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How augmented reality put five Madonnas on stage at once
At Wednesday's Billboard Music Awards, Madonna performed her latest single, "Medellín", with Latin singer Maluma. However, they (and their flesh-and-blood dancers) weren't alone on the Las Vegas stage. Several virtual versions of the pop icon joined them: a secret agent, a musician, a cha-cha instructor and a bride. Augmented reality brought Madonna's personas to life with the help of volumetric capture -- essentially 3D video -- and Unreal Engine.
Madonna continues her app tour with a video premiere on Meerkat
Madonna is still determined to hold on to the spotlight by premiering music videos in the internet services du jour. Her next stop? Meerkat. Swing by the livestreaming service at 1PM Eastern and you'll see the Material Girl's video for "Ghosttown" before it makes its way elsewhere. The stunt is undoubtedly going to get some attention, but it also suggests that Madonna is a bit behind the curve -- many of the cool kids have already moved on to Periscope. And what happened to all the juicy exclusives that are destined for Tidal, where the singer is a partner? As unique as this debut may be, it's not the first place we'd go to get some buzz from the younger crowd. [Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]
Madonna's new video is on Snapchat because Madonna is thirsty
There's a track on Madonna's upcoming (read: twice leaked) album Rebel Heart wherein her 'Madgesty' (that awful nickname UK rags bestowed upon her that time she decided to possess the body of an unsuspecting, posh British lady that rode horses, lived in a countryside manor and spoke with a befuddled accent that no SNL comedian has ever been able to master) proclaims that "the Queen's been slain." Madonna is, of course, singing here about *her favorite subject: Madonna. And she's right. No self-respecting "Queen" would ever be so thirsty (that's kid lingo for "desperate") as to premiere a video for her new single on Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging-cum-streaming-video app(?) now valued at $10 billion that millennials adore. Which is what's happening at some point today for her single "Living for Love." I know, right? So thirsty.
Judge finds Grooveshark employees guilty of mass copyright-infringement
Grooveshark's disappearing and reappearing act looks like it could finally come to an end; permanently. A Manhattan judge has ruled that because Grooveshark employees themselves had uploaded 5,977 songs to the service and infringing on copyrights in the process, the outfit couldn't be granted safe harbor for hosting music from the likes of Jay-Z and Madonna. Meaning, the firm's previous method of compliance under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was null and void because it wasn't users who uploaded the copyrighted material (which would be subsequently removed upon request), it was in-house staffers including CEO Samuel Tarantino and CTO Joshua Greenberg, according to The New York Times. Reuters notes that there was also evidence of internal communications from Greenberg that told employes to share music as much as possible from outside the office in an effort to foster growth -- all as a condition of employment.
What you need to know about hologram people
Perhaps you watched the Billboard Music Awards and were aghast (or impressed) by Michael Jackson's performance from beyond the grave. Or maybe you were at Coachella and caught a resurrected Tupac onstage with real-life Snoop Dogg. Hell, let's say you were wooed by India's Narendra Modi in his recent holographic stump speeches. Maybe none of the above? Well, either way, here's a bit of disappointing news: None of those were true holograms, despite our dreams of a sci-fi future. The aforementioned performances are a product of a centuries-old technique called "Pepper's Ghost." You might've seen this on a pretty grand scale during a family vacation to Disneyland, too. The park's Haunted Mansion ride uses it extensively, especially during the ballroom scene where "ghosts" are dancing all over the place. The key difference between what we're seeing now and what's been used for the past few hundred years? The tech being used has gotten much more advanced.
Google + Nicknames = Hilarity
Google's so desperate for the boys to come to its yard that it won't be long before it buys a milkshake factory. Until then, it's relaxing its ban on nicknames for Google+ users: now amusingly nicknamed composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden can get back to being himself. Just remember that any name change will carry through Google's entire online service, so try to avoid anything too raunchy if you also use Gmail for work. If you use a pseudonym (say "Madonna") then you'll have to submit scanned copies of you getting papped in Hollywood before you'll be able to use your assumed name. The service will be quietly rolling out to users in the next week, to add your own hilarious nickname, just edit your profile's name and hit the More Options text to the right.
Epix HD queues up Iron Man, Madonna and Eddie Izzard for online & FiOS launch October 30
Epix HD has locked down a launch date and lineup, confirmed for Verion FiOS subscribers so far, the festivities will kick off October 30th with television and online premieres of Iron Man, Madonna "Sticky & Sweet: Live from Buenos Aires," and Eddie Izzard: Live From Wembley. Other titles set for launch weekend are The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Madea Goes to Jail, Pink Panther 2, the Indiana Jones movie that sucked, Cloverfield, The Duchess and more. Epix has previously stated a goal to build the largest stable of movies online with a planned 3,000 titles available in the Epix Megaplex, you'll see if this whole new way of delivering a premium movie experience is all it's appeared to be very soon.Update: Epix just passed along the launch weekend schedule so check after the break for all the times (EST)
Celebrities digitally fattened up for Fat Princess
We're not sure who or what put together these images of fattened celebrities in celebration of upcoming PSN title Fat Princess, but we sure do think they're swell terrifying. UK tabloid The Sun has a whole mess of faux fat celebrities images, ranging from everyone's favorite Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham, to supermodel Naomi Campbell.Though information coming out of Europe about Fat Princess' release date -- even from Sony -- has been less than accurate, the piece puts FP on track for an August PSN release. We've contacted Sony of Europe to ask for comment on the release date (as well as give us some idea where in the world these images came from).And no, we have no idea what Madonna has on her head either. None.%Gallery-27941%[Thanks, hoypinoy!]
Nokia Music Store launches without Warner Music due to file sharing fears
Notice anything missing from the Nokia Music Store launched yesterday? How about Madonna? According to the Wall Street Journal, Warner Music Group -- yeah, that guy -- is withholding their goods due to concerns with copyright abuse at Nokia. No, not with Nokia's Music Store but with their seemingly unrelated MOSH (MObile SHaring) file-sharing service. The other three majors -- Universal, Sony BMG, and EMI -- are all playing nice, however. A Nokia spokesman confirmed the absence stating, "we are hopeful that Warner will be part of Nokia Music Store in the future." Who knew that Madonna could be used like a big stick?
Tingle starring in own RPG
By way of the 4cr, we're presented with screens for what is being called Mogitate Tingle no Barairo Rupee Land, or to us English-speaking folk, Freshly-picked Tingle's Pink-colored Rupee Land. We're not exactly sure what that is supposed to mean.The only thing we know about the game so far is that it follows Tingle from the days of his youth and through his travels, he meets a rupee-headed old man and woman who looks like she could of been one of the background dancers in an old Madonna music video.[Via 4cr; Thanks Nushio!]
