K-Pop: HYBE and Kakao End Hostilities in Takeover Battle for SM Entertainment

Diddy had everyone running to their calculators for no reason, it turns out, after the rap mogul revealed there's no truth behind him dishing $5,000 per day for sampling one of Sting's songs without his permission. Diddy on Friday took to social media and let it be known that he was only being «facetious» when chimed in after Sting, in a newly resurfaced 2018 interview with, said rumors that Diddy was paying him $2,000 per day «for the rest of his life» for sampling his song without his permission were true.Diddy now says, not so much.«I want y’all to understand I was joking! It’s called being Facetious! Me and @OfficialSting have been friends for a long time! He never charged me $3K or $5K a day for Missing You. He probably makes more than $5K a day from one of the biggest songs in history.

Official Charts Company.The list featured artists including Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa.Sophie Jones, BPI Chief Strategy Officer and Interim Chief Executive said of the data: “Streaming has changed the face of music – enabling artists to connect with fans at home and around the world in ways never possible before, and with consumers also able to enjoy unprecedented choice and affordability.“It is heartening to see this new research showing so many artists achieving such huge success in streaming, encompassing many less well-known names as well as global superstars.“With record labels delivering improvements in areas such as transparency and deal terms, as the market continues to adapt and evolve, their biggest contribution remains essential investment to develop and support artists.”You can see the top 20 artists below:1. Ed Sheeran2. Harry Styles3. D-Block Europe4. Arctic Monkeys5. Dave6. Adele7. Coldplay8. Elton John 9. Dua Lipa10. Queen 11. The Beatles12. George Ezra13. Oasis 14. Sam Fender 15. Fleetwood Mac16. Little Mix17. Central Cee18. Calvin Harris 19. Sam Smith 20. Becky Hill Last year, the UK government’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) formally launched a new study to examine the music streaming market.The announcement followed on from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s ‘Economics Of Music Streaming’ report, which was published in 2021 and led to the government calling on the CMA to start an investigation into the matter.They announced that the CMA “will examine the music streaming market, from creator to consumer, paying particular attention to the roles played by record labels and music streaming services”.The CMA’s assessment will consider

JoJo Siwa has a blunt response to right-wing commentator Candace Owens’ suggestion that she’s only pretending to be gay to drum up attention.

Bob Dylan, Janelle Monáe, Wet Leg, Iggy Pop and Sam Smith all set to perform.Idles, Lil Nas X, Maisie Peters and Christine And The Queens will also perform alongside the likes of Lionel Richie, Simply Red and Seal.Taking place on the Lake Geneva shoreline between June 30 and July 15, the 57th Montreux Jazz Festival is set to “exemplify what the festival is all about; curating an eclectic, free-flowing programme that invites artists to come and perform with full creative freedom, generating unforgettable moments and legendary stories that are immortalised in music culture.”“Across two weeks at Montreux, music lovers can enjoy a dizzying panorama of sound at its two venues, the Stravinski and the Montreux Jazz Lab, in what is truly the pinnacle for live music,” said a press release.The complete lineup for the Montreux Jazz Festival 2023 is as follows:30 JuneJimi JulesSimply RedTom Odell1 JulyBob DylanRÜFÜS DU SOLKhaliSo La LuneKerchakSDMZola2 JulyBastian BakerChris IsaakStacey RyanCalum ScottDean Lewis3 JulyLionel RichieGayleCavetownCaroline Polachek4 JulyLil Nas XArya StarrRema5 JulySam SmithChristine and the Queens6 JulyGeneration Sex (Billy Idol, Steve Jones, Tony James & Paul Cook)Iggy PopEthan BortnickMaisie PetersThe Rose7 JulyRoberta Sá SambasáGilberto Gil & Family Aquele Abraço TourGuillame PonceletWorakls Orchestra8 JulyChilly GonzalesSofiane PamartKatie Gregson-MacleodHermanos GutiérrezTamino9 JulyJacob CollierJon BatisteFreya RidingsJuliette Armanet10 JulyMavis StaplesNorah JonesLovejoyWet LegIdles11 JulyEmiliaMalumaJoy OladokunJacob BanksThe Teskey Brothers12 JulySealLa ZarraAva Max13 JulyPat Metheny Side-Eyewith Chris Fishman & Joe DysonMarcus Miller European Tour 2023Olivia DeanGabrielsLoyle Carner14 JulyBudd

