Austin Westin Downtown Sues Music Venue
Here’s a big Austin In Case You Missed it Story. The Westin Austin downtown hotel, which opened in July of 2015, is suing music venue The Nook Amphitheater, a spot that’s got four years on the Westin, alleging the club’s live music shows are too loud for the luxury hotel’s guests. The Westin is suing the Nook in the excess of $1 million for the inconveniences the hotel has taken on in an effort to dampen the sounds of the Live Music Capital of the World in its rooms, including retrofitting rooms facing Sixth Street with better sound insulation. The hotel claims it has taken every measure to ensure simpatico between their guests’ comfort and the Nook, a notion that neither the Nook nor the city of Austin agrees with. Put simply: the Nook Amphitheater was there for about four years before the Westin and abides by the city’s sound ordinance, and as part of Mayor Adler’s Austin Music & Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution, an official city policy, called the Agent of Change Principle, is in the works granting power of seniority in matters of volume between residential spaces and live music venues. (Austin Business Journal)
The Battle for SoundCloud: Spotify Backs-Out, Google Steps-Up
The will they/won’t they battle over purchasing SoundCloud has seen a new shift in development. Spotify has officially backed-out of negotiations due to SoundCloud’s hefty $1 billion price tag, and Google has since stepped-up its interest after the music-host site said it might be willing to reconsider selling for closer to $500 million, as claimed by the Music Business Worldwide. Should the sale materialize, three major music labels will also significantly benefit from the sale: Universal, Sony, and Warner Music own a cumulative 8-9% of SoundCloud, and could walk away with about $45million on Google’s potential half-million dollar purchase. (the Fader)
-Taylor Wallace
