Streaming
New Study Reveals Fewer Than 800 U.K. Musicians Make Livable Wage From Music Streaming
A new study has revealed that only approximately 720 of musicians in the U.K. earn enough money from music streaming to sustain a living. Analyzing data from 2014-2020—along with focus groups and interviews with musicians—the Intellectual Property Office released the “Music Creators’ Earnings In The Digital Era” study, which revealed that only the top 0.4% of UK artists make a livable wage from streaming on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. 1,723 artists in total fell into the top 0.4% bracket, but the majority of those artists were not native to the U.K. U.S.-based artists accounted for 43.2% of the top streams in the U.K. Haithem Ferdi Recommended Articles “We estimate that this 1,723 UK figure may translate into around 720 UK artists achieving this ...
What’s the Deal with Seinfeld’s Bizarre Pilot?
In this age of streaming, serialized television, and full-season orders for everything, the pilot feels like a lost, forgotten art. You see, kids, back when television aired on a handful of networks and you had to watch whatever happened to be on the boob tube at any given moment, network executives would order a test episode, or “pilot,” to see whether a show would work. It’s a pre-natal version of the show you’d come to know and love, often with characters, approaches, or visual tics that were dropped by episode 2. Now, Netflix is bringing Seinfeld, in all its remastered HD glory, to its shores on October 1st, offering audiences new and old the chance to binge their way through all ten seasons of the iconic, game-changing sitcom. But if you truly start at the beginning, with its dee...
Dave Chappelle Announces New Netflix Special The Closer
Dave Chappelle is here to rescue you from your existential dread — or, at least he’s going to try. Today, the renowned comedian has unveiled the trailer for The Closer, his new Netflix standup special, just ahead of its release on October 5th. “Comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly,” Chappelle says in the trailer’s first seconds. “Sometimes, the funniest thing to say is mean. Remember: I’m not saying it to be mean, I’m saying it because it’s funny.” Billed as Chappelle’s “sixth chapter” — meaning his sixth Netflix special overall — The Closer follows 2019’s Sticks & Stones. See the trailer for The Closer below. Chappelle’s 2021 so far has been mind-boggling, to say the least. Back in June, he joined Foo Fighters onstage at Madison Square Garden fo...
Warner Music Becomes Twitch’s First Major-Label Partner
Warner Music Group (WMG) is the first major recording company to partner with Twitch in a deal that will bring WMG artist channels, original music programming and more to the livestreaming platform. To start, WMG is launching artist channels for Warner Records stars Bella Poarch and Saweetie, plus Atlantic Records singer and producer Sueco, where they’ll share exclusive and behind-the-scenes content. Additionally, social media-focused digital media company IMGN — which WMG acquired last year — will produce a slate of original shows like “The Drop,” to discuss music news; “Freestyle Throwdown,” where rappers freestyle based on topics chosen by the audience; and “The One,” where guest artists perform the songs that influenced them. “...
Netflix Drops Dazzling Opening Title Sequence for Cowboy Bebop: Watch
Netflix has unveiled the opening credits to its highly-anticipated adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. Watch the intro below. Taking cues from the beloved original anime series, the colorful sequence is equal parts comic book ka-pow and live action noir as it introduces viewers to the show’s titular gang of interstellar bounty hunters over a jazzy rendition of the anime’s original theme song — “Tank!” by composer Yoko Kanno‘s band Seatbelts. “I think it’s time we blow this thing/ Get everybody and their stuff together/ OK, 3, 2, 1, let’s jam,” pronounces a male voice, kicking the action off over a jumping bassline and the blast of a full horn section. Cowboy Bebop stars John Cho as Spike Siegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, Elena Satine as Julia, and Alex Hassell...
Netflix Summons the Lord of Dreams in First Teaser for The Sandman: Watch
Netflix has released a first look at its upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. Watch it below. “Tonight, we will achieve what no one has even attempted. We will summon and imprison…Death,” promises Charles Dance’s Roderick Burgess. The occultist then performs a ceremony, however, that brings forth not Death, but Dream, played by Tom Sturridge. While not shown in the teaser, the series also reunites Dance with his Game of Thrones co-star Gwendoline Christie, who plays Lucifer. Other stars in the series include Boyd Holbrook (Corinthian), Vivienne Acheampong (Lucienne), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Death), Asim Chaudhry (Abel), Sanjeev Bhaskar (Cain), and more. Advertisement Related Video Based on Gaiman’s 1989 comic book published by DC Comics, The Sandman will premiere sometime later...
