TikTok Launches Music-Streaming Service in Brazil and Indonesia

announced it would be raising the price on it US plans by $1.A student plan will now cost $5.99 per month, a single premium plan will star at $10.99 and families can expect to pay $16.99.The music and podcast streaming app has embarked on a number of drastic cost cutting moves in recent months. In January, it cut 800 jobs, and it laid off additional 200 people in June.

Lala Kent is setting the record straight.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Movistar Plus+, the pay TV/VOD service of Spanish telco giant Telefonica, is relaunching from Aug. 1, bowing a new souped-up version of its basic tier as a streaming service to clients of any telco service in Spain, Movistar announced Friday.  To date, only clients of Telefonica telephony service Movistar could access the Movistar Plus+ TV service. Priced at €11 ($12.21) a month and €14 ($15.54) for non-Movistar clients – compared to Netflix’s basic and standard tiers of €7.99 ($8.87) and €12.99 ($14.42) in Spain – the new-look Movistar Plus+ will offer in exclusivity as star attractions Movistar original series and films, as well as big foreign shows and movies, at the rate of a movie premiere every day, and, crucially, two LaLiga and one Champions League game every round of matches. 

Netflix has announced a second feature film with Indonesian action director Timo Tjahjanto, The Shadow Strays, starring a large ensemble cast of popular young actors. 

By James Humphrey

Raquel Leviss made a not-so-subtle change to her social media presence in the wake of her affair with Tom Sandoval.

Thania Garcia Though it started as a video-sharing app, TikTok has become an effective (and totally unpredictable) tool for musicians and record labels looking to shed some light on a new single. Now the app is putting its music industry skills to the test with the launch of “Elevate,” a new rising artist platform that will make the most of the app’s built-in music discovery tools to support fresh talent. The initiative launches today with musicians: Chinchilla, Sam Barber, Omar Courtz, Isabel La Rosa, Kaliii, and Lu Kala. TikTok will provide the selected creators resources including early access to new features, and will additionally receive support from TikTok’s official social handles. “Elevate’s” inaugural program will run through October.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA and the major studios remain at odds on a dizzying array of issues, as film and TV actors hit the picket lines Friday for the first time since 1980. According to sources on both sides, the biggest sticking point is the union’s demand for 2% of the revenue generated by streaming shows. The two sides also remain far apart on basic increases in minimum rates, with the studios offering 5%, 4% and 3.5% across the three years of the contract, while the union is demanding 11%, 4% and 4%. But that only scratches the surface. The parties are at odds on dozens of issues, only a handful of which have been publicly reported.

Balmaghie Sacred Landscape Trust held a special church service for pets recently.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Redbox’s newest addition to its famous DVD kiosks: viral TikTok videos. Redbox, looking for a new way to turn heads and generate incremental revenue, signed a deal with short-form video platform TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance. Under the pact, TikTok will provide Redbox with “top content” curated from the app, which will be featured on more than 3,000 video screens on Redbox kiosks across the U.S. In addition, brands will have the opportunity to buy advertising that runs alongside the TikTok content. Redbox — founded in 2002, well before the video-streaming revolution — was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment last year in an all-stock deal valued at about $370 million. The Redbox network currently comprises approximately 31,000 kiosks across the U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Smash hit Japanese animation feature “The First Slam Dunk” is set to be the first film theatrically released by newly-launched Australian distribution and New Zealand licensing firm Sugoi Co. The company is headed by Tim Anderson, founder and former CEO of Madman Entertainment, the Australian indie with a strong leaning for Japanese content, and Sylvester “Sly” Ip. The pair made an announcement on Twitter and conducted a soft launch at the recent Anime Expo in Los Angeles. “The First Slam Dunk. Coming soon to cinemas across Australia. Follow us for full release and ticket info,” said Sugoi Co on Twitter.

