Professional Services Sector

Beatport Sells Out: SFX Entertainment Buys Music Website for Undisclosed Sum

If a picture's worth a thousand words, an electronic-dance-music site has to be in the neighborhood of $50 million, right? According to the New York Times, SFX Entertainment, which owns a stake in the Opium Group (Mansion, Set, Cameo) and is in the midst of negotiating a deal with Miami Management ... More >>

Florida Bill Would Allow Advertising on School Buses

Your kids' ride to school every morning could soon be sponsored by Coca-Cola, Kendall Toyota or Disney Channel. A new bill introduced in the Florida House of Representatives would allow school districts to sell advertising space directly on the school bus.

Did Shakira Get Shafted? Her $60-Million Distribution Deal With Live Nation

See also "Shakira's 'Addicted to You' Video May Result in Sex Rehab." A couple of weeks ago, Shakira walked away with four Billboard Latin Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year in both the songs and album categories, all despite the fact that her last record, Sale el Sol, was released n ... More >>

Carlo Gimenez and Akerman Senterfitt Are Looking Out For Each Other

Carlos Gimenez gives $60,000 contract to law firm that raised $30,000 for him. ​A local law firm that raised at least $30,000 in campaign funds for Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is seeing its investment pay off. On Monday, the county commission approved Gimenez's request to split Miami-Dade's st ... More >>

Don King's Truck Full of 30,000 Turkeys Hijacked

​Don King, a man known for his boxing promotion and superawesome hair, wanted to give back to the South Florida community. So he loaded a truck full of 30,000 turkeys and hoped to give them to families in need throughout the region. This, of course, being South Florida, the truck was hijacked and ... More >>

Terrell Owens Sues Greenberg Traurig, One Of Miami's Oldest Law Firms: UPDATED

Terrell Owens says Greenberg Traurig screwed him over.​Professional football's most controversial wide receiver is accusing a prominent Miami law firm and one its attorneys of seedy, unethical behavior. In a lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County this week, Terrell Owens alleges Greenberg Traurig and ... More >>

Marc Sarnoff Shares Office Space With Mysterious Campaign Consultant

​There is a new mysterious player in Miami electioneering. According to Miami city Commissioner Marc Sarnoff's most recent quarterly finance report, his releection campaign paid $23,409 between May 11 and June 29 for "promotional materials" to a company called Rodman. The firm lists its address at ... More >>

Time for Miami Tax Evaders to Come Forward, Warns Local Attorney

The days of hidden offshore accounts are drawing to an end, it seems​Not everyone in Miami is on the up & up. Sure, your neighbor could have bought that brand-new Mercedes-Benz with the Christmas bonus. Or it could have been that narco slush fund in the Cayman Islands. The truth is that ... More >>

Rick Scott's dirtiest deeds

Death to "The King": Burger King Picks New Ad Agency

​The relationship between Miami-based Burger King and Coconut Grove-based ad agency Crispin Porter Bogusky has officially come to an end. After announcing in March that CP B's services would no longer be needed, the fast-food chain has announced that New York-based McGarryBowen will take ove ... More >>

The Honeymoon Series with Zeds Dead at the Fillmore Miami Beach May 5

The Moon Is Out! Live Nation and Embrace Team Up for the Honeymoon Series

Photo by Marta Xochilt PerezThe neo-raver, grandchild of the hippies.​The Honeymoon Series begins this Saturday with Datsik, continuing with Zeds Dead May 5 and Borgore June 17. Back in the LSD-soaked '60s, a big boxy San Francisco building named the Fillmore Auditorium was routinely overrun by l ... More >>

Florida Republicans Are Doing the Bidding of Corporations Thanks to Huge Campaign Donations

​Florida's government is apparently "for the corporations, by the corporation." Gov. Rick Scott promised to run Florida like a business, and his fellow Republicans in the legislature are pushing through many "pro-business" reforms.They also happen to be taking in tons of cash from corporations. Fo ... More >>

As Commission Votes On Clear Channel's 14 New LED Billboards, Activists Protest

Sarnoff, the city's biggest billboard backer, has taken thousands from advertising companies.​Raise your hand if this sounds like what Miami needs: fourteen new glowing LED billboards along the highway demanding drivers in hi-def to buy Svedka Vodka, iPods and cut-rate car insurance. Oh, hi th ... More >>

Groupon Finally Pulls Controversial CP B Ads

​Mark this as a failure for local ad firm Crispin Porter Bogusky. Groupon.com has finally decided to pull it's Super Bowl ads created by the firm after public outrage. In the most controversial example, Oscar-winning actor Timothy Hutton talked passionately about the plight of the people of Tibe ... More >>

Operation Streamline treats migrants like cattle

Miami Beach's South Pointe Park has lost its luster

Jonas Brothers, Creed, and Other Tickets Go For $10 Again Today

Public domain image, via Wikimedia CommonsCarlos Santana's show at Cruzan Amphitheater has been added to the $10 deal list.​Another Wednesday in the summer, another $10 Live Nation ticket deal. The bad news: This deal only adds one concert to the list of shows that were discounted last week. The g ... More >>

