Sunday, December 22, 2024

Sounds: Taylor Swift Crosses 3 Million Poets, Live Nation Guru Arthur Fogel Honored by Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation

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Taylor Swift is still number 1 with “The Tortured Poets Department.”

By the end of today she’ll have sold another 285,000 copies, bringing her total to a little over 3 million. Of those, 2 million are hard sales.

The downloading of “Poets” singles has slowed, but the album keeps chugging on. Nothing can touch it, not even Dua Lipa, whose new album, “Radical Optimism,” will come in around 85,000 copies.

Last night the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation honored one of the good guys in music: Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel. If there’s one universally admired guy in the concert biz, it’s Fogel.

Fogel is responsible for some of the biggest tours in history, including Madonna’s latest (she never missed a show!), Lady Gaga, U2, and Sting. All the artists swear by him. Somehow Fogel maintains a fairly cool composure all the time, despite all the nuttiness around him.

At the Rainbow Room last night model, actress, and author Dominique Jackson was the emcee. Rosie Perez presented Arthur with the special LIFEBEAT tribute. The evening, generously supported by Presenting Sponsor Gilead Sciences, Inc., along with Associate Sponsors Live Nation Entertainment and the Wasserman Foundation, also featured a performance by Glassnote Records recording artist Talia Rae.

“I hope that tonight has delivered some meaningful financial support to the foundation + LIFEBEAT programs going forward,” Arthur said. Then everyone hit him up for backstage passes!

Congrats!

Alex Kalomparis and Arthur Fogel

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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