Tech

‘Virtual production’ enthusiasts bemoaned high start-up costs and lack of cross-disciplinary talent as impediments to the growth of the technology in Asia, even as the pandemic forces changes in production practices in the region. Building out an LED volume, such as those used in the making of “The Mandalorian,” can cost millions of dollars, which

In today’s podcast roundup, Spotify and Apple have released their year-end rankings and lists of the top podcasts of 2021, among other news from the world of audio entertainment. RANKINGS Spotify revealed the most popular podcasts on its platform for 2021 — with controversial talk show “The Joe Rogan Experience” taking the No. 1 slot

Netflix said it has invested $100 million so far into six Black-led financial institutions in the U.S., as part of the company’s pledge to allocate 2% of cash holdings into banks serving Black communities. In June 2020, amid racial-equality protests across America, Netflix announced plans to invest capital in Black banks to help address racial

As the songwriter of multiplatinum hits for Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, One Direction and Demi Lovato, among many others, Ross Golan’s schedule was already full when he started his podcast, “And the Writer Is …” in January 2017. At first Golan thought he was creating a niche product for the elite songwriter community, but as he approaches the weekly-ish

Spotify has unveiled its annual 2021 Wrapped campaign — where users can see the music they listened to the most all year — and with that comes the top artists, albums, songs, playlists and podcasts on the world’s largest streaming service, with more than 381 million total users. The full charts are below, but first,

Ten years ago, the New York Times embarked on an experiment to incorporate short documentary films into its opinion section and quickly established itself as an alternative to HBO Documentary Films, then the most prominent distributor of short documentaries, growing along with the market for these short nonfiction films in its first decade. Errol Morris,

Digital media veteran Kelly Day is exiting ViacomCBS to join Amazon as VP of Prime Video International, a newly created role overseeing the ecommerce giant’s streaming video business in global markets. Day will join Amazon in early January 2022, reporting to Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Amazon Studios and Prime Video. She will lead Prime

Sting is set to the take the stage at next month’s 2021 Game Awards as one of the event’s feature musical performances. The 17-time Grammy winner is slated to perform “What Could Have Been,” from Netflix animated series “Arcane,” an adaptation based on Riot Games’ “League of Legends.” Netflix recently renewed “Arcane” for a second

Apple Music has unveiled its biggest songs of the year with its annual Top 100 charts, which not only include the most-streamed songs — topped by BTS’ smash “Dynamite” but it has also shared its “Top 100 2021: Fitness” chart—spotlighting the most-played workout music across Apple Music and Fitness+— its top 100 most-Shazamed songs and its

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority has ordered social media giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook, to sell GIF provider Giphy. The move requires Meta to unwind a  $400 million deal that it believed completed in May. Meta disagrees with the decision and is considering an appeal. In August this year, the CMA provisionally found

The new CEO of Twitter is Parag Agrawal — a technologist who, until today, has been a relatively low-profile but key member of the company’s leadership team. Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006, announced his resignation from the social media company Monday. Replacing Dorsey in the top job is Agrawal: A 10-year Twitter veteran who

Jack Dorsey resigned as CEO of Twitter, saying the social network “is ready to move on from its founders,” the company announced Monday. Dorsey, 45, also serves as CEO of payment company Square — and some investors, including hedge fund Elliott Management, had wanted Dorsey to exit as chief executive of Twitter so the social

Kudos, the Banijay U.K. outfit behind “Grantchester” and “Code 404,” is expanding into the podcast business by taking a 25% equity stake in podcast production company What’s the Story? What’s the Story? has produced several hit podcast series including “Body of Proof,” which reached number 1 in the Audible-U.K. bestseller chart, “The Missing” that tells

Independent comics firm Red 5 Comics has struck a deal to publish “Mystery Brothers,” an Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) science fiction adventure comic book hatched by filmmaker and author Quentin Lee (“White Frog”). The deal was unveiled Friday at the 2021 Special Edition of San Diego Comic-con. Separately, Lee’s literary debut and first novel “The

Online platforms are connecting influencers with brands in ways that are cutting out agencies and other traditional middlemen, according to panelists at the influencer and content creator convention, VidCon Asia. The event was held Thursday as an in-person event at Singapore’s Suntec Convention Centre, as part of the Singapore Media Festival. TikTok executives pointed to