Ben Croll As director Alex Ruhl’s “Rock, Paper, Scissors” continues an international festival tour, the project’s funder has sent out a message to other immersive titles considering public support: BFI Network is open for business. “We are open for all applications, and accepting narrative fiction VR projects,” says BFI Network talent exec Alexzandra Jackson. “I had such a good experience working with Alex [Ruhl] on ‘Rock, Paper, Scissor’ that I would certainly love the opportunity to work on more.” The new and emerging talent arm of the BFI, BFI Network looks to invest in filmmakers outside of London and Southeast England, keeping scouts in a number of English regions and satellite offices in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Since 2018, the development org has held an annual call for projects, offering up to £25,000 ($31,500) for short narrative fiction development titles.

James 'Arg' Argent showed off his dramatic weight loss during a luxury holiday to Abu Dhabi with his mum, Patricia.The former TOWIE star, 35, who has struggled with his weight over the years, looked fitter than ever as he posed for a photo with his mum in the scorching heat. The now wedding singer took to Instagram to share a series of snaps of his getaway with just the two of them showing off his slim figure and the results of the gastric sleeve procedure he had two years ago. Sharing the photos on his Instagram story, Arg beamed as he put his arm around his mum as they stood poolside enjoying the spring sunshine, his mum with a coconut drink in hand.

Ben Croll Of the seven XR projects selected for this year’s Quebec spotlight at the NewImages Festival, all but one originated from the Montreal Interactive Studio branch of Canada’s National Film Board (NFB). More than a victory lap for the French Canadian branch, this recent festival perch offered another testament to the benefits of public investment in a still-nascent artistic discipline. “Without public investment the business simply would not exist,” says Montreal Interactive Studio executive producer Louis-Richard Tremblay. “These are new tools, new mediums, so if no one is willing to take creative risks, the field wouldn’t be there. Public money allows us to create an entire ecosystem.”

Jeremy Renner got a little help from one of his fellow Avengers after his horrific snowplow accident!

After nearly a month in Los Angeles with Sister Perez, our queen is finally back in Las Vegas!!!

according to BBC News.The fracas erupted during the show’s final song, “I Will Always Love You,” performed by singer and ex-Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton.Audience members at the Palace Theatre refused to stop singing over the the actors, with “mini riots” breaking out in the auditorium. Two perpetrators were actually removed by security staff and the Greater Manchester Police Department was called to the scene.

Just For You Café, a cozy brunch spot in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood — the blueprint for the Belcher family’s burger joint on the Fox series — shuttered after 43 years on Monday.Pandemic-incurred debt, rising inflation rates and building issues led to its closer, owner Reid Hannula told SFGATE. “The long and short of it is that we really haven’t been making money since COVID, and it’s just been kind of a battle,” he told the outlet. “I used a disaster loan to float us, personal money to float us … I love the restaurant, but it hadn’t been able to pay me for the last two years.”In the long-running series, which debuted in 2011 and is now in its 13th season, Bob Belcher runs his dream restaurant, Bob’s Burgers, with his wife, Linda, and children Tina, Gene and Louise.

Comedian Gareth Richards, a close friend of Frank Skinner, has died aged 41 after being involved in a car crash.

Harry Maguire admits the returns of Anthony Martial and Christian Eriksen have been a 'great boost' for the Manchester United squad ahead of a crucial last two months of the season.

