Showbiz Sandbox 355: Adele’s Big Grammy Victory Is All In the Numbers
February 13, 2017
Though Beyoncé had been predicted to walk off with this years top Grammy Awards for her critically acclaimed album “Lemonade”, she was beat out by Adele who won five top awards for “25”. Rather than being racially motivated, as some would suggest, Adele’s Grammy success was buttressed by an album that sold 20 million copies making it by far one of the biggest albums of the last decade, topped only by sales of her previous release “21”.
Then there was the artist who has never sold a single record yet managed to win three Grammys this year. Chance the Rapper made history when he became the first artist to win a Grammy for a streaming-only album. “Coloring Book” won the Grammys for Best Mixtape and Best Rap Performance, while Chance the Rapper took home the prize for Best New Artist.
Meanwhile, the struggling entertainment conglomerate Viacom announced how it hopes to turn the company around. The company plans to focus on “silos” of branded properties which can be exploited across multiple platforms. This is the same strategy the Walt Disney Co. has used with great success; however Viacom’s existing properties are hardly as popular as Marvel or Pixar.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including plans to revive “American Idol” on television, Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” tops Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” for the first time and Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul music, announces her retirement.
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comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of February 12, 2017
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-february-12-2017-300405982.html
‘LEGO Batman’ Tops ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ & ‘John Wick 2’ With $55.6 Million
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4267&p=.htm
China’s Quota on Hollywood Film Imports Set to Expand, State Media Says
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-state-media-says-quota-hollywood-film-imports-will-expand-974224
Baftas 2017: Full List of Winners
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/12/baftas-2017-film-full-list-of-winners
UTA Scraps Oscar Party in Favor of Refugee Rally
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/uta-scraps-oscar-party-favor-refugee-rally-973365
WME-IMG Forming Political Action Committee for Donald Trump Era
https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/ari-emanuel-wme-trump-political-action-committee-1201981545/
Hollywood Moves Forward With Oscar Parties Despite UTA Boycott
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/utas-scrapped-oscar-event-major-agencies-move-forward-parties-974165
Grammy 2017 Ratings Rise From the Last Two Years
https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/tv-ratings-grammy-ratings-2017-1201986602/
BookFilter Newsletter
http://bookfilter.com/newsletter/
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders – BookFilter
http://bookfilter.com/2016/05/16/lincoln-in-the-bardo/
Disney Revenue Drops Despite $1 Billion ‘Rogue One’ Box Office
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-revenue-down-3-percent-espn-studio-declines-972974
Wikipedia Bans Daily Mail as ‘Unreliable’ Source
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/08/wikipedia-bans-daily-mail-as-unreliable-source-for-website
Facebook Is Closing Hundreds of its Oculus VR Pop-ups In Best Buys
http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-closing-200-oculus-best-buy-pop-ups-poor-store-performance-2017-2
Nick Cannon Says He’s Leaving ‘America’s Got Talent’ After Fallout With NBC Over Racial Joke
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nick-cannon-leaving-americas-got-talent-975432
HBO Now Grows to More Than 2 Million Domestic Subscribers
http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/hbo-now-2-million-subscribers-time-warner-1201981371/
Is Spotify Going Bankrupt In 2017? Wall Street Delivers Another Red Flag
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/02/02/spotify-bankrupt-ipo/
‘SNL’ Hits Six-Year Ratings High With Melissa McCarthy, Alec Baldwin
https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/saturday-night-live-melissa-mccarthy-alec-baldwin-ratings-high-1201985710/
Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement, Final Album
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/aretha-franklin-announces-retirement-final-album-w465986
Stephen Colbert Tops Jimmy Fallon in Viewers but No Trump Bump Yet for Late-Night Overall
https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/late-night-tv-ratings-colbert-fallon-trump-1201980164/
Disney’s Iger Predicts ‘Significant Growth’ for New Multi-Channel Market Entrants
http://www.mesalliance.org/2017/02/08/disneys-iger-predicts-significant-growth-for-new-multi-channel-market-entrants/
NBC in Talks to Revive ‘American Idol’
https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/american-idol-nbc-1201982967/
L.A. City Attorney Files Charges Against 5 Casting Workshops in Pay-to-Play Scam
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/la-district-attorney-charge-five-casting-workshops-pay-play-scam-973884
Viacom Sets Radical Revamp of Cable Operations, Adapting to Skinny-Bundle Era
https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/viacom-ceo-mtv-paramount-network-1201982802/
Viacom to Unveil Turnaround Plan: “Change” at Paramount in Attempt to Mimic Disney
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-unveil-turnaround-plan-change-at-paramount-attempt-mimic-disney-973401
Spike President Outlines Paramount Network Rebranding Plan as “Watershed Moment”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/spike-president-outlines-paramount-network-rebranding-plan-as-watershed-moment-973822
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