Google News - Variety

The Biggest Apple News for iPad Users, News Junkies and Apple Watch Owners

Apple didn’t just announce its Apple Music streaming music service at its WorldWide Developer Conference in San Francisco Monday — it also had some other major announcements to share: Picture-in-picture video streaming for the iPad Want to watch a live stream of your favorite sports team while answering emails? Now you can, even if you’re just using an iPad: Apple introduced advanced multitasking features for the iPad as part of iOS 9, the next version of its mobile operating system, at its WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco Monday. The new multitasking features include ...

Variety

Prince and the Revolution’s ‘Live 1985’ Concert to Stream on YouTube for Coronavirus Relief

By Jem Aswad The Prince Estate, in partnership with YouTube, will host a three-day streaming event of “Prince and the Revolution: Live,” the legendary concert filmed toward the end of the “Purple Rain” tour in Syracuse, NY on March 30, 1985. The show will be available on Prince's official YouTube Channel for three days only, beginning on Friday, May 14 and continuing through 11:59pm on Sunday, May 17. In collaboration with YouTube and Google, the streaming event will run in support of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (powered by UN Foundation and Swiss...

Variety37 minutes ago

10 Media & Entertainment Predictions for a Post-Pandemic World – Variety

10 Media & Entertainment Predictions for a Post-Pandemic World (Guest Column)

By Peter Csathy Our world will be forever changed as a result of our collective COVID-19 lockdown, and the media and entertainment industry is no exception. Here are 10 ways the biz will change, even after crisis has passed. Prediction #1: Our global quarantine will accelerate many pre-pandemic in-home entertainment trends, including the “cord-cutting” of expensive cable TV packages and replacement by one or more premium streaming services. COVID-19 has been a boon for these streamers that now include major new entrants Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max and NBCUniversal's Peacock, in addi...

Variety3 hours ago

Game Based on Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Trollhunters’ on Netflix Due Out Fall 2020

By Todd Spangler A new game based on the “Trollhunters” franchise on Netflix is coming out on console and PC platforms this fall. The action-adventure game is based on the Dreamworks Animation “Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia” fantasy series for Netflix, from filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. The game will feature a voice cast with the original talent from the Netflix show: Emile Hirsch, Charlie Saxton, Lexi Medrano and David Bradley. “DreamWorks Trollhunters Defenders of Arcadia” is slated for Sept. 25, 2020, release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC digital. The game is develo...

Variety5 hours ago

Netflix and Fandango Team on Ferrante Series ‘Lying Life of Adults’ – Variety

Elena Ferrante’s ‘Lying Life of Adults’ to Be Adapted by Netflix, Italy’s Fandango

By Nick Vivarelli Netflix and Italy's Fandango are teaming up to develop a series based on “The Lying Life of Adults,” the latest novel by globally bestselling Italian novelist Elena Ferrante. “The Lying Life of Adults” is a portrayal of a young woman named Giovanna's transition from childhood to adolescence in the 1990s. “Giovanna is searching for her true reflection in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity,” according to promotional materials provided...

Variety8 hours ago

Jeffrey Katzenberg Blames Coronavirus for Quibi’s Struggles – Variety

Jeffrey Katzenberg on Quibi’s Early Struggles: ‘I Attribute Everything That Has Gone Wrong to Coronavirus. Everything’

Jeffrey Katzenberg on Quibi's Early Struggles: 'I Attribute Everything That Has Gone Wrong to Coronavirus. Everything' By Jordan Moreau When the mobile, short-form content app Quibi launched on April 6, co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg surely wasn't expecting it to release in the midst of a worldwide virus outbreak. In a New York Times interview, Katzenberg blames all of Quibi's launch struggles on COVID-19. “I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. Everything,” he said. Two weeks after the app launched, Quibi reported it had 2.7 million downloads. The New York Times article,...

Variety16 hours ago

Entertainment Law Firm Confirms Hack, Informs Clients of Data Breach – Variety

Hacked Law Firm Informs Clients Like Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Bruce Springsteen of Data Breach

By Todd Spangler Major media and entertainment law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks said that after its internal data systems were hacked — and a vast trove of information on its clients was stolen — it has informed its roster of A-list clients of the breach. “We can confirm that we've been victimized by a cyberattack,” the New York-based firm said in a statement to Variety. “We have notified our clients and our staff. We have hired the world's experts who specialize in this area and we are working around the clock to address these matters.” News of the hack surfaced last week, after a h...

