Latest news with #Reverb
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lost since 1985, Gibson kicks off hunt for missing 'Back to the Future' guitar
Marty McFly's rendition of 'Johnny B. Goode' at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance in "Back to the Future" is one of the most memorable scenes from the 1980s. But despite how unforgettable the image of Michael J. Fox rocking out on a Gibson ES-345 is, the whereabouts of the actual guitar are a mystery. And the cast from the film is asking for your help finding it. Advertisement In a video posted by Gibson Tuesday, Fox, Lea Thompson (Lorraine), Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) and other members of the team behind the 1985 film are enlisting the public to track down the prop guitar, which they say has not been seen since 1985. 'It's somewhere lost in the space-time continuum,' says Fox. 'Or it's in some Teamster's garage.' The guitar originally hailed from Norman's Rare Guitars, a shop in Los Angeles known for its vast selection of vintage guitars. Norman Harris, the shop's owner, told Reverb in 2015 he received a call from the Warner Bros. Prop department in 1984 asking for a guitar that looked futuristic. Advertisement After originally renting the film a Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster, the art director came back to Harris asking for another option in red with a whammy. Though it wouldn't be era-correct for 1955, Harris eventually presented them with the ES-345 (which would not be available until 1958). When production was ramping up for the sequel, Harris told Reverb he received a call from the studio asking to use the same guitar once again. The problem was he didn't remember what happened to it. Gibson is producing a documentary about the search for the guitar as the film turns 40, titled 'Lost to the Future.' 'We've been looking into leads and rumors for a long time, and as you can imagine, we're talking 40 years ago, so memories fade,' Lost to the Future director Doc Crotzer told The Hollywood Reporter. 'We weren't in the era of digital trails, or of receipts and things like that. There are conflicting reports too. You can find about as many different rumors as you can people.' Advertisement Harris apparently has told a few different stories over the years explaining the possible whereabouts of the guitar, including one which claims he sold it to a friend, who sold it to a woman who eventually returned to the store and asked for $1 million to sell it back. It may seem like an unthinkable travesty for such an iconic piece of movie history to be lost, but it was only recently that studios recognized the value of their props from major films. Today, studios keep detailed inventory tracking systems and work with auction houses such as Propstore and Julien's to sell items shortly after the release of the film to recoup costs. The filmmakers are encouraging anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of the guitar to visit the website and contact them with tips. Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Huber Heights: Projects near Rose still a go despite lack of movement
May 8—The area around Rose Music Center on Executive Boulevard in Huber Heights has long been a main focus for ongoing development in the city. In the past three years, at least six major projects have been proposed for the section of Executive Boulevard that spans from the intersection of Brandt Pike west toward the industrial-commercial district just northeast of I-70. Two of these projects have come to fruition: A Sheetz gas station opened last summer on the corner of Brandt and Executive, and a new Warped Wing restaurant/brewery location a year prior, just west of the Rose. But while plans for two large housing developments were announced in 2022 and 2023, respectively, these projects have yet to break ground. The city in 2022 approved a proposal by Horizon Line Development to rezone 43 acres of vacant land, located at 7125 Executive Blvd., north of TJ Chump's, from planned employment park to planned mixed use. Since then, the project has been handed off to multiple subsequent developers and is now being lead by Pride One. The city expects Pride One to submit its final development plans for approval in July. City Planner Aaron Sorrell, who also serves as assistant city manager, said the project will involve two phases and will see the construction of over 300 new housing units and 11,000 square feet of retail space. In 2023, the city entered into a development agreement with Metropolitan Holdings for a project to construct a 312-unit apartment complex, to be called Reverb, on 25 acres west of the Pride One site. As part of this agreement, the city also received four acres of the parcel for redevelopment. "Once construction starts for Reverb, we plan to step up our marketing of that property," Sorrell said. "We're looking for more of a restaurant-type use, but (nothing's concrete)." Groundbreaking for Reverb is set for late June, Sorrell noted. Last August, Mayor Jeff Gore announced early plans for an indoor music venue and Dublin Pub location to be developed on Executive Boulevard. Sorrell said this week the city is completing "due diligence" for the music venue along with partner Music and Event Management Inc. (MEMI), and finalizing a contract agreement for the pub project. Gore said Monday a more detailed update about the various Executive Boulevard projects will be shared during his "State of the City" address on Monday, June 9.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can Anything Save Etsy?
