BETC POP, a lab-agency entirely dedicated to pop culture–and an entity within ad shop BETC–has teamed up with Polydor (Universal Music) to create POP Records.
BETC has a long history of relationships with different record labels, including Universal. Together, they have helped a line of edgy artists emerge on a wider scale through advertising collaborations with BETC clients: Disclosure for Lacoste, La Roux for Armani, The Drums for Peugeot, Crystal Fighters for Canal Sat, and The Chemical Brothers for Air France, just to name a few.
The founders of BETC POP–Isabelle Tardieu, Fabrice Brovelli and Christophe Caurret–have always been deeply involved with the music industry. They collectively have a background in artist management (Yuksek, Agoria, Naïve New Beaters), publishing (Amadou & Mariam, The Shoes), and experience from working for labels, as DJ’s, producers, music video directors, concert and party organizers (founders of the PANIK parties around the world: Paris, New York, Amman, Bamako). Additionally, the BETC POP partners are musicians themselves.
Rémi Babinet, BETC co-founder, said, “A modern ad agency should be able to offer a lot more than just consulting and traditional campaigns; it should be a media, a producer and an audience generator in itself. This will be central for BETC’s development over the coming years.” Reflecting this philosophy is BETC POP, which is designed to challenge the traditional models of the music industry.
“The teams at Polydor are constantly reinventing themselves to stay on top of a music industry in transformation. We are very proud to welcome BETC POP and this new pop-themed record label,” said Eric Lelièvre, general manager of Polydor.
Sean “Diddy” Combs seeks bail, citing changed circumstances and new evidence
Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a new request for bail on Friday, saying changed circumstances, along with new evidence, mean the hip-hop mogul should be allowed to prepare for a May trial from outside jail.
Lawyers for Combs filed the request in Manhattan federal court, where his previous requests for bail have been rejected by two judges since his September arrest on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he coerced and abused women for years with help from a network of associates and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
He has been awaiting a May 5 trial at a federal detention facility in Brooklyn.
In their new court filing, lawyers for Combs say they are proposing a "far more robust" bail package that would subject the entertainer to strict around-the-clock security monitoring and near-total restrictions on his ability to contact anyone but his lawyers. But the amount of money they attach to the package remains $50 million, as they proposed before.
They also cite new evidence that they say "makes clear that the government's case is thin." That evidence, the lawyers said, refutes the government's claim that a March 2016 video showing Combs physically assaulting his then-girlfriend occurred during a coerced "freak off," a sexually driven event described in the indictment against Combs.
They wrote that the encounter was instead "a minutes-long glimpse into a complex but decade-long consensual relationship" between Combs and his then-girlfriend.
The lawyers argued that the jail conditions Combs is experiencing at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn violate his constitutional... Read More