Amazon has announced a new Italian original series titled “Everybody Loves Diamonds” during Rome’s MIA market. The heist series with comedic overtones is inspired by the 2003 “Heist of Antwerp,” dubbed by international media as “the biggest diamond theft in the world.” The new Amazon show being produced by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Wildside,
Tech
Can’t remember the name of a song, but you can hum a few bars? Google has felt your pain — and now has a solution to this particular first-world problem. The company today announced “hum to search,” which lets users hum, whistle or sing a melody to the Google app, which then tries to track
Twitter users reported broad problems accessing the service Thursday afternoon across the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world. A notice posted on Twitter’s status page at 5:56 p.m. ET said the company was “Investigating Irregularity with Twitter APIs.” “We know people are having trouble tweeting and using Twitter,” a company rep told Variety.
In a management shake-up at Studio71, the digital content producer announced that COO Adam Boorstin and chief revenue officer Matt Crowley will be promoted to co-CEOs. Reza Izad, Studio71 co-founder and current CEO, will become chairman of the company. The executive changes will be effective Nov. 1. Boorstin and Crowley take over the day-to-day reins
As a kid growing up in Scotland, 25-year-old indie-pop singer/songwriter Joesef got his first exposure to some of his favorite bands through playing Electronic Arts’ “FIFA” video games with his brothers: everyone from Bombay Bicycle Club to the Kooks to Kings of Leon, whose early series of sync placements in the mid to late aughts
Taraji P. Henson will host and also serve as producer on podcast series “Jacked: The Rise of New Jack Swing,” delving into the origins of the influential music scene — and its ultimate decline. The six-part series comes from podcast company Wondery and Universal Music Group, the first joint project under the companies’ previously announced
YouTube is taking aim at QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy-theory cult. The video platform said it is expanding its hate and harassment policies to prohibit content targeting an individual or group with “conspiracy theories that have been used to justify real-world violence.” YouTube is positioning the move not as a “ban” of QAnon per se. Rather,
QCode, a podcast content studio and network startup, announced that it has raised $6.4 million in Series A funding, led by wireless and smart speaker maker Sonos with participation by venture-capital firm C Ventures. With the financing round, Ryan Taylor, GM of Sonos Radio, will join the QCode board. QCode CEO Rob Herting, a former
TuneCore, the digital music distribution service provider for independent artists, has passed the $2 billion mark, paying its roster of independent artists an average of $1.2 million per day, according to an announcement from the company, which states that TuneCore and its parent company Believe distribute approximately one third of the world’s digital music. The company
Korean electronics giant LG has partnered with NEW ID, part of the Next Entertainment World group, to expand the Korean entertainment content available to users of its smart TV sets. Among the new offerings is YG TV, a channel launched with the YG Entertainment talent agency that is responsible for K-pop acts including Blackpink, G-Dragon,
Snapchat today is launching a new feature called Sounds — which, taking a page from TikTok, lets app users add song clips to their Snaps and Stories. Snapchat’s music feature launches with an exclusive preview of Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco’s new song “Lonely,” before the full song launches widely Thursday at 9 p.m. PT.
