Warner Bros. has said it will pivot away from “volatile” AAA games to focus on live service and mobile titles.Last month, the company said the launch of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League “failed” to meet expectations.
15.02.2024 - 14:14 / variety.com
Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Spotify is leaning into catalog programming with the launch of its first-ever catalog hub, Spotify Classics, curated by the streaming service’s editorial team. The program, which will be highlighted as a hub on the platform starting today, seeks to define more recent albums that the editorial team has deemed as streaming classics.
The collection of 30 records dates from 2015 to the present day in North America, contending with the notion of what makes a classic and how the artists shifted the public’s perception of what an album can and should be. The list of projects from the last nine years spans a variety of hip-hop and R&B albums including Rihanna’s “Anti,” Travis Scott’s “Astroworld,” Jay-Z’s “4:44,” Beyoncé’s “Lemonade,” Daniel Caesar’s “Freudian,” Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” and many more. Additional artists in the package include Frank Ocean, Jazmine Sullivan, Nipsey Hussle, Solange, and Tyler, The Creator.
The hub can be accessed here. “As editors, most of our work requires us to evaluate music at a song level so for the first iteration of the Spotify Classics program, we thought it was important to celebrate albums as a body of work,” says Carl Chery, creative director and head of urban music at Spotify. “Historically, media outlets would have published a list like the Classic Hip-Hop and RNB albums of the Streaming Era, but as the leader in streaming, we thought we were uniquely positioned to tell that story.
“I don’t think a streaming classic is any different from classic albums from previous eras,” he continues. “This program is 100 percent editorial. We took into consideration factors like quality, impact, influence, and replay value, among others, when
.Warner Bros. has said it will pivot away from “volatile” AAA games to focus on live service and mobile titles.Last month, the company said the launch of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League “failed” to meet expectations.
Kate Middleton's uncle, Gary Goldsmith, is reportedly set to appear on Celebrity Big Brother, alongside the likes of Sharon Osborne, Louis Walsh and Fern Britton. While the 58 year old has at times been a controversial or divisive figure, Carole Middleton's younger brother will be a popular signing who may be expected to offer a unique view of his royal connections. A source revealed: "He’s made it clear he will talk about everything and anything, and he’s pretty outspoken when it comes to Harry and Meghan.
The Weeknd and Travis Scott joined producer Mike Dean onstage during his show in Los Angeles on Friday night (March 1) – check out the footage below.Dean played a 14-song gig at LA’s Wiltern Theatre, opening the set with ‘The Lure’ – his collaborative song with The Weeknd from the soundtrack to The Idol (per Setlist.FM).Later, The Weeknd – aka Abel Tesfaye – took to the stage to deliver a synthy cover version of ‘In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song)’ from the 1977 David Lynch film Eraserhead. He then assisted on a joint rendition of his unreleased cut ‘Take Me Back To LA’.Scott – who enlisted Dean to produce on all of his studio albums, including 2023’s ‘Utopia’ – joined Dean and The Weeknd to perform their collaborative track ‘Circus Maximus’.
Mukesh Ambani, for the union of his 28-year-old son Anant Ambani, with his childhood sweetheart, 29-year-old Radhika Merchant. Rihanna arrives in India to perform at the wedding of the son of Asia’s richest man: How much is she getting paid?Is Taylor Swift endorsing Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2024?Melania and Ivanka Trump’s relationship and the reason behind her ‘I Don’t Care’ jacket: New book claimsHowever, this celebration is not for the wedding ceremony, as the pair are set to tie the knot in July.
Kid Cudi has revealed that he will be taking a break from making music for a year to focus on his film and television career.January saw the Ohio rapper release his 10th studio album ‘INSANO’– a more trap-inspired record that included verses from Lil Wayne, Lil Yachty, DJ Drama, Pharrell and Travis Scott – before he dropped the LP’s sequel ‘INSANO (Nitro Mega)’ last week; taking a more experimental and alternative route assisted by the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Layzie and Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony and Pusha T. The two records mark Cudi’s final albums as part of his Republic Records deal.Shortly after the release of ‘Nitro Mega’, Cudi took to X/Twitter to tell fans he would be taking a break from music and to expect new music “every other year.””“My next album is already about 80 per cent done, and it’ll be out in 2026,” he wrote.
Todd Longwell Gail Berman’s four-decade-plus career has taken her from Broadway to the big screen and back again, with stints as a studio chief and a new media entrepreneur in between. “I’m your pivot girl,” says Berman, who last year received nominations for both a best picture Oscar (“Elvis”) and a comedy series Emmy (Netflix’s “Wednesday”). “Every five years, I have to do something else.
Jordan Moreau Two of the most memorable songs from Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” made their way into Netflix’s new adaptation of the series. Instead of making viewers wait for a second season to hear “Secret Tunnel” and “Leaves From the Vine,” the live-action version moves both to the fourth episode of Season 1.
