Weblinks: Dick Clark Productions On Auction Block
• Dick Clark Productions, the company behind the ACM Awards and other ACM television events, is on the auction block. CBS, which is already home to the ACM shows, is reportedly a top suitor for DCP. According to the LA Times, CBS has its “eye” on the Golden Globe Awards, which are under contract with NBC until 2018. Other DCP properties include So You Think You Can Dance, the American Music Awards and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.
• Former UMPG chairman and CEO David Renzer has been tapped by private investment firm Saban Capital Group to serve as president of music ventures. Saban, which also has a television division, is looking into catalog purchases, and will focus on music for film and TV. Renzer told Billboard that the humongous operation resulting from Sony/ATV’s acquisition of EMI Music Publishing could leave some songwriters and catalogs neglected, providing the opportunity for smaller companies to court them away.
• Longtime Hollywood trade publication Variety is up for bids. Avenue Capital, the hedge fund with holdings including American Media, is reportedly the top bidder with a $40 million offer. Here’s the Nashville connection: American Media is the parent company of Country Weekly, and its other publications include National Enquirer, Men’s Fitness, Shape, and Star.
• The Hollywood Reporter unmasks a few superstars’ crazy concert rider requests here. Among the strangest: Cher’s need for her wigs to have their own dressing room, Kanye West’s insistance that his drivers wear 100 percent cotton, and Prince’s request for everything to be covered in plastic wrap.
• Finally, more close to home, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken is open at 19th Ave. and Broadway. The joint, started by the owners of Cool Springs meat-and-three Bishop’s, also offers craft brews and traditional Southern fried chicken. More from the Nashville Post.
