A documentary about the Basketball Africa League (BAL) will feature the likes of Barack Obama, Stephen Curry, and J. Cole, according to Deadline. Initially announced nearly three years ago, Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League delves into the complicated relationship between America and Africa and how the BAL could connect the two. Also expected to appear in the project are Joakim Noah, Nigerian-born Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, Cameroonian Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Obama is a strategic partner of NBA Africa and J. Cole played in the inaugural BAL tournament in 2021.

Louisville native Jack Harlow is launching a new music festival in the city called the Gazebo Festival that he will co-headline alongside SZA, the artist announced. The two-day event will be held at Waterfront Park during Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-26) to celebrate “the intersection of music and culture.” In addition to SZA, other artists slated to perform include James Blake, Vince Staples, Veeze, Pinkpantheress, Rich Homie Quan, Omar Apollo, Majid Jordan, Slum Village, BNYX, and Karrahbooo. General admission tickets for the Harlow-led event start at $255 with pre-sale beginning on March 6 and open to the general public on March 8.

Spike Lee Fellows, the HBCU fellowship program belonging to Spike Lee and Gersh, has teamed up with Ralph Lauren for a new project geared toward providing high-impact professional attire to the program’s participants. Launched in 2023, the Spike Lee Fellows program helps develop and support creative undergraduate students from the Atlanta University Center Consortium, which is made up of three HBCUs (Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University) with career aspirations in entertainment. Last year, all five inaugural fellows secured full-time employment at Gersh while Ralph Lauren provided curated products and personal styling sessions.

Universal Music Group‘s profits hit $3.45 billion in the final quarter of 2023, a 9% increase year-over-year and up 15.6% in constant currency, the company revealed Wednesday. A major factor contributing to that boom was top-selling albums from Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Drake, Jung Kook, and Stray Kids. “From our artists’ and songwriters’ record-breaking performance to our work advancing the industry through innovative business models, to our leadership fostering responsible AI, to driving our long-term strategy through partnership and thoughtful investment, UMG is uniquely positioned to seize the next wave of growth opportunities on behalf of its artists, employees, and shareholders,” said Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG‘s Chairman and CEO.

AMC Theatres announced Wednesday it beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations, and the chain has both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to thank for that. Profits from the period reached $1.10 billion, up from $990.9 million in 2022, with a net loss of $182 million, compared to a net loss of $287.7 million in 2022. AMC CEO Adam Aron said that “literally all” of the increase in return was driven by the duo, who both released films inspired by their sold-out concerts. “AMC believes that the box office will start to strengthen again as soon as this coming month of March, in some of the summer months and especially in the latter third of this year. And over the medium term, we are both bullish and optimistic,” Aron said.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the ATP have agreed to a five-year deal that includes naming rights for the men’s professional tennis tour rankings. The “multi-year strategic partnership” will also see PIF courtside branding at the season-ending ATP Finals and tournaments in California, Miami, Madrid, and Beijing. On the other side, the WTA pro women’s tennis tour has also been in talks to work with Saudi Arabia, including possibly holding its season-ending WTA Finals there. “While we don’t rule anything out for the future, there is no new update at this time,” a WTA spokesperson said Wednesday.