Die Zeit. “It simply isn’t right to romanticise Russia with lyrics like: ‘I follow the Moskva/ Down to Gorky Park…Let your balalaika sing’“.The band have changed the lyrics to: “Now listen to my heart/ It says Ukrainia/ Waiting for the wind to change,” which are projected on a screen behind the band as they perform.Released in 1991, the perestroika power ballad is the German hard rockers’ most famous song; it was voted song of the 20th century by viewers of the public broadcaster ZDF in 2005.Even though the song was released over a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is widely remembered as the soundtrack to the era of economic and social changes in the former Soviet Union that heralded the end of the cold war.Meine said he composed the words on September 3 and 4, 1989, a month after Scorpions performed at the Moscow Music Peace festival.Elsewhere in the interview with Die Zeit, Meine discussed his friendship with Hanoverian ex-chancellor turned Russian gas lobbyist Gerhard Schröder, whose fifth wedding party he attended in 2018.“I haven’t spoken with Gerhard Schröder for a while,” Meine said.
Media’s Rough Ride in 2022: Investors Reassess the Streaming Future
18.05.2022 - 16:37 / variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIt’s been a brutal year so far for Wall Street — the Dow has dropped for seven weeks straight in its worst performance since 2001 — and most media companies have been harder hit than the broader financial markets amid ongoing gyrations.The stock volatility has been triggered by a range of troubling indicators, including higher interest rates aimed at dousing rising inflation as well as supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages and geopolitical uncertainty due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.With players like Netflix, Disney, the newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global in the thick of the streaming wars, there has been a new post-pandemic reset: Investors are more closely scrutinizing the growth dynamics and economics of video streaming.
Hollywood’s conventional wisdom has been that streaming will eat the world. But after Netflix — the canary in the streaming coal mine, as it has the biggest subscriber base — reported a drop in subscribers in the first quarter, Wall Street is wondering if the upside is as big as previously anticipated.
“Investors are realizing that user growth may not translate into attractive video streaming profitability given the high costs associated with content, user acquisition and retention, and global expansion,” says Chris Vollmer, managing director at consulting firm MediaLink.Amid the turmoil, Paramount got a major vote of confidence from Warren Buffett: Shares in the media conglom (formerly known as ViacomCBS) shot up 15% on May 17 after the billionaire’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it had amassed more than $2 billion worth of shares in recent months. The Buffett boost reversed the Paramount stock’s losses for the year.Meanwhile, Twitter’s
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Decarbonisation Summit 2022: investing in a brighter, greener future
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Donald Trump’s Media Company Plans “Non-Woke Alternative” To Netflix And Disney+; Streaming Slate To Feature “Cancelled Shows”
Donald Trump’s emerging media and technology company has taken a stab at further refining its business plans, promising in a new SEC filing that its forthcoming streaming service will be a “non-woke alternative” to Netflix and Disney+.
War films, protests and Russia boycotts: How Ukraine’s plight shaped Cannes 2022
glitziest film festival is sometimes portrayed as a bubble – and to some extent, that is true. One could easily have spent a week on the Croisette without noticing that the host country has a whole new government, and only the second woman prime minister in its history.
French Open 2022 LIVE: Emma Raducanu survives scare against Linda Noskova to reach second round
LIVE – Updated at 09:58Day Two of the French Open featured an all-star line-up with Emma Raducanu making her senior debut on clay as she overcame an almighty scare against Czech qualifier Linda Noskova. Raducanu trailed by a set and a break at one stage in a gruelling match that lasted over two and a half hours, but the Briton eventually prevailed 6-7 7-5 6-1 to seal her place in the second round. There was good news on the British front for Cameron Norrie too, who made it safely through to the second round with a straight sets victory over Manuel Guinard.
Energy price cap to rise by £830 to £2,800 in October, Ofgem chief warns
Energy bills could sky-rocketto £2,800 in October for millions of households, the energy regulator Ofgem has warned.
Netflix’s First Quarter Shocker Is Driving Tougher Scrutiny of the Streaming Market
Netflix’s subscriber growth slowdown at the 222 million mark portends things to come for other major streamers is one of the biggest unknowns fueling media stock volatility. Hollywood has staked its hopes for growth over the past few years on drawing subscribers from the global market thanks to streaming’s ability to reach beyond geographic borders.Indeed, the mere suggestion that Netflix’s subscriber base may plateau at around a quarter-billion subs — after the company invested more than $87 billion in content since 2013 — contributed to Wall Street’s latest wave of sell-offs in the media and tech sector.
