Music scouting platform Instrumental secures Tencent backing October 27, 2020 A British music scouting firm that uses algorithms to discover new artists is said to have secured fresh investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent. Instrumental is set to announce the strategic partnership, which will see Tencent take a minority stake in the company, as early as tomorrow, Sky News reported. The deal will come as [...]
Bloomsbury profit surges on lockdown reading boom October 27, 2020 Bloomsbury has reported its highest first-half profit in 12 years after the coronavirus lockdown sparked a steep rise in online book sales. The publishing house said pre-tax profit excluding the cost of acquisitions jumped 60 per cent to £4m in the six months to the end of August. This was ahead of the board’s expectations [...]
No Time To Die: James Bond studio hits back at reports of streaming release October 26, 2020 The Hollywood studio behind the James Bond film franchise has hit back at reports it is mulling a streaming launch for No Time To Die due to multiple delays to its release date. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is said to have held discussions with Netflix, Amazon and Apple about a potential on-demand release for the 25th instalment [...]
Google has until 19 December to respond to antitrust lawsuit October 23, 2020 Google has until 19 December to respond to a major antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice earlier this week. A court filing today revealed the date by which the tech giant would have to answer the case that officials have brought. The lawsuit accuses the $1 trillion company of breaking the law [...]
Screenshot: Will the UK’s live music industry ever recover? October 23, 2020 A weekly column from City PM bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week: ** Media Moment of the Week: Sky History gets tattoo regret ** Can the live music sector survive this crisis? ** The tide turns against Google Media Moment of the Week This week we [...]
Exclusive: Portland financial PR chief Steffan Williams steps down October 22, 2020 The head of Portland Communications’ financial practice is stepping down to start his own venture after two years at the public relations giant. Steffan Williams was hired in 2018 to establish Portland’s new financial comms division, which now boasts a number of high-profile clients, including Astra, Robert Walters and Ince Group. But City PM has [...]
Relx sees revenue from exhibitions business plunge 70 per cent October 22, 2020 Relx (REL) today said annual revenue for its exhibitions business in the year-to-date had plunged 70 per cent as coronavirus restrictions prevented most events from taking place. The FTSE 100 company said total revenue for its exhibitions business, which account for 16 per cent of revenue last year, was down 70 per cent year-to-date given [...]
Startup community Supernode merges with VC fund to invest in media-tech October 21, 2020 Investor and startup community Supernode has absorbed media-tech VC fund Rooks Nest Ventures in what it claims is an industry first. The creation of Supernode Global comes out of the £28m Rooks Nest Ventures fund, launched in 2017 by film producer Michael Sackler, and the community platform Supernode. The new venture will offer access to [...]
Live music industry warns of 170,000 job losses by end of year October 21, 2020 The UK’s live music industry has warned it will suffer 170,000 job losses before the end of the year if the government fails to offer further support. LIVE, which represents the sector, said the country’s live music workforce was facing a “cliff edge” as the furlough scheme comes to an end at the end of [...]
Netflix earnings: Is the streamer’s pandemic party coming to an end? October 20, 2020 Netflix will be in the spotlight after the bell this evening as it publishes its earnings for the third quarter. The streaming giant has had a bumper 2020 so far as millions of people have turned to home entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic. But as competition from rivals heats up and the impact of halted [...]
