Month: July 2024

Ticket reselling platform StubHub is being sued by the Attorney General of Washington, DC for allegedly using hidden fees and deceptive pricing to increase its profits. According to Variety, Brian L. Schwalb, the AG of DC, filed the lawsuit today, claiming StubHub has been using “drip pricing” to generate over $115 million since 2015 — and that’s just in DC.

According to Variety, drip pricing is “the practice of advertising low prices that become inevitably inflated by hidden fees at the purchase point.” These “fulfillment and service” fees are never really explained, and even worse, StubHub uses a site timer to increase pressure on customers so they never have time to review these fees. If you’ve used the site, you’re likely familiar; a 10-minute timer appears when you search for tickets, giving a sense of urgency. “Hurry up and buy before someone else claims these,” it seems to imply, rushing customers through a series of unnecessary filler pages, adding extra steps that seemingly justify all those additional fees once it’s time to enter your credit card information.

The timer also prevents customers from shopping around at other sites and comparing prices, leading to paying way more as a result of added fees and no other options. The DC AG’s office says StubHub actually tested all-in pricing and drip pricing, comparing the results, and learning customers were more likely to buy the higher priced tickets if the fees were hidden until the end of the purchase, rather than included in the upfront pricing.

The lawsuit states, “For years, StubHub has illegally deceived District consumers through its convoluted junk fee scheme. StubHub lures consumers in by advertising a deceptively low price, forces them through a burdensome purchase process, and then finally reveals a total on the checkout page that is vastly higher than the originally advertised ticket price. This is no accident—StubHub intentionally hides the true price to boost profits at its customers’ expense. The District is home to one of the nation’s largest and most vibrant live entertainment scenes, and StubHub’s predatory tactics disproportionately harm District residents. That is why today we’re suing to end StubHub’s exploitative pricing scheme.”

StubHub isn’t the only ticketing platform to receive official scrutiny this year; in May, the US Justice Department sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for monopolistic business practices, just about a year after Ticketmaster updated its own policy to show full prices upfront. “Junk fees” have been a point of emphasis of the current Presidential administration, a trend that can be expected to continue if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected this November.

After finishing in silver medal position in Tokyo, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team arrived in Paris looking to reassert themselves as the dominant force in women’s gymnastics. Their silver medal performance was influenced heavily by Simone Biles having to pull out of the team competition due to the twisties, and in 2024, Biles was back and looking as dominant as ever.

On Tuesday, Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera made their statement, winning team gold in emphatic fashion, finishing five points above Italy. It was a dazzling display of dominance on the four events, capped off with Simone Biles taking center stage as the final competitor with her spectacular floor routine to put an exclamation point on the win.

Afterwards, the ladies had plenty of fun on social media, including Biles who had been waiting some time to clap back at former teammate MyKayla Skinner with her Instagram caption of the gold medal winning team.

The caption was in response to Skinner calling the rest of the team out for a lack of talent and work ethic in a since-deleted video — but the internet is forever, so it’s been reposted by other accounts.

“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”

It’s not often a team with two Olympic all-around gold medalists — Biles and Lee — get to go on a revenge tour against doubters, but they’ve taken full advantage of the chatter around the team over the last few years to fuel their fire to prove they’re still the best in the world by a good margin. That’s why the team’s internal nickname was “Team F*** Around And Find Out”, although Biles amended that on Twitter to be the “Golden Girls”, playing on the fact they’re an older group than most gymnastics squads.

Skinner’s response was to block Simone on Instagram, which the GOAT found very funny.

Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour has broken numerous records: the first tour to gross over $1 billion, the highest-grossing concert film of all-time, the first tour to register a 2.3-magnitude earthquake, etc. By the time the lengthy tour wraps up in December, it’s expected to surpass $2 billion in sales, and that doesn’t even include the millions made on the re-sale market.

How much of that does Taylor herself take home?

According to Variety, “One source close to the production said early in the Eras Tour era that her average gross each night is $14 million,” although another insider puts it closer to $17 million. That’s a step up from previous reporting from Forbes, which put the figure between $10 to $13 million. For comparison’s sake, the total earnings for Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce over his 12 seasons in the NFL is $76.9 million. Swift makes that in six concerts.

“She is the torchbearer for the live industry,” Pollstar editor Andy Gensler told Variety about Swift. “It’s nothing we’ve ever seen before, and it’ll be a long time before we see it again. Her timing was exquisite: The pandemic created this yearning and hunger for live entertainment like nothing else in our history, so she couldn’t have picked a better time to go out.”

Swift recently played two shows in Munich, Germany in front of 74,000 people — and tens of thousands more outside the venue.

