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The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020 — the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forbes reported that on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, the U.S. central banking system announced the significant move that will have a widespread effect on Americans’ finances, making borrowing less expensive. Following a split decision on whether to make a 25- or 50-basis-point cut, the Fed’s policy-setting committee reduced the federal funds rate by 50 basis points. As inflation continues to moderate, the adjustment lowers the interest rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%, down from 5.25% to 5.5%, which were the highest levels since 2001. “Today, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to reduce the degree of policy restraint by lowering our policy interest rate by 1/2 percentage point,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference following the announcement. “ This decision reflects our growing confidence that, with an appropriate recalibration of our...
Storytelling uses a plethora of mediums, and animation is one of them. During the 2023 AFROTECH ™ Conference, director and animator Chaz Bottoms and singer Dawn Richard led a session called “World Builders: The New Storytelling Frontier” to discuss how the technologies within the animation industry are creating revolutionary ways for people to tell stories. In their respective career journeys, Bottoms founded CBA Studios — one of the few Black-founded animation studios globally — and has worked with companies such as Disney, Hulu, and Adult Swim, per Forbes. Aside from Richard’s music career, she has a passion for animation. She created a comic book series called “Danity Kane” and works with Adult Swim as a creative consultant, as AFROTECH ™ previously reported, to amplify and create opportunities for Black animators in the space. “We are a beautiful people to draw, but we are a difficult people to draw in the sense that for people who aren’t us, they don’t know what they’re doing,”...
Stories that begin with the rise and fall of prominent individuals are not the most inspiring, but they offer insight into lessons learned and perspectives shifted. Through narratives by people across industries, those who “fall from grace” are often judged in the court of public opinion by how society accepts what they did and how they respond. Most recently, the world has sat and watched this phenomenon play out with Bad Boy Records and Revolt TV founder Sean “Diddy” Combs. The Combs saga has no particular ending for the foreseeable future. At the same time, much of his fate will be decided by the legal powers. However, one decision that has been made concerns his previous ownership stake in Revolt. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, the buyer of the Hip-Hop mogul’s shares was shrouded in mystery. The new owner’s identity was a closely guarded secret, with speculation running rife. It has now been revealed that the owner isn’t a single person. In a surprising twist, the media...
For years, Victoria Monét has been behind the scenes penning some of the culture’s biggest hits for artists such as T.I., Chloe x Halle, and a host of others. Now, she is racking up her wins as an independent artist, showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. During the 2024 Grammy Awards, Monét was a force to be reckoned with, attaining seven nominations and walking away with three awards, including making history as the first Black woman to win Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical), according to The Hollywood Reporter. This feat hits close to home for the “How Does It Make You Feel” crooner whose entry into engineering emerged following frustrations from studio sessions she was having in the past. “The story of why I even know how to engineer is because I was working in a studio and wanting to record, and the people I was working with were getting sick of recording me,” she told Blavity in an interview earlier this year. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Victoria...
Once 6LACK had the freedom and backing to push out his creative vision under Love Renaissance (LVRN), it catapulted his career in the music industry. Released in 2016, the R&B artist’s debut album, “Free 6lack,” went on to become certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). 6LACK’s Gold sophomore album, “East Atlanta Love Letter,” was a successful follow-up. What’s more, his album, “Since I Have a Lover,” is set to drop on March 24.
Seeing some people despite their availability to be there in person has just gotten easier. Proto, Inc. (formerly PORTL) and Diddy have joined forces, announcing that the Bad Boys founder is an advisor to the holoportation firm. Porto operates in numerous industries that include but is not limited to entertainment, education, retail, fashion, and marketing. Sean Combs invested in Proto’s advanced proprietary technology that allows interactive holoportation possible. The company’s technology allows any person to “beam” to any location in real-time when they cannot be there physically. The hip-hop mogul was first introduced to the holoportation technology when he beamed from Miami to Los Angeles to sing happy birthday to his son, Christian “King” Combs. “Sean Combs has always been an inspiring pioneer in music and business, constantly changing the game with whatever he does,” said David Nussbaum, CEO, and Founder of Proto Inc. “We were honored to bring his family together last Spring,...
