OZY Media Announces OZY Fest Miami Presented By TikTok, On October 16-17 – OZY Fest Miami: “A Fresh Path Forward,” will take place in Maurice A. Ferré Park and be presented by title partner, TikTok, who will also livestream festival content across its platform on both days. The festival will be conducted in partnership with lead sponsors Chevrolet, Walmart, American Family Insurance, Famous Amos and others, and streamed on iHeart.
OZY will be announcing the initial OZY Fest lineup in August and tickets go on sale August 2. To see the latest information, including how to purchase VIP passes, please visit www.ozyfest.com.
LG SIGNATURE Debuts World’s First Rollable TV Campaign At American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Celebration – LG SIGNATURE, the ultra-premium brand from LG Electronics known for world-class design and cutting-edge innovations, is extending its partnership with the acclaimed American Ballet Theatre (ABT) for 2021. As the long-standing exclusive ABT Global Electronics Partner, LG SIGNATURE debuted its See Beyond marketing campaign for the world’s first rollable TV, LG SIGNATURE OLED R, featuring brand ambassador Misty Copeland, ABT’s first African American female principal dancer.
Reflecting the spirit of innovation and creativity cultivated throughout the pandemic, ABT’s Summer Celebration opened with the LG SIGNATURE OLED R as a performance curtain, extending to Full View mode to display new works by Silas Farley, Helen Pickett and James Whiteside. Following opening remarks by the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, ABT’s Summer Celebration segued into dazzling incomparable performances and featured honorees who generously offered their time and talent to sustain ABT over the past 18 months. With its conclusion, the world’s first rollable TV collapsed into Zero View, a setting that displays the speaker as a work of art.
Lauded as an engineering and user-centric triumph, the LG SIGNATURE OLED R (model 65RX) reimagines the TV experience by disappearing at the touch of a button to liberate users from the limitations of a wall for a more thoughtfully curated living space. Built using an ultra-thin, flexible 4K OLED screen made from one sheet of glass, LG SIGNATURE OLED R features luminous display technology composed of over 8 million self-lit pixels that deliver superior, vivid picture quality and is powered by LG’s fourth generation α (Alpha) 9 intelligent processor for best-in-class visuals.
Sony Music Publishing Renews Global Deal with Chris DeStefano – Today, Sony Music Publishing Nashville announced it has renewed its worldwide deal with Grammy award-winning country singer/songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Chris DeStefano. The renewal continues DeStefano’s long-standing relationship with the company, which began in 2008 when he signed with EMI Music Publishing.
3x CMA Triple Play award-winner Chris DeStefano is celebrated as one of today’s most in-demand hitmakers, penning hits for many of the biggest names in country music such as Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Brett Eldredge, Dan + Shay, Chris Young, and Morgan Evans, among others.
Recently, DeStefano worked on Chris Young’s highly anticipated eighth studio album Famous Friends, including his brand-new hit “One of them Nights,” as well as Chase Rice’s latest singles “Best Night Ever” and “Belong” from his new project entitled The Album.
TikTok Names Tinuiti First US Independent Agency to Receive Campaign Management Badge within TikTok Marketing Partner Program – Tinuiti, the largest independent performance marketing firm across the Triopoly of Google, Facebook, and Amazon, today announced that it has earned TikTok’s Campaign Management badge within the TikTok Marketing Partner Program, becoming the first US-independent agency to receive the accreditation from the leading destination for short-form mobile video. The accreditation will help Tinuiti clients leverage TikTok’s comprehensive suite of creative, influencer, and data-driven services to grow their business.
The TikTok Campaign Management badge empowers Tinuiti to help clients develop first-ever social marketing experiences that will drive true accountability and measurable impact within a brand’s larger media mix. It also expands Tinuiti’s influencer program connecting brands to high-impact creators, facilitating best-in-class content creation and reducing barriers to activating on TikTok.
“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” Season 2 Soundtrack Set For Release On Friday, July 30 – The soundtrack for season two of hit Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” will be available Friday, July 30 on Walt Disney Records. Special bonus content will be also available digitally across multiple DSPs and physically at Target.
At Spotify, there will be “Storylines” and “Canvas” experiences on the Soundtrack. The “Storylines” card overlays will reveal deeper stories about key songs on the soundtrack, and numerous “Canvas” videos will be pulled from key moments in Season 2. The official “High School Musical” playlist will include Spotify “Clips,” short videos in which the cast discuss their favorite songs and moments from the season.
Official music videos from both seasons of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” are available on Disney Music VEVO.