The United States women’s gymnastics team will bring back a gold medal from the Paris Olympics. On Tuesday, the team of Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, and Hezly Rivera wrapped up a gold in the women’s artistic team all-around, marking the third time in four Olympic Games that the U.S. won gold — the team took home silver back in 2021.

While there are still individual medals that need to be handed out, the Americans were able to roll to the team title, as they won by nearly six points over the team that won silver, Italy. And after it was all over, Biles got asked in a press conference by retired American gymnast Aly Raisman if this team has a nickname. They do, although there was a little consternation around revealing this.

“Eff around and find out,” Biles said, leading to the team’s nickname becoming F.A.A.F.O.

Now, I think it’s a very good nickname, but Biles decided to take to Twitter a little later in the day and offer up something a little more family-friendly.

In fairness to Biles, “Golden Girls” is a pretty sick nickname, too, and I’m very excited to see this get put on t-shirts to celebrate what the team accomplished.

With her/their new album Crash out, Kehlani is back in the limelight and making the rounds — which this album cycle, includes NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts series. The Bay Area singer’s fourth album came out in the year of what she calls her “luckiest number,” but fans are truly the lucky ones, as Kehlani’s Tiny Desk Concert showcased the full range of their prodigious talents.

Kehlani and their band put on a one-of-a-kind show, for sure, but for fans who feel that just watching from a screen isn’t enough, the singer has announced the dates of their Crash World Tour, which begins September 4 in Minneapolis with opening acts Anycia and FLO. You can see the dates for that below.

Kehlani 2024 Tour Dates: Crash World Tour

09/04 — Minneapolis, MN @ Armory
09/06 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
09/10 — Detroit, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
09/11 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
09/13 — Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
09/14 — Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavillion
09/17 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
09/18 — Fairfax, VA @ EagleBank Arena
09/20 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
09/21 — Portsmouth, VA @ Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
09/23 — Louisville, KY @ The Louisville Palace Theatre
09/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
09/25 — New Orleans, LA @ The Fillmore New Orleans
09/27 — Miami, FL @ FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park
09/28 — Tampa, FL @ Yuengling Center
10/01 — Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
10/02 — Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/08 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
10/11 — Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
10/12 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
10/15 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
10/16 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Rockwell at The Complex
10/18 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/19 — Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
10/21 — Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
10/23 — Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Live
10/25 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
10/26 — Las Vegas, NV @ Michelob ULTRA Arena
10/29 — Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/30 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
11/02 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center

Los Angeles’ notoriously bad traffic is the result of myriad factors, but certainly one of the biggest contributors are the freeways…which often seem like they were designed by a toddler who hadn’t quite learned how to draw in a straight line yet.

Of course, these imperfections aren’t just aggravating, they’re downright dangerous. But the amount of planning and funding it takes to actually make improvements is a Herculean effort.

And yet, one street artist was able to do the impossible…on one of the most precarious freeways in the entire city, no less.

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As you enter downtown Los Angeles (or DTLA), you’ll likely cross the Arroyo Seco Parkway, known best to Californians as the 110. Opened in 1940 by The California Department of Transportation, aka Caltrans, it is one of the oldest freeways in the US.

Keep in mind that the words “parkway” and “freeway” are used here. The 110 was initially designed for cars moving at a leisurely 40mph taking in the scenery. Since it ran through the heart of an ever growing DTLA, Caltrans added on-ramps and exits to it throughout the years.

Now, flash back to a time without GPS guiding our every move, and it becomes obvious how essential clear signage would be for the 110. Only, during the Y2K era…it wasn’t.

It was this lack of signage that in 2001 caused artist and sign painter Richard Ankrom to miss a tiny, two lane left turn exit onto the I-5 North, which abruptly pops up right after a tunnel. Basically, if you’re not already aware that you need to make this exit, you’ll miss it. Or worse, you’ll cut across several lanes to try to make it.

Ankrom decided to take matters into his own (very skilled) hands, and in what he called an act of “guerilla public service,” made his own exit sign. Of course, he made sure to do the job right, meticulously studying Caltrans’ colors, fonts, sizes, type of reflectors etc. In three months, he had a perfect copy made.

He secretly changed this freeway sign, helped millions of drivers

www.youtube.com

Ankrom was equally thorough while putting up the sign as well, purchasing a vest and hard hat to look like a bonafide city worker. He even stuck a fake logo onto his truck to avoid suspicion. As Ankrom’s team filmed him doing his thing, it really looked like just an everyday guy doing his everyday job. Banksy would be proud.

