Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 28

Luke Bryan Earnings: $42 Million In 2017

NASHVILLE, TN – JUNE 11: Luke Bryan performs during the opening of the TV broadcast of The 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Game 6 at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on June 11, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

Luke Bryan’s earnings total lands him at No. 3 on our list of the world’s highest-paid country stars. He bested other stars including Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line. Here’s a bit more about the singer and his big year.

Residence:

Nashville, Tenn.

Age:

40

2017 Ear...

Kenny Chesney Earnings: $42.5 Million In 2017

INDIO, CA – APRIL 30: Singer Kenny Chesney performs on the Toyota Mane Stage during day 3 of 2017 Stagecoach California’s Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 30, 2017 in Indio, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach)

Kenny Chesney’s earnings total lands him at No. 2 on our list of the world’s highest-paid country stars. He bested younger stars including Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line. Here’s a bit more about the singer and his big...

Garth Brooks Earnings: $60 Million In 2017

NASHVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 23: Garth Brooks speaks onstage during Inside Studio G at CRS 2017 – Day 2 on February 23, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CRS)

Garth Brooks’s earnings total lands him atop our list of the world’s highest-paid country stars once again. He bested younger stars including Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line. Here’s a bit more about the singer and his big year.

Residence:

Nashville, Tenn.

Age:

55

2017 Earnings:

$60 milli...

The World’s Highest-Paid Country Music Stars Of 2017

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Garth Brooks played six shows in eight days this winter in Edmonton, Canada. In April, he performed four consecutive concerts at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Last month brought back-to-back-to-back nights in the Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings, Montana. And in each city, Brooks believes there were a handful of fans who came to every gig.

“Those are what you build the whole show around,” he recently told FORBES. “That’s the person I want to...

Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’ Is Now On Apple And Amazon, Revealing A Lucrative Tidal-Sprint Bluff

Fast Lane: Jay-Z’s 4:44, now certified platinum, is also available on Apple and Amazon in addition to his Tidal service. (Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

In his younger days, one of Jay-Z’s favorite pastimes was playing cards–more specifically, a poker variant called Guts–as hip-hop legend Fred “Fab 5 Freddy” Brathwaite recalled after spending some time with the rapper in the early 2000s.

“There’s a connection between that and business,” Fab told me in an interview for my Jay...

Nielsen’s Mid-Year Music Report Confirms Streaming Has Become A Gusher

Kendrick Lamar: The Los Angeles rapper has the most-consumed album thus far in 2017. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images )

Last month, The Weeknd graced the cover of FORBES under an apt headline: Streaming Grows Up. He had amassed 5.5 billion streams in the past two years, second only to Drake, en route to a $92 million payday over the past 12 months–exemplifying the model of making one’s music widely and cheaply available, then cashing in on the road.

“I really wanted people who had no...

With ‘4:44,’ Jay-Z Advances Wu-Tang’s Album Model While Padding Coffers

Wu-Tang and Jay-Z: Redefining the value of the album.

Jay-Z and the Wu-Tang Clan have a lot in common: both acts hail from the outer boroughs of New York, both dominated the 1990s hip-hip scene and–once again–both have a hyphen in their names. More recently, both have been reinventing the time-honored album format.

Three years ago, FORBES broke the news that Wu-Tang would create just one copy of its album The Wu–Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, which had been recorded in secret over a period of s...

Jay-Z’s ‘4:44’: A Master Class On The Value Of Apology

Jay-Z and Beyonce: In the wake of 4:44, things are looking up. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

In his new album, 4:44, Jay-Z outs his mother as a lesbian, talks of shooting his own brother and seemingly fantasizes about killing his own ego. But the most shocking aspect of the record is this: at its core, 4:44 is an apology album. It’s also a master class on the value–financial and emotional–of apology.

Jay-Z’s 13th studio album debuted as the calendar turned from June 29 to June 30, availabl...

Percussion For Peace: Meet Eyal Davidoff And The King David Peace Drummers

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Drums at Dawn: Eyal Davidoff ends the Under 30 Summit atop Masada.

 

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The Forbes Under 30 EMEA Summit, April 2017.

Few know how to move a crowd–and promote peace through music–better than Eyal Davidoff of the King David Peace Drummers. That’s why we had him open the Under 30 EMEA Summit Music Festival in Jerusalem’s Tower of David ahead of Israeli rocker Tal Ramon, Palestinian rapper Saz, U.K. singer Hatty Keane and the interfaith YMCA Jerusalem Youth Ch...

For Jay Z And New Album ‘4:44,’ Timing Is Everything

Jay Z has plenty of reasons to smile these days. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Jay Z and Beyoncé welcomed twins to the world this past weekend, but hip-hop’s second-wealthiest mogul didn’t take long to get back to business. Jay Z’s new album, 4:44, was announced through a tweet directing fans to the website of his Sprint-backed Tidal streaming service.

“Become a Sprint customer and get 6 complimentary months of TIDAL and access to JAY-Z’s album 4:44,” proclaims a banner situated beneath a...