Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Many Celebrities Are Increasingly Taking High-Profile Founder or Consulting Roles for Consumer Brands | Foster Garvey PC

Endorsement Deals, Sponsoring & Investments

Deloitte and the US Soccer Association announce a multi-year sponsorship renewal as Official Professional Services Provider
April 12, 2022 via PR Newswire – Press Releases
Deloitte and the US Soccer Association announced a multi-year sponsorship renewal that continues Deloitte’s role as the official professional services provider to US Soccer and founding sponsor of SheBelieves.

Celebrity Net Worth: Lionel Messi Seals $20M Crypto Deal
April 12, 2022 via The National (UAE) – Business
Lionel Messi Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi has joined digital fan token creator Socios.com as a global brand ambassador. The Paris St-Germain and Argentina forward will promote the digital experience community to his 400 million followers over the next three years as part of the $20 million deal.

“This is a serious investment”: More DTC brands bring celebrity co-founders on board
April 12, 2022 via Modern Retail
Celebrities are becoming more hands-on when it comes to investing, positioning themselves as post-facto brand co-founders or creative directors.

UFC Pays Fighters Bitcoin Bonuses in Expanded Crypto.com Deal
April 7, 2022 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
UFC is adding a new cryptocurrency bonus, $60,000 worth of Bitcoin, to its pay-per-view events, which will be distributed to fighters based on a fan vote. The new bonus is part of the 10-year, $175 million partnership between the MMA company and Crypto.com, the largest sponsorship in UFC history.

The NFL is investing $320 million in Fanatics in a $1.5 billion round
April 6, 2022 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
The National Football League has increased its investment in Fanatics, joining other leagues, player unions and team owners in the company’s recently announced $1.5 billion round. The NFL led the funding with a $320 million investment, Fanatics confirmed.

NFL now largest US shareholder of Genius Sports as Warrants Vest
April 6, 2022 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
The National Football League is now the largest American owner of Genius Sports, controlling about 7.7% of the business after a new set of warrants was transferred last week.

Garnett’s Gaming Society secures $3.5 million to expand sports betting for women
April 6, 2022 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
Gaming Society, a gamification and content company committed to making sports betting easy, has announced the closing of its $3.5 million seed funding round.

Sports

Rams launch virtual venue to accommodate season ticket holders year-round
April 11, 2022 via Sportico – Business (subscription may be required)
Months after winning a Super Bowl at their very own SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams are opening some new digs — online. The Rams have launched a “virtual Rams house” and unveiled a web platform that will house team leaders and season ticket holders later this week.

Snyder ticket sales put the NFL in a new legal showdown
April 11, 2022 via Sportico – Law (subscription may be required)
The bombastic claim that the Washington Commanders withheld ticketing revenue from visiting teams raises a crucial question: could this claim, which follows others, be the one leading to Daniel Snyder being removed as owner? Don’t bet on it.

Former USC water polo coach found guilty in final conviction for college admissions
April 8, 2022 via the Los Angeles Times
A former USC water polo coach was found Friday guilty of accepting bribes to circumvent the university’s admissions process by passing off applicants as promising athletic recruits.

Deshaun Watson’s risk of NFL discipline rises as lawsuits expand
April 8, 2022 via Sportico – Law (subscription may be required)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson recently avoided criminal charges over allegations of assaulting massage therapists, but 22 civil charges against him are pending, and wrongdoing theories have expanded in two of them.

Bowlsby says Big 12 are in a strong position to move forward after the move
April 6, 2022 via Sports Business Journal
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said he believes the conference and its schools are “in a strong position for the future” after deciding to step down from that position later this year.

music store

Kanye West’s label hit with royalty suit over “Power” sample
April 12, 2022 via Law 360 – Top Stories (subscription may be required)
King Crimson’s lawyers are suing Kanye West’s record label, alleging the rapper failed to pay royalties for using a sample of a song by the progressive rock band in his track “Power.”

Universal Music Publishing Group and Authentic Brands Group enter into an exclusive, global publishing agreement to represent Elvis Presley’s catalogue
April 12, 2022 via Yahoo Finance – Top Stories
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), a leading global music publisher, and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand owner, marketing and entertainment company and owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, announced an exclusive global publishing deal to represent the historical song catalog of the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Elvis Presley.

Factbox: From Dylan to Springsteen, music greats sell rights to labels
April 12, 2022 via Reuters – Top Stories
Universal Music Group said it would manage the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Elvis Presley’s song catalog, the latest deal of its kind from global music labels, to generate more revenue from royalties, licensing and branding deals.