TIDAL is finishing what it started when it comes to better supporting artists, and they’re adding more plans too. On Nov. 16, the streaming service announced a free tier for the first time, exclusive to U.S. -based listeners, The Verge reports. Subscribers will have free access to TIDAL’s 80 million song catalog and their entire playlist selection with limited interruptions. The platform will be using the interruptions to educate consumers on the music industry. TIDAL HiFi has also been upgraded, which is now split into two separate plans. The standard paid plan offers high-fidelity audio and offline listening with new features including TIDAL Connect and My Activity, for $9.99 a month. TIDAL HiFi Plus — the new third plan — is a $19.99 a month subscription that will have the “best-in-class immersive sound formats,” including Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Audio tracks, according to the company. The company’s latest evolution doesn’t just stop at subscribers’ satisfaction, but will also...
Common is ready to “ Stand Up To Cancer. ” In a new PSA put out by Bristol Myers Squibb, the rapper-turned-actor and activist is helping the pharmaceutical company spread awareness about lung cancer. The disease is on the rise amongst Black men and is the cause of nearly 25 percent of all deaths in the United States. “In 2014 my father died after his battle with cancer,” said Common in a press release. “He was truly someone who inspired me and made me want to be better. I believe that we can do better for ourselves – especially as Black men when it comes to health. I’m honored to support Stand Up To Cancer’s campaign to bring awareness to lung cancer research.” For its part, Bristol Myers Squibb gave Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) a $5 million grant to help fund research and education efforts aimed at achieving health equity for underserved lung cancer patients, including Black people and people living in rural communities. In 2020, Bristol Myers Squibb awarded Stand Up To Cancer a total...
UnitedMasters, a startup record label and distribution company, has announced that it has reached a $550 million valuation after a new infusion of capital led by Andreessen Horowitz. In a press release, it was announced that the New York-based company raised a $50 million Series C, which they said they will be using to advance their operations overseas. What’s more, they said, their music business model is one that’s different from so-called “traditional” record labels, in that they rely on such social media platforms as TikTok to bolster their artists’ presence. In the UnitedMasters business model, artists retain the rights to their masters, and the company takes a fee for licensure and other opportunities. In this way, the company makes money from licensing, while the artist gets the backing of a company with a record label type of service behind it. Additionally, AfroTech previously reported that the company also has partnered with Coinbase to provide cryptocurrency capabilities...
New York City is giving back to its creatives with a major outlet to not only benefit them but the city too. The New York Times (NYT) reports that the city is launching a brand new $25 million recovery program to lend financial support to artists and performers whose income has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new program, the City Artist Corps, will reportedly provide funding to artists and musicians as well as other performers to help them create works across the city through public art, performances, pop-up shows, murals and other community arts projects. According to Gonzalo Casals, New York City’s cultural affairs commissioner, the initiative aims to ensure artists are not being left out of the city’s recovery efforts during the pandemic. “We want to make sure that we put funds in the pocket of artists,” he said in an interview with the NYT. “Artists have been one of the hardest-hit populations. They have so much to offer and so much give.” City officials...
True creativity never dies, it simply pivots in the face of adversity. When the pandemic first hit last year, creative companies like Bask were forced to get innovative with its services, but the payoff proved to be invaluable to its future. Back in 2016, the independent creative agency was focused on providing full-on experiences for its party promotion services in New York. But once quarantine shut things down for in-person events, Bask made a choice to expand its creative tools into the world of digital marketing. According to founder James “Doogz” McDonald, he originally launched the agency as a means to provide an inclusive place for Black and people of color to bask and thrive freely, hence what inspired the company name. McDonald — who attended The College at Brockport, State University of New York as a broadcast journalism and sports management major — created Bask with a goal to shift the event space and, most recently, offer a new approach to digital marketing. “I figured...