Ben Croll An irreverent fable that imagines a civilization’s rise, fracture and fall, Pedro Harres’ “From the Main Square” took top honors at the NewImages Festival on Friday, claiming the festival’s Grand Prize, which came with €6,000 ($6,597) in prize money. Born in Brazil and based in Berlin, Harres channeled his frustrations and heartache about his native country into a tragicomic frenzy, orchestrating a 360-degree symphony of animated antics, human folly, and shocking bursts of violence that follows an allegorical country as it speed-runs toward oblivion. The filmmaker described the project as “a collage of urban absurdities, sometimes funny, sometimes brutal, that arise in societies in the process of political polarization and environmental collapse.”

J. Kim Murphy It’s a box office Koopa d’état. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” continues to super smash its opening projections, drawing $55 million from 4,343 theaters on Friday. Released Wednesday, the film has already earned $137 million in domestic ticket sales. If every dollar were a coin, that would amount to 1.37 million 1-Up mushrooms. That’s a lot of extra lives. The Universal and Illumination film is still on track for a $195 million opening in North America over the five-day Easter weekend frame. That’s way ahead of the $150 million projections that were being reported at the start of the week. Even more impressively, “Super Mario Bros.” now looks to leap to a $368 million global debut. That would become the biggest ever opening for an animated film, though that comes with a huge caveat. The current record holder, 2019’s “Frozen II,” earned $358 million over a traditional three-day window.

James Corden is getting ready to say goodbye to The Late Late Show.

Jeremy Renner enjoyed spring break with his family at an amusement park, thanks to the help of an electric wheelchair. The 52-year-old "Mayor of Kingstown" star has kept his fans updated with his recovery efforts following the near-fatal accident at his home near Lake Tahoe on New Year's Day, when he was crushed by a snowplow.

Bartise Bowden is a father.The  star took to Instagram on Friday and posted a series of photos and videos revealing the little guy. In the first photo, Bartise can be seen with the little boy sleeping in his arms. The next slide shows video of Bartise and the kid on the couch watching The Masters.

Ben Croll Banking on the continued success of Latin American projects at immersive festivals and showcases across the globe, Mediamorfosis director Damian Kirzner is looking to help local creatives build stronger in-roads into the international XR ecosystem. The founder and director of Latin America’s largest new media forum, Kirzner was at this year’s NewImages Festival to present a panel, press the flesh, and to take a victory lap of sorts as a pair of locally flavored productions claimed the top prizes.    You attended NewImages to give a presentation on partnerships between France and Latin America. What progress has been made on this front?

Could a reconciliation be on the horizon? Despite Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox taking a “break” from their engagement, the pair enjoyed a romantic getaway together.

Finding a new rhythm! Chrissy Teigen has opened up about what it’s like having three very different children.

It’s always a treat when a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member returns to host, and this week’s episode features the return of Molly Shannon.

Everton manager Sean Dyche admits that the best team won as his side fell to a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.

S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole has been remembered as “a beacon of light for a generation of pop music fans” by the band's manager Simon Fuller. The singer passed away at his home in Devon on Thursday afternoon at the age of 46.

Erik ten Hag blamed Manchester United's hectic schedule for Marcus Rashford's apparent groin injury that he sustained in their 2-0 Premier League win against Everton.

A Easter knitting initiative is set to raise more than £40,000 for a children's hospice.

$939.6 million total of fellow Illumination film “Minions: The Rise of Gru” to become the highest grossing animated film since theaters reopened. More to come…

West 53rd Street sandwich shop made famous by the “Late Show with David Letterman,” is closing its doors after 31 years.“It has been a heck of an adventure,” owner Rupert Jee — who appeared on the show over 400 times — told The Post on Thursday.“The office workers were extremely loyal, the ‘Late Show’ fans were amazing. We got the best of both worlds.”Jee, 66, and his business partner May Chin, announced the news on social media on March 18 and are waiting to find the right buyer.