Etsy's struggles continued in Q1 as gross merchandise sales declined. The e-commerce platform said it would sell Reverb for a loss. Etsy's chances at a turnaround appear to be narrowing. Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) might have a long history of delighting shoppers with its handmade or vintage items, but investors have experienced nothing but disappointment lately. The stock boomed during the pandemic as the stay-at-home effect fueled interest and demand for its products, but like a number of e-commerce companies, it has struggled to gain traction since then, and sales on the platform have steadily fallen. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » While the excuse of a post-pandemic hangover may have worked in 2022 and even 2023 as consumer spending reverted to other categories, by now it's clear that there are other challenges plaguing the craft-oriented online marketplace. As the chart below shows, Etsy stock continues to plumb new depths with shares sliding following another disappointing earnings report on Wednesday. As you can see, the stock has steadily fallen over the last 18 months, showing investors seems to be gradually giving up on it. Etsy's first-quarter earnings report did little to alter that narrative. Gross merchandise sales (GMS), or the total value of goods sold on the platform, fell 6.5% to $2.8 billion, continuing a streak of declining business, and overall active sellers and active buyers both fell, with sellers down 11.3% to 8.1 million. Active sellers on the Etsy marketplace (which doesn't include its other platforms) dropped 23% from 7 million to 5.4 million. Additionally, Etsy announced that it was selling the musical instrument marketplace Reverb, which it acquired in 2019, taking an impairment charge of $101.7 million, essentially meaning it sold the company for $101.7 million less than it had bought it for. After the latest report, investors must be wondering if there's anything that can turn around Etsy's fortunes. Let's look at what's gone wrong for the company in the last few years before addressing its turnaround prospects. Etsy's purchase of Reverb in 2019 began what the company called its "House of Brands" strategy, in which it aimed to acquire sub-brands for its e-commerce marketplace and fold them into its portfolio, applying the same strategies that had worked for the Etsy marketplace. At its peak, Etsy had three sub-brands in its portfolio: Reverb, Depop, and Elo7. With the sale of Reverb, it will be left with just Depop. It took a loss on the sale of both Reverb and Elo7, a Brazilian online marketplace similar to Etsy that it sold in 2023 after acquiring it in 2021. The company also took a $1 billion impairment on the value of Depop and Elo7 in 2022, though the write-off was primarily for Depop, which is mostly a vintage fashion resale marketplace with an Instagram-like interface where shoppers can follow sellers. Depop, at least, is growing rapidly now, with GMS up 32% in 2024 and growth of around 60% in the U.S. However, it's clear the acquisition strategy has been a failure. Not only has the company taken an accounting loss on all three of the brands it acquired, but those moves have also distracted from the core business, which has clearly underperformed management and investor expectations. There's no question about it. Sellers are fleeing Etsy's platform, as the 23% decline over the last year indicates. A marketplace like Etsy isn't much without its seller base; unlike Amazon, it doesn't sell any first-party products. There's no single reason for the decline in sellers on Etsy, but probably the biggest, along with the overall growth challenges in the business, is the increase in seller fees. Etsy's take rate, essentially the percentage of revenue divided by GMS, has crept up over the years, clocking in at 23.3% in Q1 2025. That compares to 21.6% in Q1 2024 and 17.8% in 2022, meaning the take rate has increased 31% in three years. Management would likely defend those increases by saying it's invested more in the platform and technology, but fees on sellers have clearly gone up, and there hasn't been a related increase in sales, as the decline in GMS shows. There's also concern that the brand has been diluted by non-handmade goods, such as products made in China and conventional products with a logo attached. For a platform like Etsy, there's natural tension between staying true to the brand promise of artisan-made goods and expanding the marketplace to new products, but whether management intended this or not, the brand appears to have been compromised and diluted. On Etsy's earnings call, the company touted now-familiar key performance metrics in areas like app usage and advertising, but those gloss over the structural problems in the business. Management needs to reckon with those problems first rather than trying to highlight whatever silver lining it thinks is buried in the numbers. In order for the stock to recover, the company will have to return to GMS growth, which likely means growing active sellers as well. With its low valuation, Etsy looks ripe for activist investors, and activists did drive a surge in the stock in 2017 after bringing in new leadership, cutting costs, and refocusing the business. Activist investor Elliott Management took a stake last year and now owns 13% of the company, but it has been unable to effect real change. An acquisition is another possibility. The company could end up in the hands of a buyer like Shopify or Target, or possibly a private equity firm. Etsy is a unique property in e-commerce, and its valuation would give it upside in a turnaround. However, management's execution has been poor since the pandemic, and it seems to be unwilling to face the core problems in the business. If nothing changes, Etsy stock will continue to head lower, as boosting the take rate is not a long-term fix for declining GMS. The company needs a change in management, a strategic partner -- if not a full-on acquisition -- or a similar wholesale change. As the brand loses relevance, the time left for a recovery is running out. Before you buy stock in Etsy, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Etsy wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $623,685!