By Mesfin Fekadu, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The late musical icons Whitney Houston and the Notorious B.I.G. are among the 16 acts nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2020 class.
The prestigious organization announced Tuesday that Dave Matthews Band, Motorhead, Pat Benatar, Soundgarden, The Doobie Brothers, T.Rex and Thin Lizzy join Houston and B.I.G. as first-time Rock Hall nominees. The 35th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on May 2, 2020, at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nine Inch Nails, Judas Priest, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, MC5 and Todd Rundgren round out the 16 nominees for the 2020 class. The official inductees will be announced in January.
Each year, between five and seven acts usually make it into the Rock Hall following a vote by 1,000 people, including performers, music historians and industry experts. Fans are able to vote online.
Acts are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. Houston has been eligible for nearly a decade: Her self-titled debut album was released in 1985. The six-time Grammy winner is one of the greatest singers of all-time, known for hits like "The Greatest Love of All," ''I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." She died in 2012.
B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, released his debut album, "Ready to Die," in 1994. He was shot to death in 1997, 16 days before the release of his sophomore album, "Life After Death." His hits include anthems like "Juicy," ?Big Poppa," ?Stay With Me," ?Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems."
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More