During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government issued the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant law to help keep the recording industry afloat after performing live — one of the industry’s main sources of income — became impossible due to live venues being shut down. However, in a new report from Business Insider, several entertainers, including Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, and Marshmello, are being accused of abusing those funds, using them to fund travel, parties, and luxury shopping sprees instead of paying employees and keeping the lights on.
Brown, who received a $10 million grant, reportedly spent $80,000 on his birthday party, which included models in body paint, an LED dance floor, and $29,000 worth of hookahs, bottle service, and fees incurred by damages to couches rented for the occasion. More than double that was spent on a celebrity basketball tournament broadcast on YouTube. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne, who received $8.9 million, allegedly spent the funds on private-jet flights ($1.3 million), luxury clothing ($460,000), and accommodations for female companions ($15,000) whose connections with Wayne are “unclear,” per BI.
Marshmello’s manager told the publication, however, that the DJ paid himself out of the $9.9 million grant he received. He “expensed the entire Grant balance to Payroll” via a loophole that allowed the SVOG funds to go to the artists’ business entities as “owner compensation” provided it was less than their income in 2019. They also had to show that their companies made 25% less in 2020 than in 2019 — which was more or less a given, considering how much of their income is made up of touring and live performances. This is how Steve Aoki paid himself $1.9 million out of a $2.4 million grant, Rae Sremmurd gave themselves $7.7 million, and Alice in Chains members Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney received $1.4 million each (Mike Inez took $682,000).
Meanwhile, the report says that while stars like Lil Wayne did use funds to pay their managers, attorneys, and agents, it was more than 13 times what sound techs and other contractors received. The Small Business Administration says it has recovered some misappropriated funds, but is still investigating open claims.
The anticipation for the 2024 MLS All-Star Concert presented by Target is soaring as it’s announced that GRAMMY®-nominated artist and producer Marshmello will headline the event, joined by multi-platinum sensation PinkPantheress. Scheduled for Sunday, July 21, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, this star-studded concert promises an unforgettable experience for music and soccer fans.
Tickets for the event will go on sale Thursday, April 25, on Ticketmaster.com. Prices start at $35. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Neighborhood Athletics, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing athletic and educational opportunities to underserved youth in Columbus.
The MLS All-Star Concert kicks off a week of festivities leading up to the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target on Wednesday, July 24, at Lower.com Field, home of the Columbus Crew, the reigning MLS Cup champions.
Marshmello, with over 16.8 billion Spotify streams and a GRAMMY® nomination, will bring his signature sound to the stage. Joining him is PinkPantheress, whose meteoric rise in the music industry has earned her critical acclaim and numerous award nominations.
“I can’t wait to kick off MLS All-Star week with a special performance on July 21. This is my first major football…or as you guys call it soccer event in America and I look forward to seeing all my fans in Columbus,” said PinkPantheress.
Neighborhood Athletics, the beneficiary of the concert’s proceeds, is committed to empowering youth in the Columbus community through athletics, education, and mentorship.
For more information on the concert and a complete list of All-Star events, visit mlssoccer.com/all-star. Don’t miss the 2024 MLS All-Star Game, where the best MLS will take on LIGA MX at Lower.com Field in Columbus, available to watch in over 100 countries and regions on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
After a successful run nationwide. HeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023 reaches an end on Saturday, December 16, in Miami, at the Amerant Bank Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The artists slated to end off the festival are Nicki Minaj, Marshmello, AJR, Flo Rida, Ludacris, LANY, David Kushner, Paul Russell, and Uproxx cover star Kaliii. With so many acts playing on the bill, concertgoers are no doubt curious about the estimated run time of the show.
What Time Does iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Miami Start?
On iHeartRadio’s website, the company listed the official start time for Jingle Ball Miami at 7:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the landing page does not outline the set times for each performer. Nicki Minaj and Marshmello will respectfully serve as the event’s co-headliners. During Nicki’s Atlanta appearance, she closed the show out. This could also be the case for Miami.
