January 10, 2017: Prince Estate Seeks to Close Streaming Deals by Grammys, Golden Globes Garner Second-Highest Ratings in 10 Years, Artists Call for Cultural Institution Strike During Inauguration

1. PRINCE ESTATE SEEKS TO CLOSE STREAMING DEALS BY GRAMMYS: The estate of Prince is looking to close streaming deals with outlets including Apple Music and Spotify before next month's Grammys, which is expected to include a tribute to the late musician. Bloomberg: "Representatives of Prince, who died in April at age 57, have all but finished a deal for songs like 'Purple Rain' and 'When Doves Cry' to be played in public, said the person, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. The estate is also nearing a deal with a record label, the person said, without being more specific. Both are preludes to streaming agreements. The estate is trying to close those deals quickly and clinch streaming accords ahead of the Grammy Awards in February, according to three people. The ceremony is a great promotional opportunity and is bound to include a tribute to the late entertainer. The estate won’t license the catalog until it has all the rights represented, and talks could fall apart at any time, the people said, especially given the number of parties involved. Universal Music Group’s publishing division recently won an auction to represent the rights to songs written by Prince in a deal with the Bremer Trust, the court-appointed administrator of Prince’s estate. Warner Music Group represents many of his biggest recordings, but not the entire catalog. Tidal already has some streaming rights. If the labels, the estate and the services can reach a deal, they would restore Prince’s music to most streaming apps almost two years after the artist yanked them off. His departure from streaming services was reminiscent of when he broke ranks with his record label in a compensation dispute." http://bloom.bg/2i0hysH

2. GOLDEN GLOBES GARNER SECOND-HIGHEST RATINGS IN 10 YEARS: Sunday night's Golden Globes drew the award show's second largest audience in a decade. The three-hour telecast also garnered 1.5 million more viewers than in 2016. The Hollywood Reporter: "With final adjustments in, the NBC telecast of the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards averaged 20 million viewers and a 5.6 rating among adults 18-49. Those mark year-to-year boosts of 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively. With the exception of 2014, it ranks as the most-watched Globes telecast in 10 years. It's good news for the Golden Globes. The show, annually the third-highest-rated ceremony behind the Oscars and the Grammys, has been relatively steady for the last two years—though consistently down. The 2016 event hosted by Ricky Gervais ultimately averaged 18.5 million viewers and a 5.5 rating among adults 18-49. Unlike last year, the 2017 Golden Globes didn't have to contend with any head-to-head NFL competition. Fox coverage of the New York Giants-Green Bay Packers wild-card game wrapped just before 8 p.m. ET, leaving viewers at least a couple minutes to flip the dial over to NBC. (The last hour of play, despite the lopsided score, still averaged an obscene 25.9 rating among households for Fox.) The Globes also were relatively tight, only running three minutes past the scheduled end time of 11 p.m. ET. Sunday's Globes winners were a mix of big commercial hits and smaller titles. TV comedy winner Atlanta hasn't exactly managed to get the widest reach in its freshman season, nor has Amazon's Billy Bob Thornton starrer Goliath, but limited series winner The People v. O.J. has been a fixture of the pop culture conversation since it premiered nearly one year ago. On the film front, La La Land and Moonlight have thus far had limited box-office reach, though both have been very big parts of awards-season chatter." http://bit.ly/2i9CJIX

3. ARTISTS CALL FOR CULTURAL INSTITUTION STRIKE DURING INAUGURATION: More than 130 artists and critics have signed a petition that asks cultural institutions to close the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The New York Times: “Cindy Sherman, Richard Serra, Louise Lawler, Joan Jonas and Julie Mehretu were among the art stars signing the invitation for a ‘J20 Art Strike,’ which urges museums, galleries, concert halls, art schools and nonprofit institutions to close to protest ‘the normalization of Trumpism,’ according to a statement. ‘It is not a strike against art, theater or any other cultural form. It is an invitation to motivate these activities anew, to reimagine these spaces as places where resistant forms of thinking, seeing, feeling and acting can be produced.’ Ms. Jonas, who represented the United States at the 2015 Venice Biennale, said in an interview that she hoped people would attend protests on Jan. 20. … Cultural institutions around the country are still mulling their moves, with some, including the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1, pledging to maintain their regular hours that day. Melissa Parsoff, director of communications for the nonprofit Dia Art Foundation, said, ‘We plan to be open but we are continuing to discuss this and to see how the situation unfolds in the coming days.’ She added, ‘We are giving our staff the opportunity to take the time off if they want to attend the protest.’ The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will also be open, Miranda Carroll, its director of communications, wrote in an email. ‘Our entire program and mission, every day, is an expression of inclusion and appreciation of every culture.’ http://nyti.ms/2iXgcmI

* LOCAL NEWS *

COAST TO COAST:  Historic Hotels of America added 37 properties to its membership in the past year from 19 states across the country. New members include Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona; XV Beacon in Boston; La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, California; and Hotel Captain Cook, the first member hotel located in Alaska.

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA:  The Special Event Company has hired five new team members to its Cary-based headquarters. Witney Freberg and Jayne Regan have been named program coordinators, Lana Calloway and Monica M. Smith have been named business development managers, and Caroline Sewell has been named event designer.

LAS VEGAS:  Agave Loco Brands Tom Maas will deliver the keynote at the Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show, slated for March 27-29 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Chef Charlie Palmer and Mandalay Bay announced the reimagined Aureole restaurant, which now offers what it bills as a modern tasting table experience.

LOS ANGELES:  On February 12, the Grove will host the second-annual “Run to Remember—Los Angeles,” an event to honor fallen police officers and first responders. The race features a half-marathon and 10K course emceed by Mario Lopez.

PaleyFest LA will take place March 17-26 at the Dolby Theatre. The television festival's panels will include the cast and creative teams of The Walking Dead, Westworld, Orphan Black, and Grey's Anatomy.

The Academy of Country Music has named Pete Fisher as chief executive officer.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The Underline, a developing urban park underneath Metrorail, will host an opening party on Saturday for an art installation at Brickell Metrorail Station. The event will include artists talks, performances, and activities including children's sidewalk graffiti and food tastings from Brickell City Centre restaurants.

NEW YORK:  The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Luncheon will take place March 10 at the Hilton Midtown. The event will focus on educating women about heart disease and stroke.

The Breast Cancer Research Association's Hot Pink Party will take place May 12 at the Park Avenue Armory.

The second edition of the Panorama music festival will take place July 28-29 at Randall's Island Park. Festival headliners include Solange, Nine Inch Nails, and Frank Ocean.

Brand experience agency Momentum Worldwide has named Abbie Baehr as senior vice president, director of strategy for North America.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

PHILADELPHIA:  Performance Environment Design Group, a Lancaster-based lighting and production design company, has rebranded as Nimblist.

TORONTO:  The 19th edition of the Interior Design Show runs January 19-22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The event is presented by National Bank.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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