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MRC (company)

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A trade name , trading name , or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name . Registering the fictitious name with a relevant government body is often required.

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40-429: MRC II Distribution Company, L.P. , doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital ), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. The company's divisions include MRC Film , MRC Non-Fiction , and MRC Television . In 2018, the company merged with Todd Boehly 's media assets under Valence Media, with

80-420: A DBA must be registered with a local or state government, or both, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, California, Texas and Virginia require a DBA to be registered with each county (or independent city in the case of Virginia) where the owner does business. Maryland and Colorado have DBAs registered with a state agency. Virginia also requires corporations and LLCs to file a copy of their registration with

120-467: A DBA statement, though names including the first and last name of the owner may be accepted. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name, although some jurisdictions do not provide exclusivity for a name, or may allow more than one party to register the same name. Note, though, that this is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights. In

160-479: A Hot 100 is decided in 2013. Sales data from cash registers is collected from 14,000 retail, mass merchant, and non-traditional (on-line stores, venues, digital music services, etc.) outlets in the United States, Canada, UK and Japan. The requirements for reporting sales to Nielsen Music are that the store has Internet access and a point of sale (POS) inventory system. Submission of sales data must be in

200-509: A brand. In August 2022, Eldridge agreed with Wiczyk and Satchu to divide MRC's assets, effectively undoing the 2018 Valence Media merger. Eldridge re-acquired the company's live and alternative division (which resumed business as Dick Clark Productions), as well as MRC's share of the PMRC joint venture, Luminate (the former MRC Data), and investments in studios including A24 and Fulwell 73 . The remaining MRC entity, in which Eldridge will retain

240-516: A businessperson writes a trade name on a contract, invoice, or cheque, they must also add the legal name of the business. Numbered companies will very often operate as something other than their legal name, which is unrecognizable to the public. In Chile , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Ireland , businesses are legally required to register business names where these differ from

280-476: A joint venture with United Talent Agency known as Civic Center Media, which seeks to back projects involving its members via MRC. In December 2019, Valence Media acquired Nielsen Holdings ' music data business , with the division being rebranded as MRC Data. In 2020, Valence Media rebranded as MRC. On September 23, 2020, it was announced that Penske Media Corporation , owner of The Hollywood Reporter 's main competitor Variety , would assume operations of

320-517: A long-term basis through the RIAA certification system; it has never used either Nielsen SoundScan or the store-calling method. The first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song via Nielsen SoundScan was " Set Adrift on Memory Bliss " by P.M. Dawn . Other changes would also largely impact the Hot 100 in the future, consisting of radio-only songs being able to chart in 1998, and YouTube views playing part of how

360-597: A minority stake, will retain its scripted film and TV production entity as well as investments in Civic Center Media and T-Street Productions . Wiczyk and Satchu became chairmen of the company in 2023. SpinMedia (formerly BuzzMedia) was an American digital publisher that owned a number of pop culture websites, including Spin , Stereogum , Vibe , and The Frisky . It was founded in 1999 by Anthony Batt, Marc Brown, Kevin Woolery, and Steve Haldane under

400-583: A music data business. Films produced or co-financed by MRC have included: Trade name In a number of countries, the phrase " trading as " (abbreviated to t/a ) is used to designate a trade name. In the United States , the phrase " doing business as " (abbreviated to DBA , dba , d.b.a. , or d/b/a ) is used, among others, such as assumed business name or fictitious business name . In Canada , " operating as " (abbreviated to o/a ) and " trading as " are used, although " doing business as "

440-458: A registered legal name and a fictitious business name, or trade name, is important because fictitious business names do not always identify the entity that is legally responsible . Legal agreements (such as contracts ) are normally made using the registered legal name of the business. If a corporation fails to consistently adhere to such important legal formalities like using its registered legal name in contracts, it may be subject to piercing of

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480-454: Is also sometimes used. A company typically uses a trade name to conduct business using a simpler name rather than using their formal and often lengthier name. Trade names are also used when a preferred name cannot be registered, often because it may already be registered or is too similar to a name that is already registered. Using one or more fictitious business names does not create additional separate legal entities. The distinction between

520-499: Is called a razón social . MRC Data Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data ) is a provider of music and entertainment data . Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intelligence (formerly TVtracker). In December 2019, Eldridge Industries ' Valence Media , then parent company of Billboard , acquired Nielsen's music data business, reuniting it with Billboard for

560-579: Is the source of sales information for the Billboard music charts . The company operates the analytics platform Music Connect, Music 360 and Broadcast Data Systems (which tracks airplay of music), the latter of which was shut down in September 2022. Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen on March 1, 1991. The May 25 issue of Billboard published Billboard 200 and Country Album charts based on SoundScan "piece count data", and

