Warner Music and BlackRock Invest $750 Million in Influence Media, Female-Led Music-Rights Firm

Candlebox, the Seattle grunge band that was signed to Madonna’s record label, is the latest band to get the feature doc treatment.

Mike Kaplan has exited as program director at KROQ, the station he revamped after joining in 2020 — to disastrous results. The senior VP of programming at Audacy (formerly Entercom) and brand manager for New York alternative outlet WNYL joined the company after its 2017 acquisition and subsequent revamp of the former CBS Radio chain.

Naman Ramachandran Popular Indian actor and singer-songwriter Diljit Dosanjh has signed a deal with Warner Music to amplify his global music career. Coming up are singles with Canadian rapper Tory Lanez and Tanzanian star Diamond Platnumz, who revealed a partnership with Warner Music last year. As an actor, Dosanjh’s hit Punjabi-language films include “Honsla Rakh,” “Jatt & Juliet,” “Jatt & Juliet 2,” “Punjab 1984,” “Sardaar Ji,” “Super Singh,” “Sajjan Singh Rangroot” and “Shadaa.” He debuted in the Hindi-language Bollywood film industry with the critical and commercial success “Udta Punjab” and went on to co-star in “Good Newwz,” alongside Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Kiara Advani.

For sports fans, “The Last Dance” was an all-you-can-eat buffet of sports history, a detailed examination of Michael Jordan‘s complex, but always astonishing, career. That series – or movie, if you’re someone who likes to be combative on Letterboxd – may have also adjusted our appetite for sports documentaries, moving away from feature-length entries and towards more episodic storytelling.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSuperstar Puerto Rican songwriter-producer Tainy, who has helmed such hits as “I Like It” (by Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny and J Balvin), “Dakiti” (by Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez), and “Telepatia” (by Kali Uchis), has sold his pre-2021 music catalog to fast-rising Influence Media (Influence Media Partners).Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although sources tell Variety it was in the $25 million range.The San Juan native (real name: Marco Masis) has appeared on Variety’s Hitmakers list several times and spoke with us about his hits last year. A four-time Grammy nominee and Latin Grammy winner, Tainy has helmed hits for Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Rosalia, Lauren Jauregui, Zion & Lennox, Anuel, Ozuna, Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel, Rauw Alejandro, Jhay Cortez and more.

EXCLUSIVE: Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Warner Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group’s film and television division have launched the Hyde Park Entertainment & Warner Music Entertainment Asian Women Fellowship.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group has suspended all of its operations in Russia, the company has confirmed to Variety. “Warner Music Group is suspending operations in Russia, including investments in and development of projects, promotional and marketing activities, and manufacturing of all physical products,” according to a statement from the company. “We will continue to fulfill our agreed upon obligations to our people, artists, and songwriters as best we can as the situation unfolds.

Karen Idelson In 1997, UCLA cinematography professor William McDonald was home with his newborn daughter. As he looked into her eyes in his sleep-deprived state he began to wonder what her life would be like if she grew up and wanted to become a cinematographer.

Warner Mack was a country singer and songwriter known for hits including “Is it Wrong (For Loving You)” and “The Bridge Washed Out.”Mack was just 13 years old when he wrote the song that would become his first hit. But he didn’t record “Is it Wrong (For Loving You)” until almost 10 years later, in 1957. Mack made it to the top ten of the country music chart with his debut single, and “Is it Wrong (For Loving You)” became a standard of the genre, charting again in cover versions by Webb Pierce in 1960 and Sonny James in 1972.

K.J. Yossman Government-back industry training body ScreenSkills is set to invest £10 million ($13 million) in up-skilling high-end TV crew.The money, which is earmarked for use from 2022-23 will come from the ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund, made up of contributions from U.K.

Erica van Frankenhuyzen found her passion at the age of 15. Unlike other girls in her class, she took an interest in welding and fell in love with it.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Barcelona-based Scenic Rights, the leading literary rights broker for Spanish-language film and TV series, has officially opened its Mexico City office as it continues to expand its purview across key territories, including Madrid, Los Angeles and most recently, Prague.The Mexico City office opening, delayed twice by the pandemic, kicks off operations on Monday March 7. According to Scenic Rights CEO, Sydney Borjas, the company’s Mexican branch will oversee more than 30 book to film-TV project adaptations, mostly into series.Ana Karen Larios, previously a foreign rights manager at VF Literary Agency, has been tapped as Scenic Rights’ content manager in Mexico and will report to the agency’s Chief Operating Officer Ignacio Diaz.

To coincide with International Women’s Day next week, a new podcast celebrating women in music is set to launch.

Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith make one picture perfect couple!

Gigi Hadid and her younger sister Bella are continuing to walk in the same fashion shows!

Lily James is looking so hot in her latest outfit!

Julia Fox is stepping out in style.

Many have heard the names Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the mountaineer from New Zealand and Nepal who in 1953 were the first men to summit Mt. Everest. Climbing enthusiasts will have heard about Japan’s Junko Tabei, who was the first woman to reach the highest point on Earth in 1975.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinco Paul is set to make his feature animation directorial debut on Winter Wonderland, the live action/stop motion animation film built around the classic holiday song. Pic is a collaboration between Imagine Kids+Family and Warner Music Group. Deadline previously reported that Paul would be writing original songs for the live action/stop motion picture.

Netflix has struck a three-year deal with France’s film guilds to invest €40 million ($45 million) each year to finance French and European movies. The deal also marks the first agreement between a global streamer and the French film industry that will cut their theatrical window in half. Roughly 4% of Netflix’s annual revenue made in France will now go toward financing movies made in France and Europe, with at least €30 million reserved for French-language films specifically.