Showbiz Sandbox 337: Streaming Comes to the Rescue of the Music Industry (Sort Of)
September 26, 2016
After more than a decade in decline, the sale of recorded music in the United States is set to grow for the second straight year thanks to increased revenue earned from music streaming services such as Spotify. Even so, the music industry is taking in half of what it earned at its peak late 1990s because streaming revenue hasn’t made up for the falloff in actual sales.
Meanwhile, the Dalian Wanda Group continues its invasion of Hollywood by cutting a deal with Sony Pictures to market movies in China. Wanda can practically guarantee the success of a new release given that it controls the largest movie theater chain in China ensuring a film will be scheduled heavily when it opens.
There is no sure bet at Viacom however as the media giant’s leadership remains in turmoil. It’s interim CEO is stepping down sooner than expected and the vice chairman of Paramount Pictures is also exiting. Then last week the company announced it would take a $115 million loss on a movie that hasn’t even been released yet.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including a new law requiring websites like IMDb remove an actor’s age upon request, the BBC gets into a bake off battle and why Netflix is getting more original every day.
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comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of September 25, 2016
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-september-25-2016-300333726.html
China Box Office: ‘Odyssey’ Clings to Top in Quiet Weekend
https://variety.com/2016/film/asia/china-box-office-odyssey-top-in-quiet-weekend-1201870060/
Feng Xiaogang’s ‘Madame Bovary’ Release Delayed
https://variety.com/2016/film/asia/mystery-distribution-delay-for-feng-xiaogangs-madame-bovary-1201866753/
TimeWarner Chief Jeff Bewkes on their DC Movies: “There’s Room For Improvement”
https://variety.com/2016/biz/news/jeff-bewkes-batman-v-superman-suicide-squad-time-warner-1201866932/
Disney CEO Bob Iger Deems ‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ “an Experiment, of Sorts”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-ceo-bob-iger-deems-931450
Sony and Wanda Team Up to Market Films in China
http://www.wsj.com/articles/sony-and-wanda-team-up-to-market-films-in-china-1474600691
AMC Theatres CEO Blasts NATO Head for Attacking James Murdoch
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amc-theatres-ceo-blasts-nato-head-john-fithian-932238
The Music Industry Is Finally Making Money on Streaming
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/spotify-apple-drive-u-s-music-industry-s-8-first-half-growth
iHeartMedia Announces Plans for Its Entry Into Paid Streaming
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/7518761/iheartmedia-announces-plans-for-its-entry-into
Facebook Is Ready To Do Some Global Music Licensing
http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/youtube-beware-facebook-is-ready-to-do-some-global-music-licensing/
Record Labels Welcome Rise from Streaming, But Songwriters Aren’t Smiling Yet
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/7518843/record-labels-welcome-rise-from-streaming-but
Songwriters Sue Justice Department Over Licensing Rules
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/business/media/songwriters-sue-justice-department-over-licensing-rules.html
BookFilter: Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
http://bookfilter.com/2016/02/18/born-to-run-2/
Matt LeBlanc Signs New Deal to Host BBC’s ‘Top Gear’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matt-leblanc-signs-top-gear-932384
BBC could launch Bake Off rival before Channel 4 show, source says
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/25/bbc-could-launch-bake-off-rival-before-channel-4-show-source-says
California Enacts Law Requiring IMDB to Remove Actor Ages on Request
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/california-enacts-law-requiring-imdb-932330
Amazon is Doubling Down on Retail Stores
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-big-expansion-retail-pop-up-stores-2016-9
Iranian Horror Movie ‘Under the Shadow’ Selected as U.K. Foreign-Language Oscar Entry
https://variety.com/2016/film/news/under-the-shadow-u-k-foreign-language-oscar-entry-1201867045/
TMZ Beats Jared Leto’s Lawsuit Over Taylor Swift Curse Video
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/tmz-beats-jared-letos-lawsuit-932266
YouTube Is Looking for Volunteers to Improve Its Site
http://fortune.com/2016/09/21/youtube-heroes-community-moderate/
Jane Pauley to Become Anchor of CBS Show ‘Sunday Morning’
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/business/media/jane-pauley-to-become-anchor-of-cbs-show-sunday-morning.html
Lionel Shriver’s Address on Cultural Appropriation Roils a Writers Festival
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/books/lionel-shriver-cultural-appropriation-brisbane-writers-festival.html
‘Hand to God’ to Have 13 Productions This Season
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/theater/hand-to-god-to-have-13-productions-this-season.html
The Top 10 Most-Produced Plays of the 2016-17 Season
http://www.americantheatre.org/2016/09/21/the-top-10-most-produced-plays-of-the-2016-17-season/
Netflix Wants 50% of its Library to Be Original Content
https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/21/netflix-wants-50-of-its-library-to-be-original-content/
Viacom’s Interim CEO Tom Dooley to Depart; Dividend Cut in Half
http://www.wsj.com/articles/viacom-halves-dividend-recently-named-interim-ceo-dooley-will-depart-1474465056
‘Monster Trucks’ Leads Viacom to Take $115M Write-Down
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/monster-trucks-leads-huge-115m-931495
Paramount Vice Chair Rob Moore to Exit
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramounts-rob-moore-exiting-his-932153
Curtis Hanson, Director of Wicked Noir ‘L.A. Confidential,’ Dies at 71
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/21/obituaries/curtis-hanson-director-of-wicked-noir-la-confidential-dies-at-71.html
Bobby Breen, a Child Star Who Hit a High Note in the 1930s, Dies at 87
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/movies/bobby-breen-a-child-star-who-hit-a-high-note-in-the-1930s-dies-at-87.html
Arnold Palmer, the Magnetic Face of Golf in the ’60s, Dies at 87
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/sports/golf/arnold-palmer-dies-at-87.html
Check out our latest podcast on the entertainment biz where we point out how the new California law saying IMDB must hide actor ages is clearly unconstitutional and cheer on the music industry, which is doing great thanks to streaming…they just need 50 million more people to sign on for Pandora and Spotify and Apple at $10 a month and everything will be looking up 🙂