NEWS
Olivia Rodrigo
Louis Browne*There seems to be something in the air at the top of 2022, with several high-profile stars hopping on and off the management merry-go-round and switching up their teams in the first few weeks of the new year.
The big two, of course, are Olivia Rodrigo parting ways with Camp Far West’s Kristen Smith and signing on with Lighthouse Management + Media’s Aleen Keshishian and Zack Morgenroth; and Dua Lipa splitting with TaP Music co-founder and co-CEO Ben Mawson, and holding open auditions for a new team, according to sources. Both came as somewhat of a shock, given their respective partnerships had been in place as each of the stars ascended into stardom in recent years, and because both are either just starting or about to start significant tours.
The two are hardly alone; there seems to be a bit of a management revamp at the top of the year that has several artists shuffling the decks. Mitski shifted from Salty to Good Harbor, after a sexual harassment complaint against Salty’s Chris Crowley led to the firm’s dissolution; Remi Wolf has moved from Take & Thrown to be managed by Sophie Lev, her former product manager at Island. Lil Pump has parted ways with Tha Lights Global; Saweetie, after a trial run with Full Stop, split amicably with the firm and ultimately returned to being managed by her uncle, Louis Burrell. Meanwhile, rumors of a few other heavy hitters shaking up their teams are continuing to swirl.
There’s not much word as to what happened in Dua land just yet, though now that Olivia has landed with Lighthouse there’s a little more to see. In what was a highly-competitive negotiation, Lighthouse beat out at least one other high-level firm, and its roster of clients — Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Rudd — has strong Hollywood connections, though Rodrigo has made it clear her focus is on music as she eyes her tour kickoff in April.
Each situation comes with its own reasons, of course, though one person pointed to the slow but steady re-emergence from the pandemic as one reason why artists may be reassessing their teams in the new year. One manager also put it down to the calendar. “Maybe people have time to reflect over things at the holidays,” the source says. “A second to breathe, because all of these artists are so busy all the time and that’s the only time the whole industry truly shuts down.” — Dan Rys
When AEG officials renewed a naming rights deal for L.A.’s Staples Center in 2009 with office supply chain Staples, a press release announcing the renewal explained that the deal included a first of its kind “lifetime naming rights extension for a major market arena.”
No details were released at the time on how the forever clause would work, but the news was met with applause by many in the corporate world, wanting more long-term value and commitment for the hundreds of millions of dollars invested in naming rights that protected companies from being outbid.
How a forever naming rights deal worked remained a mystery, although most analysts assumed the agreement came with some kind of mechanism to end the deal if a breach occurred.
They turned out to be half right. AEG had sold the naming rights to Staples in perpetuity for a lump sum payment in 2009, Lee Zeidman, president of Staples Center, Microsoft Theater and L.A. Live, recently told Billboard. But, he said, the Crypto.com name change for what was the largest naming rights deal in history — $700 million over 20 years — was only possible because AEG’s Global Partnerships division “bought the name back from the private equity company that now controlled Staples.”
While neither the price of the 2009 deal nor the 2019 buyback were released, Zeidman noted that discussions with Crypto.com didn’t start until fall 2021 and said AEG bought the naming rights back without a specific buyer in mind.
AEG owner Phil Anchutz “had a criteria of what we wanted and we were in the process of looking for a new partner when the pandemic hit,” Zeidman said. While AEG didn’t expect it would take more than two years to find a partner, the historic price tag did also come with the added bonus of beating SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood, which inked a $625 million naming rights deal in 2019.
“A $700 million deal, for a 23-year-old arena is unheard of,” Zeidman said. “There’s no better testament to what he have built in Los Angeles than that.” — Dave Brooks
Edited by Dan Rys
NEWS
Massive Attack have been using their latest live show to challenge American data analytics and software company Palantir, with the band describing the firm's ambitions as "terrifying".
