business
Netflix Hires Former EA Executive to Lead its Gaming Venture
Netflix has hired a former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive to spearhead its new venture into gaming. Mike Verdu — the former Facebook vice president heavily tied to working with developers on Oculus — joins Netflix as vice president of game development. Amongst the many titles worked on, Verdu was also instrumental in the Star Wars and Sims video game franchises for EA. According to a report by Bloomberg, the streaming giant looks to offer gaming “within the next year” on its platform. Verdu has noted that gaming, like other immersive technology, is “an important sort of modality to deepen that fan experience.” Netflix shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to $566 USD after Bloomberg broke the news. Although a bold move, entering the gaming world is showing to be the right directi...
The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s ‘Stay’ Bows at No. 1 In Australia
It’s the fifth leader for Bieber, after “What Do You Mean?” and “Love Yourself” (both in 2015), “I Don’t Care” with Ed Sheeran (2019) and “Peaches” (2021). “Stay” will appear on Laroi’s forthcoming mixtape F**k Love 3 EP, due out next Friday (July 23). Further down the list, BTS bag a fourth Top 10 singles in Australia as “Permission to Dance” (Big Hit/Orchard) bows at No. 6, while the K-pop phenom’s previous release “Butter” lifts 37-26. Billie Eilish has another Top 20 to her name as “NDA” (Interscope/Universal) opens at No. 16. The California star’s latest release is lifted from her forthcoming sophomore album Happier Than Ever, due out July 30. “NDA” is the fifth track from the album to impact the ARIA Singles Chart, including Top 10s “My Future,” “Therefore I Am” and “Your Power.” Mea...
Carly Pearce Set to Host 2021 ACM Honors
As previously reported, Hillary Lindsey — known for penning “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” among many other major country hits — will be honored with the songwriter of the year award, whileJay Joyce will receive the award for producer of the year for the fifth time. “We look forward to having industry and fans join us as we recognize the significant accomplishments of our 55th and 56th studio recording awards, industry awards, songwriter of the year and special awards winners with a night of unforgettable performances,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the ACM. The 14th annual ACM Honors will be livestreamed for viewers on Circle network’s channels. Alternatively, tickets to the live show are available for purchase on&...
Swedish House Mafia Returns: In Stockholm With the Dance Music Legends
And the group was still hard at work on more new music: In June 2019, the members were in the studio with A$AP Rocky the day before he turned himself in to Swedish police following an alleged street brawl (and was subsequently held in detention for two months). Still, the group dragged its feet on releasing singles — it still felt the album was unfinished. Then, everything stopped. The COVID-19 pandemic struck — and the Swedes, in a way, got what they wanted: much more time to work on the music. “Now we laugh about the early ideas,” says Angello. “We’re like, ‘Holy s–t — we were supposed to put that out?’ ” The pandemic may have had some silver linings for artists, but the Swedes weren’t immune to its many downsides. Sweden never fully locked down and only recommended wearing ma...
LeBron James’ SpringHill Co. Rumored to Hit $750 Million USD in Valuation
Founded by NBA All-Star LeBron James and longtime business partner Maverick Carter, video production company SpringHill Co. is in talks with potential investors for the sale of a piece of the firm which would amount to $750 million USD in valuation. Rumor has it that the media firm and Nike were in discussion about a potential complete company sale, but SpringHill cleared the air as it’s not looking to sell itself outright. The company has garnered a lot of interest across various industries with the likes of Nike as well as streaming-video providers and tech companies due to its incline in major projects. Its portfolio includes the recent Warner Bros. film Space Jam: A New Legacy staring James, a remake of the 1990 classic comedy House Party for New Line and Adam Sandler’s upcoming film H...
A24 Reportedly Explored a Possible Sale With a $3 Billion USD Asking Price
Indie film and television studio, A24 has reportedly explored a potential sale, with the asking price that was set between $2.5 billion USD to $3 billion USD. The studio, which is behind the Oscar-winning film Moonlight and Adam Sandler’s Uncut Gem has apparently been in multiple discussions regarding a sale of the production house for more than a year and a half. Sources have told Variety that as of now, the company is looking to prioritize its expansion as opposed to a sale. In recent years, A24 has made a name for itself in the industry, with critically acclaimed films, making a mark by tackling different storylines and genres. Its 2016 success with Moonlight placed the studio on the map, reportedly a large part of the going price for A24. The studio has expanded into producing shows wh...
