Beyoncé’s philanthropic initiative, the BeyGOOD Foundation, is set to grant $2 million to entrepreneurs and students during her Renaissance World Tour. Ten years after Beyoncé founded BeyGOOD during the Mrs Carter Show World Tour, the initiative working towards economic equity and education, is now the BeyGOOD Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. “I am hugely proud of the work we have done over a decade at BeyGOOD, here in the US and around the world,” Beyoncé said in a press release. “From scholarships to the water crisis in Burundi, to helping families during
EVEN, a creative platform that enables artists to sell their music directly to fans, has closed a $2.2 million seed round led by CSA Partners. Mag Rodriguez founded the platform last year to help Black and brown artists retain equity in their creative work. The blockchain-based direct-to-consumer platform allows artists to sell their music directly to their fans before uploading their music to streaming platforms. When fans purchase music, they can get access to it one to two weeks before they drop on streaming platforms, as well as exclusive content,
“This is the final straw AI,” Drake wrote on Instagram Stories after an AI-generated version of him rapping to Ice Spice’s “Munch” went viral. The Canadian artist is the latest prominent industry figure to express concern over AI-generated music. Streamers urged to take charge The Financial Times reports that Universal Music Group (UMG) wrote a letter to major streamers, including Spotify and Apple Music, to clamp down on AI-generated music. UMG, which controls about a third of the global music market, said they were concerned about AI bots training on their catalog and
A Surf Ghana event with several panellists including Sandy Alibo. A Vibrate poster is visible on the wall.
Spotify has allegedly spent less than 10% of a $100 million diversity fund it launched after its top podcaster, Joe Rogan, came under fire for spreading Covid-19 misinformation and using racial slurs in his podcast. The world’s largest music streaming service announced its $100 million Creator Equity Fund in February 2022 to support the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. However, Bloomberg News reports that, after its first year, Spotify had spent less than 10% of the money on that work. Riddled with
Tech accessory company, oraimo, has announced a new ambassadorial deal with Grammy award-winning artist Burna Boy. For many, the partnership between one of Africa’s leading tech brands and the artist known as the ‘African Giant,’ is a marriage made in heaven. What is oraimo? Described as ‘as far from your regular smart accessory brand,’ oraimo is Africa’s leading TWS (true wireless technology) and smartwatch brand. The company’s initial product line of durable charging bricks and chords became hugely popular amongst the Nigerian community when it first launched due to its
As the world has become more digitized, more accessible payment systems such as Cash App, PayPal and Venmo have become hugely popular. According to data, Cash App has generated over 40 million monthly active users and over 100 million downloads. Recent research reveals that 59% of Black Americans report using Cash App, compared to 37% of Hispanic Americans and even a smaller percentage of white and Asian Americans. Hackers and scammers The popularity of these payment systems among Black and Hispanic Americans is in spite of concerns about security and
Rapper, Zoey Dollaz, has launched a new “Uber service but with bulletproof vehicles” in response to the deadly shootings of entertainers and athletes. In an interview with Radar Radio, Zoey Dollaz opened up about the business initiative he says had been brewing before his own experience in a drive-by shooting. Zoey Dallaz isn’t the first musician to be a drive-by shooting victim, a long line of stars in hip-hop have also been a victim of such attacks, including legendary rapper Notorious B.I.G who died after being shot to death at
Capitol Music Group has severed ties with the FN Meka project following accusations that the AI rapper perpetuated racial stereotypes online. FN Meka, a virtual “robot rapper,” created by the founders of Factory New, a “first of its kind, next-generation music company specializing in virtual beings.” In a short time, FN Meka amassed over 10 million followers on TikTok and 500,000 monthly Spotify subscribers based on music and lyrics generated by an AI based on popular rap music. The robot rapper, which industry professionals described as a “preview of what’s
Music platform, Shazam, has officially crowned Drake as the most searched artist of all, with over 350 million searches. According to Variety, the platform put together a list of its most searched artists to celebrate the app’s 20th birthday. Unsurprisingly, musician Drake was ranked as the most sought-after artist on Shazam’s radar. Out of all tracks in Drake’s discography, “One Dance” was one of the most searched tracks with over 17 million Shazams. Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” took second place as the most Shamazed song, with most people searching for the
