K-Pop group ITZY showcases individuality on second world tour
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Members of the K-pop supergroup ITZY are looking to show a new side of themselves as the band takes its "Born to Be" tour to fans around the world. The tour, which sees the girl band perform in 18 countries across Asia, Austral...
Apr 25, 2024
Pet Shop Boys say new album Nonetheless 'one of our most melodic'
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) - British electro-pop duo Pet Shop Boys say their new album "Nonetheless" is one of their most melodic from their four-decade-long career, featuring songs about solitude, freedom and looking for a new bohe...
Apr 25, 2024
Zendaya's tennis movie, 'Challengers,' tests friendship bonds of complex trio
By Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Zendaya first read the script for director Luca Guadagnino's romantic sports film "Challengers," she immediately understood that the tennis player turned coach she would portray was u...
Apr 25, 2024
'Taylor Swift Act' and other efforts target sky-high concert ticket prices
By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Taylor Swift concert ticket debacle two years ago is leading state and federal lawmakers to take aim at sales practices that they say are deceptive or predatory to music fans. A main goal of venues and m...
Apr 25, 2024
Hipgnosis' bidding war intensifies as Concord hikes offer for Shakira music owner
(Reuters) - Shares of Hipgnosis Songs Fund climbed on Thursday after Apollo-backed Concord outbid a proposal by private equity giant Blackstone, launching a bidding war for the owner of music rights of artists including Shakira and Blondie. Concord...
Apr 25, 2024
Ambani's JioCinema cuts subscription prices as India's streaming war heats up
By Aditya Kalra and Kanjyik Ghosh (Reuters) - JioCinema, the streaming platform run by India's Reliance Industries, on Thursday cut prices of its premium offering to as low as 29 rupees ($0.3480) a month, heating up competition for Netflix and Amaz...
Apr 24, 2024
Young Russians dance to K-pop and watch anime amid Asian culture boom
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A few years ago, Karina Marakshina had to explain what K-pop was when asked to describe the musical style of her Moscow dance studio. Now she says she hears it blasting out from nearly every mall where she shops. Russia shares a ...
Apr 24, 2024
Eurovision euphoria boosts travel to Sweden's Malmo, eDreams says
(Reuters) - Eurovision fever boosted travel searches for the Swedish coastal city of Malmo by 176% between September 2023 and April 2024, Spanish online travel booking company eDreams ODIGEO said on Wednesday. The Eurovision song contest, the world...
Apr 24, 2024
Record giant HYBE audits 'NewJeans' label as infighting returns to K-pop
By Hyunsu Yim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's largest music company is auditing the management of one of its labels as it suspects they are planning to break away, the latest case of infighting in K-pop, one of the world's most popular and profitable mu...
Apr 24, 2024
John Lennon's lost 1960s acoustic guitar to go up for auction
By Lisa Keddie and Will Russell LONDON (Reuters) - A previously lost 12-string acoustic guitar that belonged to the late John Lennon will go up for sale at an auction in May after it was recently found in the attic of a home in Britain. The auction...
Apr 23, 2024
Germany's RTL acquires Nickelodeon rights for children's TV network
BERLIN (Reuters) - Super RTL, a children's television network belonging to Bertelsmann's RTL Group, has struck a deal to acquire Nickelodeon series in Germany, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Under the agreement, Super RTL will acquire a ...
Apr 23, 2024
Brazilian DJ Alok infuses his dance music with indigenous songs
By Rollo Ross LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Brazilian DJ and producer Alok is setting aside his traditional modern electronic dance music to focus on something even more traditional - indigenous songs from his country. His new album "The Future is Ancest...
Apr 23, 2024
Silicon Valley and Hollywood worlds collide as David Ellison bids for Paramount
By Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) - David Ellison, 41, would not be the first rich guy to arrive in Hollywood with a fat bank account and dreams of making movies, though the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison boasts the rarest of attribute...
Apr 23, 2024
Ryan Gosling's 'The Fall Guy' is a love letter to stunt performers
By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) - After serving "Kenergy" with "Barbie", actor Ryan Gosling turns the spotlight on the movie-makers whose job is to shine on screen while remaining invisible in "The Fall Guy". The film is inspired by the popular 1...
Apr 22, 2024
Taylor Swift fans descend on London pub name-checked on album
By Natasha Montague LONDON (Reuters) - Taylor Swift fans are flocking to The Black Dog, a pub in southwest London, after it was name-checked on the U.S singer's new album "The Tortured Poet's Department". Lily Bottomley, the pub's events and social...
Apr 22, 2024
Blackstone sweetens proposal to buy Shakira music owner Hipgnosis
(Reuters) - Blackstone made a potential offer to buy Hipgnosis Songs Fund for about $1.5 billion, outbidding Concord and triggering a takeover battle for the company that owns rights to music by artists including Shakira and Red Hot Chilli Peppers....
Apr 22, 2024
Taylor Swift surprises with extra tracks on 'Tortured Poets Department' album
By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Taylor Swift surprised fans with her new record "The Tortured Poets Department" on Friday, revealing it was a double album featuring songs about heartbreak and a period described as "the saddest story" of th...
Apr 19, 2024
Sony, Apollo discuss joint bid for Paramount, says source
By Dawn Chmielewski (Reuters) - Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management are discussing making a joint bid for Paramount Global, according to a person familiar with the matter. The companies have yet to approach Paramount, which is ...
Apr 19, 2024
Netflix handily beats subscriber targets but misses on revenue forecast
By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Netflix blew past Wall Street expectations on new customers for the second straight quarter on Thursday but signaled the positive surprises could be over, forecasting revenue growth slightly ...
Apr 18, 2024
NBA's exclusive TV rights talks with Disney, Warner likely to end without deal, CNBC reports
(Reuters) -The National Basketball Association's exclusive media rights negotiating period with current partners Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery is likely to expire without a new deal on Monday, CNBC reported on Thursday. NBA will be able to eng...
Apr 18, 2024
Alec Baldwin's criminal case hinges on a Wild West revolver
By Andrew Hay TAOS, New Mexico (Reuters) - A Colt .45 "Peacemaker" revolver, a symbol of the American Wild West, is at the center of actor Alec Baldwin's fight to avoid criminal prosecution for the 2021 fatal shooting of "Rust" cinematographer Haly...
Apr 18, 2024
Concord Chorus to buy music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.4 billion
(Reuters) - Concord Chorus, a music and theatrical rights firm, has agreed to acquire British music investor Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $1.40 billion, the companies said on Thursday. Shareholders of Hipgnosis Songs will get $1.16 apiece in cash, repr...
Apr 18, 2024
Bon Jovi docuseries allows peek at band's private history
By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) - Rockers Bon Jovi open up about their 40-year career in the new docuseries "Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story". In the four-part show, archival footage and personal videos and photos are intertwined with pr...
Apr 17, 2024
British actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against publisher of the Sun - court documents
LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun tabloid newspaper over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, his lawyer said in court documents on Wed...
Apr 17, 2024
Statue to Tony Blair honours "Tonibler" cult in Kosovo
By Fatos Bytyci FERIZAJ, Kosovo (Reuters) - As sculptor Agon Qosa put some of the finishing touches to a statue of Tony Blair, he thought about what the former British prime minister had done for Kosovo a quarter of a century ago. Qosa and other et...
Apr 16, 2024