Viewers in Southeast Asia are increasingly engaging with influencer-generated video content, rather than with content generated by brands, according to research by Tubular Labs. The finding was presented Thursday at influencer and content creator convention VidCon Asia, held as part of the Singapore Media Festival. The video measurement and analytics firm, a sponsor of the

TikTok, which now boasts more than 1 billion monthly users across the globe, isn’t a social media app — it’s become a top entertainment destination for a new generation. That’s according to Bryan Thoensen, head of content partnerships at TikTok, who says the short-form video platform has long outgrown its roots as a way for

Multibillion-dollar media conglomerates continue to slug it out for share of the streaming market — and entertainment fans can benefit from the fracas this Black Friday, with a slew of limited-time special offers and promotions. Here are the best 2021 Black Friday deals on streaming services in the U.S., engineered to get consumers in the

Podimo, a Copenhagen-based podcast and audio entertainment subscription service, said it closed $78 million in a Series B round of funding. The round brings Podimo, founded in 2019, to about $115 million raised to date. The latest round was led by 83North and Highland Europe, with participation from existing investors Chr. Augustinus, Heartcore, Saban Ventures,

Hulu is back with another aggressive Black Friday promotion, as the Disney-controlled service aims to boost its base amid the fiercely competitive streaming wars. Hulu is letting new and eligible returning customers sign up for the ad-supported plan for just 99 cents per month for a year, currently available at this link. That’s an 86%

Broadcasting technology show IBC has canceled its December in-person event as the COVID-19 situation in The Netherland worsens. The event was due to take place at The RAI in Amsterdam Dec. 3-6. “IBC announces that the in-person IBC2021 event has been canceled. The move follows growing concerns about the COVID-19 situation in The Netherlands, which

OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder‘s interest in evolving technology is well-documented (see his recent interview with Variety about moving into the NFT space). Now, he’s put his cryptocurrency where his mouth is, as OneRepublic became the first major-label U.S. act to accept Bitcoin in full payment for a show, according to the group’s reps. The exchange

In today’s podcast news roundup, Bugs and Daffy hit the road in a Thanksgiving-themed podcast from Warner Bros. Animation; NBA star Stephen Curry goes off-court with Audible; and Spotify does a deal with the Game Awards. DATES Warner Bros. Animation released its first scripted podcast: “Looney Tunes Presents: Bugs & Daffy’s Thanksgiving Road Trip.” All

Ringo Starr wants to share some peace and love — and his experience playing drums for one of the most famous bands of all time. Starr launched an online class on drumming and creative collaboration, with the legendary percussionist of The Beatles teaming with MasterClass for the 12-part course. In his class, Starr shares his

HBO Max will get its hands on Fox’s film slate for one final year — under an unusual deal to share streaming windows with Disney Plus and Hulu for half the studio’s titles, starting with animated family comedy “Ron’s Gone Wrong” next month. Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution and WarnerMedia amended their current output agreement

TikTok is now playing on more connected TVs — bringing a stream of viral videos and memes to the living room. The short-form video app, which claims to have more than 1 billion monthly users, has launched the TikTok TV app on Google TV and other Android TV operating system devices, LG Smart TVs, and

UPDATED: As streaming and other digital formats have made the music industry more song-based after decades of being centered around albums, there has been much talk about the “death of the album” and the consequent loss of a complete artistic statement that comes with it. Well, Adele has tackled that issue head-on by asking Spotify

Disney will give Hulu + Live TV customers access to its two other premium streaming packages — Disney Plus and ESPN Plus — whether they want them or not. On Friday, Hulu began informing Hulu + Live TV subscribers that beginning Dec. 21, their subscriptions will now include access to Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.

Who’s the real superhero: Batman, Superman, Arya Stark from “Game of Thrones,” Harley Quinn — or Bugs Bunny or Scooby-Doo? Fans of Warner Bros.’s pop-culture franchises can settle such questions with “MultiVersus,” a platform fighter videogame that introduces a two-on-two battle format with a cast of iconic characters and legendary universes. The free-to-play “MultiVersus” is

Jen Prince, Twitter’s global head of content partnerships, is departing the social network after more than eight years to join the Los Angeles Rams football team as its first chief commercial officer. Prince will leave Twitter at the end of November, joining the Rams on Dec. 1. In the newly created role with the Rams,