Method Man partners with Intercept Music to create a global platform for independent labels and music artists
April 12, 2022 via PR Newswire
Driven by disruption, Intercept Music is accelerating the independent creator economy through artistic empowerment with a global launch.

Artists Selling Their Catalogs: How To Be Strategic With Your IP
April 11, 2022 via Forbes – Top Stories (subscription may be required)
It pays to be strategic with intellectual property. For an artist with an extensive music catalog, the income generated from the catalog not only funds a specific lifestyle, but can also be used as an investment tool or estate planning strategy. You’ve heard the term “cash is king.” Well, in the entertainment industry, IP is king.

Ed Sheeran Speaks on Winning Shape of You Copyright Battle: ‘You Can’t Just Agree on Principle’
April 8, 2022 via Billboard
Just a day after winning a copyright battle over his 2017 chart-topping ‘Shape Of You’ in a UK court, Ed Sheeran sat down with ` Two’s Newsnight to explain why he felt compelled to come forward to go to court to defend his musical honor.

Bob Dylan defeats ‘Hurricane’ co-writer’s $300 million catalog sale lawsuit
April 6, 2022 via Register Citizen
A New York City appeals court has dismissed the lawsuit, including Bob Dylan’s, who claimed the singer-songwriter owed to the estate of his former collaborator Jacques Levy for a portion of his Universal catalog sales.

Movies & TV

Warner Bros. Discovery could be a big player in sports media streaming rights
April 12, 2022 via Sports Business Journal
How Warner Bros. Discovery is navigating the “media sector’s streaming wars,” according to Variety’s Brian Steinberg, could result in a “new sports giant poised to add another well-funded player vying for major league deals he previously ignored”.

FIFA introduces the free, ad-supported streaming platform FIFA+
April 12, 2022 via terrible announcement
World football’s governing body enters the world of digital streaming with FIFA+, launched today. The free, ad-supported digital platform will initially feature primarily archive content from FIFA’s vast library of international matches.

F1 sets price of US media rights at $75 million per year
April 11, 2022 via Sports Business Journal
According to sources cited by Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, F1 was in the market “to get more than $75 million a year for its US media rights.”

IPL media rights: Decline in league TV ratings could be a problem for BCCI
April 11, 2022 via BrandEquity
The BCCI has set a base price of Rs 33,000 crore for the 2023-27 IPL media rights and the Board and market experts are expecting a high-intensity tender scheduled for June 12th.

Sports Media: F1 goes to market expecting a big surge in rights over the next year as US interest continues to grow
April 11, 2022 via Sports Business Journal
According to multiple sources, Formula 1 was in the market for more than $75 million a year for its US media rights. Currently, sources say ESPN is paying about $5 million a year for the rights.

Netflix could buy a piece of NFL movies
April 8, 2022 via Tech Crunch
The NFL is in talks with media outlets about selling shares in NFL Films, according to sources familiar with the events of last week’s annual owners’ meetings, The Athletic reported.

UMaine hockey game streams will look better next year thanks to new ESPN deal
April 7, 2022 via Bangor Daily News
Ken Ralph is delighted that Hockey East has signed a six-year media rights deal with ESPN and ESPN+. Honestly, it was a necessary move for the league in terms of upgrades in this area.

Sports streaming deals surge as MLB Opening Day and Masters tournament begin
April 7, 2022 via Tech Crunch
With all of the recent complex streaming sports licensing deals, it’s becoming clearer every day that streaming platforms are beginning to recognize the money grabs associated with live sporting events on their services.

Eugenio Derbez and 3Pas Studios sign with CAA
April 6, 2022 via Deadline – Hollywood Breaking News
CAA has signed Eugenio Derbez and his production company 3Pas Studios on all fronts. Derbez is in a hot streak after announcing multiple deals.

MLB Blackout Restrictions Explained: Map reveals why you won’t be able to watch off-market baseball games in 2022
April 6, 2022 via Sports News – MLB
With the regionalization of MLB in 2022, regional sports networks (RSNs) will have their own rights to broadcast games, except in certain situations.

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Kurt Cobain’s Guitar Used in Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Video Makes Auction Debut | Barrons
April 12, 2022 via Barron’s News
Dubbed the “Generation X Speakers”, Cobain committed suicide in 1994 at the age of 27. Cobain’s guitars are highly sought after by music collectors.

Renowned photographer Peter Badge introduces the World Heroes NFT Collection
April 12, 2022 via ZyCrypto
The renowned photographer Peter Badge has been collecting portraits of Nobel Prize winners since 2000. He has also collected portraits of leading scientists, politicians, artists, actors, men on the moon, musicians and philanthropists.