On Amerant Bank Arena’s event page, the venue recommends that ticketholders arrive at least 60 to 90 minutes before the promoted start time to ensure they are seated in time for the first performer. In other words plan to show up between 6pm and 6:30.
Next week, ABC has plans to air an edited version of several 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball sets on Thursday, December 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Find more information here.
Saturday, December 16, marks the end of iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball concert series. The show has made stops in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit. Later this evening, the final performance will take place in Fort Lauderdale at the Amerant Bank Arena. So, who’s on the closing lineup?
What Is The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Miami Lineup?
According to iHeartRadio’s official website, the acts slated to take the stage include Marshmello, AJR, Flo Rida, Ludacris, LANY, David Kushner, Uproxx cover star Kaliii, and Paul Russell. Still, there is one special musician not listed on the landing page.
Due to professional obligations, Nicki Minaj had to bow out of her headlining appearance at iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Chicago. However, she replaced her set with her longtime friend and collaborator, Lil Wayne. She then made up for her absence at Jingle Ball Atlanta. But she’s not finished with Jingle Ball just yet.
When Nicki revealed she was pulling out of Jingle Ball Chicago, she let fans know she would double back with more than one set. “I am still performing at the Atlanta Jingle Ball on the 14th,” she wrote. “And now I’ll also be performing at the Miami Jingle Ball on the 16th.”
Hi guys,
I have to tell you something. One last thing. Hope it doesn’t make you sad.
I won’t be able to perform tmrw in #Chicago for Jingle Ball. I was so excited to see you guys. Pls accept my sincerest apologies. I’ll make it up to you on the Chicago stops of my tour early…
Later this month, ABC will air a televised special of the 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball series on Thursday, December 21, at 8 p.m. ET. Find more information here.
Electric Zoo Festival’s 2023 lineup is preparing to light up Randall’s Island Park in New York, New York on September 1, 2 and 3. The holiday weekend is so close, so it’s time for fans to start planning to see the likes of Marshmello, The Chainsmokers, and Zedd.
The full schedule of set times is available on the Electric Zoo mobile app, but the festival posted to Instagram a full breakdown of which acts to expect on each of its six stages: The Convergence, The Continuum, MegaMirage, Morphosis, The Landing, and Electric Zoo: Hyperspace.
According to the app, The Chainsmokers are scheduled to perform a “sunset set” on The Convergence at 6:30 p.m. local time on Friday, September 1. There will be simultaneous 7 p.m. sets on Friday from Kaskade (Morphosis), Mau P (The MegaMirage), and Tim Engelhardt (Secret Garden). Kx5 is set for 9:45 p.m.
On Saturday, September 2, Gryffin will deliver a “sunset set” on The Convergence at 7 p.m. local time. Alison Wonderland is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. local time on The Convergence, where Zedd will later perform at 9:45 p.m.
Sunday, September 3 will feature the likes of 3LAU (5:40 p.m.), Tiesto (6:40 p.m.), Major Lazer (8:15 p.m.), and Marshmello (9:45 p.m.).
Additional information about the lineup, ticketing, and venue can be found here.
Brent Faiyaz has been a very busy man these last few days. From a highly acclaimed album last year with Wasteland paired with a world tour (tickets on sale today) he’s been putting in work. Not only that, Faiyaz has an amazing catalog prior to his new album dropping (mans don’t miss). Since the release of Wasteland, Brent Faiyaz has kept a low profile yet he’s still making waves. Recently, he announced a tour and just days later news surfaced that the R&B star has partnered with Steve Stout’s UnitedMasters.
The partnership will allow Faiyaz to do all of his independent work creating a new creative agency. Additionally, the creative agency will work as a hub for the F*ck The World artist. Not only that, the deal is valued at $50 million. Even Steve Stout said, “Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific Independent artists today and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him.” Although we don’t have an official statement from Brent, it’s clear that the two have come to a healthy agreement regarding the deal.