Frank Turner has shared new single ‘Girl From The Record Shop’. Check it out below as Turner talks to NME about new album ‘Undefeated’ and his continuing endeavours with the Music Venue Trust.The energetic new track is the second single to be taken from ‘Undefeated’, which is due out on May 3 via Xtra Mile.
Thania Garcia Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Vultures” is the No. 1 album in the United States this week despite the 16-song set getting major pushback from streaming platforms for West’s antisemitic behavior. The album was temporarily removed from streaming services just a few days after its release on Feb.
Fever 333 have shared a blistering new single titled ‘Ready Rock’ – check it out below.The track marks the latest single to be shared from the American band’s forthcoming album. At time of writing, the title of the upcoming LP is still unknown, however, it is set to arrive later in 2024 via Century Media.In ‘Ready Rock’, frontman Jason Aalon Butler and co.
“The first shape I had in mind for this film was fiction,” filmmaker Mati Diop told a Berlin Film Festival presser this morning when quizzed on the structure of her inventive documentary Dahomey.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are choosing to focus on rehabilitating their image amid ongoing family drama. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Canada from Feb. 14-16 for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025’s One Year to Go celebrations.
Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A planned international rerelease of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles’ “City of God” will kick off from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), marking the 2002 cult crime drama’s first theatrical outing in the region. Prominent Dubai-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has partnered with Paris-based distributor The Festival Agency – which in turn acquired the “City of God” rerelease rights from Wild Bunch – on what it said marks the beginning of many rereleases planned by Front Row going forward.
Kanye West appeared to address last year’s controversial Venice boat exposure incident on his new ‘Vultures 1‘ song ‘Fuck Sumn’.West and his partner Bianca Censori caused controversy last year after they were caught in a compromising position on a boat in Italy, with reports later emerging that they were being investigated by police.The pair were photographed on a water taxi in August showing West’s trousers pulled down with Censori’s head in his lap.They were reportedly “banned for life” from using the boat company after the incident.West – who now goes by Ye – and Ty Dolla $ign finally released their much-delayed controversial new collaborative album ‘Vultures 1’ this month, which features Lil Durk, Bump J, Freddie Gibbs, Quavo and more.The 10th song on the album, ‘Fuck Sumn’ featuring Travis Scott and Playboi Carti, appears to make reference to the Venice scandal.In the second verse, West raps: “Hold my coat, hold my drink/ On my own, come with me/ Shawty wanna fuck on somethin’?/ Fuck on me, suck on me publicly.”West announced the release this month by sharing the album artwork, which appears to show him in all-black and a hockey mask alongside by Censori in the nude.West has previously received criticism for sharing photos of his reported wife in either the nude or revealing attire – with System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan telling him to “show some class“, adding: “Your wife isn’t supposed to be your trophy, she’s your place of pride and dignity. This isn’t the way”.The new album has continued to stir up controversy, after Donna Summer’s estate criticised West for using an ‘I Feel Love’ sample without permission.
With this year’s Super Bowl likely to draw over 100 million sets of eyeballs, advertisers not being shy about buying ads, even at a record $7 million per 30-second spot. And, as usual, they’re not waiting for the big game to put them on display.
Jordan Moreau Beyoncé. Prince. Rihanna.
Fans are gearing up for a big night of football, entertainment and music as Super Bowl LVIII game day is here. Although many viewers will have their eyes locked on their screens for the big game, a lot of fans also clamor for the Super Bowl’s big entertainment spectacle – the halftime show.The Super Bowl halftime show has seen massive stars over the years, and Usher will be the latest to headline in 2024. With over 50 years of Super Bowl halftime shows, many star-studded performances have shocked and bored fans.
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have finally released their controversial new collaborative album, ‘Vultures 1’.The pair have been teasing their new album for some months, after news first circulated in August 2023 that West would be releasing new music “imminently” before reports of a late January release and then a drop date set for yesterday (Friday February 9).When that failed to materialise, many expected an indefinite wait. However, the record – the first in an instalment of three – has now been released on Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL and Spotify. There was some delay before it arrived on the latter, leading many to believe that it might be available on the platform.The 16-track album also features contributions Lil Durk, Bump J, Freddie Gibbs, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Quavo, and West’s daughter, North.
Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After a long series of fakeouts that have become standard operating procedure for Kanye West releases, the embattled artist and Ty Dolla $ign have finally dropped their “Vultures 1” album. The release, which occurred sometime in the wee hours of Saturday morning, is curiously not available on Spotify, although it can be found on most other major streaming services.
Every Friday, The FADER's writers dive into the most exciting new projects released that week. Today, read our thoughts on Little Simz's Drop 7, BabyDrill's ScoreGod, Helado Negro's PHASOR, and more.