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Mike Montgomery A piece of legislation known as the Free Artists from Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act has long divided the music industry in California, with powerful forces on both sides taking positions. If enacted, FAIR would undo a 35-year-old amendment to the state’s historic “seven-year statute” and effectively remove the power of record labels to sue artists for damages if they exit their contracts after seven years without having turned in the number of albums specified in their contracts.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticAs the final minutes of “Hacks” Season 2 ticked by, it was hard to shake the feeling that they just might mark the final minutes of “Hacks,” period. With Deborah (the incomparable Jean Smart) finally tapping in to a more personal and rewarding vein of her comedy to huge success, before pushing Ava (the underrated Hannah Einbinder) out of the nest to forge her own path in Hollywood, the series easily could’ve ended there. Even Deborah’s CEO Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins) and agent Jimmy (Paul W.

Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend faced criticism for its reporting on the revelation of actress Rebel Wilson’s new romantic relationship. Although the paper’s editor initially defended the outlet’s actions, the offending column has since been removed and its writer has apologized.

he wrote, but he could now see why it was seen as one. Monday’s apology column followed a public backlash to the SMH over its approach to the story. The head of LGBTIQ+ Health Australia said Wilson was put in “an appalling situation” when the Herald contacted her about her new relationship.

Nabil Ayers My life has always revolved around music. My mother is a dancer who played Seals & Crofts and Stevie Wonder records loudly in our apartment as far back as I can remember. My uncle, the jazz saxophonist Alan Braufman, bought me a drum set when I was two-and-a-half years old.

Thursday column about YouTube content creators’ coverage of the Depp/Heard trial, the newspaper issued a correction on Friday. The correction, which also addressed a quote that had been misattributed to Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman, reads: “A previous version of this story inaccurately attributed to Adam Waldman a quote describing how he contacted some Internet influencers. That quote has been removed.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticSPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 4 of “Stranger Things,” now streaming on Netflix.“Stranger Things” isn’t just Netflix’s crown jewel — it’s a document from an era when the streamer’s ambitions looked a lot different. And its creators know it.The series, like the recently concluded “Ozark” and like “The Crown,” which has two seasons remaining in its reign, is made with care and with no small expense.

Geeta Malik In “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” Francie Nolan sat on her fire escape, ate peppermint wafers, spied on her neighbors, and read books. In Aurora, I sat on my roof, ate pretzels, spied on my neighbors, and read “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” I felt seen by Francie Nolan and it surprised me when people were surprised by the fact that I related to her. At a certain point, I understood that people assumed I’d have more in common with the slum kids in “City of Joy” than Francie.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticFor the last 25 years, almost, the group Wilco has been running away from any sort of descriptive tag that has “country” in it, as a suffix or anything else, after Jeff Tweedy’s previous band, Uncle Tupelo, helped kick off the wave of alt-country that continues to be a fixture of modern American music as we know it. Of course, no matter how far they strayed, if you had ears to hear, the influence never really went away.

Steven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentNearly a half-century has passed since Elvis left the building, permanently. Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann has just unleashed “Elvis,” his big, bold, nearly three-hour biopic, at Cannes and that Warner Bros. bet appears to have paid off.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticOlivia Rodrigo probably isn’t begging to be compared to Paul McCartney. No one would wish that on a superstar — we can call her that now, right? — who just turned 19 years three months ago.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticNear the beginning of the final episode of Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, the host found herself sadly, solemnly dancing.Wiping away tears, DeGeneres stomped up the steps of her stage’s audience section, embracing members of the crowd wearily, mouthing the lyrics “you’ve got the best of my love” — even as it seemed evident from her demeanor that her guests had what was left of it. This was an admirable concession to routine from a host who has made her name through nimble footwork: Redefining herself as a broadcast-ready daytime host after the 1990s sitcom “Ellen” was cancelled shortly after her public coming-out, DeGeneres embraced cute rubber-soled jiving as a way to express her desire to seem relatable.

Leo Chu I remember when I became the showrunner of my first live-action series, “Supah Ninjas,” I thought I had arrived.Somehow, against all odds, this show I created with my partner Eric S. Garcia was shooting on the Paramount lot. On the same stage as “Family Ties.” I was officially a part of Hollywood history.