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $701,781!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 906% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 164% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon, Shopify, and Target. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, and Target. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Can Anything Save Etsy? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Etsy Exits Reverb in Surprise Deal--Here's Who's Taking Over
Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) just sold off its music gear marketplace, Reverbquietly, but strategically. The buyers? A duo of deep-pocketed, music-savvy investors: Servco Pacific (yes, the same Servco that helped rescue Fender in the '80s) and Creator Partners, whose portfolio includes SoundCloud, BMI, and Colors+Studios. The goal? Give Reverb the freedom to grow on its own again, while Etsy streamlines focus on its main marketplace and Gen Z darling Depop. The deal is expected to close in the next few weeks. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with ETSY. For Reverb, this isn't just a new chapterit's a return to form. CEO David Mandelbrot confirmed Reverb will operate independently post-sale, with no layoffs, no platform changes, and no portfolio mergers. But don't mistake stability for stagnation. New features are already rolling out: faster seller payouts, local drop-off options, and more music software tools to help users level up their sound without leveling their wallets. For investors, the signal is clear: Etsy is trimming the fat to refocus on scale, while vertical platforms like Reverb are finding new life under mission-aligned capital. In a world chasing synergies, this move shows the value of letting niche platforms breatheand thriveon their own terms. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
IDLES Teams Up With Guitar Giant Fender to Unveil New Player II Modified Line
Fender announced today that they're releasing a new update on their popular Player II guitar line called the Player II Modified. This new guitars take some of the immensely popular Player II models and add upgrades to them that many owners would do to their own guitars, like the addition of noiseless pickups, locking tuners and other upgraded hardware and electronics (such as treble bleeds, coil splits and brass block saddles). More from Spin: Janelle Monae, The Roots To Anchor Newport Jazz Festival Sophia Warren Doesn't Want You To Feel Alone Broke Records: An Independent Label Navigating Success in the Digital Age 'Pickups are undoubtedly one of, if not the most common mod,' says Jim Tuerk, Reverb's Director of Business Development and resident guitar expert. 'The hum of single coil pickups is a ubiquitous issue for a lot of guitarists — and Fender has had many variants of noiseless pickups — but noiseless pickups have typically not been standard on the low- and mid-priced lines. For a beginner or intermediate player, that's a big unlock with the Player II Modified line.' Tuerk also points out that entry- and mid-level guitars often come with underwhelming tuners — another welcome upgrade on Fender's Player II Modified line that will lead to newer guitarists spending more time playing and less time re-tuning. They're important upgrades to one of Fender's most popular and accessible lines, and one that many consider to be a direct replacement of the old 'Standard' series as the baseline for Made in Mexico (MIM) Fenders. 'The Player II effectively has replaced the MIM series for consumers looking for a basic Fender, as it effectively is the MIM models with updates and upgrades from what was being done in yesteryear with more colors and configurations,' Tuerk says. 'The Player II Series have been popular in the market, as you would expect for a mid-priced guitar with Fender on the headstock. The Player II Modified Series gives a great option for picking up a pretty cool instrument for the money. On Reverb, you'll find even more competitive prices within a month of launch on a gently used instrument. Fender's Certified Pre-Owned program will also have well-priced, like-new Player II Modified guitars in their store.' But rather than simply announcing the new collection, the massive musical instrument manufacturer teamed up with the Grammy-nominated rockers in IDLES to show off the new goods. Beyond just being a massive band, the connection also makes sense since IDLES is far from a traditional rock group — the perfect fit for guitars that go beyond normal expectations. SPIN sat down with IDLES guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan as well as vocalist Joe Talbot to discuss the new guitars, IDLES' recent Grammy nomination, and much more. SPIN: You've partnered with the guitar giants in Fender to unveil their new Fender Player II Modified line, what are some of the important upgrades you see with them? Mark Bowen: The big thing for me is just the durability of it all, and what makes a big difference for me is the saddles. For a long time, Fender has used these vintage kind of saddles. I play really heavy strings and I play really hard, and those saddles tend to buckle and break. (1:06) These ones are indestructible. Plus, they've got locking tuning heads. It's designed to be a constant, where