Spotify and Hulu Partner on a Discounted Bundle For Students

Jason Tate Sep 8, 2017

Sarah Perez, writing at TechCrunch:

Hulu and Spotify announced a partnership today that will see the two companies working together to market entertainment bundles offering both services which will be jointly sold through a single subscription plan. Initially, this bundle will be targeted towards U.S. college students and will cost just $4.99 per month – the same as Spotify’s existing student plan. The bundle includes access to Spotify Premium, the company’s on-demand music service, and Hulu’s “Limited Commercials” plan.

‘Veep’ to End After Seventh Season

Jason Tate Sep 7, 2017

The upcoming Veep season will be it’s last:

Separately, both Louis-Dreyfus and Mandel say that as they mapped out the arc of the seventh season, not repeating themselves and staying true to the often daring twists of the story were paramount. “It was just a very natural thing,” Mandel says. “We don’t want to repeat ourselves or be boring. It’s bittersweet but it’s right.”

‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Turns 25

Jason Tate Sep 6, 2017

Batman: The Animated Series turned 25 recently. The Hollywood Reporter has an oral history of the classic TV show:

“As a kid, I had a very conservative Irish-Catholic upbringing. So when Bruce Timm asked me what I knew about Batman, I immediately mentioned the TV show and he screamed, ‘No, no, no! That’s not what we’re doing. Erase that!’ ” says Conroy. “He explained the dark, noir story and Bruce’s vow to his parents which leads to the dual identities. It was sort of Shakespearean tragedy, so I approached it like you would Hamlet or Edgar in King Lear.”

I was on a podcast talking about this show a few months ago, it really does hold up.

Colin Trevorrow Leaves Next ‘Star Wars’ Movie

Jason Tate Sep 6, 2017

Colin Trevorrow will no longer be directing Star Wars: Episode IX. A statement has been released from Lucasfilm:

Lucasfilm and Colin Trevorrow have mutually chosen to part ways on Star Wars: Episode IX. Colin has been a wonderful collaborator throughout the development process but we have all come to the conclusion that our visions for the project differ. We wish Colin the best and will be sharing more information about the film soon.

My first vote is to let Rian Johnson direct another. If that’s a no, I’d love to see Ava Duvernay behind the lens.

Facebook Offers Millions of Dollars for Music Rights

Jason Tate Sep 6, 2017

Bloomberg:

Facebook Inc. is offering major record labels and music publishers hundreds of millions of dollars so the users of its social network can legally include songs in videos they upload, according to people familiar with the matter.
The posting and viewing of video on Facebook has exploded in recent years, and many of the videos feature music to which Facebook doesn’t have the rights. Under current law, rights holders must ask Facebook to take down videos with infringing material.

Why Ending DACA Is So Unprecedented

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2017

Dara Lind, writing for Vox:

The Trump administration’s announcement Tuesday, that it will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — removing deportation protection and work permits from nearly 800,000 young unauthorized immigrants — unless Congress passes a bill in the next six months to protect DACA recipients, isn’t a punt or a reprieve. It’s an opportunity to deflect, or share, the responsibility for what would be an unprecedented act in US history.
There’s never really been a time when a generation of people, raised and rooted in the United States, has been stripped of official recognition and pushed back into the precarity of unauthorized-immigrant life.

Apple Introduces New Wireless, Noise-Cancelling Beats Studio3 Headphones

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2017

Beats have announced their new, over the ear, Studio3 wireless headphones:

Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones deliver a premium listening experience with Pure Adaptive Noise Cancelling (Pure ANC) to actively block external noise, and real-time audio calibration to preserve clarity, range and emotion. It continuously pinpoints external sounds to block while automatically responding to individual fit in real-time, optimising sound output to preserve a premium listening experience the way artists intended.

Taylor Swift Goes to Number One

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2017

Taylor Swift’s new single “Look What You Made Me Do” has climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts:

Swift has now officially climbed to the top — the top of the Billboard Hot 100, that is. With her new single “Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift has hit No. 1 on the chart, knocking Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” down from its 16-week reign.

Entercom Teams Up With Musicians for Suicide Prevention Campaign

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2017

Jon Blistein, writing for Rolling Stone:

Metallica, Logic, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and pop singer Halsey are among the various musicians set to participate in a new mental health awareness and suicide prevention campaign, “I’m Listening.” The broadcast company Entercom organized the initiative, which will include a two-hour radio special airing live from Seattle on World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th, at 10 a.m. ET on all Entercom platforms. […]
Other musicians set to participate include Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos, Alice in Chains’ William DuVall, Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, Khalid, Disturbed’s David Draiman, country star Gary Allan and Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel. Seattle-based radio DJ, BJ Shea of KISW FM, will host the show.

