Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 63

Music Winners 2014: Taylor Swift, Dr. Dre, U.K. And Its Former Colonies

This past weekend, Taylor Swift found herself celebrating her 25th birthday in grand fashion: by closing out the annual z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in front of nearly 20,000 people, including Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea and Calvin Harris.

“New York City, it’s good to be home!” she yelled toward the beginning of her set.

A recent arrival in the Big Apple, Swift should also feel at home with the aforementioned names who watched her set after gracing the stage before her — all of them are...

Music Winners 2014: Taylor Swift, Dr. Dre, U.K. And Former Colonies

This past weekend, Taylor Swift found herself celebrating her 25th birthday in grand fashion: by closing out the annual z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden in front of nearly 20,000 people, including Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea and Calvin Harris.

“New York City, it’s good to be home!” she yelled toward the beginning of her set.

A recent arrival in the Big Apple, Swift should also feel at home with the aforementioned names who watched her set after gracing the stage before her — all of them are...

The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians Of 2014

see photosChelsea Lauren/Getty Images for BET

Click for full photo gallery: World's Highest-Paid Musicians 2014

Fifteen years agoDr. Dre wondered aloud whether people had forgotten about him. If there was a question then, it has certainly dissipated throughout the next steps of a career filled with highlights—most recently the sale of Beats, the company he cofounded, to Apple for $3 billion.

Dr. Dre took home $620 million this year before taxes, thanks largely to that deal, making him the world’...

Panning For Silver Screen Gold: How To Invest In Films

On a chilly afternoon last autumn Whoopi Goldberg found herself wandering toward a group of strangers in a tiny Appalachian coal-mining town, preparing to thank them profusely.

She was in Big Stone Gap, Va. to shoot a film of the same name (based on the novel by her friend Adriana Trigiani) alongside costars Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson. The unfamiliar faces, perched behind monitors that allowed them to see everything the cameramen saw, belonged to the film’s financial backers. Goldberg intr...

Grammy Nominees 2015: The Full List

Earlier today, the nominees for the 57th annual Grammy awards were announced–and as usual, the list included musicians ranging from relative unknowns to some of the world’s top-earningsuperstars.

Newcomer Sam Smith led the way alongside mainstays Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams (six nominations each), while others including Taylor Swift and Jay Z garnered multiple nods. As always, a few unusual entries made the cut, from James Franco (Best Spoken Word Album for Actors Anonymous) to Malala Yousaf...

Mood Indigo: Harry Connick, Jr. Teaches Black Tie The Blues

see photosEric_Broms

Click for full photo gallery: Backstage With Harry Connick Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr. has worn many hats in his career, from scoringWhen Harry Met Sally to mowing down aliens alongside Will Smithin Independence Day to his latest role as a judge onAmerican Idol.

At a recent visit withForbesLife, Connick gave us a sneak peek at Idol‘s upcoming new season–andliterally tried on a new hat, as well as eight different tuxedos, all in various shades of blue. With New Year’s eve just aro...

An American Idol XIV Sneak Peek With Harry Connick, Jr.

In 2002, during his time on Will & Grace, Harry Connick Jr. joined Debra Messing for the finale of a new show called American Idol. Sitting in the audience that night, they were rewarded with a knockout performance of “A Moment Like This” by the show’s inaugural winner, Kelly Clarkson. But even as he appreciated a moment like that, Connick never dreamed that, more than a decade later, he would become one of the show’s three judges.

“That team of Simon and Randy and Paula was so successful that...

Afrojack In Action: What Goes Into A Massive EDM Show?

Nick “Afrojack” van de Wall is one of the most successful DJs in the burgeoning EDM scene, pulling in $22 million last year, good enough for sixth place on our Electronic Cash Kings list.

His earnings are fueled by live shows, where he routinely scores six-figure nightly fees. Afrojack was kind enough to forego that type of payday late last month in Philadelphia when he closed out FORBES’ all-for-charity Under 30 Music Festival. But he brought the same level of perfectionism as always.

“When it...

Diddy’s DeLeon Tequila Takes Aim At Patron

Earlier this month, Sean “Diddy” Combs stirred up some controversy by declaring a premature funeral–for Patrón tequila–or, as he calls it, “Mr. Pat Ron.”

That didn’t sit well with the brand’s brass. “Yes, we’ve seen some of his comments,” one Patrón rep scoffed. “But quite honestly we prefer to focus our time talking about our own tequila, not others.”

The “other” in question is Diddy’s new DeLeón tequila, which he acquired alongwith beverage giant Diageo, his partner in the incredibly lucrativ...

What Diplo’s Unusual Album Launch Means For BitTorrent — And Beyond

Taylor Swift, Thom Yorke and Diplo don’t appear to have much in common—at least not at first glance. One’s among the biggest pop stars in the world; the other’s an alt-rock demigod; the last is a Blackberry-toting DJ (who recently landed in hot water for comments made about the aforementioned pop star).

But they all seem to share a desire to change the formula for putting out music. Swift pulled hers from Spotify shortly after the release of her latest platinum album; Yorke publicly shredded t...