Variety19 hours ago

Daniel Silva Will Reportedly Be Arrested in Corey La Barrie’s Death – Variety

‘Ink Master’ Star Daniel Silva Will Reportedly Be Arrested After YouTuber Corey La Barrie Dies in Car Crash

By Klaritza Rico “Ink Master” star Daniel Silva will reportedly be arrested in the death of YouTuber Corey La Barrie, who was a passenger with him in a car crash in Los Angeles on Sunday night, according to TMZ. It was La Barrie's 25th birthday. While they would not confirm names, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told Variety that there was a car accident at Hudson St. and Carpenter Ave. at about 9 pm Sunday night. The driver and passenger were transferred to a hospital, where the passenger died from his injuries. The driver did not sustain life-threatening injuries, but...

Variety19 hours ago

6ix9ine Claims Fastest Climb to 100 Million Video Views – Variety

6ix9ine Claims Fastest Climb to 100 Million Video Views, Leapfrogging Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift

By Shirley Ju 6ix9ine has officially broken the internet… again. The New York rapper was just released from prison in March due to concern over the spread of coronavirus within the corrections system and capitalized on being sprung by bragging on Instagram Live then dropping a new single and visual titled “GOOBA.” Breaking Eminem's previous record of 38.1 million views within 24 hours with “Kill Shot,” “GOOBA” accumulated 43.55 million views its first day and instantly became the No. 1 trending video on YouTube. Distributed by Create Music Group, the two-and-a-half minute vibrant visual, th...

Variety19 hours ago

Twitter Adds Labels, Warnings to COVID-19 Disputed/Misleading Tweets – Variety

Twitter Adds New Labels, Warning Messages to COVID-19 Disputed and Misleading Tweets

By Todd Spangler Twitter has introduced new labels and warning messages to posts that contain “disputed or misleading information” related to COVID-19, the company said Monday. The new labels — which will be retroactively applied to older tweets — will link to a Twitter-curated page (or an external “trusted source”) with additional information on the claims. If a post on Twitter is deemed especially harmful, the social network may also apply a warning that “will inform people that the information in the tweet conflicts with public health experts' guidance before they view it,” Twitter head ...

Variety20 hours ago

Eve Konstan, Longtime HBO Legal Exec, Named Spotify General Counsel – Variety

Spotify Hires Longtime HBO Legal Exec Eve Konstan as General Counsel

By Todd Spangler Eve Konstan, a 20-plus year veteran of HBO and WarnerMedia, has joined Spotify as general counsel. Konstan takes over the role after former Spotify general counsel Horacio Gutierrez last fall was promoted to head of global affairs and chief legal officer. Gutierrez announced her appointment in a post Monday on LinkedIn, saying, “Her extensive experience in the media industry and her proven leadership skills will be a great asset to the company!” Konstan will start at Spotify on Monday, May 18, reporting to Gutierrez. She will be based in the company's New York office once w...

VarietyYesterday

Paul L. Vasquez Dead: Double Rainbow Viral Star Was 57 – Variety

Paul L. Vasquez, Man Behind ‘Double Rainbow’ Viral Sensation, Dies at 57

By Klaritza Rico Paul L. Vasquez, the 2010 internet sensation whose astonished reaction to seeing a double rainbow went viral, died on Saturday. He was 57. Vasquez died in the emergency room of John C. Fremont Hospital, the Mariposa County coroner's office told the Modesto Bee. Although a cause of death is not confirmed, Vasquez had been posting on Facebook that he was feeling sick and having trouble breathing. On May 5, he posted he was getting tested for COVID-19, writing: “I'll get my results in two days, however at this point I'm fairly certain that I don't have it. I didn't have a feve...

VarietyYesterday

Music Biz Conference to Hold Zoom Sessions This Week – Variety

Music Biz Conference to Hold Zoom Talks This Week With Execs From Spotify, Warner, More

By Variety Staff The Music Biz conference was scheduled to take place in Nashville this week, and while it's been rescheduled for August, the organization will host four live presentations via Zoom this week featuring execs from Spotify, Warner Records, Troy Carter's Q&A and the Mechanical Licensing Collective. The sessions will take place Monday through Thursday at 4 pm ET/ 1 pm PT. To sign up for these special sessions, visit the Zoom registration page linked here; for more information see the Music Biz website. These presentations are an extension of the Association's Music Biz LIVE prog...