Apple Music Festival Ends After 10 Years

Jason Tate Sep 5, 2017

The annual Apple Music Festival will end after ten years:

However, the cancellation of the festival doesn’t signal a move away from live events by Apple Music completely.
The brand was recently a partner of shows by Haim and Skepta in London and Arcade Fire in Brooklyn and it had a heavy presence at SXSW in Texas earlier this year – where it backed shows from Lana Del Rey, Vince Staples and DJ Khaled.
In addition, Apple Music also sponsored Drake’s 32-date Summer Sixteen Tour in 2016 and it supports regular live sessions from its ‘Up Next’ artists.
The closure of the Apple Music Festival is likely because Apple is concentrating its resources on one-off events like these, in addition to its original content efforts in video – which have recently included a Carpool Karaoke spin-off series and a behind-the-scenes documentary on Harry Styles.

Kanye West to Produce New Pusha T Album

Jason Tate Sep 4, 2017

Complex is reporting that Pusha T’s new album will be produced by Kanye West:

Before performing “Crutches, Crosses, Caskets,” he confirmed that King Push is produced top to bottom by Kanye West.
“I had done this album like three times,” he says. “[Kanye] comes in and he picks all the beats and shit. And then, he hear the beats, and he scraps ‘em and says ‘I can do better.’”

A Serf on Google’s Farm

Jason Tate Sep 4, 2017

Josh Marshall, writing at Talking Points Memo:

Now Google can say – and they are absolutely right – that every month they send checks for thousands and millions of dollars to countless publishers that make their journalism possible. And in general Google tends to be a relatively benign overlord. But as someone who a) knows the industry inside and out – down to the most nuts and bolts mechanics – b) someone who understands at least the rudiments of anti-trust law and monopoly economics and c) can write for a sizable audience, I can tell you this: Google’s monopoly control is almost comically great. It’s a monopoly at every conceivable turn and consistently uses that market power to deepen its hold and increase its profits. Just the interplay between DoubleClick and Adexchange is textbook anti-competitive practices.

Blog: Scenes From a Debacle in Phoenix

Jason Tate Sep 4, 2017

Dave Eggers, writing on Medium:

In downtown Phoenix, in the space of a few blocks, there were 15,000 Trump supporters and 10,000 anti-Trump protesters. There were Bikers for Trump and a platoon from the John Brown Gun Club, an anti-fascist group carrying loaded handguns and semiautomatic weapons. There were roving packs of weightlifters wearing pro-Trump attire. There were men in sleeveless Confederate flag jackets, and there was a giant inflated chicken made to look like Donald Trump. There was a man with a megaphone who asserted throughout the afternoon that homosexuals were going to hell, drunk drivers should die, and women who wore skirts deserved to be raped. There were anarchists, antifa, and hundreds of heavily armed police officers. This was a week after Charlottesville, the country grieving and boiling in the madness of its most irrational era, and in Arizona, it was more than 105 degrees and felt far hotter.
That no one died that day in Phoenix is miraculous.

Force Friday Toy Lineup and Details

Jason Tate Sep 1, 2017

Star Wars fans know today as “Force Friday.” There’s a whole bunch of new toys out, and Star Wars News has the full list:

Hasbro has been kind enough to set us up with some details and images on all of the toys, games, and retailer specific releases hitting shelves today to aid in your search for everything that is offered. We’ve of course got the new The Last Jedi figures, but also everything else you’d expect from a major Force Friday release. We’ve got Black Series releases, ForceFX sabers, board games, nerf guns, and of course…Porgs!

Lots of fans are talking about their haul in our forums. I’m definitely eying that Rey Funko POP.

Flavor Flav Sues Chuck D, Public Enemy Camp Over Profits

Jason Tate Aug 31, 2017

Althea Legaspi, writing for Rolling Stone:

In the lawsuit, Flavor Flav (real name William J. Drayton) claims that he and Chuck D (real name Carlton Ridenhour) had a long-established agreement that profits from their music, merchandise and concerts would be split between them. Despite that alleged arrangement, Flavor Flav claims that Public Enemy’s business management firm Eastlink has not been sending the earnings he is owed, which have “diminished to almost nothing, and Drayton has been refused accountings, even on the items bearing his likeness,” according to the lawsuit.