The World's Highest-Paid Women In Music 2015

The top-earning woman in the music business has been cashing in on a massive world tour, a constant stream of hit singles and a string of endorsements with a slew of major companies, while occasionally throwing thinly veiled barbs at her chief rival. Sounds like Taylor Swift—but, in fact, it’s her frequent competitor, Katy Perry. Largely because of her Prismatic World Tour, which is now winding down, Perry pulled in $135 million this year. She grossed more than $2 million per city over the course of 126 shows in our scoring period, and added to her total through deals with Coty, Claire’s and Covergirl.

“I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company,” Perry told FORBES for our Celebrity 100 cover story this past summer. “I’m an entrepreneur. … I don’t want to shy away from it. I actually want to kind of grab it by its balls.”

Swift has also been having quite the year, claiming the No. 2 spot with $80 million. More than a year after the launch of 1989—the top release of 2014 with over 3.6 million copies sold—her latest single, “Wildest Dreams,” has ascended to the top of the charts, boosted by a music video with Scott Eastwood. But it was the beginning of her epic 1989 World Tour that placed her so close to the top of this list. 

Swift has also been having quite the year, claiming the No. 2 spot with $80 million. More than a year after the launch of 1989—the top release of 2014 with over 3.6 million copies sold—her latest single, “Wildest Dreams,” has ascended to the top of the charts, boosted by a music video with Scott Eastwood. But it was the beginning of her epic 1989 World Tour that placed her so close to the top of this list.

Rounding out the top three is Fleetwood Mac at $59.5 million. Though the band contains three men, it also boasts two high-profile ladies—Stevie Nicks and the recently-returned Christine McVie—rendering the group eligible for this list. Its On With The Show tour included 86 concerts during our scoring period, grossing well over $1 million per city.

“Fleetwood Mac is out there slogging it on the road,” says Gary Bongiovanni, chief of concert data outfit Pollstar. “From a fan perspective, I think that Fleetwood’s core fan base recognized that Christine McVie being back in the group was something special, and worth coming out for.”

Lady Gaga ranks fourth with $59 million, followed by Beyoncé at $54.5 million. The former played 66 shows during our scoring period, also cashing in on deals with Versace and MAC, as well as her own Fame fragrance. The latter’s On The Run tour with husband Jay Z grossed over $100 million for 19 North American dates, giving music’s first couple a nightly average comparable to that of the Rolling Stones.

Other big names on the on the list include Britney Spears (No. 6, $31 million), who makes the bulk of her bucks on a lucrative Planet Hollywood residency in Las Vegas, and Rihanna (No. 10, $26 million), who only played nine dates in our scoring period but is set to release new album Anti in the coming months; more touring will likely follow.

Though a pay gap regrettably pervades the music business—albeit not as badly as other parts of the entertainment world—this year the top most high-earning ladies in the industry boast earnings competitive with their male counterparts, as FORBES will reveal with its overall list of the highest-paid musicians in December.

Our list of the highest-paid women in music measures pretax income from June 1, 2014, to June 1, 2015, before subtracting management fees. Figures are based on data from Nielsen, Pollstar and the RIAA, as well as interviews with agents, managers, lawyers—and some of the stars themselves.

Given the nature of our scoring period, Perry will have some stiff competition for next year’s list: Swift’s 1989 Tour is grossing well over $4 million per city, and shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s a stadium tour, it’s enormous,” says Bongiovanni. “I would imagine that she’s going to dwarf what everybody else does.”

SONY ADDS OVER 100 GAMES TO PLAYSTATION

Sony has expanded its PlayStation Now streaming subscription service, adding more than 100 PlayStation 3 games to its unlimited-play lineup.

The latest PlayStation Now update features dozens of games from publisher Capcom, including multiple entries in its Resident Evil and Street Fighter franchises.

PlayStation Now is a subscription-based streaming service that allows members to experience featured PlayStation 3 games on-demand and with no purchase or download required. Gameplay is delivered via streamed video, eliminating the need to load and process game data on the user’s end. Service subscribers can play hundreds of compatible games with linked PlayStation 4, PS3, PS Vita, and PlayStation TV devices.

Capcom’s current PlayStation Now lineup includes retail-released standouts like Dead Rising 2, Asura’s Wrath and Ultra Street Fighter 4, along with retro-inspired titles like Mega Man 9, Strider, Bionic Commando Rearmed, and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

A significant quantity of Resident Evil games are also available for PlayStation Now streaming, including recent series entries Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6. Subscribers can additionally stream a remake of the Dreamcast-era sequel Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, an upgraded version of Resident Evil 4, and the rail shooter spinoffs Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

Other major titles premiering for PlayStation Now this week include Arc System Works’ one-on-one fighter Guilty Gear Xrd: SIGN, Koei Tecmo’s gory action game Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, acclaimed third-person shooter Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD, and several PS Vita RPGs, including Ragnarok Odyssey Ace and Atelier Rorona Plus.

