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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The IRS dropped its appeal to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals of the holding of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee to the effect that IRS Notice 2016-66 (dealing with microcaptive transactions) violated the Administrative Procedures Act. In exchange, allegedly, CIC Services LLC, which had brought the challenge, also dismissed their appeal of the District Court's ruling that the IRS did not have to return the documents which taxpayers had sent to the IRS in response to Notice 2016-66, other than CIC Services itself which will get its documents back. The effect of the IRS dropping their appeal is that Notice 2016-66 has now been invalidated, and the question then becomes: What is the effect of Notice 2016-66's invalidation for microcaptives? That is a difficult question to answer because, as I have written previously , Notice 2016-66 was always an odd duck in terms of IRS … [Read more...] about IRS Drops Appeal Regarding Notice 2016-66’s Invalidation For Microcaptives

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Earlier this week Valve launched stickers and voice lines for every member of the broadcast talent for the upcoming International 11 Dota 2 tournament. However, instead of being able to purchase the voice line of the talent you wanted to support as had been the case in previous years, fans were forced to buy a loot box that gave them a one in 1196 of getting the voice line they wanted. Now, after major backlash from fans, Valve has made the voice lines available for purchase directly. Voice lines are audio files recorded by talent that players can play in game to all other people in the lobby. After becoming very popular last year, many players were looking forward to getting their hands on voice lines from their favourite talent, and many the talent have spoken about how much time and effort they have put into creating the ideal voice line. But when Valve launched the voice lines, locking them behind loot boxes with … [Read more...] about Valve Backtracks On ‘Dota 2’ Voice Line Loot Boxes After Fan Backlash

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Businesses in every industry are bracing for potential downturns in the economy that could impact their revenues in the months ahead, and agencies are no exception. Although companies may be tightening their belts, they still require marketing, advertising and PR partners to help them survive whatever comes their way and emerge stronger than before. What are agencies doing to land these clients and fuel their own growth in 2022? Here, 16 members of Forbes Agency Council share the opportunities their agencies are seizing this year to ensure continued growth and a bright future ahead for their staffs, clients and bottom lines. 1. Being Proactive Partners To Improve Clients’ Businesses Companies and organizations are keeping a much closer eye on budgets and return on investment. Agencies that actively think about their clients’ business problems and realities as proactive thought partners will win more. Although we … [Read more...] about 16 Growth Opportunities Smart Agencies Are Seizing This Year

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin “I always say luck is a well-prepared person waiting for an opportunity.” David Gandy is an English male fashion model who has been working in the fashion industry for more than 21 years. He’s known for being part of advertising with Dolce & Gabbana, Hugo Boss and other major fashion houses. He’s also been involved in the creative process of a number of ad campaigns, including work with M&S. Gandy is also the creative mind and owner of the newly launched fashion and lifestyle brand David Gandy Wellwear. He created the brand with the goal of selling sustainable clothing with an affordable price point that supports overall health and wellness. The idea is to provide clothes that are versatile and long lasting as well as good for the planet, good for the body. David Gandy started more than just a new business in 2021 when he combined science and fashion to create clothing that combines sustainable practices … [Read more...] about World’s Highest Paid Male Supermodel David Gandy On Transitioning From Fashion Model To Wellness Wear Designer

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Any business, at one point, will face some sort of a public relations crisis and the way you respond can either give you a much-needed image boost or significantly damage your brand, ultimately alienating your customer base and business partners. Especially in this day and age, when news goes viral almost instantly, organizations need to be ready to respond to any PR crisis quickly and efficiently, using all available platforms. So if you don’t want to end up on a list of worst PR nightmares or risk losing business over a crisis that can easily be averted, here are 13 golden rules of PR crisis management any company should stick to, as recommended by members of Forbes Agency Council . Don't stay silent during a public relations crisis. All photos courtesy of Forbes Agency Council members. 1. Take Responsibility First off, don’t try to cover up the PR crisis, it will only worsen the damage. Instead, … [Read more...] about 13 Golden Rules Of PR Crisis Management

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In a recent review of Patreon , a leading digital talent marketplace for creatives, the good news was very good. It noted, “Thousands of artists, vloggers, musicians, podcasters, and other creators make their living. The six-year-old startup currently supports more than 100,000 creators, who receive recurring donations from over 3 million supporters, and it has become the center of a growing ecosystem for supporting creators online.” The success stories on the Patreon site are encouraging; for example, Chapo Trap House, a podcast with 19,837 patrons at the time of writing, was paying over $80,000 a month. But, The Outline conclusion was less salutary: despite the success stories, few Patreon members produce enough income to break through the minimum wage barrier. As the article concludes, “Only 1,393 — 2% — make the equivalent of federal minimum wage ...” To be clear, many freelancers are using platforms as side … [Read more...] about The Best Digital Talent Marketplaces Are Accelerators: Is Yours?

