Warner Music Group Corp. today announced its third-quarter financial results for the period ended June 30, 2019, with total revenue up 10.4% (13.4% in constant currency) and digital revenue up 12.5% (15.5% in constant currency). However, while recorded music revenue was up 13.8%, publishing’s was down 7.5%; the company pointed to the adoption of the
Tech
August 6, 2019 5:11AM PT Snap, the money-losing parent company of Snapchat, plans to issue $1 billion in debt securities for the purposes of working capital and potential acquisitions. In announcing the plans, Snap said it expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for “general corporate purposes,” which is standard boilerplate. The company
Chinese digital giant Tencent has entered negotiations with French media conglomerate Vivendi to buy a 10% stake in Universal Music Group. Vivendi announced the talks Tuesday, saying that the negotiations were based on a valuation of UMG of €30 billion ($33.6 billion). Tencent’s potential 10% stake would therefore cost €3 billion ($3.36 billion). The deal
August 5, 2019 3:46PM PT Commentary: Lachlan Murdoch shrewdly signals he’ll look to play beyond the traditional entertainment sphere Of all the places you would have guessed Lachlan Murdoch would put his money to work first: consumer lending? Sunday’s announcement that Fox would take a $265 million majority stake in consumer lending platform Credible Labs
One of the more confusing aspects about the already confusing disintegration of PledgeMusic — the direct-to-fan marketplace that ceased operations earlier this year, leaving artists on the hook for a total sum estimated to be between $1 million and $3 million — is the British legal terminology used in the proceedings for the UK-based company:
Take Two Interactive investors sent the company’s share price down 5.2% Monday during trading hours following President Trump’s threats to “stop the glorification of violence” — but the Trump slump didn’t last long: Following the release of better-than-expected earnings Monday afternoon, Take Two’s stock regained around 7%. “Fiscal 2020 is off to a terrific start
Blue Ant Media subsidiary Omnia Media has acquired Wisecrack, the digital video and podcasting company behind such shows as “Thug Notes,” and “The Philosophy of Everything,” as well as the “Rick and Morty” podcast “The Squanch.” Wisecrack will continue to operate as its own brand following the transaction, which has all of the company’s staff
Spotify, looking for a new avenue of subscriber growth, is teaming with AT&T on bundling and promotional offers for the wireless carrier’s customers. Starting Tuesday (Aug. 6), customers of AT&T’s Unlimited &More Premium plan — its most expensive tier — can select a Spotify Premium subscription from among seven premium entertainment options, for no extra
August 5, 2019 6:00AM PT Free streaming service Tubi is launching a marketing campaign with billboards in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, the company announced Monday. The campaign also includes a digital advertising as well as ad spots on TV and in cabs. Many of the slogans used in the campaign poke fun
Cloudflare, a company providing security and performance services for some of the world’s most popular websites, will stop providing these services for the controversial message board 8chan, announced Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince in a blog post Sunday evening. The step comes after the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, whose perpetrator had announced the attack
It’s only been a day since popular video game live streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced that he was switching from Amazon’s Twitch to Microsoft’s Mixer platform, but Mixer is already benefitting handsomely from its famous new user. The Mixer app is currently ranking 3rd in Apple’s App Store charts for free apps, surpassing apps like
August 2, 2019 9:41AM PT Nearly 3 years after first unveiling the Switch, Nintendo is finally bringing its wildly popular game console to China. The game company is getting some help from Tencent, which will operate a localized version of the Switch’s online shop that will work with its WePay electronic payment service. Tencent will
MADRID — In the second all-time record-breaking global bow for Netflix this July, Alex Pina’s Spanish-language “La Casa de Papel” – “Money Heist” – Part 3 was watched by 34,355,956 Netflix household accounts over its first seven days after a July 19 global launch, Netflix confirmed to Variety on Thursday. That’s the best first-week global
Hugely popular video game live streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is switching platforms: Ninja announced in a tweet Thursday morning that he is moving to Mixer, the game live streaming platform operated by Microsoft. Blevins announced the move in a tweet that featured the video of a mock press conference: “I know this may come as
Google has been testing a new app subscription bundle that gives users access to premium apps for one monthly price. Google Play Pass, as the subscription offering is being called, promises users “all play, no interruptions,” according to a promotional graphic unearthed by Android Police. A Google spokesperson confirmed that the company is currently testing
