Spotify launches new concert tickets website

EXCLUSIVE: British producer Rabia Sultana (Sour Milk) has announced the launch of her production company, Sultana Film, unveiling details on two projects that she has in development.

Tessa Thompson (Westworld) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Super Pumped) are are attached to star in the sci-fi thriller Ash, which the Grammy-winning musician and filmmaker Flying Lotus — otherwise known as Steven Ellison — will direct as his sophomore feature, as we first reported in January. Neill Blomkamp (District 9) has since then come aboard to exec produce the pic, which its financier XYZ Films will rep for worldwide sales at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.

The Senate Majority PAC is debuting a new spot that attacks Mehmet Oz as “Hollywood’s celebrity doctor,” using the inevitable theme of Wizard of Oz to skewer the GOP candidate’s collection of homes, among other things.

Meghan Markle toppled Spotify king Joe Rogan this week to become number one on the platform in six different countries, including the U.S., with her new podcast "Archetypes."  The Duchess of Sussex welcomed her longtime friend and tennis champ Serena Williams as her first guest on the podcast Tuesday.The two talked about how the word "ambition" has become a "dirty, dirty word when it comes to women." In the podcast, the royal said she never personally felt a negative connotation toward "ambition" until she started dating Prince Harry.  "Since I’ve felt the negativity behind it, it’s really hard to un-feel it," she said. "I can’t unsee it, either, in the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller – so much smaller – on a regular basis." Meghan Markle dropped her first episode of 'Achetypes' on Tuesday.

Moses Sumney has unveiled details of a new concert film before announcing his break from music.Sumney was this week revealed to be part of The Weeknd’s upcoming HBO series The Idol and has now today (August 25) unveiled a new concert film called A Performance In V Acts that covers his gig at the Ford Theater in Los Angeles on October 31. After that, he also announced his upcoming break from music.He said in a statement that the new concert film “marks the official end of the græ album cycle.”He continued: “It’s a capsule of our headline show since we will not be touring the album after all,” he wrote. “This film also ushers in a new period of creativity for me – one in which I take a continued break from making albums and touring music to focus on other disciplines.”The film will be released on August 31 and you can see a clip of him from the film performing ‘Doomed’ and his cover of Björk’s ‘Come to Me’ here:Earlier this week, HBO released the second teaser for The Idol, the upcoming drama series created by “the sick and twisted minds of” The Weeknd and Euphoria helmer Sam Levinson.It was confirmed some time ago that the main cast will feature Troye Sivan, Debby Ryan and Hari Nef, while the recurring cast will include Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio and Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects.In the latest teaser, we learn that other actors and artists set to appear.

Meghan Markle’s new Archetypes is currently Spotify’s most-listened-to podcast in six countries, overtaking usual U.S. frontrunner The Joe Rogan Experience.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The Duchess of Sussex has claimed the No. 1 podcast position on Spotify’s charts in six markets worldwide, including the U.S. and U.K. And, for the time being, Meghan Markle’s “Archetypes” is currently more popular than “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which in the U.S. is consistently the most-listened-to podcast on Spotify. “Archetypes,” released Tuesday exclusively on Spotify, is No. 1 on the streamer’s podcast charts for the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Next week’s episode will feature a conversation between Markle and Mariah Carey. In the premiere episode, Markle talks to Serena Williams about the double standard women face when they are labeled “ambitious” and the ripple effect this has on other aspects of their life, as well as how they are perceived. The inaugural episode also features Dr. Laura Kray, a leading expert on gender in the workplace, and the way in which these archetypes affect all of us.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Notorious sports commentator Stephen A. Smith isn’t shy about sharing his thoughts. And he promises to unleash a new stream of unfiltered opinions — on a wide array of current events beyond sports — in his first podcast, set to launch next month. “Know Mercy With Stephen A. Smith,” produced by Audacy’s Cadence13 podcast division, will be a three-times-per-week talk show. It’s slated to premiere Sept. 26, on the Audacy app and all major podcast platforms, with new episodes set to drop on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The talk-show podcast will feature Smith, joined by notable guests, riffing on the day’s headlines across politics, entertainment, social issues, criminal justice, business and (undoubtedly) spots.

Björk has launched a new podcast series in which she’ll reflect on the creation of each of her studio albums.The first three episodes of Björk: Sonic Symbolism will be released next Thursday (September 1), delving into the worlds of ‘Debut’ (1993), ‘Post’ (1995) and ‘Homogenic’ (1997) respectively.Additional instalments will follow album-by-album on a weekly basis until October 13.In a statement, Björk described her forthcoming podcast venture as “an experiment to capture which moods, timbres, and tempos were vibrating during each of these phases” of her career.“Most of us go through phases in our lives that take roughly three years, and it is not a coincidence this is also how long it takes to make an album or a film,” the Icelandic artist continued.“When I get asked about the differences of the music of my albums, I find it quickest to use visual short cuts. That’s kind of why my album covers are almost like homemade tarot cards.”Listen to a teaser below.The musician went on: “The image on the front might seem like just a visual moment, but for me it is simply describing the sound of it.

