The Radice Files — Episode 138: “Black Rock Down”

Frank Radice
5 min readAug 25, 2021

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ViacomCBS is having a fire sale. The NYC HQ and the Studio City Lot are on the block. One might think they are about to merge or sell. Can Comcast be the buyer? If that happens, they’d own CBS and NBC and a boatload of other things. Can you say anti-trust?

ViacomCBS Mulls Sale of CBS Studio Center, the Network’s ‘Radford Lot’ Headquarters

CBS’ iconic Black Rock and Television City facilities have already been sold; Now, its CBS Studio Center/Radford lot could be next.

variety.com

Movie Piracy Has Exploded With Surge in Same-Day Streaming Releases, Motion Picture Association Head Says

Motion Picture Association CEO Charles Rivkin says his organization is dealing with another side effect of the pandemic: movie piracy.

www.thewrap.com

Airbnb to provide free temporary housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees — TechCrunch

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said on Tuesday the company plans to offer free temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees around the world amid the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan. Chesky said the company will cover the costs for the housing, using funds from contributions to its nonprofit Airbnb.org and a specific Refugee Fund established […]

techcrunch.com

International Emmys Takes Back Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Honorary Emmy Award

The International Academy of TV Arts and Sciences is rescinding former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s special 2020 International Emmy Award.

variety.com

A Thumbs Down for Streaming Privacy — The New York Times

The streaming apps and devices we pay for aren’t necessarily careful with our personal information.

www.nytimes.com

Substack begins accepting bitcoin payments

Content platform Substack has integrated bitcoin as a payment option for “a select group of crypto-focused publications.”

www.theblockcrypto.com

Spotify Opens Podcast Subscriptions to All U.S. Creators, Who Can Now Charge Up to $150 per Month

Spotify’s podcast-subscription program is available to all U.S. creators, with price point options ranging from 49 cents to $150 per month.

variety.com

The events industry was poised for a comeback — then Delta hit — Fortune

“It’s like Groundhog Day,” said a seasoned events organizer with a sigh. She now starts each morning poring over emails and checking Google alerts to try to figure out whether her next big event — her first since the pandemic hit in March 2020 — will go on as planned, or be canceled like so many events before it.

fortune-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Are COVID Delta Variant Fears Killing the Live Concert Comeback?

“Shows are happening all over the country, and people are going to them, I know that much,” one music executive insists

www.thewrap.com

TikTok, in Deal With Shopify, Adds In-App Shopping — The New York Times

In a pilot program, merchants will be able to add a shopping tab to their profiles and link to products within posts on the video app.

www.nytimes.com

Who gets to join a writers union? The fight is on — CNN

The Writers Guild of America, East has helped unionize staffers at Vice Media, Vox Media, HuffPost and more than 20 other digital media companies over the past six years. But that effort could soon come to an end.

edition.cnn.com

Tim Cook became CEO of Apple 10 years ago. Here’s how much money you’d have if you invested $1,000 in the tech giant the day he took over

Cook has leveraged Apple’s massive user base into a recurring source of subscription revenue through services like Apple Music and iCloud storage.

www.cnbc.com

A Star Trek impulse engine is being built for interstellar travel | TweakTown

Two doctors are attempting to construct an ‘impulse engine’ from Star Trek so humans will be able to do interstellar travel.

www.tweaktown.com

Augmented Reality Is Coming for Your Ears, Too | WIRED

Sharing your earbuds with somebody is, in every important aspect, gross. There must be a compelling reason to want to wedge another person’s waxy nub into your external auditory meatus. Such as love, or an unbearably long flight with no other options (the two are not mutually exclusive). Or a shared experience that demands, in some way, that two or more people hear the same audio tracks simultaneously.

www-wired-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Michael McIntyre To Host NBC’s Remake Of British Game Show ‘The Wheel’ — Edinburgh

NBC is bringing over British comedian Michael McIntyre to host the U.S. version of his BBC game show The Wheel.

deadline.com

Charlie Watts Dies: Rolling Stones Drummer Was 80 — Deadline

Charlie Watts, the drummer whose beats powered the Rolling Stones for more than half a century, becoming one of rock’s most iconic if stoic figures, has died. He was 80. The news is being reported by BBC, citing Watts’ publicist. In a statement, Bernard Doherty said today that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London…

apple.news

And finally…

Maceo Parker — Shake everything you’ve got (feat. Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis) on JAZE.club

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Frank Radice

Emmy winning journalist, producer, director, composer, and author. Sharing content about tech, politics, media, and culture.