Warner Music Asia signs Valentina Ploy

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn the early years of the 21st century, bankers to the film industry set their eyes on East Asia and headed for Hong Kong and Beijing. They could see that mainland China’s decision to open the film business to the private sector had the potential to be a game-changer.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group showed solid results for the 2022 quarter that ended on March 31, with revenue up 10.1% (13.2% in constant currency).Citing the success of such Warner label and publishing artists as Silk Sonic, Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Rauw Alejandro, Chris Stapleton, Dave, Anitta, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kodak Black and Gayle, CEO Steve Cooper said, “Warner Music Group’s unique combination of scale and agility gives us, our artists, and our songwriters an edge in music’s ever-expanding universe of opportunity. We continue to build our unparalleled artist development expertise, our differentiated approach to global expansion, and our ground-breaking commitment to innovation at the intersection of music, gaming, social and fitness.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe sports rights and media businesses in the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing a post-COVID rebound that could continue at 6% annually until 2026. But the past domination of broadcast TV is being eroded.

Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez has pleaded with Elon Musk to give him his verified blue tick back on Twitter.

Mike Tindall took to social media for a very emotional reason on Friday, asking fans to join him and other A-listers at an exciting festival dedicated to deceased TV personality Caroline Flack.MORE: The surprising connection between Princess Eugenie and Mike Tindall's podcastsThe former rugby player appealed on his social media platforms to entice fans to buy tickets for the aptly named event "Flackstock", which will see the likes of Louise Redknapp, Joel Dommet, Fleur East and Dermott O'Leary come together in support of four major mental health charities.WATCH: Mike Tindall shares fun video of ski break with friendsCaptioning a poster for the event on his Instagram feed, Mike penned: "Hi I’m a massive Friend of Flackstock and well done @natalie_pinkham, etc, all who have worked incredibly hard to pull everything together.SEE: Zara Tindall's effortlessly chic outfit for night out with husband Mike we almost missedREAD: Mike Tindall teased about his stay at Windsor Castle over Easter – see his response"Please come and join us on July 25th and Englefield House to raise loads of money for great causes and to remember Caroline. Get involved!!!!!"A post shared by Mike Tindall (@mike_tindall12)Mike shared the update with his 845,000 Instagram followersFans flooded the comments with love hearts and praising emojis and television presenter Natalie Pinkman, who helped organise the event, replied: "Thanks Mikey."Mike isn't the first star to appeal to their fans to support the event.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSouth Korean cinema technology firm CJ 4DPlex has struck a deal with Thailand’s Major Cineplex, to open a ScreenX Premium Large Format auditorium at Major’s multiplex at Siam Paragon in Bangkok.ScreenX is a multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view, created by using the side walls of the theater. Some 363 ScreenX auditoriums have been installed at cinemas in 38 countries.

Salma Hayek is one proud mom after her 14-year-old daughter has been tapped to appear alongside her in a photoshoot for Vogue Mexico.

Like mother, like daughter! Salma Hayek, 55, and her daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault, 14, have unveiled a joint magazine cover with Vogue México — and the duo looks like twins.

J. Kim Murphy One week ago, NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers icon Jerry West employed his legal representation to send a letter to HBO, Warner Bros. Discovery and Adam McKay demanding a legal retraction for his portrayal on HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” The correspondence included testimony by former members of the Lakers organization, including retired ballplayer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to reinforce its argument of the show creating “a deliberately false characterization.” Weeks before, Earvin “Magic” Johnson himself voiced his criticism of the series to Variety, saying “You can’t do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers… the real Lakers.”Author Jeff Pearlman, whose book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s” has been adapted to the HBO series, gets where they’re coming from.

Warner Music Group is launching a podcast network and has set shows from stars including Lupita Nyong’o and Jason Derulo.

Sigur Rós have announced the Asia leg of their upcoming world tour.The Asia leg of the upcoming tour will take place in August with shows in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Thailand. Venues have yet to be confirmed for the band’s concerts in Seoul, South Korea and Bangkok, Thailand.Posted by Sigur Rós on Monday, April 25, 2022The tour will see Sigur Rós perform in Singapore on August 17, with fan presales starting on Wednesday (April 27) and general tickets going on sale via Sistic this Friday (April 29).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefImax and Major Cineplex, Thailand’s biggest cinema operator, have struck a deal for three Imax With Laser installations in capital city Bangkok. The agreement will expand the Imax screen total in Thailand to seven.Two of the three installations are upgrades in central Bangkok locations.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe high-powered APOS entertainment industry conference will return this year as an in-person event after two-years of online-only sessions that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, instead of being operated in its usual April slot from a resort hotel complex in Bali, Indonesia, APOS 2022 will run Sept. 27-29 in Singapore.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticAs expected, Warner Music Nashville’s chairman-CEO John Esposito — widely known in Music City as just “Espo” — will move to an emeritus role in 2023 in a long-talked-about succession plan that will see his two key lieutenants moving into more elevated roles, a source close to the situation confirms to Variety. The move is expected to be formally announced within the next few weeks.The label’s two current executive vice presidents, Ben Kline and Cris Lacy, are expected to pair up and together assume Esposito’s chairman-CEO roles at the label, as has been expected since they were promoted to their current posts in 2019.

Kep1er, P1Harmony and more have been added to the line-up for the 2022 edition of K-pop festival HallyuPopFest, to be held in London this July.HallyuPopFest has unveiled another six artists set to perform at its London concerts later this year. The upcoming instalment of the K-pop festival, which had previously been held in Singapore in 2018 and 2019, is set to take place on July 9 and 10 at the 12,500-capacity OVO Arena Wembley in London.Among the newly announced acts are P1Harmony and Sam Kim, who will be joining previously announced artists Hwasa, ASTRO, EVERGLOW and ONEUS for the July 9 show.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-hwa, one of the most important figures in the Korean screen industry.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe success of Korean shows “Vincenzo” and “Squid Game” and Japanese anime such as “Attack on Titan” are justifying Netflix’s heavy spending on Asian film and TV content.The streaming giant is forecast to grow its revenues in the Asia-Pacific region by 24% in the current year as subscriber numbers swell by 20%, according to new research, from Singapore based consultancy Media Partners Asia.That optimism stands in contrast to investment sentiment in January when Netflix announced its December quarter and 2021 full year data and a spooked the financial community with a cautious (global) first quarter outlook. Media Partners Asia’ latest note on the company indicates that Netflix could grow APAC revenues by 24% in the current year to December, to $4.1 billion.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Music India is set to make its debut in Bollywood soundtracks via a strategic partnership with Jjust Music.The deal will see Warner Music India make its first foray into marquee Bollywood releases, while Jjust Music’s artists will benefit from being plugged into Warner Music’s global network. The partnership’s first joint release will be an English-language pop track by Bollywood star Tiger Shroff.Jjust Music was launched by Bollywood producer and actor Jackky Bhagnani in 2019 and the label is known for singles, including “Vande Mataram” featuring Tiger Shroff, “Prada” featuring Alia Bhatt, and “Muskurayega India” featuring Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Ayushmann Khurana, Kriti Sanon, Vicky Kaushal and Taapsee Pannu.