CEO Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

A post shared by Tunbridge Wells Forum (@twforum)Recently, it was announced Alien Ant Farm and CKY had become the first American band to add a £1 ticket levy to their UK tours.It follows a similar move by Enter Shikari last year; last May, the band shared details of a 2024 run of UK tour dates, where £1 from each ticket sold was donated to the Music Venue Trust.Other companies have launched similar initiatives. Independent ticketing company Skiddle announced in October it would donate 50p of every ticket sold towards saving grassroots music venues, while taxi firm FREENOW pledged to donate £1 from every ride to the cause.Ticketmaster have introduced a Music Venue Trust charity upsell option, enabling fans to make direct contributions to MVT when purchasing tickets.

Gary Neville believes Erik ten Hag should be given another season in charge at Manchester United.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor When Jensen Huang’s software company Nvidia invented the graphic processing unit, it fundamentally changed the world. Huang is set to receive the Gold House A1 honor in business and technology. The GPU was one step ahead of the CPU (computer processing unit) and being one step ahead is how Huang, Nvidia’s president and CEO, has been.

Paramount Global says Chris McMarthy is the company’s “interim principal executive officer,” a necessity required by the SEC that apparently does not signal he has more decision-making power among a trio of top executives who stepped up to replace Bob Bakish this week in a new Office of the CEO.

The Visa Cash App RB F1 Team is bringing a couple of very colorful cars to the Miami Grand Prix this weekend!

Three days after he was named to the newly formed Office of the CEO of Paramount Global, George Cheeks, President and CEO of CBS, faced reporters at the unveiling of the broadcast network’s fall 2024 schedule.

Partners Sony and Apollo have formally reached out to Paramount‘s special board committee asking to discuss a potential $26 billion offer, Deadline has learned. It comes as Par’s exclusive negotiating window with David Ellison‘s Skydance is set to expire.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In the latest twist in Paramount Global‘s M&A saga, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management reportedly have made a bid to take Paramount private with an all-cash buyout offer of $26 billion. Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted an offer letter Wednesday to Paramount Global, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The report comes as Paramount Global board’s special committee established to consider M&A proposals is evaluating the best and final offer from Skydance Media to merge Paramount and Skydance, while keeping Paramount Global public.

Katcy Stephan Ben Schnetzer has joined the cast of the upcoming Lily James-led film inspired by the story of Bumble founder and former CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, from 20th Century Studios and Ethea Entertainment. Schnetzer recently completed the film “The Yellow Tie,” a biopic on the famed Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. He plays the young version of the legendary classical music conductor, with John Malkovich co-starring as the older version.

Rachel Leviss is explaining where things stand.

Jessica Casano-Antonellis, a former exec at Disney+, Hulu and Vimeo, is returning to the streaming sector as the head of communications for the new sports-centric service coming from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jessica Casano-Antonellis is exiting SiriusXM to join the new Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery sports-streaming venture as head of communications.

It was a year of pain for the entertainment industry and shareholders of (many) media companies with brutal months-long Hollywood strikes, and layoffs. Linear television continued to decline and a nascent theatrical recovery went sideways. Most CEOs saw pay packages rise in 2023, some by big multiples.

Songs from popular artists like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Drake will be back on TikTok months after they were suddenly pulled from the platform. Major record label Universal Music Group (UMG) has signed a licensing deal with the social media platform that addresses concerns of pay and the use of A.I.

TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced that they have come to a new licensing agreement.Today (May 2), the social media platform and music label issued a press release announcing the new agreement. It comes after TikTok’s and UMG’s previous agreement expired in late January, with the latter withdrawing its artists’ music from the platform as a result of both parties’ inability to work out a new deal.In late January, UMG claimed that “TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay”, which it says accounts for one per cent of its revenue.Now, however, UMG’s new agreement with TikTok will reportedly “deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI”, per a press release.Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG, said of their new partnership: “This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The months-long standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok over royalty payments and AI policies is finally over, at least for the time being, with the announcement that the two entities have struck a deal to bring the label’s music back on the platform. As part of the agreement, the companies stated that they will “deliver improved remuneration for UMG’s songwriters and artists, new promotional and engagement opportunities for their recordings and songs and industry-leading protections with respect to generative AI.” UMG’s music will return to the platform imminently, and the companies will collaborate on realizing “new monetization opportunities utilizing TikTok’s growing e-commerce capabilities and will work together on campaigns supporting UMG’s artists across genres and territories globally.” “This new chapter in our relationship with TikTok focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community,” said Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of UMG.