Retrogaming is another major focus for PlayStation Now, with this week’s update introducing classics like Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters ’95, Dragon’s Lair, Frogger Returns, Spelunker HD, and Double Dragon Neon.

PlayStation Now subscriptions are priced at $20 per month, which grants members unlimited play of as many featured games as they wish.

THE 2017 MERCEDES-BENZ GLS-CLASS

Mercedes-Benz has introduced the 2017 GLS-Class, a new model that replaces the GL. The first-ever GLS is scheduled to greet the public for the first time later this month at the Los Angeles Motor Show.

Billed as the S-Class of the SUV segment, the GLS gains a redrawn front end that predictably falls in line with Mercedes’ latest design language. It features a twin-slat horizontal grille with a big three-pointed star emblem, bullet-shaped headlights, and a new hood accented by a pair of power domes. Out back, the SUV is fitted with sleeker-looking LED tail lamps and a more streamlined lower bumper.

Chrome accents add a touch of elegance to the boxy silhouette, while new alloy wheel designs and additional paint colors round out the list of exterior updates. Select models can be ordered with a Sport exterior treatment that brings add-ons such as a deeper front bumper with three mesh air dams, side skirts, a roof-mounted spoiler, and specific 21-inch alloy wheels.
With seating for up to seven passengers, the GLS’ spacious cabin receives a three-spoke steering wheel, a more modern-looking instrument cluster with a configurable TFT screen, and a new center console with a touch pad that lets the front passengers navigate the infotainment system. Mercedes has also fitted its biggest and boldest SUV with a high-resolution eight-inch touch screen that sticks out from the center console. Leather upholstery comes standard on all versions of the GLS, and buyers can make the off-roader their own by choosing from one of five trim options such as black, ginger beige/espresso brown, and saddle brown/black.
The GLS’ long list of standard safety features includes crosswind assist, collision prevention assist plus, attention assist and numerous airbags. For added peace of mind, Mercedes’ excellent Distronic Plus technology is offered at an extra cost.


The GL’s engines carry over to the GLS with minor modifications that promise to boost performance and — importantly for a roughly 5,500-pound behemoth — gas mileage. Positioned at the bottom of the lineup, the GLS400 packs a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine that makes 329 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Next up is the GLS350d, which is powered by a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 rated at 255 hp and 457 lb-ft. of torque. Finally, the GLS500 uses a 4.7-liter V8 engine that delivers 449 hp and a stout 516 lb-ft of torque.

All engines are linked to a new nine-speed automatic transmission and Mercedes’ time-tested 4Matic all-wheel drive system. Adventurous motorists who regularly trek far off the beaten path can order a low-range gearbox and a center differential lock at an extra cost. Don’t let its upscale look and its posh, comfort-focused cabin fool you, the GLS is capable of driving through over 23 inches of water when properly equipped.

Positioned at the very top of the lineup, the physics-defying Mercedes-AMG GLS63 packs a hand-built 5.5-liter V8 that uses two big turbochargers to provide 577 ponies — 27 more than the outgoing model — and 561 lb-ft. of torque from just 1,750 rpm. A seven-speed automatic transmission controlled by shift paddles sends power to all four wheels, but performance specifications haven’t been published yet.

The 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class will go on sale nationwide next month, and the first deliveries are scheduled for March of next year. Pricing information will be published in the coming weeks.

GOOGLE’S SMART REPLY FOR INBOX USES

Pecking out replies to emails on a smartphone is bad enough, but somehow worse when they’re all incredibly inane — typing “I’m on it” or “Sounds good” dozens upon dozens of times throughout the day is, needless to say, frustrating. But if Google’s new project works as advertised, that monotonous chore will soon be a thing of the past. On Tuesday, the search giant revealed Smart Reply, a feature for Inbox that uses artificial intelligence to generate quick replies for emails.

According to Google software engineer Bálint Miklós, Smart Reply is a two-part ordeal: It scans the content of the e-mail and, based on what it learns, generates three possible responses. It’s a machine learning workflow Miklós calls “sequence-to-sequence learning” — one flexible enough to understand the meaning or intent of an e-mail without getting stuck on unfamiliar words but powerful enough to spit out replies that make grammatical and contextual sense. The end result is a system which works far better than “brittle, rule-based systems ever could,” said Miklós.