Christopher Vourlias Producer Ilya Stewart has launched an independent studio based in Europe that will operate on a global scale, working with international talent and focusing on English-language feature films and television series, Variety can exclusively reveal. Hype Studios is the new venture from Stewart, the formerly Moscow-based producer who in recent years has been a fixture at the Cannes Film Festival, where his collaborations with Russian auteur Kirill Serebrennikov, including “Petrov’s Flu” and “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” have premiered in competition. Among the co-productions with American and European partners currently on Hype Studios’ slate is Zach Wigon’s “Sanctuary,” starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, which premieres as a Special Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival and was produced with Rumble Films and Mosaic Films, along with Charades. Also on the slate is Pietro Marcello’s French-language “Scarlet,” produced in partnership with CG Cinéma’s Charles Gillibert, which opened this year’s Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and will receive its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival.

A city-centre bakery specialising in New York-inspired giant cookies, doughnuts and sweet bakes is launching its very own bakery and cafe at the former Manchester Cat Cafe site in the Northern Quarter. Gooey's neighbourhood bakery and cafe will open this weekend, and will boast an in-house bakery, takeout coffee ordering and a counter full of pastries, cookies and more.

Snoop Dogg has launched a new animated children’s TV series called Doggyland.The show, formally titled Doggyland – Kids Songs & Nursery Rhymes, is available to watch on YouTube and YouTube Kids. It sees Snoop partnering with Emmy-nominated creator of kids’ franchise Hip Hop Harry, and singer-songwriter October London.Doggyland is led by a cast of dogs that teach kids up to eight years old about social and emotional skills through dance and song.In a statement about the show, Snoop Dogg said: “As a father, grandfather and longtime youth football coach, it’s always been important to me to build positive and educational environments for all children.

Margarethe von Trotta To Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor At The European Film Awards German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th European Film Awards. von Trotta will receive the honor at a ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, on December 10 where she will be an honorary guest. Born in Berlin and raised in Düsseldorf, von Trotta started her career as an actress, in theatre and appeared in films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Volker Schlöndorff before moving behind the camera in 1978 with The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, her solo debut as a director. In 1981, her film Marianne and Juliane about the “German Sisters” Christiane and Gudrun Ensslin won the Golden Lion in Venice as well as two German Film Awards and an Italian David di Donatello. Previous winners of the European Film Academy’s lifetime achievement award include Agnès Varda and Judi Dench.

The first Paramount Music Showcase, designed to showcase emeging music artists from “underrepresented communities” within 30 miles of New York City, is set for a fall rollout.

SHERELLE has launched a new academy featuring workshops with PinkPantheress, Mura Masa and more.BEAUTIFUL, which will run workshops throughout October, will be hosted by the producer, giving 15 students access to “hands on classes, lectures and talks about how to navigate the music industry, better their artistic craft and learn about electronic music and how ingrained Black and queer artists are in its history,” according to a press release.The first session will cover the history and political impact of black music with journalist, author and DJ, Marcus Barnes with Lil Silva, Mura Masa and LCY giving a workshop in production.DJ and writer Elijah will also discuss the economical and social aspects of the industry followed by a roundtable discussion with key professional figures from managers to PRs in another session while the final workshop will be with PinkPantheress on her rise and the cultural impact of black music.Artists can enroll for the workshops here before August 22.According to a press release, BEAUTIFUL was launched in 2020 and it was SHERELLE’s “response to whitewashing and the erasure of both Black and queer history within electronic music”.Last year, SHERELLE curated an 18-track album featuring “some of the very best artists of the electronic scene” and celebrating Black & LGBTQI+ talent on the scene through the initiative.Speaking to NME about the project previously, SHERELLE said: “I know a lot of people want to be in positions where they are able to cultivate change, but I know it’s going to take time until we are in a position of influence to do that.“I want there to be more Beautifuls: community-led legacy-led teams which address ownership.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicHitCo Entertainment, the music company launched by Antonio L.A. Reid (pictured at left) and Charles Goldstuck (at right) in 2017, has been sold to Concord, Variety has learned through multiple sources.

Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis has launched a new jigsaw subscription service that features iconic album artwork.The ‘Puzzle Heads’ club is due to begin later this year with a 1,000-piece jigsaw depicting the cover of David Bowie‘s classic fifth record, ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ (1972).Other upcoming puzzles in 2022 include ones based on Joy Division‘s ‘Unknown Pleasures’, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen‘s ‘Like I Used To’, Dinosaur Jr.’s ‘Dinosaur’ and Wilco’s ‘Star Wars’.Per the service’s official website, Mascis enlisted designer Aaron Draplin to bring the idea to life.

Brad Pitt, whose most embarrassing moments in “Bullet Train” (like getting sprayed in the face with a bidet or losing his train ticket within minutes) is made just an ounce less cringe by the coolness factor afforded to him by a stylish outfit — namely, a floppy white bucket hat and wide-rimmed glasses that remain his staple accessories throughout most of the film.The first time you see Pitt without the floppy headwear is when it’s forced off him while in a showdown against Bad Bunny in a desolate train cabin (Bad Bunny is one of the first casualties as half a dozen assassins attempt to kill each other on board the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto to get their hands on a briefcase full of cash). Once Lady Bug successfully stabs him in the heart and cleans up the mess, he swiftly puts the hat back on, not a single blood stain to be seen.

DJ Khaled feat. Drake & Lil Baby’s “STAYING ALIVE” comes with a cinematic like music video directed by R.T. Thorne.