The original Turntable.fm site is back and password-protected for now. Turntable.org also exists and will reportedly launch a beta this April 2021. Turntable.org is the newest iteration of the project and appears to have a subscription fee attached. The original Turntable.fm site appears to be largely unchanged from the 2013 version.
March, 2021
From Star Wars to Marvel, licensed video games are becoming more ambitious
For many years, licensed games were often movie tie-ins made by small or mid-tier studios with little care for quality. Lately, however, mega publishers have turned to licensed properties with more ambition and excitement. Renewed interest followed the success of games like “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” the fastest-selling superhero game in American history, and these days, game creators like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Insomniac are developing with more frequent access to filmmakers and producers.
Source: From Star Wars to Marvel, licensed video games are becoming more ambitious. Here’s why.
‘Deepfake is the future of content creation’
Despite the negative connotations surrounding the colloquial term deepfakes (people don’t usually want to be associated with the word “fake”), the technology is increasingly being used commercially. More politely called AI-generated videos, or synthetic media, usage is growing rapidly in sectors including news, entertainment and education, with the technology becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Europe’s New Rules of Engagement With Streamers Making Progress
The EU’s game-changing Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is expected to prompt new rules of engagement between producers and streaming giants, is finally in various stages of implementation across Europe. The new rules — for which the formal deadline was January 2021, but there is some leeway — will involve investment obligations and in some countries, setting out terms of trade for streamers.
Source: Europe’s New Rules of Engagement With Streamers Making Slow But Steady Progress
CD Baby paid out $125m from digital platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music in 2020
The company has today (March 4) confirmed that it paid out $125.4 million from digital and streaming services to artists across the course of 2020. That’s around $2.4m every week. The $125.4m annual figure was up by 13.9% on the $110.1m that CD Baby paid to indie artist clients from digital platforms in 2019.
Source: CD Baby paid out $125m from digital platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music in 2020
Square’s $297 million deal for Jay Z’s music service Tidal may bring blockchain to masses
Payments firm Square Inc agreed on Thursday to buy a majority stake in rapper Jay-Z’s Tidal music streaming service for $297 million in a deal that could popularize blockchain or other new approaches to storing and buying online media.
Source: Square’s $297 million deal for Jay Z’s music service Tidal may bring blockchain to masses
A Leading Critic of Big Tech Will Join the White House
President Biden on Friday named Tim Wu, a Columbia University law professor, to the National Economic Council as a special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy, putting one of the most outspoken critics of Big Tech’s power into the administration.
Source: A Leading Critic of Big Tech Will Join the White House
U.S. Transactional Movie Revenues Topped $6 Billion in 2020
Transactional movie revenues across pay TV and online, including PVOD, in the U.S. were up 14 percent last year to more than $6 billion, Omdia says in a new report. The Consumers and Movie Windows report notes that while transactional movie revenues did reach a new high in 2020, they weren’t enough to compensate for the declines in theatrical revenues amid Covid-19.
Source: U.S. Transactional Movie Revenues Topped $6 Billion in 2020 – TVUSA
The days of knowing how big a movie is are seemingly over in a streaming-first era
Last week, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry debuted on Apple TV Plus. The documentary became the “biggest hit title for young adult audiences that Apple has had so far across its slate of films and TV series,” Apple said, drawing a “record-breaking 33 percent new viewers to the service.” Sounds impressive, right? It would if Apple provided any kind of context for declarations like “biggest hit” and “record-breaking” subscriber adds.
Source: The days of knowing how big a movie is are seemingly over in a streaming-first era
A country by country analysis of EU copyright reform implementation
EU countries have until June to implement controversial new copyright laws, but some countries have not even started that process. Though Covid-19 has been an impediment, some countries have had reservations about the reforms.
Source: A country by country analysis of EU copyright reform implementation