Tech

The comedy art form has always required two basic components — a comedian and their audience. And while that audience today is more spread out in an increasingly digital world, they are simultaneously more accessible than ever. The podcast boom of the past decade has tremendously upended how different corners of the entertainment and media

SoundCloud will be laying off approximately 20% of its global workforce citing “a significant company transformation” and the current economic and financial landscape. “During this difficult time, we are focused on providing the support and resources to those transitioning while reinforcing our commitment to executing our mission to lead what’s next in music,” reads a

ScreenHits TV and TCL Television have entered into a multi-year deal that should substantially expand the streaming aggregator’s reach. As part of the pact, ScreenHits’s Android and Google TV app will be installed in 44 million TCL connected televisions globally. TCL currently operates in more than 160 countries. ScreenHits TV allows users to integrate the

If you think the price of early-access premium VOD movies from major studios is steep, this will make your eyes roll. For the launch of “18 & Over,” an indie horror film starring, produced by and co-created by Ashley Benson (“Pretty Little Liars”), the producers are granting an exclusive two-month streaming window to fans who

WWE has hired Craig Stimmel, most recently head of global brands at Snap, to head sales and partnerships at the wrestling entertainment company. He replaces Claudine Lilien, who exited WWE earlier this year after serving about a year as SVP, head of global sales and partnerships. Stimmel will report to WWE chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie

Is this a green light — or red light? Interactive gaming company Immersive Gamebox, under a pact with Netflix, has developed an in-person “Squid Game” multiplayer game that will let groups of 2-6 people compete in a series of challenges inspired by the hit Netflix series, including Red Light, Green Light; Marbles; and the “Squid

Pack the littluns off to bed, lower the shades and steel your soul: Hulu is warning viewers that original movie “Not Okay” features “an unlikable female protagonist.” On Hulu, a notice in front of the R-rated movie says: “CONTENT WARNING: This film contains flashing lights, themes of trauma, and an unlikable female protagonist. Viewer discretion

Like many major stars today, music-actor-artist Jay Chou is experimenting with turning his brand value into non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The experience to date has had mixed results. In June, he joined forces with Lionel Messi, Neymar and other players at Paris Saint Germain (PSG), France’s leading soccer team, to launch a metaverse art project

In a setback for Visa in a case alleging the payment processor is liable for the distribution of child pornography on Pornhub and other sites operated by parent company MindGeek, a federal judge ruled that it was reasonable to conclude that Visa knowingly facilitated the criminal activity. On Friday, July 29, U.S. District Judge Cormac

The team behind an unofficial “Bridgerton” musical is being sued for infringement by Netflix in a Washington, D.C. U.S. District Court. Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the songwriting team behind the project, initially developed the musical on social media. The duo went on to score the No. 1 slot on iTunes U.S. pop charts and

The Twitterverse, once again, has targeted the wrong Will Smith. Will Smith, the famous actor who slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars this year, issued a new apology Friday for his behavior at the awards show, revealing that Rock is “not ready to talk.” Whereupon the owner of the verified Twitter @willsmith account braced for

Johnny Depp is a weird, wizened, fez-wearing shopkeeper in the promotional launch trailer for “Sea of Dawn,” the new massively multiplayer online game from Chinese gaming company Changyou. In the four-and-a-half-minute cinematic trailer (watch below), the actor — best known for his turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films —

Byron Allen’s Black news and entertainment media platform theGrio will present a 90-minute session at the 2022 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention and career fair, with a focus on the recently-launched theGrio Black Podcast Network (TGBPN) and the Allen Media Group’s acquisition of Black News Channel. The annual NABJ convention, held in collaboration

Heads up, Netflix members: Rose’s heart may go on, but “Titanic” is sailing off the streamer next month. “Titanic,” the Oscar-winning blockbuster starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, will leave Netflix after Aug. 31. It’s among more than three dozen titles that are exiting Netflix in August, including three movies in Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible”

The TikTok-ification of Instagram took a step back as the Meta-owned social app said Thursday it will discontinue a beta test of a full-screen version of the feed and also promised to reduce the number of recommended videos, photos and accounts that people see in Instagram. But make no mistake: Instagram is still putting its