VarietyYesterday

Virtual Graduation: Selena Gomez, Cardi B Join Facebook Livestream – Variety

Virtual Graduation 2020: Selena Gomez, Cardi B, Dozens More Join Oprah for Facebook’s Livestream

By Todd Spangler Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (Selena Gomez); Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock (Cardi B); Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (Oprah) Facebook has bumped up the star wattage for this week's livestreaming “#Graduation2020” virtual commencement festivities. The social giant announced more than 70 stars — including Selena Gomez, Cardi B, Usher, Matthew McConaughey and TikTok influencer Dixie D'Amelio — will be joining its “#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020,” a multihour livestreaming event on May 15 starting at 11 am PT. Facebook's...

VarietyYesterday

Audiomack Hosts ‘Music Moving Forward’ Series With Daily Virtual Panels

By Shirley Ju Music streaming platform Audiomack is launching a week of virtual panels, starting today (May 11). Under the banner “Moving Music Forward – An Industry Discussion,” the five-day event will feature top executives in the business and focus daily (from 3pm PST to 4pm EST) on a specific sector. Among the speakers scheduled to participate are Roc Nation co-president Omar Grant, 21 Savage co-manager Meezy, EMPIRE vp of marketing Peter Kadin and the Purple Agency's Carrington Harris. The first session on A&R features panelists Justice Baiden, co-founder of LVRN, Epic Records vp of A&...

VarietyYesterday

‘The Office’ Reunion: Cast Celebrates Wedding on John Krasinski Show – Variety

‘The Office’ Cast Reunites to Celebrate Couple’s Wedding on John Krasinski’s YouTube Show (WATCH)

By Todd Spangler John Krasinski brought back more than a dozen castmates from “The Office,” including Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling and Rainn Wilson, to throw a virtual wedding for a Maryland couple on his weekly life-in-quarantine YouTube show, “Some Good News.” Susan and John, whose marriage proposal echoed Jim's to Pam on “The Office,” were surprised by Krasinski on a live videoconference, who first brought their parents and friends. Krasinski, officiating the virtual nuptials, then introduced Jenna Fischer as Susan's maid of honor and country singer Zac Brown, who performed ...

VarietyYesterday

When Will WFH End? Google, Facebook Extend Work From Home to 2021 – Variety

Google, Facebook Extend Work From Home Policies Through 2021

By Todd Spangler How long will work-from-home last? Most Google and Facebook employees likely will not be going back to the office full time until 2021. The tech industry's two biggest internet companies have told employees to settle into home-office routines through the end of the year amid the COVID-19 crisis. Both Google and Facebook this week said they will let most employees work from home through the end of 2020, while they also set timelines for gradually reopening corporate offices. Google will begin a phased reopening of offices in June, but with just 10%-15% of staffers allowed to...

Variety3 days ago

Entertainment Law Firm Hacked in Major Data Breach, Ransomware Attack – Variety

Law Firm Representing Lady Gaga, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Others Suffers Major Data Breach

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, a large media and entertainment law firm, appears to have been the victim of a cyberattack that resulted in the theft of an enormous batch of private information on dozens of celebrities, according to a data security researcher. The trove of data allegedly stolen from the New York-based firm by hackers — a total of 756 gigabytes — includes contracts, nondisclosure agreements, phone numbers and email addresses, and “personal correspondence,” according to an image of the hackers' post provided to Variety by Emsisoft, a cybersecurity s...

Variety3 days ago

Apple to Reopen U.S. Stores Beginning May 11 in Some States – Variety

Apple to Reopen U.S. Stores Beginning Next Week, but Only in Some States

By Todd Spangler Almost two months after Apple shut down retail outlets in most countries, the tech giant will begin reopening a handful of US stores starting next week. In mid-March, the company said it was closing down almost 500 stores worldwide for two weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak, before saying a few days later that all stores would be shuttered until further notice (except for those in the Greater China region). As first reported by CNBC, Apple plans to reopen retail stores in four states — Alabama, Alaska, Idaho and South Carolina — starting next Monday (May 11). There a...

