Epic made quite a few ripples when it opened its digital game store back in December. Tantalising developers with a generous 88% profit share (as opposed to Steam’s 70%), the Fortnite publisher nabbed exclusivity deals for some notable new games. Meanwhile, it’s reeling in droves of gamers by offering a free game every, ahem, fortnight to those who use the store.But recently those ripples amassed into a full-on tidal wave when Epic announced that big-name shooter Metro Exodus would be exclusive to the Epic Game Store until 2020. Some called it a dirty trick, others called it good business. Either way it made using the Epic Store that less bit avoidable.So with the Epic Store brute-forcing its way into our taskbars, we decided to compare it with Steam - the de facto platform of PC gaming. What works, what doesn’t, and what Epic needs to do to have a chance of competing.Epic Games Store vs Steam: the storefrontsThe Steam Store is a bit like a vast warehouse that just so … [Read more...] about Epic Games Store vs Steam: battle of the online stores
Publishing rights vs copyright
The National Enquirer vs. Jeff Bezos: Legal experts break down what’s at stake in battle between the world’s wealthiest man and a supermarket tabloid
source Getty Federal prosecutors are reviewing claims made by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in a post published on Medium last week that accused the National Enquirer and its publisher, American Media Inc., (AMI) of “extortion and blackmail,” sources told The New York Times. Bezos published several emails from the National Enquirer’s chief content officer Dylan Howard and from Jon Fine, an attorney representing AMI – one of which lists compromising photographs of Bezos that the supermarket tabloid says it has. Another message lists the terms the company is demanding in order to keep the material out of the public sphere. There outstanding legal questions about the Bezos/AMI ordeal, including whether or not AMI has committed a crime by allegedly holding compromising information about Bezos as leverage to get what it wants from him. Legal experts say it’s complicated. Federal … [Read more...] about The National Enquirer vs. Jeff Bezos: Legal experts break down what’s at stake in battle between the world’s wealthiest man and a supermarket tabloid
Milos Forman, Oscar-winning director, dies at 86
LOS ANGELES — Czech filmmaker Milos Forman, whose American movies “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Amadeus” won a deluge of Academy Awards, including best director Oscars, died Saturday. He was 86. Forman died about 2 a.m. Saturday at Danbury Hospital, near his home in Warren, Connecticut, according to a statement released by the former director’s agent, Dennis Aspland. Aspland said Forman’s wife, Martina, notified him of the death. When Forman arrived in Hollywood in the late 1960s, he was lacking in both money and English skills, but carried a portfolio of Czechoslovakian films much admired internationally for their quirky, lighthearted spirit. Among them were “Black Peter,” ‘’Loves of a Blonde” and “The Fireman’s Ball.” The orphan of Nazi Holocaust victims, Forman had abandoned his homeland after communist troops invaded in 1968 and crushed a brief period of political and artistic … [Read more...] about Milos Forman, Oscar-winning director, dies at 86
Today Is Equal Pay Day. So, If You’re a Woman Asking for More Money, Think Like a Man. Just Don’t Act Like One.
Stop being a people-pleaser. And understand your market value. Jaime Sarachit Published 9:32 am, Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Photo: Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images Image 1of/1 CaptionClose Image 1 of 1 Photo: Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images Today Is Equal Pay Day. So, If You're a Woman Asking for More Money, Think Like a Man. Just Don't Act Like One. 1 / 1 Back to Gallery Back in 2014, after finding out through Sony’s massive hacking scandal that her male co-stars in American Hustle had been paid more than she, actress Jennifer Lawrence wrote a now-famous essay for actress Lena Dunham's blog, reflecting on her own role in the situation. Related: Women Won't Achieve Equal Representation in Business Unless Men Help Change the Status Quo “I failed as a negotiator because I gave up … [Read more...] about Today Is Equal Pay Day. So, If You’re a Woman Asking for More Money, Think Like a Man. Just Don’t Act Like One.
A $1.6 billion Spotify lawsuit is based on a law made for player pianos
Spotify is finally gearing up to go public, and the company’s February 28th filing with the SEC offers a detailed look at its finances. More than a decade after Spotify’s launch in 2006, the world’s leading music streaming service is still struggling to turn a profit, reporting a net loss of nearly $1.5 billion last year. Meanwhile, the company has some weird lawsuits hanging over its head, the most eye-popping being the $1.6 billion lawsuit filed by Wixen Publishing, a music publishing company that includes the likes of Tom Petty, The Doors, and Rage Against the Machine. So, what happened here? Did Spotify really fail to pay artists to the tune of a billion dollars all the while losing money? Is digital streaming just a black hole that sucks up money and spits it out into the cold vacuum of space? The answer is complicated. The amount of money that songwriters are making through streaming services like Spotify is oddly low, but the Wixen lawsuit itself exists in a … [Read more...] about A $1.6 billion Spotify lawsuit is based on a law made for player pianos