Ron Howard to Direct Film of Jay-Z's 'Budweiser Made in America' Music Festival

Imagine Entertainment's Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have inked a deal to film Jay-Z's Budweiser Made in America music festival, which runs Sept. 1-2 in Philadelphia.

Howard will direct the film, which Grazer will produce alongside Translation founder and CEO Steve Stoute and the global transmedia company @radical.media. Jay-Z, who is headlining and curating the festival, will exec produce with Anheuser-Busch vp marketing Paul Chibe.

Jay-Z on the Budweiser 'Made in America' Fest, Putting New Music On Hold

 

The two-day festival will feature such artists as Pearl Jam, Run-DMC, Drake, Skrillex, Rick Ross, Miike Snow, Odd Future and Janelle Monae. Rumors are circulating that Beyonce will join husband Jay-Z on stage.

Imagine didn't comment on Beyonce's involvement.

Howard said the pic will not be a concert film but rather "a reflection of the fabric of what it means to be Made in America -- what the festival represents, why Jay is doing it and how he relates to each artist."

Pearl Jam to Headline Jay-Z's Made in America Festival

 

Grazer previously teamed with Stoute on the music-themed film 8 Mile, starring Eminem. Producer @radical.media enjoys  a long track record of producing award-winning music films including the Grammy-winning Concert for George, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Jay-Z's Fade to Black and the recent Emmy-nominated Paul Simon documentary Under African Skies.

"The film is going to be born through Jay-Z's perspective, how he puts the event together and creates this musical event that defies all genres," Grazer added. "We will home in on the meaning of the festival and how Jay-Z has become a voice and icon for this generation."

Imagine is eyeing a 2013 release, though no distribution deal is in place.

Busta Rhymes Reveals The Ridiculously Large Budget$ For His Biggest Videos

On the brink the release of ninth studio album, "Year Of The Dragon," GlobalGrind caught up with Flipmodes former CEO to talk about the transitions he has made being in the rap game for 20 years, and the crossover he made from running his own ship, to joining the YMCMB label

Snoop Dogg: "Hip-Hop Is Ready for a Gay Rapper"

In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, Snoop Dogg revealed his recent thoughts on homosexuality in hip-hop.

He offered some sincere optimism on this controversial issue in regards to the world being "ready for an openly gay rapper." This statement of support, coming from a rapper with both longevity and pop culture status in the game, could be a major influence to fans.

Snoop acknowledges that the changing times have been the most meaningful factor as to why a major gay rapper should be able to receive some shine now more ever, even in light of bizarre debacles happening like at the fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A.

He told Salt Lake that: "People are learning how to live and get along more, and accept people for who they are and not bash them or hurt them because they’re different.” “When I was growing up, you could never do that and announce that,” continued Snoop. “There would be so much scrutiny and hate and negativity, and no one would step (forward) to support you because that’s what we were brainwashed and trained to know.”
While gay rights continues to be a huge issue for conservatives and liberals in the government and public rallies by the people in the streets, Snoop's support of gay rights comes a month or so following Jay-Z's approval of President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage (Hov declared "It was the right thing to do"), and Frank Ocean's summer revelation in which he disclosed in a letter that he's first love was a man, in the wake of glowing reviews for his Channel Orange.

While lesbian/bisexual rappers haven't caught as much flak for their orientation such as Lady Luck and Cyryus, the matter of the gay rapper has more of a precaution due to hip-hop's homophobic nature, confirmed by gay rappers like Dutchboy, Deadlee, and Tori Fixx speaking out on their struggles to gain respect. Even N.O.R.E. in an interview with DJ Vlad admitted to knowingly having worked with gay rappers.

Cricket Wireless Makes Muve Music Available on All New Android Plans

Muve Music by Cricket Wireless has quietly become the second-biggest subscription service in the U.S. Soon, it will be the biggest in the country.

On Wednesday, prepaid mobile carrier Cricket announced its Muve Music subscription service will be included in all new Android plans -- at no extra cost -- starting September 2. "This is the first time any carrier has put music in all their plans the way voicemail is in all their plans," Jeff Toig, Senior Vice President, Muve Music, tells Billboard.biz. "We think this is a huge step in the story, a huge innovation."
 
