Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 70

What Apple’s $3 Billion Beats Buy Means For The Music Business

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are two wealthy entrepreneurs set to get a lot wealthier: Apple is officially buying Beats, the company the duo cofounded in 2008, for $3 billion.

The deal calls for an initial payment of $2.6 billion, plus an additional $400 million paid out over a longer period of time. Both Iovine and Dre will join Apple, where they will attempt to help boost a company some feel has lost its way in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death–a challenge Iovine seems to relish.

“I’ve always known i...

Why Jimmy Iovine And Dr. Dre Aren’t Billionaires Just Yet

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Click for full photo gallery: The Forbes Five: Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists 2014

Earlier this month, word leaked that Apple was on the verge of acquiring Beats for $3.2 billion dollars–making the latter’s wealthy cofounders, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, even wealthier.

The news led some outlets to speculate that both men would become billionaires immediately upon its consummation. But in our June 16th issue, we pegged Iovine’s net worth at $970 million, about $170 million ahead of Dr. Dr...

Infographic: Michael Jackson’s Multibillion Dollar Career Earnings, Listed Year By Year

Michael Jackson’s latest posthumous album, Xscape, debuted earlier this month with opening week sales of 157,000, landing at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart. That will undoubtedly fatten the total amount the King of Pop has raked in since his death—well over $700 million in the past five years.

But Jackson earned far more than that during his life, thanks both to his musical prowess and his far less celebrated business savvy. In addition to releasing the best-selling album of all time and...

Moneyball For Books? Next Big Sound And Macmillan To Try

Last spring, FORBES published a magazine piece called “Moneyball For Music,” positing that the recording industry was on the verge of a statistical revolution on par with baseball’s sabermetric sea change.

“Data has transformed industries before,” said Alex White, cofounder of the well-funded startup Next Big Sound that sits at the heart of the movement. “Music’s the next one.”

Now, Macmillan Publishers—one of the book industry’s Big Five—is betting that publishing is on deck. The company annou...

Five Takeaways From The SF MusicTech Summit That Every Musician Should Know

Historically, musicians have been much more likely to come to San Francisco for a show at the Fillmore than to get up early and attend a conference. But the latter is exactly what happened earlier this week at the latestSF MusicTech Summit, just down the street from the legendary venue.

Hundreds of musicians, startup founders and industry watchers (as well as some who could be described as all of the above) gathered at the Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco’s Japantown neighborhood. Organized by en...

Black Keys Edge Michael Jackson For No. 1 Chart Spot

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Click for full photo gallery: The Albums Of Michael Jackson

The race to the top of this week’s album chart was a thriller, but in the end, the Black Keys had enough magic potion to edge Michael Jackson for the No. 1 position.

Turn Bluedebutedatop the Billboard 200, marking the first time the Black Keys have accomplished such a feat. The group’s record sold 164,000 copies, just 7,000 more than Jackson’s Xscape. Both albums’ totals exceeded industry forecasts.

The news gives J...

Michael Jackson’s Xscape In Close Race With Black Keys For No. 1 Spot

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Click for full photo gallery: The Albums Of Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s latest album,Xscape, hit stores this past Tuesday–and so far, the results have generally been worthy of the King of Pop’s royal moniker.

The record ascended to the No. 1 spot on the iTunes charts in 52 different countries including the U.K. and France, and sits atop Amazon and Spotify’s rankings as well. Xscapeis also running neck-and-neck with the Black Keys’ eighth album,Turn Blue, for the top p...

Apple’s $3.2B Beats Buy Would Make Dre Rap’s Richest Man

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Click for full photo gallery: The Forbes Five: Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists 2014

Dr. Dre leapfrogged Jay Z in FORBES’ latest rankings of hip-hop’s richest artists, claiming the number two position as his net worth soared to an estimated $550 million. Now it looks like the Beats cofounder could lay claim to the top spot in a matter of days.

Late Thursday night, theFinancial Timesreported that Apple was in talks to buy Beats for $3.2 billion; the deal would be the computer giant’s large...

Live Nation’s Earnings Top Expectations; Big Summer For Concerts Ahead?

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Click for full photo gallery: 2013 30 under 30: Music

Live Nation surprised Wall Street with its first quarter earnings report last night, revealing financial performance that exceeded most analysts’ expectations.

The concert giant reported quarterly revenue of $1.1 billion, up 22% from a year ago; 0perating income jumped 63%. Though the company’s earnings per share is still negative, it improved from a net loss of $0.33 a year ago to $0.16 in the first quarter of 2014. Wall Street ha...

Wu-Tang’s Secret Album: Hear 51 Seconds Of ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’

Last month, FORBES traveled 3,500 miles from New York to Marrakech, Morocco to uncover a rare treat: a 51-second snippet of the Wu-Tang Clan’s secret album, The Wu – Once Upon A Time In Shaolin.

The clip, which you can hear in the video below, is the only part of the album that has been released to the public thus far. And it will likely end up being the only portion available for mass consumption–the group is sticking to its plan to release just one copy of the record.

[brightcove videoID=3541...