Former director/DJ for 103.5 the Beat, Vanessa James, launches her own company

Next Monday, Score $10, No-Fee Tickets For Jonas Brothers, Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, and More

photo by Ryan RussellScore cheapo tickets to see Paramore headline the Honda Civic Tour in Miami. ​Here's some more Live Nation ticketing news. As we told you at the beginning of the month, the concert promotion juggernaut has, in June, been offering no-service-fee tickets for all of its amphithe ... More >>

Former 103.5 The Beat Director, DJ Launches Vanessa James Media

​When the hip-hop and R&B station 103.5 The Beat flipped to 103.5 Super X this past May, many fans were left bewildered and utterly confused. Clear Channel claimed the switch was based on Miami's growing Hispanic market, but few bought the "cultural emergence" argument. Before the flip, South ... More >>

No-Fee Tickets For Robert Plant, Maroon 5, Honda Civic Tour, and More

CC by 2.0, via lanchutt on FlickrSwoon over Adam Levine? Act fast and do it for no fee. ​One of the worst thing about being a devoted live music fan is the sticker shock that comes when a ticket's final price is totaled up. A ticket that's about $20 can end up as much as $40 sometimes when you lum ... More >>

U2 Postpones Its Sun Life Stadium Concert Originally Scheduled For July 9

CC by 2.0, via r_w_h on FlickrHe'll be back to otherworldly shape soon.​U2 fans the world over can rest easy knowing Bono is on the road to recovery. The iconic frontman has been discharged from a Munich hospital where he underwent emergency back surgery this past Friday. The procedure was success ... More >>

$10 Tickets for Dethklok, AFI, 311, Styx, Jewel, and More

​If you crave live music, but you're broke and didn't grab the two for one deal on tickets last week, Live Nation is back with another (although not quite as good) deal this week. Anytime from now until midnight tonight, log on to Live Nation's website to grab some all inclusive tickets for as low ... More >>

Message to Local Lawyers: Please Do Not Get Involved in the Dangers of Sexting

Are you in for some early morning schaudenfraud with your coffee? If not, move along. We all know sexting is a very dangerous thing for teens. The cover of Reader's Digest and various local news "special" "reports" have told us so. Unfortunately, it can also ensnare white collar ... More >>

Herald Parent Company Announces New Ad Sale Strategy

Today was Miami Herald's parent companies McClatchy Co.'s shareholders meeting. The troubled newspaper giant -- what newspaper giant isn't troubled? -- faces a tough road ahead, but all CEO Gary Pruitt had to offer was a slightly tweaked advertising strategy for the entire chain. According to Editor ... More >>

Scott'll Make You Feelgood

Orange You Glad You Got "Squeezed" for 35 Mil?

Problem: Too many shoppers recognize logoSome of my favorite boondoggles over the years have involved the vast sums stupid companies have spent to fix what ain't broke. Our latest example is Tropicana, headquartered in Bradenton, Florida. In a classic act of desperation, the ailing orange juice prod ... More >>

More Staff Cuts at The Herald

Well, this is just not good news for anyone. Bob Norman at the Pulp got a hold of a Miami Herald memo announcing that there's more cuts coming to the paper, very soon. Publisher David Landsberg blames a decrease in ad revenue due to the hard luck of many local retailers and auto dealers. No word on ... More >>

Signs of the Times

An Ad for Art

La Comunidad brings the gallery into the agency

Teddybears

"Yours to Keep" (Big Beat Records)

LCD Soundsystem

"Too Much Love" (Rub 'n' Tug Remix) (DFA Records)

Now a Word from Our Sponsors

Caught on Tape, Part 2

The Money Trail

Insurgent Billboards

Signage lobbyist Eston "Dusty" Melton wages guerrilla war on his old employers

2001: A Billboard Odyssey

Last year much was learned about Miami's illegal signs, including the fact that they're still standing and still lucrative

Shake

It's time to stop pointing fingers and start to jump and wave!

The Gersten Affair

Remember the stolen car? The crackhouse and hooker? The incomparable entertainment value? Well, the show must go on!

Miami: America's Billboard Sanctuary

Will city commissioners embrace outdoor advertising, or will they heartlessly shun a vital industry?

Power Play

A drama featuring MDCC president Eduardo Padron in the role of backstabbing Brutus. Or is it tyrannical Caesar?

Everywhere a Sign

When it comes to constructing roadside billboards, the City of Miami is a regular free-for-all

Uncommon Law

Sam Thompson, hard-charging dean of the University of Miami's law school, has high hopes, strong opinions, and a tendency to attract trouble

Other People's Money

Coffey Grind

Why would state prosecutors probe a penny-ante fraud case against Susanna Timor? Maybe it has to do with who she works for.

Performance Anxiety

Joaquin Avino's new employer got a piece of the Performing Arts Center contract, but Avi*o had nothing to do with it

First The Seed, Then The Tree

Today it's an ugly headache. Someday it will be a beautiful source of pleasure. But tomorrow it's still going to be an ugly headache.

MacArthur Causeway