600-502: The Billboard charts than before, and their chart success helped increase the genre's popularity. In addition, SoundScan sales data quickly found use in the promotion departments at major record labels, to persuade radio station music directors to play tracks by high-selling alternative artists such as Nirvana . Alpha Data (formerly, but commonly known as BuzzAngle Music ) was a music analytics firm which provided statistics for

640-609: The Netflix series House of Cards and Ozark , and the films Baby Driver , Knives Out , and Ted . MRC was founded by Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu in 2006. Its early investors included Guggenheim Partners , AT&T , WPP Group , Goldman Sachs and ABRY Partners. In 2007, it funded filmmakers such as Robert Rodriguez , Ricky Gervais , Walter Salles , Ryan Murphy , Richard Kelly , Bennett Miller and Todd Field . The same year, it entered into an agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures to allow Warner to distribute three of

680-466: The United Kingdom , there is no filing requirement for a "business name", defined as "any name under which someone carries on business" that, for a company or limited liability partnership, "is not its registered name", but there are requirements for disclosure of the owner's true name and some restrictions on the use of certain names. A minority of U.S. states, including Washington , still use

720-508: The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group for an undisclosed amount, making Billboard the world's largest music brand in terms of digital traffic and audience share. Celebuzz , The Frisky , and The Superficial were sold to CPX Interactive . In January 2020, Spin and Stereogum were sold to Next Management Partners and the site's management, respectively, as part of a larger focus on Vibe and

760-487: The MRC Media & Info publications under a joint venture with MRC known as PMRC. In turn, MRC will form a second joint venture that will develop content tied to PMRC publications. In September 2021, former E! president Adam Stotsky became the new president of MRC Live & Alternative, replacing the outgoing Amy Thurlow. At this time, Dick Clark Productions was folded into MRC Live & Alternative and discontinued as

800-418: The U.S., trademark rights are acquired by use in commerce, but there can be substantial benefits to filing a trademark application. Sole proprietors are the most common users of DBAs. Sole proprietors are individual business owners who run their businesses themselves. Since most people in these circumstances use a business name other than their own name, it is often necessary for them to get DBAs. Generally,

840-501: The agreement. The network returned the Sunday timeslots to its affiliates in the 2009–10 season. In 2010, MRC made a bid to buy Focus Features from NBCUniversal but was unable to close the deal. That same year, MRC struck a 5-year, 20-picture distribution deal with Universal Pictures . After acquiring rights to produce a U.S. remake of the BBC miniseries House of Cards , MRC would sell

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880-430: The calling system) often did not match (for instance Paula Abdul 's " Promise of a New Day " and Roxette 's " Fading Like a Flower " reached much higher Hot 100 peaks than their actual sales and airplay would have allowed them to). Although most record company executives conceded that the new method was far more accurate than the old, the chart's volatility and its geographical balance initially caused deep concern, before

920-643: The change and the market shifts it brought about were accepted across the industry. Tower Records , the country's second-largest retail chain, was originally not included in the sample because its stores were equipped with different technology to measure sales. At first, some industry executives complained that the new system—which relied on high-tech sales measurement rather than store employee estimates—was based on an inadequate sample, one that favored established and mainstream acts over newcomers. The Recording Industry Association of America also tracks sales (or more specifically, shipments minus potential returns) on

960-479: The collected data using a statistical calculation called " weighting ". This assigns a multiplier to each category of stores, to compensate for the number of similar stores not covered by the sampling program. Sales in each category are multiplied accordingly. Such a system is vulnerable to exploitation if it is known which stores are included in the sampling program. To inflate their reported chart sales, some indie labels were reported to purposefully target stores in

1000-523: The company as a whole taking on the MRC name in 2020; this included Dick Clark Productions (briefly known as MRC Live & Alternative), audience data firm Luminate (the former Nielsen SoundScan), and the entertainment industry publications Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter . Boehly (through Eldridge Industries) re-acquired most of these assets in August 2022. Productions by the company have included

1040-484: The corporate veil . In English , trade names are generally treated as proper nouns . In Argentina , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Brazil , a trade name is known as a nome fantasia ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called razão social (social name). In some Canadian jurisdictions , such as Ontario , when

1080-534: The county or city to be registered with the State Corporation Commission. DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchise . The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp. , 26 Cal. 4th 261 (2001), where

1120-438: The eight pictures over a $ 250 million feature production funding. MRC launched a television division of the studio in early 2008. In 2008, The CW leased its Sunday-night schedule to MRC beginning in the 2008-09 television season. MRC scheduled the reality show In Harm's Way and the dramas Valentine and Easy Money . In November 2008, after all four shows drew poor viewership, The CW announced that it would withdraw from

