Bowie producer Tony Visconti calls Spotify “disgusting” over low payments to artists

Dave Grohl has recounted his first experience of seeing David Bowie perform live, as well as details of their subsequent conversations.Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s 7.30 programme earlier this month (March 8, per Billboard), the Foo Fighters frontman reminisced on the time both men appeared on the same festival bill, and Grohl witnessed the Thin White Duke live for the first time.“I stood in the photo pit and looked at him and it was like seeing an alien,” he recounts. “You know, it was like seeing a UFO for the first time, like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s real’.

Megan Markle is about to take the next step in her multi-faceted career.

Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, is set to launch her debut podcast later this summer on Spotify.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorPrince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell production company says it’s satisfied that Spotify is adequately addressing misinformation on its platform — and announced that a podcast featuring Markle will hit the audio-streaming platform this summer.The latest development comes after the erstwhile British royal couple in January said they were urging Spotify to make changes to address the “serious harms” presented by COVID misinformation on its platform. The couple’s statement did not call out Joe Rogan, but the popular podcaster — whose show is exclusively available on Spotify — set off a boycott instigated by Neil Young and joined by other musicians and talent, who were protesting COVID misinfo on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” According to a rep for Archewell Audio, the company has been encouraged by ongoing conversations with Spotify execs about implementing policies, practices and strategies to raise creator awareness, minimize the spread of misinformation and support transparency.As a result, Archewell Audio said, it is continuing production of “Meghan,” the Duchess of Sussex’s first podcast series, set to launch this summer.Harry and Meghan’s Archewell set a deal with Spotify in 2020 to produce exclusive podcasts that “build community through shared experience, narratives and values.” To date, it has released just one podcast — a holiday special in December 2020.

David Byrne says he believes that Spotify is “making artists uncomfortable” around the scandal relating to COVID misinformation shared on Joe Rogan’s podcast.Earlier this year, Rogan and Spotify were heavily criticised for sharing misinformation about the coronavirus vaccine on the exclusive podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which led to artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removing their music from the service.Byrne, who in 2013 publicly criticised the “pittance” artists are paid in terms of royalties from streaming services like Spotify, and claimed he had pulled as much of his catalogue as possible from the service, was asked his thoughts on the ongoing scandal in a new interview with the Guardian.“There’s been all these things about platforms having … let’s say questionable or controversial content [and] putting out misinformation or outright lies or … not exactly hate speech, but things that are making a lot of artists uncomfortable,” he said.“And it’s pretty tough to do anything to help ameliorate that unless you’re a Drake or Taylor Swift, or those kinds of artists. It’s pretty hard for the rest of us to have influence.”Byrne added: “A handful of mega, mega artists are doing really well, and many of the others – especially emerging artists – are having a tough time with it.

Get an extended glimpse at TV’s next big reboot.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify has suspended premium service in Russia after the country launched its war on Ukraine — a move that the audio streaming powerhouse expects to result in a loss of about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022.That’s according to Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, who spoke at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Wednesday. According to a Spotify spokesperson, the loss of its business in Russia is not material: The country represents less than 1% of total revenue.Vogel also alluded to the recent controversy over podcaster Joe Rogan, which has spurred calls to boycott the streamer (but Vogel didn’t identify Rogan by name).Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Vogel, Spotify was trending ahead of its Q1 guidance of adding a net 8 million total users, including 3 million paying customers.

Zendaya had a slight concern when she walked into the audition room with her “Dune” co-star Timothée Chalamet.

David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, had a brilliant comeback when Russia Today quoted a famous Bowie lyric in one of their tweets, displaying his support for Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country. In the tweet from the Russian state-owned news organisation, the media outlet referenced a famous lyric from Bowie's 1969 hit Space Oddity on Twitter to its 2.

Sasha Urban editorIn the wake of ebbing controversy against Spotify’s partnership with podcaster Joe Rogan, Grammy-winning songwriter Tiffany Red and the advocacy group the 100 Percenters are planning a peaceful protest against the music streaming service on Feb. 28. The 100 Percenters were founded by Red in 2020 to advocate for more equitable payments for songwriters.

Showtime offers the next step to the universe of The Man Who Fell To Earth with its upcoming series of the same name starring Chiwetel Ejofor and Naomie Harris. While not a remake Nicolas Roeg’s 1976 film starring David Bowie series, executive producer, writer and director Alex Kurtzman said the series seeks to pay tribute to previous forms of the sci-fi story.

Joe Rogan has taken flak for hosting guests with sometimes-controversial opinions on vaccines and political issues, but a Spotify spokesperson said it was simply a technical malfunction.“It’s a technical issue affecting a number of our shows and should be resolved soon,” the spokesperson told The Post.The podcast appeared to be inaccessible for about 20 minutes.Neil Young recently pulled his music off of Spotify in protest of Rogan. Spotify paid Joe Rogan at least $200 million to exclusively host his podcast, according to the New York Times.

Spotify may have paid at least $200million for the exclusive rights to Joe Rogan’s podcast, double the figure that was previously reported.The streaming giant secured an exclusive license to host The Joe Rogan Experience in May 2020, when it was widely reported the controversial podcast host had been paid over $100million as part of the deal.However, “two people familiar with the details of the transaction” have since claimed to The New York Times that the three-and-a-half-year deal was actually worth twice what was initially believed: at least $200million. Spotify has yet to publicly comment on this report.The Times points out Spotify had previously purchased whole content companies – podcast network Gimlet Media and digital media brand The Ringer – both for slightly less than $200million each.In recent weeks, Spotify has come under fire for hosting The Joe Rogan Experience, its biggest podcast in the US and many other countries, with an estimated per-episode listenership of around 11million people.Last month, Neil Young requested the platform pull his catalogue, citing “false information about vaccines” being spread on the platform and specifically targeting Rogan’s podcast.

It was previously reported that Joe Rogan was being paid $100 million for his multi-year contract with Spotify, but now it’s being claimed that the company paid him a lot more than that.

Like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie, Ava DuVernay’s Array is no longer doing business with Spotify.

Like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie, Ava DuVernay’s Array is no longer doing business with Spotify.

Ava DuVernay‘s company is backing out of a big deal.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify’s deal with Joe Rogan, the popular podcast host who has attracted a swarm of controversy in recent weeks, is worth more than $200 million, according to a new report by the New York Times.Citing anonymous sources, the Times reported that “the true value” of the deal negotiated between Spotify and Rogan — spanning three and a half years — was “at least $200 million, with the possibility of more.” Previously, the pact had been said to be worth more than $100 million, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Spotify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Over the past month, Rogan has faced a backlash from Spotify users and artists over his use of the N-word in past episodes of his podcast and accusations that Rogan’s show has spread COVID misinformation. On the Feb.