Sandeep Bhushan Meta is hosting its inaugural marketing summit in India this month. The event is meant for senior business leaders and will specifically address questions around profitability and growth in the changing macroeconomic environment. Storyboard 18 caught up with Sandeep Bhushan, the outgoing Director and Head of GMS, India at Meta and spoke to him about Reels, the Instagram algorithm and the impact of current macroeconomic factors on businesses. Excerpts: Tell us about the inaugural Meta Marketing Summit happening this month. What is this event all about? Meta connects communities and businesses close to those communities. Our journey has been from text to video to metaverse. At all points in time, businesses are on our platforms; globally 200 million of them looking for consumers that are best placed to look for products that business offers. The current context makes it quite interesting. Which is where consumers have moved to digital; Facebook alone, for … [Read more...] about Storyboard18 | Brands that take a sharp view of growth will win market share: Meta’s Sandeep Bhushan

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Last month two audience measurement/ad tech companies, iSpot and 605 both competitors to Nielsen NLSN , announced a partnership with Conviva. Conviva is a global streaming analytics company that provides data in real time to subscribers. iSpot, which has a number of industry partnerships including. most notably. NBCU has been using Conviva data since last January. With the new agreement , iSpot will be embedding Conviva streaming data into their cross-platform audience measurement for ads and programming that will be available on the following day. In a statement, Emily Wood, VP of Business Development at iSpot.tv noted, “This collaboration makes it easy for all our network partners to authorize their first-party streaming data for use in our currency products and beyond.” Shortly thereafter, 605, which provides to their clients, television and cross-platform measurement, analytics and attribution also announced a … [Read more...] about Ad Tech Companies Are Partnering To Better Measure Cross-Platform Video Audiences

I t took a less than an hour in 2013 for Anna Todd to change her life. The Army wife and part-time babysitter had spent a lot of time reading fan fiction, stories by amateur writers about existing fictional universes and real-life celebrities. So her erotic tale about Tessa and Hardin—a wholesome college freshman and a tattooed bad boy who is a thinly veiled stand-in for singer Harry Styles—came together quickly when she sat down to type the first chapter of After on her phone. Todd posted it to Wattpad , one of the world’s largest destinations for online reading and writing. After has since been read more than 1.5 billion times on Wattpad. It’s now a bestselling book series, with 11 million copies sold after Wattpad brokered a mid-six-figure deal for Todd with Simon & Schuster. She fully credits Wattpad with getting her in the door. “If I had sent After to any publisher, there’s no way they would have even read it,” says Todd, 29. Wattpad got paid for its … [Read more...] about $400M Fiction Giant Wattpad Wants To Be Your Literary Agent

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin After a six-year hiatus, legendary filmmaker Walter Hill is back behind the camera with a Western thriller, Dead for A Dollar . Boasting a cast that includes Christoph Waltz and Rachel Brosnahan, it also sees him reunite with Streets of Fire alum Willem Dafoe. Waltz plays famed bounty hunter Maz Borlund who is tasked with tracking down Brosnahan's Rachel Price, the missing wife of a wealthy businessman. En route, Borlund comes across his sworn enemy, Dafoe's Joe Cribbens. I caught up with Hill to talk about the movie, his Hollywood hiatus, reuniting with Dafoe, the film's challenges, and celebrating the 45th anniversary of The Warriors . Simon Thompson: It has been six years since you directed your last movie, which is the longest gap in your career. Were you waiting for the right project to come along? Walter Hill: I think it's because of two things. It took quite a while to get going, from when I … [Read more...] about Legendary Director Walter Hill Talks Returning To Westerns With ‘Dead For A Dollar’