Showbiz Sandbox 530: Spotify Leans Into Original Content

Spotify continues to be the most popular music streaming service in the world growing 24% over the past year to 155 million paid subscribers. However as the subscriber count rises, so too does the amount Spotify must pay in royalties. This might be why the company has been focusing on exclusive original content such as podcasts for which they don’t have to share revenue.

Meanwhile, the box office continues to recover from the pandemic, at least in China which set new records over the Lunar New Year holiday, proving that moviegoers actually will return to the cinemas when given the opportunity. Hollywood is rejoicing, even if North America and Europe is still six months away from getting back to normal.

Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the BBC’s new streaming service, Roku’s surprise profit and this year’s Writers Guild Award nominees.

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Showbiz Sandbox 407: Beyoncé Delivers A Higher Education To Coachella

Though Beyoncé was unable to headline Coachella last year due to being pregnant with twins, she more than made up for it this year with a performance that music critics are rightly hailing as the best live music event in decades. In a two hour set that included more than 100 performers from dancers to musicians, even a full marching band, Beyoncé put on a spectacular show that managed to be technically brilliant as well as socially relevant to the times. We were there and provide first hand reporting from this year’s Coachella.

Another festival making news is Cannes, which announced the films in this year’s competition, leaving out many of the event’s favorite auteurs. The festival also parted ways with Netflix, not inviting films produced by the streaming giant since they won’t be released in movie theaters.

Speaking of Netflix, a shareholder has sued the company for what they allege to a scheme which assured senior management and board members performance bonuses. The complaint accuses Netflix of using the performance bonuses to avoid paying taxes, rather than for any actual performance gains.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the kurfuffle over Apu, an Indian character on “The Simpsons,” Kendrick Lamar wins a Pulitzer Prize for his latest album and Fleetwood Mac parts ways with its longstanding guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

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Showbiz Sandbox 389: The Ever-Growing List of Hollywood’s Sexual Harassment Accusations

Six weeks after allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against media mogul Harvey Weinstein were first reported by the New York Times, there seems no end to the number of Hollywood players being accused of misconduct. Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. may be the biggest stars to have their careers upended thus far, but they won’t be the last as everyone from actor Jeffrey Tambor to talent agents to politicians and even journalists are having similar claims made against them.

The unanswered question is how the entertainment industry will implement changes to ensure sexual harassment will come to an end. Instead, there is concern of a backlash should the public grow tired of hearing about the latest offense to come out of Hollywood’s ranks.

Meanwhile, suing someone these days as become the industry’s second favorite past-time, right after wondering whose vile behavior will finally come back to haunt them. The hit TV show “Supernatural” is apparently losing money after years on the air, while director George Miller says “Mad Max: Fury Road” did not go over budget and he’s suing Warner Bros. to prove it.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including some new FCC media ownership rules, Sony nabs Quentin Tarantino’s next movie and the NFL is still proving attractive to advertisers.

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Showbiz Sandbox 388: Contemplating A Fox In The Mouse House

The Walt Disney Company reported earnings for the past year fell 1% as media networks help drag down profits. With revenue from its sports network ESPN declining, the entertainment conglomerate is now looking to get even bigger through acquisitions that will bolster its streaming media service. Specifically, Disney has been eyeing key assets of 21st Century Fox’s film and television holdings.

As the media landscape shifts, becoming more fractured, so too have the ways in which content such as movies and television shows is monetized. In an age where new entrants make their money selling electronic devices (Apple) or other products (Amazon) it would appear that size matters. Thus the reason investors are bullish on a deal between Disney and Fox.

Once again we can not avoid discussing the sexual harassment allegations that have erupted in Hollywood and started to spread into other industries, even politics. With each passing week another celebrity or power player sees their life fall apart amidst accusations of misconduct. The latest is comedian Louis C.K. who says the claims against him are all true.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Taylor Swift’s latest album shattering sales records, Jennifer Anniston starring in Apple’s first scripted television series and Vanity Fair names a new editor-in-chief.

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Showbiz Sandbox 387: Has Star Wars Turned Disney Into The Evil Empire?

Last week it was released that Disney would be charging movie theaters a record high percentage of box office and a minimum guaranteed run in order to book “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” At the same time, the studio has blacklisted the Los Angeles Times from reviewing and covering its films. We’ll explain why.

In television news, the Nielsen ratings company is giving us a peek into viewership for the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” And the BBC is opening up its digital platform to different sports leagues so more games can be seen for free by more people.

We also continue to provide updates on the sexual harassment allegations that have plagued the entertainment and media industries over the past month. The rap sheet of people fired or quitting over revelations they’ve been sexually harassing and assaulting people for years grows longer and longer…starting with Kevin Spacey, who has seen his life collapse in just one week.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including discussion of a “Lord of the Rings” television series, how YouTube has become a leading music curation platform and the Country Music Awards try and squelch the debate over gun control.

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Showbiz Sandbox 386: Keeping Up With Hollywood Sex Scandals Becomes A Full Time Job

October has been a particularly horrific month for Hollywood this year, and not just because of the run up to Halloween. After a record setting September, North American box office dropped to a ten year low in October as major releases failed to attract audiences. Then there was the flood of industry-wide sexual harassment claims, an ongoing story with no end in sight.