Jake Tapper’s CNN Interview With Trevor Reed Could Spark New Awareness of U.S. Citizens Imprisoned Overseas
Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhen CNN presents an exclusive interview Sunday evening between Jake Tapper and Trevor Reed, recently released from Russia after nearly three years of imprisonment, the network has the potential to spur a new strain of activism around U.S. citizens incarcerated abroad.Reed, who spoke with Tapper for several hours Thursday in Florida, was released “because the Biden administration engaged in a prison swap with Russia, and in the past, that has been seen as controversial,” says Tapper during a recent interview. “The family wants those days to disappear.”During the hour-long special, Reed talks about his experiences overseas, some of which, Tapper says sound like something out of a “horror movie franchise.” He also speaks about his interest in helping other American families who have relatives detained unlawfully overseas.
Julian Lennon Says ‘Hey Jude’ Was Written About Him To Help Him Be ‘Strong’ Amid The ‘Mess’ His Father John Made
Julian Lennon has revealed the beloved Beatles track “Hey Jude” was written about him.
‘Tchaikovsky’s Wife’ Producer on Putin and Russia’s Future in Film: Distribution Taking ‘Biggest Blow’
Christopher Vourlias Since co-founding Moscow-based production house Hype Film in 2011, Ilya Stewart and partner Murad Osmann – Variety Producers to Watch in 2018 – have grown the company from an award-winning commercial and music video producer into one of the most successful film production outfits in the country, thanks in no small part to their partnership with arthouse director and provocateur Kirill Serebrennikov.After collaborating on his 2016 Un Certain Regard prize winner “The Student,” Serebrennikov and Stewart teamed up again on “Leto,” a rock drama which played in competition on the Croisette in 2018. Last year they competed again with “Petrov’s Flu,” a hallucinatory romp through a post-Soviet Russia in the grips of a mysterious flu pandemic.
TV Ad Chiefs Press Madison Avenue to Gaze Into Future, Not the Present
Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJo Ann Ross has long recognized when to go for the hard- sell and when to soften things up.The Paramount Global U.S. ad sales chief is, like other executives in her position, is seizing this week to pitch big advertisers as part of the media industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S.
Cost of living crisis: Greggs warns prices of pasties and bakes will rise
Bakery chain Greggs has announced it is forced to increase prices of popular breakfast items due to inflation. The company said it was planning on implementing the changes "soon" with product prices set to increase by up to 10p.
Måneskin give ‘Supermodel’ electric live debut at Eurovision 2022
Måneskin returned to the Eurovision Song Contest last night (May 14) to give new single ‘Supermodel’ its live debut – check the performance out below.The Italian band, who won the 2021 contest with their song ‘Zitti E Buoni’, have had a massive year since their Eurovision triumph, playing across the globe and announcing a massive arena tour.This week, the band returned with new single ‘Supermodel’, their first new music of 2022, and the track was given its live debut during the half-time break at last night’s Eurovision in Turin.After the track was played, the band then debuted a snippet of an unreleased song called ‘If I Can Dream’, revealing that it was written in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann and set to appear on the soundtrack to his forthcoming Elvis Presley biopic.“We felt a huge connection and we decided to jump on it,” frontman Damiano David said of working with Luhrmann. “We’re really proud of what we did, we can’t wait to see it.”Watch the two performances below:Eurovision 2022 was won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra with the song ‘Stefania’, with the UK’s Sam Ryder coming in second, the country’s best placed finish since 1997.
Post Malone joined by Fleet Foxes and Roddy Ricch for ‘Saturday Night Live’ performance
Post Malone was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last night (May 14) and was joined by Fleet Foxes and Roddy Ricch – watch the performances below.During the Selena Gomez-hosted episode, the rapper performed recent Ricch collaboration ‘Cooped Up’ and unreleased song ‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol’, both taken from upcoming album ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’.For ‘Cooped Up’, Ricch joined Posty on a stage backed by candlelight, while on ‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol’, the members of Fleet Foxes formed a semi-circle around the rapper and provided choral backing vocals.Post Malone is a longtime fan of the band, and ‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol was recently teased by the rapper as featuring Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold. “He’s the most beautiful fucking vocalist, the most epic fucking guy,” Post said.
Eurovision explains why Russia is banned from competing in 2022 competition
This week has seen the Eurovision Song Contest in full swing, with semi-finals beginning in host country Italy on Tuesday, May 10 ahead of the grand final on Saturday, May 14. But one country is missing from the list of those taking part, for the first time since 1994 - Russia.