Cricket is making music a basic feature and charging different rates for data usage. Also on September 2, Cricket will introduce three rate plans for all Android devices that include unlimited talk, text and music. The plans vary according to data usage and will start at $50 per month. When it originally launched in January 2011, Muve Music was available as part of a $55 bundle with unlimited talk, text, data and music.

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Internal expectations are high. Muve will become the biggest music subscription service in the U.S. "in a few months," predicts Toig. Muve will certainly acquire an unprecedented number of subscribers. According to Toig, 60% of new Cricket customers acquire Android devices. Based on the 2.99 million customer additions last year (from the 2011 annual report of Cricket Wireless parent company Leap Wireless), Muve Music could add about 450,000 subscribers by the end of 2012 and add subscribers at a rate of 1.8 million per 12 months. If Cricket Wireless signs up more new customers or improves the rate of Android as new devices, it would obviously add subscribers at greater rates.
 
The unknown variable is how many new subscribers Muve Music will keep afterward. It appears Muve Music was an excellent retention tool in 2011. Cricket ended 2012 with more Muve subscribers (500,000) than net customer additions (415,834). If Muve Music can have a similar affect on net customer additions in 2012, Cricket should see a good improvement in net customer additions.
 
Muve Music publicly states it has around 600,000 subscribers, although that figure seems extremely conservative - and stale - considering that Leap Wireless financial statements indicate there were 500,000 at the end of 2012. Nevertheless, given the rate of new-customer acquisition, Muve Music can expect to add hundreds of thousands of new subscribers by the end year and should exceed 2 million subscribers by the summer of 2013.
 
Rhapsody is currently the largest subscription service in the U.S. with over 1 million subscribers (another out-of-date figure). Spotify has 4 million subscribers around the world. Deezer has 1.5 million paying subscribers in numerous countries. Aspiro Music's WiMP has 350,000 subscribers and many more users through its partnerships with ISPs and telecoms in Europe.
 
The kicker is that Muve Music appears to be planning an international expansion that would grow its subscriber figures even more. Although Cricket Wireless is a U.S.-based wireless carrier, Muve Music can license its service to firms in foreign markets.

"We're not prepared to announce international deals at this point," Toig tells Billboard.biz "but we are active in discussions with carriers outside the U.S. on international opportunities pertaining to the Muve platform and work with others around the world on similar things Cricket has done in the U.S."

CSU Offers Course on Michael Jackson

Clark-Atlanta University takes a modern approach to education and taps into the legacy of the Michael Jackson as both a successful businessman and pop icon. Prominent entertainment attorney, James Walker, will teach the class, “Micheal Jackson: The Business of Music,” concentrating on a curriculum that focuses on Jackson’s approach to business, from how he worked with record companies, tours, and legally marketing himself in terms of copyrights and trademarks. According to Walker, “The goal is to help students who have an interest or future desire to work in the entertainment industry whether as an artist, attorney, business manager, accountant or other…[and] to really provide my students with a comprehensive understanding of the music industry and the business mechanics involved.” Clark-Atlanta University will become the first to offer a class on the legendary pop singer.

James Walker, along with being well versed in the industry, runs a successful law practice, and authored the bestselling book, “The Business of Urban Music.” His offices are located in Monroe, Connecticut, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Amy Osler Promoted to SVP of Music at CBS Television

CBS Television Studios has upped music executive Amy Osler.

Now senior vice president, music, the six-year veteran of the company will continue to work on the studio's music integrations and serve as the liaison between the network and the music industry.

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"Amy is a valued member of our team.  Her relationships with our showrunners and close ties to the music industry have led to creative collaborations that have taken the use of music in our television shows to a higher level," said president David Stapf. "She is a pioneer in creating new and unique models in which music is integrated into our programming."

Identifying and recruiting new talent since joining CBS in 2006, Osler's recent projects include securing "Call Me Maybe" singer Carly Rae Jepsen for an appearance on "90210" and bringing Carrie Underwood and Tony Bennett on for an episode of "Blue Bloods."

Prior to CBS, Osler worked on the other end, serving as VP of television marketing for Columbia Records.

Will.I.Am Teams With NASA to Broadcast Song From Mars

Will.I.Am has teamed with NASA and Discovery Education for a special educational event that includes a new song that will be broadcasted from the Curiosity rover on Mars. "Reach for the Stars," a cosmic tribute from the Black Eyed Peas leader, will premiere at a special event tomorrow starting 1 p.m. PDT at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

For more information, including a live stream of the event, visit NASA's website.