Variety4 days ago

How Are Amazon, Facebook and Google Faring During Coronavirus Crisis? – Variety

Amazon, Facebook and Google Are Doing Well Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, But Will It Last?

Amazon, Facebook and Google Are Doing Well Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, But Will It Last? By Todd Spangler The coronavirus crisis has played to the strengths of tech companies: People are staying indoors, increasingly using the internet and streaming more video than ever. It's clear that the tech giants are well positioned to make it through the crisis relatively intact. “Alphabet [Google's parent], Facebook and Amazon will be just fine,” says Tal Chalozin, co-founder and chief technical officer of ad-tech company Innovid. The crisis stands to make the most powerful tech companies even stro...

Variety4 days ago

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Donates $10M to Sean Penn’s COVID-19 Testing Org – Variety

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Donates $10 Million to Sean Penn’s COVID-19 Testing Organization

By Todd Spangler Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, has donated $10 million to CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), the coronavirus-testing organization co-founded by Sean Penn. CORE has operated a dozen COVID-19 test sites across California over the past five weeks and says it has completed 100,000 tests free of charge. The organization's testing sites in Atlanta and Detroit are already operating and it will launch additional sites soon in New Orleans and the Navajo Nation. Founded by Penn and Ann Lee, CORE is focused on serving vulnerable and underserved communities, including l...

Variety4 days ago

Cord-Cutting Explodes in Q1: Pay-TV Sector Delivers Worst-Ever Losses – Variety

Cord-Cutting Explodes in Q1 as Pay-TV Sector Delivers Worst-Ever Losses

By Todd Spangler Traditional cable and satellite TV providers posted their most massive quarterly subscriber losses in the first three months of 2020, as the COVID-19 tornado started to hit the US economy in March. What's more, internet-delivered “virtual” TV providers registered a net loss in the period, too. And the cord-cutting bloss losses are only going to get worse in Q2, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus takes a deeper bite, analysts predict. The combination of high prices — amid the backdrop of record unemployment — as well as loss of live sports fueled an overall drop of...

Variety4 days ago

Vice Media Hires Daisy Auger-Dominguez as Head of HR – Variety

Vice Media Hires HR Veteran Daisy Auger-Domínguez as Head of Human Resources (EXCLUSIVE)

By Todd Spangler Vice Media Group, amid the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic, is getting a new head of human resources: Daisy Auger-Domínguez has been hired as the youth-media company's chief people officer. Auger-Domínguez will officially start at the Brooklyn-based company next Tuesday (May 12), reporting to Vice Media Group CEO Nancy Dubuc. She takes over the role after the departure of former HR chief Susan Tohyama, who left in March 2020 to join software company Ceridian as chief human resources officer. Most recently, Auger-Domínguez was an independent HR consultant advising...

Variety4 days ago

LiveXLive Is Buying PodcastOne in All-Stock Deal Worth $18 Million – Variety

LiveXLive to Acquire PodcastOne in $18 Million Stock Deal

By Todd Spangler Music livestreamer LiveXLive is diversifying its business with the acquisition of PodcastOne, a podcast network that hosts shows by Adam Carolla, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Shaquille O'Neal and others, in an all-stock deal valued at about $18 million. Under the deal, LiveXLive — which to date has been a money-losing venture and last month received relief funding under the US's CARES Act — is acquiring Courtside Group, owner and operator of PodcastOne, in stock worth $18.1 million based on LiveXLive's closing share price on May 7. The proposed acquisition is expected to clos...

Variety4 days ago

As Hip-Hop Dominates, Drake Looks to Race Past Kenny Chesney to No. 1 – Variety

Between Travis Scott, Drake and Megan Thee Stallion, Hip-Hop Is Having a Very Good Week

Kenny Chesney hopes to debut at No. 1 with his new album, but if he does, it'll be an anomaly, as hip-hop has almost exclusively ruled the top 10 album and song charts during the stay-at-home era. By Geoff Mayfield Who's afraid of a pandemic-impacted market? Hip-hop artists aren't, and neither is country star Kenny Chesney. Rap has dominated both the album and single charts in recent weeks and will again for the one that will be generated by the current tracking week, even as Chesney's new “Here and Now” represents a conspicuous interloper . On the Rolling Stone album chart for the period o...

Variety5 days ago