Spotify’s Q2 Montly Active Users Jump 29% To 299 Million, Podcast Engagement Grows; But Losses Widen, Stock Dips

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA tech-news media start-up aims to forge ahead with a look into the world of Web3.Dot Dot Dot, founded by Laurie Segall and Derek Dodge, is launching D3, a news and media network that aims to explore the human and cultural impact of the growing digital business built around companies that provide services in exchange for personal data, which can range from blockchain technology and decentralized apps to token-based economics.“I got my start covering then little-known founders of companies like Airbnb, Instagram, and Uber when folks weren’t paying attention. They’ve turned into behemoths that transformed society,: says Segall.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBrenda Deiss, a former NASA secretary who became an unexpected movie star with her role as a tough-talking matriarch in “Red Rocket,” died Monday in Clear Lake, Tex., from complications following a stroke she suffered in January. She was 60. A spokesperson for “Red Rocket” confirmed Deiss’ death to Variety.Deiss came to acting late in life.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorElectronic duo Milkblood have signed with Loud Robot, the record label from JJ Abrams’ company Bad Robot, and dropped their new song and video, “No Mind.” The track is featured in the end credits of the forthcoming film “Uncharted,” starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg; the video for “No Mind” highlights scenes from the film.Milkblood consists of music producers Pat Morrisey and David Dahlquist — who have worked with SZA, Hayley Kiyoko, Weezer, Saint Jhn and others — with video director Mike Diva (Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, Run The Jewels).In 2020, Morrisey and Dahlquist launched the group with their debut single “Sick of Being Honest,”  made during lockdown. The video for the track, directed by Mike Diva, has garnered almost 13.8 million views on YouTube to date.According to the announcement: From there, the three creators conceived an entire world-building narrative around Milkblood.

Wilson Chapman editorMichaela Jaé Rodriguez will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, the organization announced Wednesday.Now in its 33rd year, the GLAAD Media Awards honor film, TV and media that advance the representation of LGBTQ+ people and topics.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWhile A+E’s History Channel sets out to tell the story of Abraham Lincoln in a documentary over three nights  it will also tell the stories of formerly enslaved people who were also an important part of that era in a mini-series backed by one of its advertisers.Ancestry is sponsoring a three-part miniseries that will accompany the Lincoln work, which debuts February 20, the latest in A+E’s efforts to craft bespoke programming segments that burnish ad messages while at the same time keeping viewers tuned to the programing for which they originally came.“To me, this is not a commercial break, this is not a ‘brought to you by,’” says David DeSocio, executive vice president of ad sales marketing and partnerships at A+E Networks, in a recent interview. “It’s a continuation of the story, but on a very personal level.” Each of the content segments accompanying the “Lincoln” project will be introduced by Christy Coleman, executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in Williamsburg, VA, and a contributor to the documentary.

Ethan Shanfeld LGBTQ+ representation on broadcast television reached an all-time high during the 2021-2022 season, according to GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV report.According to the media advocacy organization, 11.9% of series regular characters this programming season are LGBTQ+, an increase of 2.8% from last year and a record-high in television history. This year’s study found that of the 775 series regular characters who have appeared or will appear on scripted programming between May 2021 and June 2022, 92 characters are LGBTQ+.

Lauren Lane, a former contestant on "The Bachelor" and the wife of country music star Chris Lane, called mask mandates for young children in schools "cruel" in a series of social media posts. Lauren, known to Bachelor Nation fans by her maiden name Lauren Bushnell for her appearance on Season 20 of "The Bachelor," took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday to share her opposing views related to children wearing masks in school amid the coronavirus pandemic. She began by sharing the perspective of another Instagram user who called out Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and implied it's hypocritical to mandate masks for kids while allowing stadiums to be filled with unmasked adults for events.

CORONATION Street icon Amanda Barrie claims show bosses decided it would be best for her not come out publicly. Amanda, who played Alma Sedgewick on the ITV soap for 20 years, made the bombshell comments on Loose Women.