MrBeast, the hugely popular YouTube maestro of big-money giveaways and offbeat stunts, has hit a new milestone. On Thursday, July 28, MrBeast’s main YouTube channel surpassed 100 million subscribers (watch his livestreamed reaction here). In a statement, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson), said, “100 million means so much. I’ve been making videos since I was 11

Apple’s cash register kept ringing in the June quarter, as the tech giant posted a new quarterly revenue record of $83.0 billion, helping the company knock out a Wall Street earnings beat. But iPhone sales slowed down dramatically, and Apple’s services revenue fell versus the prior quarter. For the June quarter, sales of iPhones —

Amazon revealed its second-quarter 2022 earnings Thursday, reporting a loss of $2 billion but an increase in ad sales and revenue, which it attributes in part to the upcoming debuts of “Thursday Night Football” (Sept. 15) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Sept. 2). Wall Street forecasted earnings per share (EPS)

When Ashton Kutcher first met Guy Oseary about two decades ago, Oseary needed advice on caring for his new dog. “My first impression was ‘Who doesn’t know how to take care of a dog?’” Kutcher recalls. Despite the inauspicious beginning, the two hit it off and would spend hours playing, of all things, dominoes —

Roku fell well short of Wall Street financial forecasts for the second quarter — and the streaming platform saw the number of hours streamed by customers drop from Q1. The company had 63.1 million active accounts as of the end of Q2, adding 1.8 million in the period, beating analyst forecasts. Customers in the quarter

SiriusXM, home to Howard Stern, posted middling results for 2022’s second financial quarter on Thursday, saying that it added 23,000 paid subscribers to its satellite radio unit in the first quarter and showed revenue growth of just over 4% to $2.25 billion, but showed signs of hunkering down for an “uncertain economic environment.” Total subscribers

With Jared Leto’s performance in the Apple+ original series “WeCrashed” still echoing, and the Emmy Awards soon upon us, is it any wonder Adam Neumann remains on the minds of the media? In 2019, the WeWork cofounder was ousted from the CEO position of the company he launched with Miguel McKelvey. His eccentricities, including a

Leslie Jones is about to spice up your earbuds with her first podcast — a talk show promising an abundance of F-bombs that the “Saturday Night Live” alum is cohosting with fellow comedian Lenny Marcus. “The Fckry” (pronounced just the way you think) is being produced by Earwolf, the comedy podcast network of SiriusXM’s Stitcher.

Spotify disclosed that it paid about $119 million in cash for audiobook distributor Findaway when the deal closed last month — representing its entry into the category dominated today by Amazon’s Audible. The company paid €117 million ($118.8 million) in cash for Findaway, Spotify revealed in an SEC filing Wednesday, after reporting better-than-expected Q2 results.

Snap has announced the Snapchat Sounds Creator Fund: Its first fund designed to support emerging and independent artists who distribute their music on the app via DistroKid. Starting in August, Snap will provide monthly grants of up to $100,000 to artists who are distributing music on Snapchat via DistroKid. The program is currently capped at

RapCaviar, the popular and influential Spotify playlist that boasts more than 14 million followers, is adding a video podcast to its brand offerings. Hosted by Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins, it launches Aug. 4 and comes on the heels of the announcement that a Hulu docuseries, “RapCaviar Presents,” is also in the works. Promising “to settle long-standing

It’s hard to think of a more brain-deadening topic than the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board’s proceedings over the rates for music streaming. But deep in the dense legalese lies a heated battle over the billions of dollars in royalties generated by streaming services — one that pits the music industry against some of the biggest

Expelliarmus redux! HBO Max is, once again, saying goodbye to the octet of original Harry Potter fan-favorite movies. As of Aug. 31, all eight Warner Bros. titles will be leaving the streamer: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Harry Potter and

Elon Musk has denied a Wall Street Journal report alleging he had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Shanahan has also called the story false — and now Musk says he hopes Shanahan sues the outlet for defamation. On Sunday, the Journal published a report alleging that Musk, the high-profile

After years of the sales arrow only pointing up, Meta — the company formerly known as Facebook — has turned in its first quarterly revenue decline. For the second quarter of 2022, Meta reported $28.82 billion on the top line, down 1% year over year. Net income fell 36%, to $6.69 billion, or $2.46 per