Brent Faiyaz & Marshmello Drop Some New Heat
Following all the moves he’s recently made, Brent Faiyaz has also put out some new music. Anonymous DJ/producer Marshmello tapped the emerging king of toxic R&B for a new single, “Fell In Love.” Additionally, on the track, Faiyaz croons about a lover that loves the idea of him rather than his true self. It’s a very bouncy track that will have you reminiscing about late ’90s early ’00s R&B. Not only that, this is the first taste of new music from Brent Faiyaz since dropping his sophomore project.
Furthermore, the single is short and sweet, rounding off at two minutes. However, the song is so infectious that you’ll be playing it over and over. It’s got great replay value. Won’t be long ’til we see the summer jam on multiple Tik Toks and reels. Interestingly, this track is released just days before Brent inks his creative agency partnership with UnitedMasters and announces new tour. It’s possible this could’ve been something cooked up from the creative hub. Are you ready for some new music from Brent Faiyaz? Are you feelin’ the new track from him and Marshmello? Let us know in the comments!
Quotable Lyrics:
You ain’t fall in love with me Fell in love with the man I could be You ain’t fall in love with me Fell in love with your vision of me
Marshmello and Brent Faiyaz have teamed up for a new heartbreak anthem — only this time, Faiyaz is doing the heartbreaking. Over a simple, rolling, percussive beat produced by Marshmello, Faiyaz reminds someone of his intentions and insists that it wasn’t his fault that she got her heartbroken.
“You ain’t fall in love with me / You fell in love with the man I could be / You ain’t fall in love with me / You fell in love with your vision of me,” sings Faiyaz on the song’s chorus.
Elsewhere in the song, Faiyaz notes that while he considers himself a kind person, he isn’t responsible for the way anyone else feels.
“I can ease your mind if you goin’ through somethin’ / That don’t mean I can cure depression / I free my night if you wanna do somethin’ / But I’m takin’ your direction,” he sings.
In the song’s accompanying visual, Faiyaz is seen going on a drive in the woods with a young woman. They park the car and hang out in the woods for a bit, and while he is protective of the woman, he reminds her not to get her hopes up, in terms of romance.
Ultra Music Festival — one of the biggest EDM-centric festivals in the US — returns this weekend with a lineup headlined by some of the genre’s biggest names, including Martin Garrix, Marshmello, and Swedish House Mafia. The Miami-based festival begins this Friday, March 24 at Bayfront Park, and continues through to Sunday, March 26. The set times for all seven stages at the festival were announced earlier this week, and you can check those out below.
Friday, March 24, the festival begins at 4:00 pm and runs until midnight. On Saturday, March 25, the gates will open at 12 noon, with headliner Marshmello taking the main stage at 10:45 pm. Finally, on Sunday, the festival will end at 10:00 pm, with Swedish House Mafia closing things out at 8:45 pm.
This week’s event marks the second Ultra Music Festival since the long-running festival — first established in 1999 — was canceled in 2020 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, the 2021 event was also pulled due to concerns of a rise in cases of the novel coronavirus. The festival resumed in 2022 with an attendance total of 165,000 and a lineup including Kygo, Martin Garrix, Nina Kraviz, and Gareth Emery. Hardwell closed out the festival.
The Ultra Music Festival website currently touts general admission tickets as “99% sold out” but that still leaves one percent for latecomers. Check out the website for more information and see the set times below.
In 2019, JT of the City Girls was released from prison after serving over a year of time for credit card fraud charges. They went back to work immediately, releasing “First Day Out” that day. Here’s how the MGX guys would describe their project, which documented that time:
Gill: Unapologetic creative expression. That project is saying that [even when] in the face of people criticizing and trying to take you [down], when people are unapologetically creative and not contrived, that’s something that truly inspires people. When you’re unapologetically you in doing you and people are uncomfortable—that’s the sh*t moves the needle for a lot of people, in this case, a lot of women, a lot of men too. And I think it’s important.