Streamers Still Upset With Twitch After Landmark NMPA Deal
A new deal has been struck in the ongoing battle between Twitch and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)—but streamers still aren’t happy. Over a year after the initial debate began, Twitch finally came to an agreement with the NMPA. But even after the deal, streamers will not be allowed to play licensed music while streaming. Thousands of DMCA copyright strikes have been issued to streamers in the last year, resulting in the removal of any videos containing copyrighted songs. Despite a long-awaited agreement between Twitch and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), streamers are still vexed. Caspar Camille Rubin “As part of this agreement, we want to let you know about a new process that we are creating that participating music rights holders can op...
Netflix Buys Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the Rest of Roald Dahl’s Catalog
Netflix has got itself a golden ticket — in fact, it’s bought the whole entire chocolate factory outright. Today, the streaming giant shared the news that it’s purchased The Roald Dahl Story Company. The acquisition gives Netflix the rights to the entirety of the late children’s book author’s catalog of work, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, The Witches, and more. In a statement, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Roald Dahl Story Company managing Luke Kelly hinted at plans to create a “unique universe across animated and live-action films and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theater, consumer products and more.” Quoting Dahl’s beloved 1961 classic, they continued, “There is a moment in James and the Giant Peach when t...
In India’s Price-Sensitive Market, Will Customers Finally Pay For Streaming?
Only two countries — China (45% ad-supported), the seventh-biggest market, and Venezuela (58%), IFPI’s lowest-ranked sector — rely more on ad-supported audio streams than India (38%). And China, for the first time, generated more revenue last year from subscription-supported streams than ad-supported streams, IFPI figures show. Lodha, who previously was an executive at hospitality chain OYO Rooms, says it’s time to change India’s revenue paradigm. To help Gaana regain its edge in India’s crowded streaming market against its well-financed competitors, he’s focusing on boosting subscription income, which he says is more important than hitting Gaana’s target of 500 million MAUs — a figure at which he says the streaming platform would finally turn profitable. Subscription income fell from 33% ...
CHVRCHES Cover Gerard McMahon’s “Cry Little Sister” for Netflix’s Nightbooks: Stream
CHVRCHES have shared their cover of Gerard McMahon’s “Cry Little Sister” for the soundtrack to the Netflix movie Nightbooks. Stream it below. “Cry, little sister/ Thou shalt not fall/ Come, come to your brother/ Thou shalt not die/ Unchain me, sister/ Thou shalt not fear/ Love is with your brother/ Thou shalt not kill,” Lauren Mayberry intones in a call-and-answer with herself on the track’s foreboding, atmospheric chorus. The band opened up about their love of the 1987 gothic rock classic originally featured in Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys, saying in a statement, “We were so excited to work on this project as we are big fans of everyone involved. Cinema — horror in particular — has always been a big part of CHVRCHES behind the scenes. We have talked about covering “Cry Little Sister” f...
YouTube Is ‘Now the Largest Content Licensor in the World,’ Says Exec
Second-quarter advertising revenue at YouTube was reported at $7 billion, up 83 percent from the year-ago period, after $6 billion in the first quarter, up 49 percent. That don’t include subscription revenue generated by YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. Netflix recorded $7.3 billion in the latest quarter, up 19 percent, after $7.2 billion in the first quarter, up 24 percent. The executive also discussed content spending. “When you think about our payouts, we are now the largest content licensor in the world,” Kyncl said. He mentioned that YouTube’s partner program covers about 2 million creators, with the company paying out $30 billion to them over the past three years. Kyncl said to ensure diversity, companies must focus on it, including in hiring and c...
Tommy Lee Is Actually “Cool” with Hulu’s Pam & Tommy Sex Tape Miniseries
Hulu is creating a series titled Pam & Tommy, focusing on the tumultuous relationship between Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee — specifically the events surrounding their infamous sex tape. While it can be assumed that the story is one that the couple wouldn’t necessarily want to be told, Lee is “cool” with the upcoming miniseries. The film stars Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Universe films) as Lee and Lily James (Downton Abbey, Cinderella) as Anderson. Images shared on social media earlier this year show the two actors looking very much like the real-life former couple they’re portraying. As the story went, Tommy and Pamela got married in Mexico in 1995 after knowing each other for just a few days. A sex tape of their honeymoon was appare...