Linda Evangelista is sharing her story.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe founder of the blockchain-based film sales platform Cinemarket is launching Cineverse, an ambitious start-up that will make it possible for filmmakers, distributors and producers to market films directly using blockchain and NFT tech.Established by Cinemarket CEO Adrian Lugol and partners Vincent Lopez and Daniel Siegler (pictured), Cineverse will allow users to buy, share, gift, sell and resell films over the platform.The idea for the project came to Lugol during Christmas of 2020, when he wanted to give his young nephew some DVDs of his favorite films. The plan was thwarted when he learned the family no longer owned an old-fashioned DVD player.“I was like, wow, how am I going to give you these movies in a simple way?” Lugol recalls.

social media.The photo also shows a bubbling plume of water behind the couple. The original poster of the photo, a Facebook page called Restaurant Deals Perth, wrote: “Those of you whom were having a feed at Yagan Square today and witnessed this, please note there are support services available to help you process such trauma.”One user commented: “It’s a little odd, but I wouldn’t be offended.

Reddit's ‘Casual UK’ forum, where someone branded the bank's resply as: "Such a British response.”A member of Starling bank called Sam emailed Joe, the culprit of the questionably named transfers, to warn him of the dangers of joking like this.The message read: “You have recently marked payments, ‘Taliban training’, ‘Jihad fee’ & ‘ISIS training’. "While we appreciate that you are probably having a joke with your friends, we are obliged to investigate such matters which is time consuming.“Be assured your friend’s banks will be doing the same.“This is a polite request to ask you to cease marking payments in this manner.

Duke of York has reached a 'settlement in principle' with accuser Virginia Giuffre after she launched a civil sex case against him. Ms Giuffre claimed he sexually abused her when she was 17 at the Manhattan home of his late paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein, which Andrew has denied.

P.J. O’Rourke was a conservative political satirist, journalist, and author known for books including “Parliament of Whores.”This is a breaking news story.

Timothee Chalamet is seen on set in his full Willy Wonka look to film Wonka on Wednesday (February 16) at Oxford University in Oxford, United Kingdom.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Sabrina Dhowre Elba captioned the short clip she posted on Monday. In the Instagram video, Sabrina, 32, frolics along with her husband, Idris Elba, in the waters. The snow on the nearby rocks and moss indicate the two are out in the cold, but it’s warm in each other’s embrace. Set against Mega Kaggwa’s “Chariot” (“Just imagine, we woke up in paradise / Don’t need magic / let my force just carry us home tonight”), Idris, 49, and Sabrina snuggle, caress, and kiss.

Rick Astley was some kind of omnipotent superbeing. It claimed it would find us all love at the tap of a button – then stalked, ghosted and suggestive-emoji’d us into bitter balls of hate, and finally left us standing at the Heathrow arrivals gate with a drooping bunch of flowers wondering why Ukrainian supermodel Ivana Ripkeksov didn’t make her flight, since you sent the First Class fare to the same account as all that money for her brother’s dialysis machine.And it promised musicians an online utopia, with the artist as all-powerful webmaster.

Ek said it “wasn’t enough” for artists to “record music once every three to four years”.Since his comments were published, a number of musicians have criticised him for not understanding or overlooking the work that goes into making music and how that can’t be forced.“‘Music = product and must be churned out regularly,’ says billionaire Daniel Ek,” commented R.E.M.’s Mike Mills. “Go fuck yourself.” However, the musician said a boycott of the platform would only hurt artists more.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek discussed streaming and sustainability in a recent interview with Music Ally published on Thursday. Ek denied criticisms that Spotify pays insufficient royalties to artists, and insisted that the role of the musician had changed in today's "future landscape." Ek claimed that a "narrative fallacy" had been created and caused music fans to believe that Spotify doesn't pay musicians enough for streams of their music.

Daniel Ek noted during an investors call that sales improved significantly by June.Spotify said its second-quarter operating loss amounted to €167 million ($196 million), compared with €3 million ($3.5 million) a year ago and €17 million ($20 million) at the end of March. The company allowed that this metric was much higher than expected due to social costs like payroll taxes tied to salaries and benefits, plus a higher tax bill in its home government of Sweden related to stock-based compensation for employees there.The firm's net loss also ballooned to €356 million ($418 million), compared to €76 million ($89 million) in the year-ago period.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAhead of Spotify’s earnings call for its second-quarter results, the company’s cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel got on the phone for a short call with Variety’s Jem Aswad and Todd Spangler.