Audioboom shares rise as podcast listeners tune in January 19, 2021 Audioboom shares pushed higher this morning after the podcasting platform reported a jump in revenue last year. The London-listed firm posted revenue of roughly $26.8m (£19.7m) in 2020, up by a fifth on the previous year. Audioboom, which hosts and distributes podcasts including No Such Thing As A Fish and Sue Perkins: An Hour Or [...]
Greatest Day: One Media IP snaps up Take That producer royalties January 18, 2021 One Media IP Group has bought the producer royalties of a selection of tracks by pop group Take That from British producer Ian Levine. The Aim-listed company said the tracks included “A Million Love Songs” and “I Found Heaven” from Take That’s 1992 album for an undisclosed sum. The group has also bought the producer [...]
ITV taps headhunter Stuart Spencer to pick new chairman January 15, 2021 ITV is said to have hired executive search firm Stuart Spencer as it kicks off the hunt for a replacement to outgoing chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette. The broadcaster’s nominations committee, led by former Jupiter Fund Management boss Edward Bonham Carter, has tapped the US headhunter to scout out potential applicants, Sky News reported. Bazalgette, who [...]
Amazon hit with class-action lawsuit over ebook price-fixing January 15, 2021 Amazon has been slapped with a class-action lawsuit over accusations it colluded with publishers to fix ebook prices. The lawsuit, filed in a New York district court, alleges that Amazon and the so-called Big Five publishers — Penguin Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster — agreed to price restraints that cause [...]
Screenshot: Is social media heading for a new era of privacy? January 15, 2021 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: CNN’s crowbar correction **Whatsapp’s privacy exodus **Music touring: A victim of Brexit? Media Moment of the Week Given the extent of the carnage at the Capitol last week, reporters [...]
Everyman cinemas secures rent cuts as lockdown hits January 14, 2021 Cinema group Everyman Media today said it has secured further rent concessions from landlords as it battles closures during the latest national lockdown. The upmarket chain, which operates 35 venues across the UK, said it had also focused on reducing capital expenditure and operating costs. “We remain optimistic for the coming year post-lockdown and continue [...]
New BBC chair Richard Sharp hints at licence fee reform January 14, 2021 The incoming chair of the BBC has hinted at a possible overhaul of the licence fee funding model as he vowed to shake up the culture of the public service broadcaster. Appearing in front of MPs today, Richard Sharp said he believed the licence fee was the “least worst” option and insisted it was fit [...]
Culture secretary: EU ‘let down music’ over post-Brexit touring visa January 13, 2021 The EU is to blame for “letting down music on both sides of the Channel” over a failure to grant visas to touring artists, the culture secretary has said. Oliver Dowden today insisted that the government “fought to get a good deal for British music” but the EU had turned it down “repeatedly”. “It did [...]
Hits Don’t Lie: Shakira sells entire song catalogue to Hipgnosis January 13, 2021 Shakira has become the latest musician to cash in on her song rights after selling her entire back catalogue to music royalty fund Hipgnosis. The London-listed company today said it has acquired the rights to Shakira’s portfolio of 145 songs, including hits such as Hips Don’t Lie, She Wolf and 2010 World Cup anthem Waka [...]
Tiktok tightens privacy features as online harm laws loom January 13, 2021 Tiktok has tightened its privacy features for young users as the government prepares to roll out tough new rules to improve safety on social media. The hit video-sharing app today said that all users under the age of 16 will have their accounts set to private by default, meaning only approved followers can view their [...]