Billie Shepherd has said she's "lucky" to have "true friendships" after the fallout with former best friend Ferne McCann.The former TOWIE star, 33, and her sister, Sam Faiers, 32, fell out with Ferne, 32, in 2022 after voice notes were leaked allegedly featuring Ferne talking disparagingly about the sisters. In the aftermath of the friendship breakdown, Billie has expressed her gratitude to her close friends sharing that she's "never questioned" their intentions.

Easter is a special time of year for the Royal Family, and one of the rare times where you will see them out together in full force. For the first time, King Charles will be leading the ceremony, following the death of the long-reigning Queen Elizabeth II last year, with most members of the Firm heading to the service held at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has opened up about its battle against Kakao to acquire shares of K-pop agency SM Entertainment.Today (March 15), Bang delivered a keynote speech at the Gwanhun Forum, hosted by the Gwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists in Korea. Held at the Korean Press Center in Seoul, South Korea, the forum provided attendees the opportunity to gain insight into Bang and HYBE’s vision of the K-pop industry.During a Q&A session at the event, Bang opened up about HYBE’s recent attempt to acquire SM Entertainment, and its battle against South Korean internet giant Kakao over the K-pop agency.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming has begun on Tom Waller’s true-crime thriller, “Kiss of the Con Queen,” with real-life victim Eoin O’Brien (“The Last Full Measure”) taking the lead role. He plays actor duped by an impersonator to travel to Indonesia on the promise of auditions for a leading role in a DC origins series, only to discover that he had been scammed by the infamous Con Queen of Hollywood. In the real world, the alleged perpetrator, 41-year-old Indonesian food blogger Hargobind Tahilramani, is accused of pretending to be both male and female Hollywood executives and having swindled hundreds of victims of millions of dollars. He was arrested in 2020 after an FBI manhunt and is currently in prison in the U.K. where he is fighting against possible extradition to the U.S. The U.K. court hearings have been dramatic and disturbing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After three editions that were canceled due to a combination of COVID and bad timing, Hong Kong’s FilMart film rights market may have finally had some things go its way. It opens March 13 with many factors now moving in its favor. Not least of these are the moves by the Hong Kong government to end its previously harsh and persistent disease-control measures. The city wound down its disruptive quarantine and tracking measures at the end of 2022, opened its borders in January and finally dropped its mask mandate in the last 10 days. “We saw an immediate jump in interest from buyers and sellers after Chinese New Year’s border opening and there were no more restrictions on the food and beverage sector,” says Gloria Chan, section head for the entertainment industry at FilMart organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

HYBE is ceasing its acquisition of SM Entertainment, the K-pop company announced today (March 12), after a discussion with competitor Kakao.In a press statement, HYBE said it decided to suspend the acquisition after a discussion with tech giant Kakao. “The two companies agreed to cooperate on matters related to their platforms,” it added.HYBE made the decision, it said, “after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Philippines media powerhouse ABS-CBN is launching “The Bagman” action drama series as a remake of its own “Bagman” digital production and will launch it at Hong Kong’s FilMart next week. The original “Bagman,” which ran to two seasons and sold to Netflix in The Philippines, follows a neighborhood barber who lands a job as the governor’s henchman and gets caught up in a dangerous web of crime, corruption, and political turmoil. That is a familiar story for ABS-CBN itself. The company was until 2020 The Philippines leading broadcaster. But it dared to criticize the policies of then president Rodrigo Duterte and found its TV licenses were not renewed. Since the loss of its TV broadcast operations, ABS-CBN has repositioned itself as a mass content company working as a producer with other producers and broadcasters and outputting news to its website, streaming service iWantTFC and YouTube channels. It also operates related businesses in talent management and events.

Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo, members of the K-pop boyband NCT, are set to debut as a sub-unit.Earlier today (March 9), South Korean media outlet Sports Today reported that the three K-pop idols are set to form a trio sub-unit as part of their work with the boyband. Notably, the three singers previously worked together on the song ‘Can We Go Back’, which they performed at the 2022 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, as well as a Christmas medley posted on the official NCT YouTube channel.Their label SM Entertainment has since confirmed the report.