But the first iteration of Smart Reply wasn’t perfect. It had a tendency to suggest replies that, while worded differently, were identical in meaning. And more amusingly, it frequently offered “I love you” as a possible response (the reason, Miklós said, is because “I love you” is an unsurprisingly common answer). A few tweaks to the system’s understanding of semantics later, though, and Smart Reply was “a less lovely, but far more useful, email assistant,” Miklós wrote.

Useful enough for prime time, at least. Miklós said that Smart Reply will roll out on Inbox for Android and iOS later this week.

Smart Reply isn’t Google’s first application of machine learning to e-mail’s more onerous tasks — in July, it rolled out an “artificial neural network” for the purpose of better identifying spam and phishing scams. Google’s artificially intelligent email may be a far cry from an inbox that clears itself, but here’s hoping that’s a dream realized — within reason, of course — sooner rather than later.

U.S. Issues Huge Fine Over Airbags as Honda Drops Takata

Honda Motor Company on Tuesday dropped the embattled manufacturer Takata as its airbag supplier, concluding that the company, its longtime partner, had “misrepresented and manipulated test data.” 

Also on Tuesday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a $70 million penalty for Takata, one of the world’s largest airbag makers, for failing to promptly disclose defects in its airbags, millions of which have now been recalled. That penalty could increase by $130 million if Takata does not live up to the terms of the consent order, a condition that would make it a record civil punishment for the auto industry.

Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary, also said that Takata manipulated the test data. In its consent order, the safety agency said that “in several instances, Takata produced testing reports that contained selective, incomplete, or inaccurate data.”

“Delay, misdirection and a refusal to acknowledge the truth allowed a serious problem to become a massive crisis,” Mr. Foxx said at a news conference. “When we first brought this issue to light, there was a lot of denial on the part of Takata.”

How the Takata Scandal Unfolded

• May 2004

  An airbag explodes in a 2002 Honda Accord. Honda and Takata deem it “an anomaly” and do not involve federal safety regulators.

• November 2008

  After becoming aware of three more ruptures in 2007, Honda recalls about 4,000 vehicles to repair Takata airbags for potential ruptures — the first recall related to the defect.

• November 2009

  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opens an investigation into Takata’s airbags. It closes it months later, citing the seemingly isolated nature of the problem.

• June 2014

  After deaths related to defective airbags, N.H.T.S.A. opens another investigation. Major automakers, including Toyota and BMW, begin regional recalls over the next several months.

• November 2014

  N.H.T.S.A. demands that Takata and automakers expand their recalls to cover the entire United States. Takata does not immediately comply.

• May 2015

  Takata admits that millions of its airbags are defective. N.H.T.S.A. estimates that more than 19 million vehicles are affected. 

• November 2015

  N.H.T.S.A. announces that it has levied a fine of up to $200 million against Takata, the largest civil punishment ever imposed in the auto industry.
• Eight deaths and over 100 injuries have been linked to the defective airbags, whose metal casing, called an inflater, can rupture violently, sending shards flying into the passenger cabin. More than 19 million vehicles in the United States and millions more worldwide have been recalled. In a statement, a Takata spokesman, Jared Levy, did not dispute the claims that the company had manipulated testing data.
• “We do not believe that these issues, which we brought to the attention of N.H.T.S.A., are connected to the current recalls, which extensive testing continues to show are associated with long-term exposure to conditions of high heat and absolute humidity,” Mr. Levy said.
  “Indeed, some of the issues relate to development testing done on inflaters for Honda vehicles 15 years ago, which have been subject to recalls for several years,” he said.
  
  
  A Honda spokesman said that information it had now indicated that Takata “was not forthcoming” during a N.H.T.S.A. investigation into the earliest recalls over the defect.
  “Honda has also identified other apparent instances of misleading or inaccurate test data that were provided to Honda over time,” the spokesman, Chris Martin, added. “The Takata airbag inflater test data of which Honda is now aware relates to a variety of testing.”
  Mr. Martin declined to give further details. He said that Honda had alerted federal regulators to these documents as they had become available, and had ordered third-party auditing of all of Takata’s test data to more fully understand the issue.
  