1160-409: The first Hot 100 chart to debut with the system was released on November 30, 1991. Previously, Billboard tracked sales by calling stores across the U.S. and asking about sales—a method that was inherently error-prone and open to outright fraud. Indeed, while transitioning from the calling to tracking methods, the airplay and sales charts (already monitored by Nielsen) and the Hot 100 (then still using

1200-894: The first time since its spin-off to E5 Global Media from Nielsen Business Media. It was renamed MRC Data in 2020 after Eldridge Industries merged Valence with the film and television studio MRC . and was then brought under its PMRC joint venture with Penske Media Corporation as P-MRC Data . It was renamed once more to Luminate Data in March 2022. In August 2022, the MRC merger was unwound, with Eldridge Industries taking sole ownership of its stake in PMRC. Nielsen Music, originally established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, collects music consumption and sales weekly and makes this available every Sunday (for album sales) and every Monday (for song sales) to subscribers, which include record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film and TV companies, and artist managers. It

1240-550: The form of a text file consisting of all the UPCs sold and the quantities per UPC on a weekly basis. Sales collected from Monday–Sunday or Sunday–Saturday are reported every Monday and made available to subscribers every Wednesday. Anyone selling a music product with its own UPC or ISRC may register that product to be tracked by Luminate. Not all retailers participate in the SoundScan program, so total CD sales are projected from

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1280-402: The law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to first file or register his fictitious business name with the county clerk, and then making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper. Several other states, such as Illinois , require print notices as well. In Uruguay , a trade name is known as a nombre fantasía , and the legal name of business

1320-751: The name Buzznet, and by 2006, Buzznet had a total of nine employees in the Los Angeles , California , area. The BuzzMedia name was created as the company started to acquire more pop-culture and music blogs. The company acquired Spin Media, publisher of Spin magazine, in July 2012. After shutting down the print version of the magazine, reducing its staff to about 200, and focusing on advertising, it rebranded itself as SpinMedia in March 2013. At that time, Steve Hansen became its chief executive. In April 2013, it acquired Vibe magazine. In 2014, M/C Partners became

1360-461: The named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as " Lexus of Westminster ", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. . In California , filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published in local newspapers for some set period of time to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name . The intention of

1400-429: The primary owner of SpinMedia after an assignment for benefit of creditors . That year, BuzzMedia had also acquired music sites Property of Zack, AbsolutePunk.net , Under The Gun Review, and Punknews.org. In September 2016, SpinMedia sold Buzznet , Idolator, and PureVolume to startup corporation Hive Media. In December of that year, Eldridge Industries acquired Spin , Vibe , Stereogum , and Death and Taxes via

1440-550: The program for on-site sales promotions. Also, other labels were found shipping boxes of their CDs to be scanned by complicit retailers in the program. The incorporation of SoundScan tracking by the Billboard charting system was cited by the industry as a possible cause of the early '90s popularization of alternative music in the United States. An explanation floated was that the previous call system under-represented marginal genres. Under SoundScan, more accurate data on alternative music sales allowed these acts to appear higher in

1480-414: The series to the streaming service Netflix in 2011. On February 1, 2018, Eldridge Industries , a holding company owned by former Guggenheim Partners president Todd Boehly , announced that it would contribute its media assets — including The Hollywood Reporter , Dick Clark Productions , and Billboard , and merge them with MRC into a new company known as Valence Media . In October 2018, MRC formed

1520-459: The surname(s) of the sole trader or partners, or the legal name of a company. The Companies Registration Office publishes a searchable register of such business names. In Japan , the word yagō ( 屋号 ) is used. In Colonial Nigeria , certain tribes had members that used a variety of trading names to conduct business with the Europeans. Two examples were King Perekule VII of Bonny , who

1560-469: The term trade name to refer to "doing business as" (DBA) names. In most U.S. states now, however, DBAs are officially referred to using other terms. Almost half of the states, including New York and Oregon , use the terms assumed business name or assumed name ; nearly as many, including Pennsylvania , use the term fictitious name . For consumer protection purposes, many U.S. jurisdictions require businesses operating with fictitious names to file

1600-553: Was known as Captain Pepple in trade matters, and King Jubo Jubogha of Opobo , who bore the pseudonym Captain Jaja . Both Pepple and Jaja would bequeath their trade names to their royal descendants as official surnames upon their deaths. In Singapore , there is no filing requirement for a "trading as" name, but there are requirements for disclosure of the underlying business or company's registered name and unique entity number. In

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