Ankrom would come clean about his guerilla public service eight months later, which ignited a media frenzy. Still, the artist received high praise, even from Caltrans, which shared plans of instituting his ideas officially. That would take eight more years to fulfill, but indeed, you can see the Caltrans’ version of Ankrom’s design to this day.

Though Ankrom’s story happened decades ago, it was recently shared once again by The Drive (video above), which had people commending Ankrom’s contributions all over again. A few could even recall the terrible times before his sign was created.

“As someone who regularly drove on the 110 in the 1990s, I can confirm that this artist is a hero.”

“I loved that sign. It always looked a little off. When I learned it was installed by a vandal, I thought it was amazing.”

“I HATED that transition. People would suddenly stop in the #2 lane so they could cut into it at the last moment, causing a lot of rear end collisions. That man is a hero.”

“I moved to LA near this sign in 2000 and I routinely was in the wrong lane because I wasn’t familiar with the directions. I did notice when the sign changed and at the time figured it was a routine correction! Bless this man.”

“The downfall of a society is when everyone says, ‘it’s not my job,’ and nothing ever gets done.”

Catch more of Ankrom’s art on Instagram.

Kevin Costner has had quite a bit of fun promoting his anti-passion project Horizon: An American Saga, even though he might be the only one enjoying it. After largely self-funding the project (which was one of the many contributors that led to his Yellowstone exit), part one of the Western epic was released into theaters in June to subpar reviews. Kevin didn’t care, though. Once he got his milkshakes, he was happy. As long as you don’t bring up all of that Yellowstone stuff!

But then, due to poor box office numbers, Horizon: An American Saga Part 2 was pulled from its theatrical release that was scheduled for August 16th, leaving the future of the franchise in jeopardy. Luckily, the movie will have its own moment, hopefully more successful than the first.

Horizon: An American Saga Part 2 will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September after its U.S. release was pulled. According to Costner, this was the hope all along.

“My dream was always to show Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two at the Venice Film Festival,” Costner said in a statement. “The fact that now they have decided to show ‘Chapter One’ earlier in the day and then the world premiere of ‘Chapter Two’ that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director’s vision. I’m indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey.”

Costner shelled out millions of his own dollars to produce the western saga, which he also stars in alongside Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and Danny Huston. It’s a pretty stacked cast! You should consider telling your dad to rent the first one, just to keep Kevin happy.

Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 is currently available to purchase on demand.

Blair Howerton’s songs of ache and self-exploration develop with a new purpose on Wish On The Bone. Howerton’s debut album under the moniker Why Bonnie, 90 In November, looked in the rearview mirror at her childhood in Texas. Accompanied by an earthy twang, Why Bonnie relished in the memories of bygone days as she adjusted to her new home base in New York.

On the forthcoming follow-up, she adapts that intimacy to a bigger stage. She now incorporates a bevy of instrumental details to buttress her tales of longing, rather than relying on a more sparse sonic palette. It’s a “level-up” in every way, a disarming record that sees Why Bonnie simultaneously expanding and refining their sound.

Ahead of the record’s release next month, Howerton sat down with Uproxx to talk about Sheryl Crow, the Roman Colosseum, and being an ancient history nerd in our latest Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

As music for the easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl inside us all.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Sheryl Crow – she’s like the angel on my shoulder, my muse, and my mom all wrapped into one. Her music is so nostalgic and comforting to me and I never get tired of hearing her sing. I’m holding back tears every time I hear “If It Makes You Happy”. In fact, that’s exactly what happened at work last night while I was taking someone’s order.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?

Combination plate #2 at Los Tios in Houston, Texas.

Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.

Probably Alex G at Mohawk in Austin October 2019. It was one of my last nights living there and I got to say goodbye to so many people I loved while singing along to some of my favorite songs.

What song never fails to make you emotional?

Real shocker but “If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

The difference between Kosher Dill and Polish Dill pickles. Turns out Polish dill pickles have garlic in them. Thanks Google <3

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

There was a DIY venue in Detroit called Trumbullplex that allegedly held a wake for Harry Houdini back in the day. The place was 1000% haunted and I didn’t sleep much but cool spot! We also once stayed in a basement while the couple that lived there was very dramatically breaking up upstairs. The impetus of the fight? Us staying there.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?

Probably NYC or Austin because I get to see so many faces I love in the crowd. I really want to play Rome so I can live out my Lizzie McGuire fantasy but I don’t know if the Colosseum will book us.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Start therapy sooner.

What’s one of your hidden talents?

More of a hobby than a talent but I’m a huge ancient history nerd.

If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?

The protection of Palestinian people and their land because I don’t support genocide.

