“The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter will open at the Universal Orlando Resort, in Florida, in 2009.Touted as a ‘theme park within a theme park’, it will feature attractions and rides based on Harry Potter locations.
Tag: 05.31.07
EMI Artists To Be YouTubed
EMI has signed a deal with YouTube. “It means all four of the world’s major music firms are now YouTube partners. The terms of the agreement should eventually allow users to incorporate recordings by EMI artists into their own projects.”
30-Second Spots? We’ll Give You The Whole Show!
As TV viewers become increasingly innoculated against ads (and more inclined to skip them with DVRs,) advertisers and the entertainment giants they support have been slipping ever more promotional content into the shows themselves. Most viewers will put up with a bit of product placement, but when the sponsor appears to have had a hand in writing the actual script to suit its product, has Hollywood crossed a line?
Contest Winners Rewarded With Book Deals
“Two agentless authors will have novels out this fall after winning a contest sponsored by Simon & Schuster, Borders Group Inc. and the social media site Gather.com… [The] contest allowed contestants — at no charge — to submit manuscripts to Gather.com, where readers narrowed more than 2,600 entries to five. “
Warner Takes Big Leap Forward With Free Video
“Warner Music, the world’s fourth largest music group, is putting its archive of music video online and making it available free to fans… Revenue will be driven by advertising, but music fans will be able to download the videos for an additional fee and Warner will also examine syndicating the content to a third party. The deal includes plans to develop subscription-based services and a version to be used on mobile platforms.”
ROM Almost To Its $270m Goal
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum has raised CAN$262 million towards its Renaissance ROM campaign, following the addition of several last-minute donations totaling CAN$12 million. The campaign’s goal is CAN$270 million.
Selling Early Music To Uninterested New Yorkers
A new organization in New York has launched with the unusual aim of providing support and publicity to the city’s various early music ensembles. “Critics and early-music fans in New York have lamented that, despite a growing number of period-instrument ensembles and vocal groups, and the continuing popularity of early music on recordings, it remains a backwater in the city’s musical life… [The new company] hopes to bring cohesiveness and vitality to the city’s patchwork of early-music groups.”
Covent Garden Buys DVD Production Company
“In opera’s latest expansion into the world of video, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London said yesterday that it had bought a leading maker and producer of performance DVDs, Opus Arte. Covent Garden’s purchase of a for-profit company is unheard of in the performing-arts world, although several orchestras have begun their own record labels.”
LoTR On Hold After Onstage Injury
“Performances of the London stage version of the Lord of the Rings have been suspended after a cast member was injured during the show. One of the actors is believed to have caught his leg in the moving stage during an early scene. The individual was not one of the lead actors, but the show was halted and the audience offered refunds. Performances are due to resume on Saturday.”
Comedians Turn To Online
“The Internet, of course, is already filled with cheap laughs — YouTube alone offers a lifetime’s supply of home videos (some funny, most not). But now many experienced comedians, talent agents and financiers are seeing the Web as a way to showcase talent while trying to turn a profit.”