Notorious
In today's Daily Rap we have a look inside the wallets of music’s top earners, Violence breaks out over Notorious, Andre 3000’s clothing line struck by recession and We Are One Concert sets Precedent.
Top Earners in Music
With the decline of CD sales due to overtaking by digital downloads it is hard to imagine that the music industry is in decline when you se the LA Times Top 20 Earners in Music List.
However when it comes to Hip-Hop acts the only entertainer to make the list this year is Lil Wayne who comes in at number 18. The list compiled by the newspaper combines earnings from the concerts, CD sales and digital downloads that the entertainers make.
Looking down this list, who says music is for youngsters…
1) Madonna $120.1 million
2) Celine Dion $106.8 million
3) Kenny Chesney $95.7 million
4) The Eagles $90.7 million
5) AC/DC $82 million
6) Coldplay $81.6 million
7) Bon Jovi $81.4 million
8) Bruce Springsteen $79 million
9) Jonas Bros $77.9 million
10) Rascal Flatts $ 77.1 million
11) Neil Diamond $70.5 million
12) Taylor Swift $62.2 million
13) Michael Buble $59.5 million
14) Metallica $56.4 million
15) Carrie Underwood $ 54.9 million
16) Dave Matthews Band $51.6 million
17) The Police $51 million
18) Lil Wayne $50.8 million
19) Tom Petty $50.5 million
20) Kid Rock $50.2 million
Violence breaks out over Notorious
Two incidents were reported after the biopic movie Notorious opened over the weekend. In one incident a man was shot as he waited to go and watch the movie in a theater in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In attendance at that showing was in fact the actor that played Biggie, Jamal Woodard, however he was not injured. The shooting encouraged the movie showings to be stopped until further notice and the location evacuated. Also an unofficial after party in Brooklyn for the movie on Friday resulted in four men being stabbed, one critically.
The movie, which has been over four years in the making has however been well received by fans and critics and has brought in over $8.3 million in its first weekend with only 1,638 screens showing the story of the Brooklyn rapper.
Andre 3000 clothing line struck by recession
Only four months old, the Benjamin Bixby clothing line, designed by Outkast front man Andre 3000 looks like it has got off to a terrible start.
The high end clothing line which features outlandish designs and decadent pastel shades which Andre 3000 is famed for has had to slash its retail prices after clothing stores such as Barney’s were unable to move the garments at full price.
The clothing which displays intricate detail was extremely difficult to reproduce and therefore production costs were excessive and it has been reported that the problem in moving stuck may be due to too much inventory being produced initially. The line however has been nominated for the GQ Best New Menswear Designers Award this year.
We Are One Concert sets Precedent
Yesterday, Washington DC saw a star studded line up perform on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as the world gears up to welcome Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
Artists such as Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Sheryl Crowe, U2, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and many many more performed songs of patriotism, speeches and readings as the President Elect and his wife watched. Obama then addressed the crowd commenting on Martin Luther King who he recognizes as making it possible for him to become President.
An estimated four million people are expected to descend upon Washington DC to witness the swearing in of Obama which takes place tomorrow, January 20th 2009.
Melanie Cornish