Warner Music Group Launches Podcast Network; Lupita Nyong’o & Jason Derulo To Host Shows

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAmazon Music and Wondery, the indie podcast studio Amazon snapped up last year, have assembled a diverse lineup of series in development for 2022 and beyond.“This slate provides a lot of shows that are building on our past successes and driving into new areas,” Marshall Lewy, chief content officer for Wondery and Amazon Music.Debuting later this month from Amazon Music is “The Lead Starting Five,” a daily sports podcast from the creators of the award-winning podcast “The Lead” that will cover the five top sports stories in a 10-minute show. The longer-form “The Lead,” which covers one sports story in-depth in each episode, will now be released twice weekly.The shift comes as Amazon Music took full ownership of “The Lead,” winding down its partnership with The Athletic, which previously co-produced the show.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group showed solid results for the 2022 quarter that ended on March 31, with revenue up 10.1% (13.2% in constant currency).Citing the success of such Warner label and publishing artists as Silk Sonic, Ed Sheeran, Jack Harlow, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Rauw Alejandro, Chris Stapleton, Dave, Anitta, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kodak Black and Gayle, CEO Steve Cooper said, “Warner Music Group’s unique combination of scale and agility gives us, our artists, and our songwriters an edge in music’s ever-expanding universe of opportunity. We continue to build our unparalleled artist development expertise, our differentiated approach to global expansion, and our ground-breaking commitment to innovation at the intersection of music, gaming, social and fitness.

EXCLUSIVE: Ming-Na Wen (The Book of Boba Fett) and Esai Morales (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One) have signed on to star alongside Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) in the long-gestating sci-fi thriller Persephone, from director Jeffrey Morris (Oceanus: Act One).

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival announced its 2022 lineup including Disney’s documentary Mija and the Warner Bros. Pictures/HBO Max film Father of the Bride bookending the celebration. LALIFF will run from June 1 to 5 at the TCL Chinese Theater and TCL Chinese 6 in Hollywood.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicYou wouldn’t know it from Sir Lucian Grainge’s tone in today’s Universal Music Group Q1 earnings call, but the chairman of the world’s biggest music company confirmed what had long been expected, but never to be announced: that Drake has entered into an expansive, multi-faceted deal with the company that encompasses recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects.Such “expanded portfolios,” as Grainge noted in the call, spanning multiple creative lanes and revenue streams, also include the recently-announced extension and expansion of the Weeknd’s deal with UMG, which aligns him — like Drake — with Republic Records.Of course, the nagging question is: how big is Drake’s bag? One insider describes the arrangement as “Lebron-sized,” without putting a number on it. Drake himself has seemingly referenced such a deal in the lyrics to “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” (off of his “Scary Hours 2” EP), which includes the lyric, “Three-sixty upfront, it all comes full circle” — or $360 million.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentJan Motjo’s Beta Group is making a bold bet on Spain, both its content and market, launching Beta Fiction Spain, a TV-movie production house which will also offer production services in Spain and run a theatrical distribution operation.The new entity will be headed by two of the best-known and reputable film-TV execs in Spain: Mercedes Gamero, the former head of Atresmedia Cine, the film production-acquisition arm of Atresmedia Cine, and one of the most powerful movie producers in Spain; and Pablo Nogueroles, the former SVP at Warner Bros. Pictures International España.

Every year during the Met Gala (and every other major red carpet event), there’s one popular meme that resurfaces across social media: Jason Derulo falling down the stairs.

The Walking Dead star Melissa McBride has quit the forthcoming spin-off featuring Daryl and Carol.Sources have reportedly confirmed to TVLine that McBride will no longer be involved in the offshoot and it will now focus on Daryl instead.“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead universe,” an AMC spokesperson said in a statement.“Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spin-off focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year.“Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future.”The spin-off was confirmed in 2020 with Reedus admitting how it changed following the flagship show’s original ending.Reedus explained how The Walking Dead planted a seed for the spin-off in the season 10 episode Lines We Cross, in which Daryl and Carol muse on the idea of going to New Mexico together.The characters were going to leave the show while it was still airing, but that changed as the news broke that the flagship series will end after season 11.“I didn’t know the flagship show would end,” Reedus admitted at the time.

starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomi Harris, is based on the 1976 movie starring David Bowie and Candy Clark — which made a splash with its onscreen nudity and trippy take on a humanoid who arrives on Earth in a bid to save his planet from extinction.“It’s kind of about what’s happening today in its depiction of a planet that’s dying from a drought,” Clark, 74, told The Post about director Nicolas Roeg’s film, which was based on Walter Nevis’ 1963 sci-fi novel. “It’s definitely the highlight of my acting career.”“The Man Who Fell to Earth” began shooting in New Mexico in July 1975.

Warner Music Asia has announced that it has signed Thai artist Valentina Ploy in a deal that will see the major work in partnership with her existing record company, indie label What The Duck.“I am so happy to be working with Warner Music”, says Ploy. “[I’m] very excited and grateful to become part of the family as I feel that they support my vision of developing my artist career beyond limits”.“It’s always been a dream of mine to bring my music to the world and Warner Music is perfectly suited to help me reach the widest audience possible”, she adds.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticAs expected, Warner Music Nashville’s chairman-CEO John Esposito — widely known in Music City as just “Espo” — will move to an emeritus role in 2023 in a long-talked-about succession plan that will see his two key lieutenants moving into more elevated roles, a source close to the situation confirms to Variety. The move is expected to be formally announced within the next few weeks.The label’s two current executive vice presidents, Ben Kline and Cris Lacy, are expected to pair up and together assume Esposito’s chairman-CEO roles at the label, as has been expected since they were promoted to their current posts in 2019.

The New Mexico state agency tasked with investigating possible workplace safety violations on the set of Rust is “on track” to release its report by Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the New Mexico Environment Department.

A mass grave has been discovered in the Ukrainian city of Bucha amid reports that nine women and girls are pregnant after being "systematically raped" by Russian troops.