The Apple TV app continues its march on to new devices: Sony Electronics announced the app is coming to select internet-connected TVs. Sony said the Apple TV app will begin rolling out today in the U.S. on Sony’s X900H series of televisions via a software update. The app — which provides access to Apple TV
Paradiso, the narrative-driven podcast production studio, is making its English-Language debut with “Love Under Lockdown,” an audio diary that follows four couples navigating the highs and lows of quarantining together amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of six episodes, “Love Under Lockdown” chronicles the intimate daily lives of four couples, Whitney and Sariy, who
YouTube is cracking down on misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines, announcing a ban on videos that include claims about coronavirus vaccinations that contradict information from health authorities. Specifically, the video giant said it will remove any videos claiming COVID vaccines will kill people, cause infertility, or “involve microchips being implanted in people who receive the treatment”
Laugh Out Loud, the digital comedy brand founded by Kevin Hart, announced a round of promotions and hires to support the company’s growth. Hart will move from CEO to chairman of LOL, continuing to take an active role in the company’s overall comedic vision, content, and talent development. Jeff Clanagan, Hart’s longtime business partner and
The lineup for this weekend’s Save Our Stages festival — a.k.a the #SOSFest, the three-day virtual music festival to spread awareness of the $10 billion Save Our Stages Act currently before Congress, and raise funds for independent venues that are the beneficiaries of the act — has been revealed and includes unique virtual sets by Foo Fighters,
Ready to spin some virtual records? Spotify wants to turn its listeners into their own DIY radio-style DJs. Today, the company is launching what it says has been among Spotify users’ most-requested features: a way to add any of the service’s 60 million-plus tracks to a spoken-word audio show (i.e., a podcast). “We really feel
Apple took the wraps off the iPhone 12, its first smartphones that support 5G wireless technology. And the company touted the ability to capture and edit 4K HDR video on its professional-grade models, potentially giving filmmakers a new tool. Apple said it has tested the 5G iPhone 12 phones with 100 carriers in 30 regions
Snap, parent company of Snapchat, has hired Alexa Levine as U.S. head of entertainment. Levine comes to Snap from Facebook, where she worked for three years oversaw the company’s film, TV, streaming and live event ad clients as industry manager for entertainment. Prior to joining Facebook in 2017, she had a variety of roles at
Condé Nast hopes to revive Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel with a new, diverse slate of eight new chefs, coming after seven hosts quit the food publication’s video roster over allegations of racial inequity. Bon Appétit announced the new talent — DeVonn Francis, Tiana “Tee” Gee, Melissa Miranda, Samantha Seneviratne, Christian “Chrissy” Tracey, Harold Villarosa, Rawlston
Two of DC’s most iconic superheroes, Batman and Wonder Woman, are getting new serialized audio and e-book stories. Under a licensing pact with Warner Bros.’ DC Entertainment, Serial Box is creating original scripted shows based on the two characters. In “Batman: The Blind Cut,” the Caped Crusader grapples with the fact that he is actually
CAA has signed model and creative director Claudia Schiffer. Schiffer said she wanted to work with CAA because the agency is committed to pushing for change in the modeling industry. She hopes to work alongside CAA fashion group leader Christian Carino and other agents to bring about institutional fixes within the world of fashion. “I’ve
Lava Records founder Jason Flom (pictured above, right) has long been known as one of the most successful label heads and A&R reps of the past 30-odd years. While originally known as a hard-rock specialist, through his years as a top executive at Atlantic Records, as CEO of Virgin-EMI Records, and founder and chief of
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) has relaunched its disaster relief program under the name of Defy:Disaster, which will introduce Lend a Hand, its first campaign since the rebranding. Lend a Hand aims to support California’s firefighters amid a record-breaking wildfire season. Defy:Disaster, which previously operated under the name of Music for Relief since 2018, seeks to provide aid to communities affected
Facebook, finally enacting a measure long called on by critics, said it will prohibit any content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in a post Monday announcing the policy change, said he has “struggled with the tension between standing for free expression and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the
Common is bringing an interview series featuring “intimate, candid and soulful conversations” with six artists and activists to Audible next month. The award-winning actor, music artist, activist and author hosts “Mind Power Mixtape,” in which he engages in discussions with his guests about spirituality, self-care, music, inspiration and overcoming obstacles. Confirmed guests for Common’s new
Boo: Keegan-Michael Key wants to haunt your dreams in a new 13-part horror anthology podcast series from Blumhouse Television, iHeartMedia and horror podcaster Aaron Mahnke. In “Aaron Mahnke’s 13 Days of Halloween,” Key voices the “caretaker” of purgatorial hotel Hawthorne Manor, in which listeners play the role of the hotel’s latest guest… putting them at
Twitter has again tagged a post by President Donald Trump for “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information” related to the coronavirus. On Sunday morning, Trump tweeted: “A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can’t get it (immune), and can’t give it. Very nice to know!!!” In response, Twitter
Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson are setting up a beachhead in Latin America via new SVOD channel Pure Adrenaline, a joint venture between leading Latin American indie distribution company California Filmes-Global Media and VOD aggregator Sofa Digital. Starting Oct. 9, Pure Adrenaline can be accessed in the 17 Latin American countries where Apple
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 12 next week but details supposedly spilling the beans on the tech giant’s forthcoming first-ever 5G phones have emerged on social media. A user on China’s Weibo with the handle “Kang” on Friday posted info allegedly revealing pricing and specifications for four new Apple smartphones — the iPhone