What started with egregious allegations against indie-mogul Harvey Weinstein has led to actors and actresses coming forward with more stories of harassment, including one against two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, who has been accused of making sexual overtures to a 14-year-old boy over 30 years ago.

Meanwhile, the publishing industry has some good news about book sales and we’ll explain why lists announcing the best books of 2017 have already been compiled by trade publications, two months before the year is over.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how the Disney Channel is introducing a gay storyline, a virtual reality project wins a special Oscar and the latest Star Trek series will get a second season.

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Showbiz Sandbox 317: Bundling Cable Networks May Work For Advertisers, But Not For Cable Customers

In yet another sign that the difference between broadcast and cable networks is eroding, NBCUniversal announced that it would include all of its cable outlets in their traditional upfront presentation to advertisers for NBC. By combining shows from networks such as Bravo, Telemundo and Oxygen with the big primetime hits on NBC, the Comcast owned media giant is signaling that the best way for advertisers to reach viewers is through aggregating audiences.

Time Warner Cable, on the other hand, is struggling to distribute its own content through different cable providers. Specifically, none of the other pay-TV companies is willing to force their customers to pay for SportsNet LA, the regional sports network owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could this be an indication that cable operators finally understand that technology will force them to unbundle their basic cable offering?

Meanwhile, short, cheap and entertaining books – once called dime store novels or pulp fiction – are making a comeback. As are serialized novels, short stories and lots of things that don’t fit into the 250 pages or more standard of most books today. Technology and the need to hold the attention of readers are the reasons it’s happening.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the controversial film pulled from the Tribeca Film Festival lineup, the death of comedian Gary Shandling and the porn industry gets into virtual reality.

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Showbiz Sandbox 126: Foot In Mouth Disease Sweeps Through Hollywood

Getting publicity in Hollywood can be a very difficult task. If you are an A-list director like Brett Ratner or a hot actor like Ashton Kutcher however, all you need to do is make a bigoted statement or fire off an ignorant Twitter post and you’ll get more ink than you ever wanted. Ratner’s homophobic slur forced him to resign as producer of next year’s Oscars, while Kutcher’s uninformed opinion on current events caused him to rethink his social media participation. Has the entertainment industry become overly sensitive or do its inhabitants just have no class? We try to figure out what all the fuss is about.

The other big news of the week was the sale of record label EMI to Universal Music Group and Sony. EMI’s owner, Citibank, decided to split the record label from its publishing arm in an effort to get the deal passed antitrust regulators. As the music industry contracts from four major record companies to three, what will it mean for indie artists and their fans?

Broadway may also be undergoing some changes soon. Long running musicals such as “Mamma Mia!”, “Chicago” and “Mary Poppins” seem to be fading fast and may need to make way for new productions such as a revival of “Porgy & Bess”, “Evita” featuring Ricky Martin and a stage version of “Bonnie & Clyde”.

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Showbiz Sandbox 122: The Real Story Behind Steve Jobs And Pixar

Millions mourned the loss of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs this past week when the innovator behind the Macintosh computer,  the iPod and others died at the age of 56. Though the endless eulogies of Jobs always mention Jobs Pixar tenure, they rarely provided any real detail. Truth is Jobs lost money with Pixar for ten years trying to turn the company into a successful computer hardware business. We’ll dive into the story of how Jobs came to own Pixar and how the company stumbled upon success in computer animation.

Of course, there has never been a Pixar film that didn’t make money. However, we often blithely dismiss one movie as being a box office loser and another as a hit even though they might seem similar in budgets and box office. When we consider a film a hit or a flop, we’re making numerous assumptions on various factors. It’s always a judgment call, but to try and explain what sort of judgments we’re making, we’ve decided to look at several different movies and explain why we consider them a hit or miss.

It’s not as hard to tell when a new television series is a flop, especially after the network cancels it. A number of new shows (“Playboy Club”) got axed this past week, while others (“New Girl”) were picked up for an entire season. One series which nearly didn’t make the cut was “The Simpsons”. After its 23rd season the animated show was nearly canceled over a contract dispute with the cast providing voices for its lovable characters.

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Showbiz Sandbox 115: Record Industry Wages A Quiet War Over Song Rights

When the United States copyright law was revised in the mid-1970’s a little-known provision was included that lets musicians and songwriters reclaim ownership of their recordings after 35 years. Artists such as Bryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Tom Petty and Tom Waits are set to regain control of their recordings starting in 2013 thanks to these “termination rights”. Rather than lose control of works worth millions of dollars, New York Times culture reporter Larry Rohter discusses how record labels plan to fight the provision in court.

Also picking a fight is Disney, which halted production of “The Lone Ranger” which was to star Johnny Depp and be directed by Gore Verbinski. Does pulling the plug on Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest blockbuster mean that Depp will refuse participate in another “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel?

AMC has had its fair share of scuffles lately. After numerous disputes with the creators of their hit shows, AMC has become not only one of the most acclaimed cable networks in recent memory, but also one of the most troubled.

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