First: Hope everyone out there who reads my ramblings had a great holiday and very happy New Year’s.
May all the weight you’ve no doubt gained be quickly lost!
Now, for a couple information nuggets I found intriguing…
First up, and published by Reuters but found on HuffingtonPost.com:
Spotify Hit With $1.6 Billion Lawsuit From Publisher Representing Tom Petty, Neil Young
I’ve long wondered about the various streaming services out there and how exactly they operate. I assumed it was akin to a radio station in that they play the music you want but you are forced to put up with their advertisements.
However, in this day and age and unlike radio stations, you can specify exactly which music and songs you want to hear and which you do not, an advantage over radio stations but also another source of head scratching for me. How does the advertisement work then?
What about new music? Some people may be comfortable with the old standards and are adverse to seeking out or listening to new music. Finally, how much does a service like Spotify pay the artists whose songs/albums they play?
Apparently, the answer is not nearly enough, at least according to the article I’ve linked to above and hence the reason for the lawsuit.
In this day and age when so much entertainment is available free but illegally online, it’s high time artists fought back when they feel people are listening to their music or reading their books or watching their TV shows/movies without proper compensation.
If Spotify is indeed stiffing the people who make them their money, I hope they lose. Big.
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Secondly and though I promised not to dwell on this much more, I just headed over to Rottentomatoes.com and, curious to see where audience reaction was regarding Star Wars: The Last Jedi, I clicked on the movie’s specified link and found…
The movie is now listing an audience reaction of exactly 50%.
In other words, this film has apparently (there are those who feel a concerted effort is being made to bad mouth the film) very evenly split audiences, even as it makes Disney a ton of money.
Still, I wonder if, like Warner Brothers and their handling of the DC properties, the fact that the movie has engendered so much negativity may make them reconsider some of their future plans regarding the franchise.
I’ve been hearing rumblings that the next Star Wars related film, the “young” Han Solo feature whose original directors were sacked and Ron Howard was placed in charge, may be in trouble as well, though the same word of mouth came prior to the release of Rogue One.
As with so many things, we’ll see how this works out.