz Beatz was not among them–and does not own a stake in the company, according to documents filed by the D.O.J.

Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean, was revealed as Megaupload's chief executive shortly after the viral debut of a star-studded video he...

Swizz Beatz Does Not Own Megaupload, Says Court Filing

Swizz Beatz: Mega problems?

Megaupload.com was shut down today after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted seven owners of the popular file-sharing site. But contrary to some of the rumors floating around online, superproducer Swizz Beatz was not among them–and does not own a stake in the company, according to documents filed by the D.O.J.

Swizz Beatz, whose real name is Kasseem Dean, was revealed as Megaupload's chief executive shortly after the viral debut of a star-studded video he...

Vinyl Continues Unlikely Recovery, According To New Numbers

see photosGetty Images

Click for full photo gallery: Five Super-Expensive Record Players

For vinyl records, the tables are continuing to turn.

Earlier this month Nielsen released its 2011 Music Industry report, and there were plenty of newsworthy takeaways–industrywide album sales were up for the first time since 2004, while Adele's 21 was the best-selling album, moving an astonishing 5.8 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Lost amid the thicket of stats, however, was the fact that vinyl continued ...

Michael Jackson: Man In The Music

Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson, by Joe Vogel

It's not often that I write about books in this column–FORBES does have the excellent blog, "Booked," for that–but every now and then something I read has so much to do with the topics I regularly cover on this beat that I'm compelled to type up some thoughts.

One such book is Joe Vogel's terrific Man In The Music (Sterling, 2011), which explores the life and work of Michael Jackson. The King of Pop, of course, is a f...

From Bon Jovi to Mac Miller: My Best Stories of 2011

19 year-old rapper Mac Miller lost his shirt -- but made plenty of bank -- in 2011.

It's nearing the end of that season when the radio stations wind down their incessant playing of best-of-last-year remixes and mashups, and we're all confronted with the fact that it's cold and dark and still more than a month until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

As I did last year, I'd like to add one more best-of-last-year playlist to the pile: my top stories of 2011. Below, you'll find...

Michael Jackson And Elvis: In Vegas, Two Kings Rise And Fall

Michael vs. Elvis: The gloves are coming off in the fight for posthumous supremacy over Las Vegas.

On the surface, MGM's Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas seems fit for a king. Designed by famed architect Cesar Pelli, the gleaming, glassy complex is one of the newest on the strip, boasting 4,000 guest rooms, 16 restaurants, 10 bars, a full-service salon, barbershop, fitness center and spa, as well as a specially-designed 1,800-seat theater devoted to Cirque du Soleil's show, Viva Elvis.

The...