Taylor Swift right to shake off Spotify: Why music streaming services are bad economics January 8, 2015 Did Taylor Swift make the right call when she withdrew her music from Spotify? A new report on the profitability of the music streaming industry suggests she was. Strategy Analytics, a technology advisory and consultancy firm, argues that despite the music streaming industry’s rapid growth, it will continue to struggle to provide adequate royalty [...]
From the leaders debate to the Holborn fire: Here’s what got us talking this week April 2, 2015 There was a fire. Then there was another fire. And in Salford, there were fireworks (or was it a damp squib?). Considering it was a short week, plenty happened. Here's what got us talking. 1. And they were off. It may feel like they've been at it for weeks, but Monday was officially the [...]
Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese star in £46m ad for Chinese casino January 15, 2015 Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Robert DeNiro earned $13m (£8.6m) for the film above. Or, rather, the extended version. All three feature in the “The Audition”, a short film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by “Boardwalk Empire” creator Terence Winter and with an incredible production budget of $70m (£46m). With a [...]
“Amazon is like IS” terrorist group says Andrew Wylie, literary agent of Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie October 31, 2014 One of the most powerful people in the publishing world has compared Amazon to the Islamic terrorist group IS. Andrew Wylie, agent to literary stars such as Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie, called the online retailer a “sort of Isis-like distribution channel” in a speech at the International Festival of Authors on the future of [...]
Draw sees Pardew primed for reminiscences January 26, 2015 CRYSTAL Palace boss Alan Pardew faces a potential quirk of fate in the FA Cup fifth round, should Liverpool keep their end of the bargain and navigate a potentially treacherous replay at Championship side Bolton Wanderers. Pardew’s Selhurst Park coronation earlier this month was greeted with recollections of his most famous moment in a Palace [...]
Davos: Who will be at the World Economic Forum? January 20, 2015 THE WORLD’S elite will gather in Davos today for the World Economic Forum, as business, politics and celebrity converge in the name of global development. The biggest name of the year making a splash at Davos is William Adams (aka Will.I.Am), but fellow singer Pharrell will also be bringing a little happiness to Switzerland. It’s [...]
What’s ticking? Watch News April 8, 2015 New brand at Harrods gets hearts ticking IT’S been a long road, but independent watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin is finally selling his own brand of exquisitely crafted, classically styled dress watches back in his homeland. Made on the outskirts of Geneva in his Swiss atelier, which he founded in 2002, Speake-Marin watches are, as of this [...]
Arm Holdings’ Simon Segars: Britain’s chief chipmaker is moving from smartphones to the Internet of Things October 21, 2014 Simon Segars, the boss of Britain’s biggest tech firm, believes his Chinese customers will begin adopting Arm’s latest chip designs in low-end smartphones next year, a move that would dramatically boost royalties. In its third quarter results yesterday, Arm Holdings, which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, revealed a two [...]
Bangalore: India’s most livable city and the fast-track to its vibrant tech-filled future May 17, 2015 If Old Delhi is the crumbling emblem of India’s imperial past and Mumbai is the pounding heart of its contemporary popular culture, Bengaluru (anglicised as Bangalore) and Chennai are the country’s fast track to the future. The former, and less often the latter, are nicknamed the Silicon Valley of India on account of their thriving [...]
Microsoft insists Samsung still owes it $6.9m in unpaid interest October 5, 2014 Microsoft is suing Samsung for $6.9m (£4.33m) in unpaid interest, an unsealed lawsuit has revealed. In August Microsoft announced it was suing the South Korean firm in a dispute over unpaid interest on Android patent royalties. The lawsuit, made public by a New York federal court, reveals that although Microsoft has already received $1bn in [...]