Telefonica’s Movistar Plus was set to show off a pair of dramas at this year’s MipTV before the market was canceled. Now, Movistar has prepared online presentations on Monday where it will screen episodes of both series as well as conversations with producers and creatives from both series.
Source: Movistar Plus Pitches ‘La Unidad’ Digitally to International Buyers
As libraries around the U.S. shutter their physical locations to battle the outbreak of Covid-19, they are rapidly transferring budget dollars to e-books, digital audio, and other digital media to serve their communities. And the shift could prove to be a watershed moment for a digital library market where the major publishers have so far proceeded cautiously—and sometimes contentiously.
Source: Is the Covid-19 Crisis a Watershed Moment for Library E-books?
Reed MIDEM announces that Midem 2020, which was due to take place June 2-5 in Cannes, is cancelled due to concerns about the coronavirus. Midem is re-loading with a new format, the Midem Digital Edition. This online service, accessible to all, aims to bring the global music community together to discuss, collaborate and share solutions with a focus on the most impacted music stakeholders.
Source: MIDEM 2020 Conference Cancelled, Reboots as Digital Edition
The Authors Guild is appalled by the Internet Archive’s (IA) announcement that it is now making millions of in-copyright books freely available online without restriction on its Open Library site under the guise of a National Emergency Library. IA has no rights whatsoever to these books, much less to give them away indiscriminately without consent of the publisher or author.
Source: Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library Harms Authors – The Authors Guild
China’s film regulators has slammed the brakes on plans to gradually reopen the country’s cinemas. Over 600 movie theaters across China were given the green light to reopen their doors over the past week, but Beijing’s Film Bureau put out a notice late Friday ordering all theaters to go back into shutdown. No official explanation for the sudden reversal was provided.
Creative professionals whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak are flocking to membership platform Patreon in record numbers, the company claims. During the first three weeks of March, more than 30,000 new creators launched on the site — a much larger number than usual.
Source: Over 30K creators joined Patreon this month, as COVID-19 outbreak spreads – TechCrunch
Songwriters, along with other “gig economy” workers in the music industry ranging from producers to roadies, will be eligible for grants and loans under the $2 trillion stimulus bill passed by the Senate in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the advocacy organizations Songwriters of North America and Nashville Songwriters Association International announced today.
Source: Songwriters, Self-Employed Music Workers Eligible for Relief in Federal Stimulus Bill
Like many stocks, Hipgnosis took a hammering as the spread of COVID-19 rose to the top of the global news agenda: from London Stock Exchange close on Friday, February 21 to Tuesday, March 17, the firm’s share price shrunk all the way from £108.00 to £87.50, a fall of 19%. Yet since that March 17 low point, the value of SONG has rocketed back up.
Source: The value of music: Hipgnosis’ share price is now HIGHER than it was pre-COVID-19
Independent distributors across Europe, reeling from the cinema closures and government stay-at-home orders, have begun violating the prime directive of Euro art house cinema: They’ve broken the theatrical window. As they do so, they are creating new models for independent distribution that could outlast the current crisis.
Source: Euro Indies Break Theatrical Windows, Launch VOD Strategies Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Scott Ackerman, the long-time CEO of one of the world’s most successful DIY distribution platforms, TuneCore, is stepping down from the role. New York-based Ackerman will vacate the CEO position on April 15. He will stay on as a strategic advisor at the company, reporting to Denis Ladegaillerie – the CEO of TuneCore’s parent, Believe Group.