  
  In a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Hiroshi Shimizu, Takata’s senior vice president for global quality assurance, denied that company engineers had manipulated test data. 
  “There was no problem with our test results. But because there was variation in the data, we did not report everything. We reported only part of the data,” Mr. Shimizu said.
  Still, he said, “there was no data manipulation.”
  Though Honda has distanced itself from Takata, for years it had stood by its supplier. Airbags make up Takata’s largest business, accounting for about 40 percent of the company’s sales to external customers. And the United States is Takata’s largest market, accounting for about 37 percent of its net sales.
  Takata shares have slumped 45 percent since last fall as scrutiny of the issue has mounted. 
  Honda said that no new Honda and Acura models under development would be equipped with front driver or passenger Takata airbag inflaters. Takata continues to supply Honda with other safety equipment, including seatbelts.
  Honda alerted Takata to an airbag rupture more than a decade ago. Deeming the episode an anomaly, it did not issue a recall or seek the involvement of federal safety regulators.
  Internal tests conducted by Takata have been a source of increasing concern as regulators and lawmakers have tried to determine the root cause of the defect. Last year, The New York Times reported that steel inflaters in two of the airbags cracked during tests. But Takata executives discounted the results and ordered the lab technicians to delete the testing data and dispose of the inflaters, according to two former employees, including a senior member of the testing lab. Takata denied the accusations.
  Last month, The Times reported that in 2010, as Takata and Honda assured regulators that the airbag explosions were linked to isolated manufacturing issues, they were also enlisting the help of a top pyrotechnic lab at Pennsylvania State University to determine whether its propellant, called ammonium nitrate, might have been at the heart of the problem. When the study’s 2012 conclusion cast doubt on the use of ammonium nitrate, Takata dismissed the result and waited more than two years before sharing the research with regulators.
  Now, though, Takata will be changing how it makes its airbags.
  As part of the consent order, Takata is required to phase out its use of ammonium nitrate unless it can prove that it is safe.
  Former Takata engineers have said that they raised concerns about the use of the compound in the late 1990s, saying that it is too unstable for a precision product like an airbag. But their concerns went unheeded, they have said.
  If Takata cannot show regulators that the compound is safe, it will be required to recall all of its airbags that contain ammonium nitrate inflaters.
  “There are potentially millions more,” Mr. Foxx said, though he did not have an exact number.
  The long-awaited punishment caps years of recalls, congressional hearings and shifting explanations by Takata to try to explain what was causing the airbags to explode.
  “Takata said it had isolated the problem, it said it had uncovered the mistakes that led to ruptures, and it had pledged its products were safe,” Mr. Foxx said. “But we know that the ruptures have continued.”
  Mark R. Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, referred to a meeting between Takata officials and safety regulators in January 2012. Takata, he said, “failed to clarify inaccurate information” provided to the agency during a presentation. He said Takata had also failed to comply fully with instructions in orders issued by the agency in the fall of 2014.
  Takata’s chairman struck a tone on Tuesday that was in contrast to the resistance the company gave regulators a year ago, when it insisted that the safety agency had no legal authority to compel an auto supplier to conduct a recall.
  “We deeply regret the circumstances that led to this consent order,” Shigehisa Takada, Takata’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “This settlement is an important step forward for Takata that will enable us to focus on rebuilding the trust of automakers, regulators and the driving public.”
  Honda’s decision to change suppliers is particularly damaging to Takata’s finances, analysts said.
  Honda, together with Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault-Nissan and Fiat Chrysler, accounted for over half of Takata’s consolidated net sales in the 12 months through March 2015, according to its latest annual report. As of March 31, Honda also held a 1.2 percent equity stake in Takata.
  “Takata is certainly in a very bad spot, both from a financial as well as a business partner standpoint,” said Akshay Anand, an analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
  “This whole issue was a potential death knell for Takata from the start,” he added, “and things aren’t getting any easier.”
  
  
  
  

Pope Francis’ trip to Africa draws excitement.

Pope Francis’ visit to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Nov. 25_27 will bring healing and reconciliation to the East African nation that has suffered key setbacks in the recent past, senior bishops here say.

Kenya, a country with 14 million Catholics, recently announced the theme of the papal visit: “Stand firm and be strong.” Organizers expect nearly 1.5 million people to attend the papal Mass on Nov. 26 in Nairobi; there are nearly 4 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Nairobi.

The pope’s Nov. 25-30 pilgrimage to Africa, also includes travel to Uganda and the Central African Republic. But in remarks Sunday to a crowd of faithful in St. Peter’s Square, Francis raised the possibility that security risks could cause the Central African Republic leg of his trip to change or even be scrapped.

The encounter with a pope is the cause of major excitement and anticipation in Kenya — the largest country on his Africa tour — but bishops here worry ongoing political strife and ethnic incitement could blight the visit.

In the last few weeks, Kenyan government and opposition leaders have torn into each other over what is viewed as runaway corruption, greed and mismanagement.