UK Parliament Inquiry Recommends ‘Complete Reset’ of Streaming Business
But the committee’s report goes further, concluding in sweeping fashion that the global streaming model pioneered and dominated by Spotify, Apple, YouTube and Amazon Music, is unsustainable in its current form. “Streaming has undoubtedly helped save the music industry following two decades of digital piracy, but it is clear that what has been saved does not work for everyone,” the committee writes in its 200-page report. “The issues ostensibly created by streaming simply reflect more fundamental, structural problems within the recorded music industry. Streaming needs a complete reset.” In 2020, roughly two-thirds of Spotify’s global streams came from music distributed by the major record labels, Spotify said in a March 19 written submission to the DCMS committee, although that total ...
Warner Music Group Elects Nancy Dubuc to Board of Directors; Thomas Lee Stepping Down
“Nancy is an exceptional addition to the board,” said Len Blavatnik, vice chairman of the WMG board and founder and chairman of Access Industries. “Her experience in visual and digital media, combined with her knowledge of youth culture and the entertainment market, make her well suited to help guide WMG’s growth. I would also like to thank Tom for his many years of valuable service on the board, and I’m pleased that we’ll be able to call on his expertise in the future.” Added Dubuc, “Music now lives in many different forms, across cultures, technologies, and media. Warner’s dynamic, global approach to creativity and commerce, along with the powerful value proposition it offers artists and songwriters, make it a truly progressive and exciting company. I’m looking forward to working with ev...
SBA Has Approved 43% of Shuttered Venue Grant Applications
Of those notified of their awards, 2,374 are live music venue operators or promoters and 734 are talent representatives. Live performing arts organizations have received 1,777 award notifications. In addition, the SBA has “come to a decision on eligibility” for another 5,902 applicants, which means they will soon be notified of their applications success, failure or need for revision. Monday’s numbers show the SBA has “decisioned” 86% of the total 15,026 applications submitted. The administration has another 11% of applications in review and 3% waiting to be reviewed. As of midday Monday, the SBA has disbursed $3.3 billion in federal funding to venues, promoters, talent agencies, zoos, museums and movie theaters since May 26. Another $1.7 billion has...
Dangote Cement acquires 2,000 new vehicles to enhance transportation
Dangote Cement Plc has acquired 20,000 additional vehicles to enhance the distribution of the company’s cement products in the country. The company’s Spokesman, Tony Chiejine, said in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Lokoja that the new vehicles, made up of trucks, trailers and tippers, were acquired at a cost of $150 million US dollars. According to him, the company had recently taken delivery of another set of trucks, trailers, bulk tankers, tippers, cargo trucks and bulk cement tankers. “These assets would meet the expected increase in demand for transportation of cement to every part of the country and create employment for over 4,000 people in Nigeria,” he said. “We have acquired the new trucks in line with our new expansion capacity in Obajana, Ibese, Gboko and the ...
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ Leads U.K. Chart Race as Soccer Anthems Score Early
After 48 hours, “Three Lions” was the second-most streamed song with 2.17 million plays, and the fourth most downloaded song of the week so far, according to the OCC. Meanwhile, Atomic Kitten’s “Southgate You’re The One (Football’s Coming Home Again),” a reworking of their 2001 chart-leader “Whole Again,” lifts to No. 10 on the chart blast. If it holds its momentum when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published this Friday, it would give the pop outfit their first Top 40 single in 16 years. With England losing a nailbiter to Italy, expect the frenzy for football songs to cool dramatically in the days ahead. In other chart news, London rapper Dave’s “Clash” featuring Brit Award-winner Stormzy is on track for the highest debut, at No. 4; while BTS’s latest “Permission to Dance” is cl...
Sony Music Publishing to Represent AC/DC, Vanda, Young and Wright Catalogs
Additionally, the music publishing giant strikes a worldwide deal to represent the song catalog of Harry Vanda, George Young, and Stevie Wright. “We are pleased to join forces with Alberts to deliver new opportunities for AC/DC and Vanda, Young and Wright,” comments Sony Music Publishing chairman and CEO Jon Platt. David Albert and the Alberts team, he continues, “are leaders in shaping Australia’s modern music culture, and our shared ethos will be powerful in sustaining the global impact of these iconic catalogs.” AC/DC signed with the family-owned Alberts back in 1974 and they’ve been back in black ever since. The Rock Hall-inducted band has released 17 studio albums, including 2020’s Power Up, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, their third leader. With that LP, AC/DC bec...