What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?

AI should only be used to make funny generated images or cover letters – not music.

You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.

Not to be redundant but… Sheryl Crow… Alex G, Charli XCX, Beyonce, Broken Social Scene at the Roman Colosseum.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?

Probably Recess Therapy – the guy who interviews kids. Or look at this russian.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

My college besties and I got matching hand fan tattoos that ended up kind of looking like pizzas and while it’s not anything particularly artistic, I’ve grown to love it.

What is your pre-show ritual?

We get in a circle to “turn off” for 10 seconds and then “turn back on”. It’s definitely just a silly inside joke at this point but people think we’re praying sometimes.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Anton Yelchin <3 saw him in “House of D” when I was 11 and I fell so hard. First celebrity death that actually brought me to tears too. Love you forever, Anton <3

You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?

Tough question but probably a private cruise around the Mediterranean with my fiance. Or Japan.

What is your biggest fear?

Top 3 – The dark, tight spaces, sharks. Honorable mentions – amnesia, heights, public humiliation, and getting stabbed.

Wish On The Bone is out 8/30 via Fire Talk. Find more information here.

In the aftermath of Drake’s big beef with Kendrick Lamar, it’d be easy to forget that it all started with Future and Metro Boomin paving the way with their joint album, We Don’t Trust You, and its standout track, “Like That.” Lots of other rappers jumped in to voice their thoughts on Drake, not just Kendrick, and it led to one of his few remaining supporters, Lil Yachty, saying, “Drake was deemed a loser in this battle before it started, because people don’t like him.”

However, now Yachty appears to regret saying even that much. Appearing on the Flagrant podcast with Andrew Schulz, Yachty said, “I just wish I had never spoke on it. I wish I hadn’t said anything about it.” While the show’s hosts didn’t give him a chance to elaborate — because podcast hosts aren’t journalists and these in particular are… yeah — it sounds like Yachty’s about as fed up with hearing about the beef as Drake is.

While Drake seemingly waved the white flag after the exchange of diss tracks between the two quickly became one-sided, Kendrick fans have continued fanning the flames, crafting browser games about the feud, which even appeared as a clue on Jeopardy!. I’m sure Yachty would like to be asked about just about anything else, such as his new song with Ian, “Hate Me.” Well, almost anything: He seemed reluctant to discuss the departure of Karrahbooo from his Concrete Boys crew.

You can watch the full episode of Flagrant podcast with Lil Yachty up top.

Yesterday (July 30) was big for hip-hop tours: Ice Spice kicked off her Y2K! World Tour run last night, while Future and Metro Boomin did the same with the first date of their We Trust You Tour, in Kansas City, Missouri.

According to setlist.fm, before the setlist listed below, Metro had a solo DJ set. The site’s setlist for that portion of the show is “incomplete and out of order,” but it includes “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1,” “Ric Flair Drip,” “Bad And Boujee,” “Glock In My Lap,” “Too Many Nights,” “Creepin’,” “Runnin,” “No Heart,” and “Knife Talk.”

Check out the rest of the setlist below.

Future And Metro Boomin’s We Trust You Tour Setlist

Future solo set

1. “Stick Talk”
2. “712PM”
3. “I’m Dat N****”
4. “New Level” (ASAP Ferg cover)
5. “F*ck Up Some Commas”
6. “Bugatti” (Ace Hood cover)
7. “Move That Dope”
8. “Same Damn Time”
9. “Turn Yo Clic Up” (Quavo cover)
10. “Puffin On Zootiez”
11. “Real Sisters”
12. “Relationship” (Young Thug cover)
13. “Me Or Sum” (Nardo Wick cover)
14. “Drankin N Smokin” (Future and Lil Uzi Vert cover)
15. “Love Me” (Lil Wayne cover)
16. “Married To The Game”
17. “My Savages”
18. “Turn On The Lights”
19. “Loveeeeeee Song” (Rihanna cover)
20. “Love You Better”
21. “Wait For U”
22. “March Madness”

Future and Metro Boomin together

23. “Superhero (Heroes & Villains)”
24. “Monster”
25. “Karate Chop”
26. “I Serve The Base”
27. “Thought It Was A Drought”
28. “Where Ya At”
29. “Young Metro””
30. “Slimed In”
31. “GTA””
32. “Wicked”
33. “Freak Hoe”
34. “Honest”
35. “Luv Bad B*tches””
36. “We Don’t Trust You”
37. “We Still Don’t Trust You””
38. “Type Sh*t”
39. “Fried (She A Vibe)”
40. “Low Life”
41. “Mask Off”
42. “Like That”