“We declare and demand an honest cease-fire and an end to the incessant name-calling among our politicians,” Bishop Alfred Rotich, chairman of the pope’s visit for the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, said at a news conference Sunday (Nov. 1).

On Saturday Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi, described the visit as a “real blessing” for the church and the nation, which is on the front lines of the expanding Islamist terror group al-Shabab.

In April, the group killed 148 people — mostly Christian students — at Garissa University College. The militant group attacked the upscale Westgate shopping mall in September 2013, killing 67 people and injuring more than 200.

Kenya is also yet to recover from the 2007-2008 post-election violence, which left over 1,200 dead and more than 600,000 forced into Internally Displaced Persons camps, known as IDPs. The violence also divided the Kenyan church.

He is coming to bring a message of peace and hope,” said Njue, adding that he hoped Francis would also speak on other critical issues such as corruption and tribalism.

In an interview, the Rev. Stephen Okello, coordinator of the visit said the post-election violence was one of the biggest setbacks so far and the church was keen to hear the pope’s advice on how to deal with its fallouts.

“We have a lot of suspicion, of division, hatred and there are people in IDP camps, who are constantly reminding us what happened,” said Okello.

Neither church nor state got an opportunity to actively spearhead healing and reconciliation among the people, according to Okello.

“The people have hardened and got used to divisions in tribal lines because our political parties are divided along tribal lines. It is very hard for us to heal under those circumstances,” said Okello. “So the pope is coming to strengthen us.”

For some Kenyan bishops, climate change is an important issue and they hope Francis will also talk about it, given the recent release of his environmental encyclical.

“The worst famines are in Africa; many children and even adults have lost their lives out of hunger and thirst in the last half century,” said Bishop Anthony Muheria of the Diocese of Kitui. “The thirst for Christ that we seek to quench, must also be accompanied by satisfying the human thirst for water, and hunger for real food.”

Meanwhile, Catholic priests who left the church to claim their right to marry want to meet Francis when he visits Kenya.

The priests said they will urge him to make celibacy optional, express their concern about excessive authority of the Africa bishops and seek support for Communion for divorced Catholics.

“We want him to know that celibacy is a reason why the church is losing its members to other denominations,” said Peter Njogu, a former Catholic priest who left to form the Restored Universal Apostolic Church.

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Sony Recognized as a Leader in Combating Climate Change in the CDP Japan 500 Climate Change Report

Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation ("Sony") has been recognized for its carbon reduction activities by the CDP (formerly the "Carbon Disclosure Project") in the Japan 500 Climate Change Report 2015. Sony was listed in both the CDP's "Climate A List"^*1, which assesses performance relating to climate change mitigation strategies and measures, and its Climate Disclosure Leadership Index ("CDLI"^*2), which rates transparent information disclosure. Sony's inclusion in the A List is recognition of the company's efforts to reduce the energy consumption of its products, curb greenhouse gas emissions at its operating sites, and accelerate the use of renewable energy.

Since its inception in the UK in 2000, the CDP has - supported by global institutional investors - conducted surveys analyzing climate change strategies at leading global companies. This year, the CDP surveyed over 5,000 companies globally - including 500 leading companies in Japan - on behalf of 822 institutional investors representing more than 95 trillion dollars in managed assets. The survey was based on a questionnaire spanning three sections: "Management," which covers governance and emissions reduction goals, "Risks & Opportunities," and "Emissions."

In this year's report, Sony was awarded the CDP's highest performance band of "A" for its actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change, and a perfect disclosure score of 100 in the CDLI, making it a standout performer in both indices. It is the second time that Sony has received an "A" performance band and the third time it has been included in the CDLI. Sony's high marks are a direct result of the company's wide-ranging efforts to mitigate climate change, starting with Sony's longstanding dedication to making both its products and its operations - spanning everything from manufacturing to distribution to office buildings - increasingly energy efficient. Added to this is Sony's comprehensive disclosure of a range of information, including its strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, progress of reductions, and emission levels at every stage of its value chain.

This past June, Sony announced its new "Green Management 2020" group environmental mid-term targets that will take effect from fiscal 2016 through 2020, the next step in the company's "Road to Zero" environmental plan that plots a course forward toward a zero environmental footprint by 2050. These targets place a particular emphasis on reducing the average annual energy consumption of Sony's electronics products by 30%^*3, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all of its operating sites by 5%^*4, leveraging the influence of its entertainment assets, and enhancing engagement across its entire value chain including manufacturing partners and component suppliers. Through these and other measures, Sony will accelerate its efforts to bring forth environmentally conscious products and services in an environmentally conscious way, and to minimize its environmental footprint toward the ultimate goal of "zero."