At Target, the “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (OST/Season 2) offering will include the physical CD, as well as exclusive postcards, a sticker sheet and poster. The Target exclusive is available for pre-order here.
Sony Music Publishing Promotes Carol NG to President, Asia – Sony Music Publishing today announced the promotion of Carol NG to President, Asia. Carol is based in the company’s Hong Kong office and reports to President, International, Guy Henderson.
As well as managing a global network of teams, Carol is responsible for spearheading creative strategy and roster development; cultivating relationships with industry partners and local collection societies; driving digital opportunities with companies in the Pan-Asian region; and expanding the company’s presence in new markets.
Carol will continue to work closely with Sony Music Publishing’s local territories to further strengthen its leading position throughout the Pan-Asian region.
REVOLT Announces New Rap Video Countdown Show – “Off Top” – Leading Black-owned independent content platform REVOLT, today announced the launch of Off Top, a modern rap video countdown show with a nostalgic twist hosted by legendary rapper and artist Rapsody and iconic Hip Hop television and radio personality Big Tigger. As the platform’s newest show, Off Top will tap into the Hip Hop community’s timeless appreciation for video series to showcase today’s hottest music performances along with exclusive interviews to celebrate the creativity of legendary rappers and new and upcoming artists.
Premiering on Friday, July 23rd, Off Top aims to recognize today’s leading talent by showcasing the power and deep meaning in their lyrics, rather than solely their beats.
FlowPlay Announces Live Game Night Poker Now Available for Zoom Apps – FlowPlay, creator of one of the most powerful connected gaming platforms, today announced the launch of Live Game Night Poker, a new app for Zoom delivering an embedded experience accessible within Zoom Meetings, now available in the Zoom App Marketplace.
While the world sets its sights on returning to normalcy, some pandemic-era changes are here to stay. As many organizations embrace a hybrid workforce for the foreseeable future, HR and IT teams are tasked with how to build and sustain a company culture virtually. Live Game Night Poker leverages state-of-the-art technology to provide as close to an in-person connection as possible, allowing up to 10 of a host’s colleagues to play together in a face-to-face matchup.
Hollywood Movie Director Neill Blomkamp Joins Gunzilla Games As Chief Visionary Officer – Gunzilla Games, a video game developer established to create the next evolution of multiplayer AAA shooters with a strong emphasis on narration, is welcoming Neill Blomkamp, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and producer as the studio’s new Chief Visionary Officer.
Neill Blomkamp joins the company to define the in-game vision of an yet unannounced multiplayer AAA shooter title for PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, that Gunzilla is developing in its offices in Frankfurt, Germany (HQ); Los Angeles, USA; and Kyiv, Ukraine.
“Gunzilla has a strong vision that clearly stands out. With a team of incredible talents and long-time industry veterans, it is creating a new, exciting multiplayer AAA shooter game that pushes the boundaries of gameplay, player freedom, customization options as well as narrative experience within the shooter genre. My own big screen film experience will hopefully help shape new ways of interactive storytelling and next-generation visuals. And by making best use of everything today’s video game development technologies have on offer we will jointly create an immersive experience like we’ve never seen before,” states Neill Blomkamp.
Neill Blomkamp is the director and screenwriter of numerous critically acclaimed movie productions, including the science fiction thrillers District 9, Elysium and Chappie, and many more. His newest title, Demonic, will be released in theatres and on streaming channels on August 20, 2021.
Suicide Squad early reactions continue to come in –
‘Batgirl’ has been cast – In the Heights star Leslie Grace is the new Batgirl.
ESPN and Maria Taylor jointly announced today that after much discussion, an agreement on a contract extension could not be reached. As a result, Maria’s last assignment for ESPN was last night’s NBA Finals telecast. – Reports say Taylor will join NBC.
Viewership for the 2021 NBA Finals on ABC Up 32 Percent From Last Year – The 2021 NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV on ABC concluded on Tuesday, July 20 when the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns to win the franchise’s first NBA Championship in 50 years.
Viewership of the 2021 NBA Finals on ABC was up 32 percent from last year’s NBA Finals, according to Nielsen. The six -game series averaged 9,911,000 viewers.
Tuesday’s title clinching Game 6 broadcast was up 50 percent and was the most-watched game of the series. The broadcast averaged 12,517,000 viewers, peaking with 16,536,000 viewers from 11:30– 11:45 p.m. ET.
Game 6 delivered the largest audience on television in the key demographic of People 18-34 since February 2021 and propelled ABC to win the night across all of television and in all key demos, including the Adult and Male demos. [ESPN]