you can throw whatever at it with your playing, and it's just going to take it. It's going to hold and stay, because it's for a player. Lee Kiernan: It's for actually going out and playing shows, not sitting at home or just sitting on a wall. You can actually use these properly. Joe Talbot: For legal purposes, I think we have to say that 'indestructible' is just a subjective adjective. And IDLES is obviously very much a guitar band, but it's not the simplest rock band out there. How do these guitars (and your other equipment) factor into the band's diverse sound? Bowen: We want to be a guitar band that doesn't sound like a guitar band. We aim high to sound like our influences. We want to sound like electronic music. We want to sound like hip-hop. So we need to have these tools that we can chuck into pedals and can become this transformative thing where you really focus on the sounds and be very creative with it. But we're also about having those moments where you pull it back and it becomes a guitar band again. It's not chaos pads in the middle of the guitar and all this wacky stuff that just doesn't sound like it's from Earth at any point. We want that human aspect of it. We create these very simple big blocks of sound, and it's very important that the nature of the player comes across. It's the characteristic of how we play those simple chords that make the difference. If it was just very simple and it was played simply, it wouldn't have that essence, that character, that personality. So it's all about being able to get that across as readily as possible, with a massive consideration for the live show. It's got to be something that has a visceral energy to it where you can see the expression of the players — where you can dig in and do all that stuff and you can see it, you can feel it. It's all these subtle nuances that need to be translated, from the source of the player, through the guitar, into all these million pedals, and then through our sound engineer in order to create this sound. Speaking of the live show, IDLES played a ton of gigs before officially releasing an album or anything. What went into building that live experience before nailing down the recorded side of things? Talbot: It's imperative for us as people, but I'm not saying it's imperative for anyone else. There's a million ways to skin a cat, but one of the things that made our band successful — before any outward monetary or audience success or that bullshit — was the combustion in the room of us together. It was about us understanding that and maneuvering it in a way where we all felt like we were speaking the same language. That didn't happen very often at first, but when it did, it was magic. Our old drummer — Jon Harper of the Cooper Temple Clause fame — told us we needed to get out there and play live. That's always my advice to people, no matter how terrible you are or how terrible you think you are. It's the most freeing and punishing experience. It's electric, and it makes you feel alive. It also makes you realize where you need to improve, because it's the deep end and you drown very quickly — and that's the best fucking feeling in the world. Bowen: It's instant feedback. You start to understand what it is about your identity as an artist and as a band that resonates with people and resonates with the audience. (6:33) And then you can hone that in and say 'How do we become even better at it? How do we become even more successful in that? How do we relay that in that heightened kind of mood?' A stage requires amplification of your personality and your intent as a band to convey it and to get that energy back from the audience. It's a huge learning curve. Talbot: I've been describing the songs recently as a mirror, and when you put up the mirror, the audience holds up a mirror to the song. The song is both of our mirrors, but we see completely different reflections. When you start writing songs and playing live, it starts as a frame. You're wearing other people's hats and trying new things. That's the beauty of it. There's nothing wrong with trying to be David Bowie or pretending to be hip-hop. That's the fun of it. When you're a kid, you put on costumes and you learn. Then, over time, you become fluent in your own shit. When you go out there and play, that instant feedback makes you realize the payoff comes from finding your own language in that mirror. It takes a long time for some of us, but not everyone. If you watch the Sugarcubes, Bjork was already Bjork back then. Some people just have that sense of vitality. Whereas I, as a frontperson, didn't. I was desperate to please, and I couldn't be myself fully in that moment of terror performing in front of eight drunk people. Bowen: I was reading an article with Ian Brodie of the Lightning Seeds — who's also a producer — and he said something really interesting that resonated with me. It was something like 'You have to find what the band thinks they sound like.' Because we'll be like 'Oh, this just sounds like the Stooges,' but it doesn't. It's IDLES playing the Stooges. It's IDLES thinking they sound like the Stooges. It's not the same. It has a different energy and a different feel. It has a different context that makes it just that thing. By playing live for as long as we had, we were able to piece together those things, like how we can wear our influences without being pastiche or without being them exactly. Talbot: I think that's just natural. It's not what our influences are, it's what we love. I am exactly what I am because of what I love and my traumas and what I dislike. Certain people lean on their dislikes more than others, whereas I just don't fucking listen to what I don't like. I want to celebrate what I love, and that's my language. It's not our influences