Beyonce Knowles
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Beyoncé and Peloton team up to gift fitness classes to HBCU students
Beyoncé and Peloton are donating fitness subscriptions to students at 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Apple reportedly pushing record labels for more Beyonce-like iTunes exclusives
Released this past December, Beyonce's self-titled album was initially only available as a full album download via iTunes. While the notion of an iTunes exclusive isn't anything new, an entire album from an artist as iconic and relevant as Beyonce as an iTunes exclusive was unprecedented. Beyonce's iTunes experiment paid off quite well. In just three days, the album netted 828,773 downloads, making it the fastest selling album in iTunes history. What's more, it also broke the first-week US iTunes album sales record while hitting the top spot on the charts in 104 countries. Now comes word via Billboard that Apple is hoping to secure more such exclusives in the future. Apple Inc.'s music chief Robert Kondrk has been pressuring major labels for releases similar to last year's Beyonce exclusive, excluding services like YouTube and Spotify to help shore up slowing download sales, according to music executives familiar with the conversations. The tense talks with label executives during Grammy Week in Los Angeles in January were spurred by Beyonce's success in launching her self-titled album exclusively on iTunes in December for one week, during which the album was only sold in its entirety. Now before passions get inflamed, keep in mind that this isn't about keeping albums off of streaming services like Spotify, but simply an effort to give album download sites like iTunes a bit of a head start. Billboard also writes that Apple isn't necessarily adamant that albums need to be exclusive to iTunes, only that they initially be made exclusive on music download sites. Recall that the Beyonce album was only exclusive on iTunes for 1 week. As a Spotify-head myself, I don't think this is all that bad or even controversial. It's no secret that artists see more money from album sales than they do from streaming sites. So if I have to wait a week or so to stream a new album, thereby helping out artists in the process, then so be it. Underlying Apple's push for exclusives is the fact that digital downloads are seemingly on the decline. Indeed, 2013 marked the first time that digital music sales experienced a decline since April of 2003 when the iTunes Music Store first opened up for business.
Beyonce settles lawsuit with Gate Five over Starpower: Beyonce
Pop star Beyonce Knowles and development studio Gate Five have settled a years-long legal battle over a proposed game called Starpower: Beyonce. Gate Five's lawyer Peter Gallagher told the New York Post the two sides settled "amicably," though he added "I can't discuss the terms of the settlement, but it was resolved." The dispute started in 2011, when Beyonce was sued by Gate Five for an alleged "extortionate demand" for greater financial compensation (see: cash money) during a "crucial moment" in the production of Starpower: Beyonce. Beyonce tried to appeal the lawsuit several times over the past few years.
Gate Five's lawsuit against Beyonce going to court
Manhattan judge Charles Ramos has ruled that Gate Five's lawsuit against Beyonce Knowles is sufficiently jelly prepared, and as such will be heading to court at some unspecified date in the future. Justice Ramos agreed with Gate Five's assertion that Beyonce did not give proper notice before backing out of the deal: "You continue to negotiate right up until the time you pull the plug," Ramos said as he addressed Beyonce's lawyers, according to the New York Post. "That is not going to work with me."As you'll recall, Gate Five's lawsuit purports that Beyonce was in breach of contract when she backed out of a deal to lend her likeness to Starpower: Beyonce, and that her departure from the project directly resulted in the firings of 70 employees. Beyonce's attorneys attest that Gate Five did not have funding in place for Starpower: Beyonce's development, but Gate Five maintains that Beyonce was aware of an impending agreement with unnamed financiers scheduled to take place on December 6, 2010 – just three days after Beyonce bounced.Gate Five's lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $100 million; $6.7 million in investment capitol and $100 million in hypothetical Starpower: Beyonce profits. Honestly, Gate Five should have known something was up when Beyonce didn't put a ring on it.
Beyonce sued for over $100M for ruining her own video game
International pop star Beyonce Knowles is being sued for over $100 million by developer Gate Five. TMZ has the documents [PDF link], which state the singer made an "extortionate demand" for more money during a "crucial moment" in the production of Starpower: Beyonce. Perhaps she couldn't resist the kind of dollars made by games like Halo (3), Halo (ODST), Halo (Reach). Gate Five claims it's entitled to the $6.7 million it invested and the $100 million in profits it believes it would have made. The company also claims it had to let 70 employees go a week before Christmas due to Knowles' action, and is seeking an injunction that would prevent Knowles from "commercially associating with any other video game" or using "confidential information" she received in connection with Gate Five. But, Beyonce needs to pay her credit card bills, her telephone bills, her automo-bills...
Beyonc demands an Xbox before she'll fly
Celebrities are well-known for demanding all kinds of things. Sure, some things we understand, like a brandy glass filled with precisely 1,000 brown M&Ms. That makes sense. Some things don't make much sense. For example, pop star Beyoncé (Knowles) recently demanded a new private jet to be flown to the World Music Awards in Monaco. That was after she declined to fly in a private jet previously used by the likes of Elton John, Jennifer Lopez and Frank Sinatra. Thankfully, Beyoncé was smart enough to make one sensible request: she needed an Xbox on the plane as well. In fact, according to one source, "Staff were told to give her whatever she wanted - including an Xbox, PSP, Jacuzzi and a pizza."Our only question: Does Beyoncé have her own blinged-out Memory Unit, or did some poor assistant have to recover her gamertag onto the new console? Scratch that, our only question is actually this: What's Beyoncé's gamertag?[Via /gamer. Thanks Jonah F.]
