In December, several outlets reported that Justin Bieber was close to a deal to sell his song catalog to Blackstone-backed Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a massive sum. Hipgnosis confirmed that it is dropping upwards of $200 million for the 28-year-old Canadian superstar’s masters, publishing, and licensing rights for each of his songs released through 2021. “This acquisition ranks among the biggest deals ever made for an artist under the age of 70,” said Merck Mercuriadis, founder and CEO of Hipgnosis.

Read more on the huge transaction from Boardroom’s Sam Dunn.

The eldest son of LeBron James is moving in his own ways. Bronny James has secured NIL deals from the likes of Beats by Dre, Nike, and more, collectively totaling $7.5 million according to On3 and its newest list of NIL Stars. Bronny took the top spot, with another next generation of sports royalty taking the second spot, as Texas-bound Arch Manning notched $3.7 million. On the same day the list was released, the Sierra Canyon hoops standout secured a spot on the McDonald’s All-American Team. 

The Dallas Cowboys might’ve lost the game, but they continue to win television ratings. Per FOX, Sunday’s Divisional Round matchup between the ‘Boys and 49ers generated 45.7 million viewers, the most-watched game of the weekend and the second-highest viewed Divisional playoff game on record. We’ll see what the numbers look like when FOX hosts the NFC Championship round between the Niners and the Eagles, but America’s team set a ridiculously high bar. 

Joe Berchtold, president and CFO of Live Nation Entertainment, apologized for the ticket fiasco that led to millions of fans getting locked out of presales and ultimately cancelling a public sale. Lawmakers blasted Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation for botching concert tickets to Swift’s “The Eras” Tour, and signaled it as a symptom of larger issues that the company has with its near monopoly over the large-scale live events industry. The hearings included multiple Swift lyric references by lawmakers and a whole lot of bad blood with the ticket giant. 

Despite a massive round of layoffs, Microsoft’s stock is on the rise. The company’s Q2 earnings report indicated a 2% rise in stock prices over the course of the period. The announcement followed the company’s reveal of a multiyear, multibillion investment in OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. Despite the positive signs, the stock was down 2.5% in premarket trading. 

Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung unpacks the report.

The Department of Justice has its eyes on Google. The tech giant received its second sanction in less than two years, this time throwing its ad business into focus. The big business of ads brings in a huge amount of the company’s revenue, totaling over $54.5 billion in the last reported quarter. The DOJ alleges that Google’s massive stake in the market drives down opportunities for competition and impacts creators’ earnings potential. The news drove down the stock slightly (1.5%) in premarket trading.

From CJ McCollum to LeBron James, hoopers are frequently seen sporting Crocs. Now the NBA is rolling out an official partnership with the comfortable footwear company in advance of next month’s All-Star celebrations. The collection features the logos of all 30 NBA teams and includes a few of their signature styles.