The pioneering trip hop group have woven criticism of the controversial surveillance technology company into their new stage production. During their upcoming performance at Primavera Sound, they plan to deploy "custom-made facial recognition software" capable of "scanning a 75,000-person crowd" and projecting audience members onto giant screens with tongue in cheek labels such as "11 weeks no time off, burnout" and "unfinished books", according to Novara Media.
Speaking with the publication, the visual concept takes direct aim at Palantir, the company established two decades ago by billionaire Peter Thiel. Backed financially by the CIA, the firm counts the US and Israeli militaries, ICE, the FBI and the NHS among its clients.
After unveiling the production in Helsinki, Robert Del Naja told Novara Media that he wanted audiences to better understand how Palantir's reach has expanded from supplying "kill chain tech" reportedly used in Gaza to now having access to the medical records of people across Britain.
"We really need a much wider debate on the suitability of a company like this having such capture of our societal infrastructure," he said. He explained that the criticism is embedded throughout Massive Attack's two hour performance and was developed alongside long time collaborator Adam Curtis and London art collective United Visual Artists.
"One visual element represents how a Palantir Gotham monitoring and ‘decision chain’ interface might look," Del Naja explained. "Using facial recognition technology, it lands on groups and individuals – implying a consequential outcome for a given target."
Novara Media also detailed how Palantir's software can connect information from multiple databases. The outlet reported that ICE allegedly combines the platform with body camera footage, social media data and information gathered through Israeli developed hacking software Paragon to identify protesters involved in resistance to immigration raids.
The publication further claimed that Palantir contributes to Maven, a software platform used by the US military, which has recently faced criticism after being linked to the bombing of a girls' school in Iran.
"I find their declarations, objectives and moral framing pretty terrifying," Del Naja said. "To enable AI systems to map police records, satellite tracked locations, health records and personal financial transactions and place all of that information – for the first time – into the hands of a company with an overt political agenda and social objectives of its own is a huge, potentially irreversible and dangerous overreach."
Another moment in Massive Attack's current live production appears during the closing section of "Girl I Love You", when a quote from Peter Thiel is projected on screen reading: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible".
Last year, Massive Attack introduced the satirical "facial recognition" sequence during their concerts and quickly rejected suggestions that genuine data recognition systems were being used on audiences.
"No Massive Attack live show has ever recorded or stored personal data," the group stated. "Only government departments, relevant authorities & approved contractors can access public databases in the UK, & doing so in multiple cities/countries would be impossible."
The band also pointed to the growing use of facial recognition technology across Britain, arguing that authorities are "overreaching almost all other western democracies with their use of public facial recognition … while there is no specific legislation regulating police use of these systems."
The statement arrived shortly after Massive Attack welcomed Kneecap onto the stage during their major show at the OVO Wembley Arena, introducing them as a group "who refused to be silenced for their solidarity with the Palestinian people."
Massive Attack have consistently spoken out in support of Palestine and a range of other progressive causes. More recently, they pledged to boycott Spotify following reports that CEO Daniel Ek had invested heavily "in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft."
During their headline appearance at London's LIDO Festival last summer, the band were joined by actor and activist Khalid Abdalla along with Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. Earlier this year, Del Naja also criticised what he described as a "draconian government" after being arrested while protesting the ban on Palestine Action.
The musician was one of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in Trafalgar Square on April 11 to oppose the Palestine Action ban. He carried a placard stating "I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action".
Police removed him from the protest and arrested him on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation. He later responded with an extensive statement posted to Instagram.
Back in February, the band revealed a small run of European dates for the summer. The tour began on May 27 at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki before continuing to Dalhalla in Rättvik on May 30.
The Bristol trip hop pioneers have not released new material since the 2020 EP "Eutopia". Their most recent studio album remains 2010's "Heligoland".
Speaking with NME in 2024, Robert Del Naja revealed that the band had "some new music which we've been sitting on for four years". He later shared in November that he hoped to finally release some of that material in 2026.