Image via MGX
Malikyar: One other thing to add to that too would be friendship and loyalty. It was cool to see the relationship between the two of them and how genuinely loyal they were and looked out for each other in the different roles they play in that friendship. Because I would hope everybody has a best friend or that figure in their life. I feel like they’re representative of that relationship for other people in their own way, of course. But that bond is still the same.
On Marshmello’s Projects
Image via Publicist
For the first few years of their career, while still in college, they worked to help further define Marshmello’s brand and tackle the question of ‘why is this silent sensation dominating our culture?’ Here’s how they would define what he illuminates:
Malikyar: I think humanity would be one and connectivity would be the other. And the reason why is the ethos behind the idea of Marshmallo is that we are all Marshmallo. He’s a character. It’s open for interpretation. It’s so global, everybody sees themself in Marshmalloe and you can beat anything. And it’s supposed to shed light on the fact that this character is a little piece of all of us. And it serves as a medium to express that idea. It’s almost like the superhero, the Batman, the whatever, you put on that helmet and you can be whoever you want to be type of thing. I don’t know if you have anything to add to that.
Image via MGX
Gill: His character doesn’t speak yet for some reason it’s cut through in all these different communities around the world, which all that says is that we’re a lot more connected as people than we all think. And I think what our music video series did was the goal of it was to create, and if you get time to watch any of them, one of them is about bullying, one about first love, one about your friends moving, one’s about problems you go through at home. These things that humans—whether you’re in India, the Philippines, Kentucky or Los Angeles—are experiencing. The connected aspect of the brand was really what we tried to do with these music videos. And what we tried to [have] people understand [is] that we’re all connected.
On Takeoff
Image via MGX
On Nov. 1, 2022, Takeoff was killed at the age of 28. The guys process, and reflect on their time with the Migos, then Unc & Phew, member:
Gill: It’s just really heartbreaking from the times that we worked with Takeoff, he was genuinely the nicest, most kind, thoughtful would stay after the shoot for hours to talk. I remember after one of the shoots, he stayed after an hour just to play [Culture II] for Daniel and I. And we were just like, “Wow, what a nice human being.” So through the documentary medium, you get to really connect with some of these artists in a vulnerable kind of human way that you can’t really if you’re shooting their music video or they’re in a commercial per se. We were able to get a lens into these artists’ world, and by no means did we have a 20-year relationship with them, but through these projects, we got to know them in a certain way and I guess the simplest way to put it is it’s just heartbreaking.
Malikyar: One other note, too, just reflecting on it, it just also shines a light on the fragility of everything.
On ‘Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby’
Image via Publicist
Over the course of 12 months, MGX Creative shadowed Lil Baby and told his story and those of many in his city. They process on what the project brought to light:
Gill: Socioeconomics and growth. Baby’s story illuminates a lot of the larger socioeconomic issues that our country is facing now and has been facing and the communities that exist because of that, that don’t ever get talked about. And people don’t ever take the time to actually understand, not from a baseline level, from a deeper mental, psychological level. The fact that doc about being mentally trapped because of where you’re from, have not seen that presented that way. The socioeconomic trap is not just a physical, monetary, literal trap; it’s also the mental world that America creates for certain communities. That’s the first part.
The second is growth; being able to see the power of growth in an artist in a person of color is so important to highlight because it’s going to allow other people of color and other individuals that may feel trapped to say, well if they can do it. Maybe I can do that. Maybe I won’t be the biggest rapper. Maybe I’ll be able to put myself through college. Or maybe I won’t be the biggest rapper. Maybe I’ll be able to go get a job at an insurance company. Whatever you’re thinking.
Fun Fact On ‘Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry Story’
The artist who turned rappers into Renaissance paintings for the trailer of Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry Story was an 18-year-old in Florence, Italy, with under 200 followers at the time.
(@electriczoony)