Robert De Niro attended the funeral for his grandson Leandro De Niro Rodriguez on Friday, five days after the 19-year-old tragically died in New York City. The 79-year-old actor was accompanied by his girlfriend Tiffany Chen and their 3-month-old daughter Gia for the service at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

internet, you know influencers are constantly sharing  health concoctions—some new, some rediscovered—that promise results that range from better sleep to increased stamina.  Some of us have been influenced scoured Whole Foods to find chia seeds and spirulina to blend into smoothies, chugged lemon water and bone broth, and sampled a vast array of allegedly gut-fixing probiotics.To participate in the latest TikTok wellness trend though, you just need a few very unsexy ingredients: cottage cheese, yellow mustard, and as many raw veggies as you can stomach.Known alternatively as the “cottage cheese and mustard diet,” the “mustard and cottage cheese plate,” or just “the viral healthy meal,” this latest health trend is sweeping the internet, with on TikTok and tons of people trying it for themselves. Unlike other wellness trends, though, this meal is absurdly simple and decidedly low brow.

NME about the upcoming Netflix documentary Wham! – as well as the pop icons’ enduring legacy.The new documentary tells the story of the ‘80s pop duo Ridgeley formed with his late best friend George Michael, as well as the singles boxset that will commemorate the 40th anniversary of their debut album ‘Fantastic’.From 1982 to their final gig at Wembley stadium in 1986, Wham! scored five UK Number One singles – ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’, ‘Careless Whisper’, ‘Freedom’, ‘I’m Your Man’ and ‘The Edge of Heaven’, later celebrating a sixth when ‘Last Christmas’ topped the charts in 2020, 36 years after it was first released. They’re all among those featured in the forthcoming ‘Wham! The Singles: Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven’ collection.

Joey King brings her fashion glamour A-game to the exclusive gala dinner for Pomellato’s new High Jewelry Collection “Ode to Milan” on Monday night (July 3) held at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France.

Atresplayer, which ambitiously re-launches July 5.  Just until a few years ago, European TV giants treated their streaming operations to bedrock linear lineups. Those days have gone. At Annecy, BBC and France Télévisions were talking up their streaming services as their future. ITV and Germany’s RTL are bowing their biggest plays on OTT operations, ITVX and RTL+, respectively, powering up strong subscriptions’ hikes.  Belgium’s VRT currently estimates “almost a 50/50 split” in its acquisitions budget as it focusing on “finding unique series that viewers wouldn’t expect from a public broadcaster for its streaming service,” Sven Van Lokeren, head of international fiction series acquisition at Belgium’s VRT told Variety at February’s London TV Screenings. 

Naman Ramachandran Disney has licensed 10 series to Channel 4’s streaming service in the U.K. The deal, which will add some 1,000 hours of American drama to Channel 4’s streaming platform, will kick off with “Alias” seasons 1-5 and “The Americans” seasons 1-6 this summer, followed by “Empire” seasons 1-6, “Scandal” seasons 1-7, “The X Files” seasons 1-11, “Bones” seasons 1-12, “The Killing” seasons 1-4, “Star” seasons 1-3, “Grown-ish” seasons 1-6 and “Abbott Elementary” seasons 1-2. Except “Star,” all the series are available on streamer Disney+ in the U.K., which requires a monthly subscription. The Channel 4 streaming service is free.

BTS member Jungkook has officially made two of his older solo songs available on streaming services for the first time.Jungkook first released ‘Still With You’ and ‘My You’ in 2022 and 2020, respectively, as part of BTS’ annual Festa celebrations. The songs, which were only available on SoundCloud or YouTube prior, are now available on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.Aside from Spotify and Apple Music, Jungkook’s two solo songs are now also available on South Korean streaming platforms such as VIBE, FLO and Genie, among others.The release of both ‘Still With You’ and ‘My You’ comes just weeks ahead of Jungkook’s debut solo digital single ‘Seven’, which is set to drop on July 14.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Sony Pictures Television has announced a new division focusing on music development, headed by Palash Ahmed, who worked as a music producer before joining the company in 2017. The move is intended to leverage the company’s ties to Sony Music Group and the larger music industry. In this role, Ahmed will be collaborating on music-related projects across SPT’s production groups (U.S. scripted, international production, nonfiction and kids divisions).  SPT Chairman Ravi Ahuja made the announcement in an internal note to staff, obtained by Variety. 

Streamers such as Hulu, Disney+ and Max have made headlines for their decision to cancel shows and subsequently remove them from their services.