Jenna Marbles and Shane Dawson apologise for past racism
Older YouTubers are distancing themselves from videos that made them big names ten years ago - it’s a vital step toward genuine progress for racial representation. YouTube will turn fifteen years old this year. Back in 2005 the site was full of snappy videos of cats, quirky millennials making cringy...
Current in News
Kanye announces he’s running for president
The billionaire producer and fashion designer took to Twitter to reveal his intentions to run for president, though he hasn’t worked out his policies yet and is too late to be on the ballot in several states. Yeezy season is fully upon us, it would seem. Kanye West has dropped...
Daughter of Michigan candidate says not to vote for her father in viral tweet
Stephanie Regan has garnered over 150,000 likes for a tweet that urges Americans not to vote for her father. It’s the most concise representation of the generational divide thus far. Trying to argue with parents about political matters is tough enough as it is, but imagine how much harder...
Museums rush to collect artefacts from the BLM protests as they’re happening
Museums set out to preserve artefacts that represent 2020's BLM protests, recording history in real time. The tragic killing of George Floyd has brought about an incredibly transformative period in American history that is guaranteed to be studied by historians for years to come. As the ongoing civil rights uprisings...
Stormzy pledges £10m to fight racial injustice
The UK grime artist will be giving cash to various undisclosed organisations over the next decade. It comes as other artists speak out about the music industry’s racial biases and discrimination. In a statement released yesterday, Stormzy has promised to donate £10 million to ‘organisations, charities, and movements that...
Drive-in concerts helping to keep live music afloat
Australia is beginning to trial drive-in concerts in a first attempt to give the live entertainment industry some much needed revenue. When Pixar released its 2006 film ‘Cars’, it depicted a world in which anthropomorphic vehicles attended live events together, formed giant crowds at stadiums, and lived fully fleshed...
#DrawFor: the new charity helping artists and key workers
Spun out of the coronavirus pandemic, DrawFor is a new non-profit organisation that’s giving back to NHS key workers through artist donations, and anyone can get involved. Do you fancy yourself as a bit of an up-and-coming artist? Have some work you’d like to share on social media? Would you also like to help the NHS in the process? If you’ve answered yes to all my tedious questions, then DrawFor...
Coronavirus ticket refund policy sparks outrage
Paul McCartney has deemed Italy’s refusal to give ticket goers refunds ‘outrageous’ as coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the music industry. Unless you’ve been in a coma for the last three months, you’ll have noticed how disruptive the coronavirus pandemic has been on normal life for nearly all of us since February. Large events have been cancelled or indefinitely postponed across the globe for the foreseeable future, including music...
Music labels to stop using ‘urban’ category
Republic Records has announced it will no longer be using the word urban. It’s a much-needed revision to a term that should have been retired decades ago. George Floyd’s death on May 25th and the subsequent protests across the globe have pushed industries everywhere to assess their behaviour and attitudes toward black people, culture, and equality. The music industry is no exception. On June 2nd many record labels and publications...
Apple is refusing to let villains use iPhones in films
Film director Rian Johnson has revealed an alleged industry secret, claiming that Apple prohibits any fictional bad guys from using its products on-screen. ‘Bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera,’ says director Rian Johnson in a video interview with Vanity Fair while explaining a scene from his most recent film, Knives Out. Outing an alleged secret in the world of product placement, Johnson is referring to the obsessive amount...
