Welcome back to the “Spotlight!” After over two and a half years, COVID-19 has finally made its way past my doorstep and throughout my home. It’s Wednesday night and I am physically and emotionally drained, I feel like I swallowed a mace and I sound like Barry White, so I will be brief. That, and I’m watching Serena in her Center Court Spotlight.

• A non-fungible token (NFT) entitling the bearer to a beer with Bill Murray fetched the equivalent of $185,000 in Ethereum cryptocurrency for charity. At that price point for a beer, you would expect to also see a Yankees game.
• Grocery delivery company Instacart makes a splish-splash with an ad campaign featuring recording artist Lizzo in a bathtub, creating her own plant-based shopping cart. This being the first high-profile celebrity endorsement, I guess Instacart figured that it was “About Damn Time.”
• Pink Floyd’s song catalog is up for bidding at approximately $500 million. A gargantuan sum, that is, of course unless you play it backwards.

Endorsement Deals, Sponsorships & Investments

Instacart’s Latest Feature Lets You Shop Lizzo’s Vegan Grocery List
August 31, 2022 via My West Texas
Celebrities – they’re just like us! You might not be able to sing like Lizzo, but thanks to Instacart, you can snack like her.

NIL Cash Spurs U.S. Bank and Opendorse to Offer Financial Literacy Courses
August 30, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
More than a year into the name, image and likeness era in college athletics, college athlete financial literacy and money management are still top of mind for many.

Beyoncé Narrates Gatorade’s Serena Tribute as the U.S. Open Begins
August 29, 2022 via Biz Journal
Gatorade has released a video honoring Serena Williams as she prepares to play in her final U.S. Open, and it’s narrated by another superstar: Beyoncé.

Celebrity Net Worth: Charli D’Amelio Joins $80 Million Funding Round in U.S. Career Marketplace
August 29, 2022 via The National
Social media personality Charli D’Amelio and her family have joined an $80 million funding round in U.S. career marketplace Incredible Health.

Sports

LIV Joins Phil Mickelson’s Lawsuit and Changes Litigation Trajectory
August 31, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
When Judge Beth Labson Freeman held a hearing two weeks ago concerning LIV golfers suing the PGA Tour, much of the discussion centered on a party not in the room: LIV Golf. That has changed.

New York Yankees Investing in AC Milan as Part of RedBird Ownership Group
August 30, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
The New York Yankees and Main Street Advisors, a LeBron James-backed investment fund, are investing in Italian soccer team AC Milan, according to two people familiar with the deal.

MLB Players Association Takes ‘Historic’ Step Toward Unionizing Minor-League Baseball Players
August 29, 2022 via CBS Sports
The MLB Players Association took a step toward unionizing minor-league baseball players Sunday night, sending minor leaguers an authorization card allowing them to vote for an election that could make them MLBPA members.

U.S. Open Luxury Ticket Sales Boom, Riding Tennis’ Pandemic Popularity
August 29, 2022 via Sportico (subscription may be required)
Tennis participation has skyrocketed in the United States since 2020, and as a result, the U.S. Open has shifted its strategy, meeting the increased demand to watch the game in person with additional premium ticket inventory and a year-round sales team.

Music Biz

Man Who Discovered Drake Suing His Management Over Royalties
August 31, 2022 via New York Daily News
A young Texas talent scout who discovered hip-hop star Drake is suing the entertainer’s managers — charging they are cheating him out of his share of royalties.

Music Industry Vows to Fight On After Broadcasters Hit Milestone in Battle Against Royalty
August 30, 2022 via Inside Radio
The radio industry scored a symbolic, yet potentially significant, victory in Washington Monday as lobbying efforts have led to the addition of 20 names to a House resolution opposing the creation of a radio performance royalty.

FN Meka Exec Leaves Project, Says ‘There Are Many Lessons to Be Learned’ From Backlash
August 25, 2022 via Billboard
Anthony Martini is a former artist manager who helped develop artists like Lil Dicky and MadeinTYO and was also CEO of Royalty Exchange from 2021 until earlier this year.

U.S. Private Equity Group Among Bidders for Pink Floyd’s Catalogue Worth Estimated $500 Million
August 25, 2022 via National Newspaper
The Financial Times said the deal includes the copyrights to its song rights and original studio recordings, making it one of the largest deals of its kind.

Film & TV

Sony Pictures Networks India Bags Exclusive TV, Digital Rights for U.S. Open
August 27, 2022 via Sakshipost EN
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has signed a three-year deal to broadcast the US Open starting August 2022.

Supreme Court Paved Way for Shifting College TV Landscape
August 26, 2022 via Honolulu Star Advisor
Andy Coats isn’t a coach or athletic director. When it comes to the seismic changes to the landscape of major college football, though, he is a seminal figure.

The Big Ten’s New Record-Breaking Media Deals Will Top $1 Billion Annually, Far Outshining Other Power Five Leagues
August 25, 2022 via Biz Journal
The day after the Big Ten approved $8 billion worth of media rights deals with CBS, Fox and NBC, conference Commissioner Kevin Warren hopped on an early morning flight to Atlanta and then drove a rental car to Birmingham, where the daughter of a friend was getting married.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Live Nation’s Ticketmaster Partners With Dapper Labs to Release Ticket NFTs on the Flow Blockchain and Expands its NFL Partnership for NFTs to 100 Games
August 31, 2022 via Techmeme
Ticketmaster will now let event organizers issue NFTs tied to tickets on Flow, a blockchain operated by a16z-backed Dapper Labs.

‘Beer With Bill Murray’ NFT Sells for $185K in ETH at Charity Auction
August 31, 2022 via Yahoo Finance
An NFT ticket to beer with actor Bill Murray sold for 119.2 ETH (around $185,000) on Wednesday in a charity auction-style bidding war.

Meta Announces Facebook and Instagram Users Can Post NFTs From Digital Wallets
August 29, 2022 via Cointelegraph
“This will enable people to connect their digital wallets once to either app in order to share their digital collectibles across both,” said Meta.