House Republicans are calling for NPR CEO Katherine Maher to appear at a hearing on May 8 following a now former staffer’s allegations of bias in news coverage.

Jack Dunn BMI is set to honor composer Ramin Djawadi with the Icon Award for his work across film, television and video games. Djawadi, whose credits include “Westworld” and “Game of Thrones” will receive the honor at the 40th Annual BMI Film, TV and Visual Media Awards on June 5 in Beverly Hills.

Former UTA Partner, Co-Head of Independent Film and Head of Motion Picture Business Affairs Jim Meenaghan has joined Stampede Ventures as Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, founder and CEO Greg Silverman announced on Wednesday.

Gold House kicks off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) with the reveal of its annual A100 List — which recognizes the 100 Asian Pacific leaders who have impacted American culture and society in the last year — as well as several special honors for transformative impact and a brand new category, New Gold to honor 10 leaders on the rise across various industries.

Ellise Shafer The Royal Television Society has revealed the dates and initial speakers for its annual RTS London Convention. This year’s event will take place on Sept. 17 at Kings Place in London and is chaired by Anna Mallett, Netflix‘s vice president of production for EMEA and the U.K.

Michaela Zee Barry Jenkins defended his involvement in “Mufasa: The Lion King” after he was criticized on social media this week for helming the Disney live-action prequel. Jenkins shared the first “Mufasa” trailer on X (formerly Twitter) following its release on Monday, which prompted some fans to criticize the filmmaker, known for the Oscar-winning films “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” for working on such a mainstream project.

Lewis Hamilton hits up the Empire State Building to celebrate the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 and WhatsApp partnership on Tuesday (April 30 in New York City.

Elle Fanning looks so happy in her relationship with boyfriend Gus Wenner!

Thania Garcia FKA Twigs and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Tuesday to discuss the dangers of exploitative artificial intelligence. “AI cannot replicate the depth of my life journey, yet those who control it hold the power to mimic the likeness of my art, to replicate it and falsely claim my identity and intellectual property,” Twigs told Sens.

Paramount Global, which is in the midst of corporate upheaval on a number of fronts, got a slight reprieve in one key area, extending carriage negotiations with Charter Communications.

Elon Musk has released a teaser clip of X TV after sharing his plans of turning X – formerly Twitter – into an “everything app”.The tech billionaire took to his official X/Twitter account on Monday (April 29) and posted a video containing a pile of analogue television sets all turning on and displaying a black X TV logo against a grey screen. The end of the video clip sees all the screens come together to form one big X TV logo.X TV users will be able to access and stream long-form videos on smart televisions via the app.

Rachel Leviss is moving on.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amid Paramount Global’s removal of Bob Bakish as CEO and the ongoing uncertainty of a company sale, it was business as usual for the first quarter at the media conglomerate — which included a $1.3 billion charge for content write-offs as well as layoffs. Paramount Global reported Q1 2024 earnings Monday, announcing Bakish’s exit and the installation of an unusual three-in-a-box “Office of the CEO”: CBS’s George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures’ Brian Robbins.

A cleaning expert has revealed the certain areas of the bathroom that you should always avoid cleaning with baking soda.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Oprah Winfrey is off the board of WeightWatchers — but she’s continuing to work with the company as part of her efforts to change the cultural conversation about weight. Winfrey will host “Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight,” a three-hour event on Thursday, May 9, from 6-9 p.m.

Arnaud Lagardère, head of Vivendi-owned French publishing and travel retail giant Lagardère Group, has been forced to resign as CEO of the company following his indictment related to accusations of embezzlement.

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has renewed its content partnership with the NFL.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The three Paramount Global executives installed to run the company after Bob Bakish was removed as CEO sought to reassure employees that they have a long-term strategy. On Monday, Paramount Global said Bakish was stepping down as CEO and leaving the board. In his place, the company established an “Office of the CEO” committee led by three divisional heads: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The recent broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII boosted Paramount Global‘s first quarter of 2024, stabilizing advertising revenue at its TV operations, as the company’s streaming operations added more than 3 million subscribers and cut losses there by more than 40%. Overall, Paramount narrowed its first quarter operating losses while seeing a 6% uptick in revenue, due in large part to audience and advertiser interest in its Big Game presentation, which set a new viewing record.

Just about any CEO panel these days will inevitably reach the topic of artificial intelligence, and today’s NewFront sit down with the leaders of five major news organizations was no exception.