The BBC has received approval from British media regulator Ofcom to go ahead with plans to extend the time that content is available on its streaming service, the BBC iPlayer. Under the plan, first proposed in April, the catchup service will offer content for 12 months instead of just 30 days. Announcing its decision Thursday,
A trio of the biggest names in world soccer – Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. – will talk about the games that defined them in “The Making Of” for DAZN. The documentary series is the sports streamer’s most ambitious original to date. In three half-hour episodes apiece, each of the soccer heavyweights will
July 31, 2019 4:41PM PT Amazon senior vice president Jeff Blackburn is about to take some time off next year: Blackburn will embark on a one-year sabbatical, he revealed in an email to staff Wednesday. “It’s never easy to find a good time for a break when always scaling so fast, but now feels like
July 31, 2019 11:06AM PT Facebook is getting ready to release a TV streaming device this fall, The Information reported Wednesday. The device will combine a camera for video chat with streaming apps from major media companies, according to the report. A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment. With an emphasis on video chat, the device
The four major broadcast networks have filed a lawsuit against Locast, a New York-based nonprofit that streams local broadcast programming over the internet. In their lawsuit, ABC, CBS, NBC Universal and Fox allege that Locast violates their copyrights by retransmitting their programming without permission and compensation, likening it to Aereo, the TV retransmission startup that
In a second-quarter earnings report released today, Spotify revealed that it has topped 108 million paying subscribers — up 8 million from the previous quarter — and 232 million monthly active users. It also pointed to new agreements “two of our four major label partners on the renewal of our global sound recording licenses,” and
San Francisco-based virtual reality startup Sandbox VR has teamed up with CBS Interactive to launch a new “Star Trek” virtual reality (VR) experience this fall. “Star Trek: Discovery Away Mission” will allow up to 6 friends to enter the world of the series, complete with phasers and tricoders, and a holodeck to boot. The new
Gawker.com will remain in limbo: The reboot of the news and gossip site, now three years dormant, will not be going forward as planned, at least for now. Bustle Digital Group, whose founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg (pictured above) bought the assets of Gawker in a bankruptcy auction last year, said it has canceled the
July 30, 2019 4:48PM PT Grant Thompson, the star and creator of popular YouTube channel “King of Random,” died on Monday in a paragliding accident in Utah. He was 42. According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Thompson’s body was recovered early Tuesday morning in St. George, Utah after his family filed a missing person’s
Could Apple have a surprise in store for the next iPhone? Investors clearly think so, sending the company’s share price up more than 4% Tuesday after Apple forecast a strong fall quarter, with revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion for the quarter that includes September’s introduction of the new iPhone. Apple revealed the
July 30, 2019 12:44PM PT Russian Instagram influencer Ekaterina Karaglanova was found dead inside of a suitcase Friday, according to police. The 24 year-old social media personality, who boasts more than 85,000 followers on Instagram, was also a recent medical school graduate where she earned her doctorate degree. Prior to her death, Karaglanova had been
July 30, 2019 9:54AM PT A few months after leaving Valve, Xbox co-creator Nat Brown has started a new position at Apple. Brown announced his new gig on Twitter Monday, writing: “I’m looking forward to continuing to work on my obsessions by focusing on all applications of graphics, and working with any of you using
Say goodbye to the “DirecTV Now” name. Later this summer, AT&T will retire the name of the over-the-top TV service, first launched in December 2016, which will be rebranded “AT&T TV Now.” The change comes as the telco plans to launch test pilots in select markets of a new internet-streaming TV service, which called AT&T
Drake, the Canadian music artist and Toronto Raptors mega-fan, is getting into the sports-media business with a major assist from NBA superstar LeBron James. Uninterrupted, the athlete-empowerment brand and media company founded by James and his longtime business partner Maverick Carter, is launching in Canada in partnership with Drake. Uninterrupted Canada is the first international
Here’s the latest arrival on the burgeoning podcast scene: “Meditative Story,” which is part first-person narrative podcast and part guided meditation. Thrive Global, the well-being startup founded by Arianna Huffington, teamed with WaitWhat, a startup founded by former TED media executives Deron Triff and June Cohen, to launch the new podcast series. Each “Meditative Story”