as much as it is our passion. On a different note, what was it like to be nominated and attend the Grammys earlier this year? Bowen: It was great! It's one of those things that you don't aim for. You don't consider it when you're making the music. But it's like if someone says they like your band, that's an amazing thing — and being a part of the Grammys is someone just shouting really loudly 'Hey, this band's sick! So to get any kind of recognition from anyone is fantastic, and the more bums on seats we can get, the better. That's just more people we can try and convert to the IDLES train. It feels like IDLES has become one of the most successful rock bands in the world, but in a very organic way. Every year, it seems the band receives bigger audiences and more accolades instead of having one major hit and then coasting on that. Talbot: I think it's the healthiest way for us, but I think that depends on how strong you are. I can speak only for myself, but my emotional maturity's taken way longer than a normal person — maybe because of trauma or maybe that's just because of whatever else. But if I had a huge amount of success early on — and I mean monetary and attention — I would have been an egomaniac. I've always been insecure, but the grind is what I was passionate about with IDLES and it gave me a dedication and a sense of purpose. That purpose is why we're still here, because that's how we've learned. Let's not beat around the bush, a Grammy is basically two things: a platform boost and a dopamine boost. There's only one of those I need, because I get enough dopamine just living a privileged life. I'll always take the platform boost, but I would have been a fucking horrible cunt if it'd had that kind of real immediate elevation. It's just not healthy for people with fragile egos, which is definitely what I've come up from. This trajectory also allowed us to learn our language as an artist slower and not be pushed and pulled around by temptations, needs from labels, audiences, the growth of that. It's a different organism, and I think that's earned us a very loyal fan base that's grown with us. We have a sense of being carried, which keeps us humble. But why wouldn't we be humble? We're fucking terrible at our instruments and we look like shit. Kiernan: I think it's been a very healthy process for all of us as people, as friends, and as a musical group together. With us spending all this time together, we've learned so much about each other. We know how much time we need to spend with each other and how much time we need to give each other as well. It's provided some of the most beautiful moments we've ever had and some of the most hellish situations whilst on tour. We would never have gone through any of them or experienced them together if we didn't do the grind. Talbot: People complain all the time about shit that is insane in this industry. They're turning up late for their own shows, and complaining about this and complaining about that, whereas we slept in a van under bin liners in minus-whatever degrees, and were happy about it. We enjoyed the experience, because we had five more people at that show than we did the night before. That sense of gratification comes from your own determination, and I think that's a really healthy thing. You have to be uncomfortable to understand how beautiful comfort is. Bowen: And you can't question each other's commitment to the craft. Everyone has put everything into this, even when it didn't look like we were going to get anything back from it. We were getting what we needed at every point. And stylistically, you're a pretty far cry from a lot of the poppier rock bands that have seen as much success as IDLES has. Bowen: That's unquestionable for us. Our success and how big our band is and the rooms that we fill and the awards, blah blah blah — none of that is even remotely a consideration at any point. It comes as a big surprise to us, because while our intention isn't to make difficult music, we appreciate that it's not necessarily middle-of-the-road or accessible. But it's real. Talbot: It's an amalgamation of all that we love. Today, I've listened to Eric Dolphy and Bob Seger, and I want all of that in our album. That's just part of what I'm into, and I think you can grow yourself as a person and a musician opening up to fucking sick music. But that's not to say the middle-of-the-road stuff is always bad. We would always argue the case for Coldplay early on in our career because it's just an easy band to fucking berate in the UK because the UK hates success. They hate people that are seemingly nice and kind because we're distrusting due to a crippling class system and fucking tirade of bullshit from the British Empire. But why pretend to not like Parachutes? That's fucking insane. It's an incredible album. In 50 years, people will be treating it like people do the Beatles now. No one dislikes the Beatles, or at least they can appreciate how important they are. The UK has that sense of cutting down the tallest poppy, whereas we always just try to celebrate whatever it is we love. But normally we have a collective dislike for stuff that has the intention of fame or money. You've hit a lot of accomplishments in your career, but what else is left for IDLES to do? Talbot: We just want to maintain a healthy career built around dedication and love for the music we have written. That's it. Whatever comes with that is great. The worst thing you can do — to quote Tom DeLonge — is stay together for the kids. We've got to stay in this because we love it. and we do. Bowen: I just want to be excited about every album we make and every show we do. So whatever needs to happen to make that happen, that's what I want. To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