Editors Note: Bill Mechanic is chairman and CEO of Pandemonium Films and a former top executive at Paramount, Disney and chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment when that studio generated Titanic, X-Men, Independence Day and Braveheart. He is also a former producer of the Oscars and Oscar-nominated films like Hacksaw Ridge and Coraline, and was a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors before resigning in 2018. He weighs in on that body’s upcoming elections.

coronavirus pandemic.In the column, Goodman wrote that “feverish hype by government officials, mainstream media outlets, and Big Pharma" made him question whether his 6-year-old daughter should be vaccinated.Critics including former and current Reader staff quickly blasted his take, arguing that Goodman relied on sources repeatedly fact-checked by media and infectious-disease experts.Publisher Tracy Baim said editors asked to hire an independent fact-checker to vet the column. Baim said she and her co-publisher then met with Goodman and discussed options, but “it was very clear he didn't like any” of their proposals.Goodman said the Reader should have stood by him once the piece was published, regardless of his argument.“This is an opinion piece,” he said.

Scott Bryan A strange trend is taking place on British television: Opinionated American-style television channels have appeared for the very first time.Both generally right-leaning in agenda, if you watch GB News on any given night, you’ll see regular features about so-called “cancel culture” and “wokeism,” as well as a show hosted by the former populist UKIP leader Nigel Farage. Watch “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on TalkTV on any given night and you’ll see rather surreal opening titles consisting of a brain farting out the words “snowflake society,” followed by Fox News-style swooping sound effects and a monologue where Morgan tries to “cancel the cancel culture.”So why is it all so strange? Well, despite heavy publicity, these shows and channels don’t appear to be resonating with U.K.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeIt felt like a TV bloodbath like no other. Thursday’s rapid-fire succession of primetime bullets took down “Magnum P.I.” and two Chuck Lorre comedies at CBS; Ted Danson’s “Mr. Mayor” and Kenan Thompson’s “Kenan,” plus freshman drama “The Endgame” at NBC; and a large chunk of the lineup — including “Legacies,” “Charmed,” “Dynasty” and “Roswell, New Mexico” — at The CW.And that’s not even the entire list of this week’s axed shows.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticConsider it a sign of the times, maybe: In the list of seven artists that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s select industry voters elected into the institution for the class of 2022, there is not a single rock band. That can be taken as a major signifier that the pendulum among the music intelligentsia really has swung all the way from what was coined some years back as “rockism” — the belief that rock ‘n’ roll is inherently superior to other forms of popular music — to the other side of the scale: poptimism.The MC5? No go, again, this year, despite this being the band’s sixth nomination, the first having come back in 2003.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticThis article contains spoilers for the final episode of “Ozark.”Say this much for the final moments of “Ozark”: They speak to the show’s sense of its own importance.After four seasons, the Byrde family’s saga came to its conclusion with the launch of the drama’s final set of episodes on Netflix — or, at least, the part of the story we as viewers see concluded. The implication of those last seconds is that Marty and Wendy, the amoral husband and wife played by Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, will indeed accomplish everything they want, and will do so with the buy-in of their son Jonah (Skylar Gaertner).In the finale, the Byrdes throw a charity gala that represents their emergence from the depths they’ve occupied to become, once more, legitimate citizens.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticPretend it was one year ago, when the streaming revolution, stoked by the pandemic (when is a pandemic good for business? When your business depends on people staying home), was feeling the first flush of being the New Paradigm That Ate The World. And pretend, in that spring of 2021, that you’d been asked to imagine how a film industry headline from the future might read.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAs Endeavor marks the first anniversary today of its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, the company deserves credit for doing a lot of things right.The stock has stayed above its IPO price of $24 for most of the past 12 months. The company has generated enough topline revenue gains amid tough economic conditions to demonstrate that its divisions have room to grow.But in other ways, the company led by Ari Emanuel looks to become harder to sell in the future if Endeavor wants to stay a public entity.

Matt Zarracina Guest ColumnistAs we all know, change is scary; change is different; change is a departure from what is comfortable and known.In ticketing, digital is change. Many venues worry that patrons who have been using physical or print-at-home tickets for decades will resist or outright reject digital ticketing.In our experience, moving to digital ticketing is a non-issue — in fact, it often quickly overtakes all other forms of tickets.When Roundabout Theatre Company introduced digital ticketing for its fall 2021 Broadway season, 47% of single-ticket buyers booking in advance opted for digital delivery — more than any other option, and it replaced print-at-home as the top delivery method.

Scott Bryan A British version of “Call My Agent!”?!? Mon Dieu! The critically acclaimed French comedy series, set at a Parisian talent agency, now has had a British remake set at an agency in the heart of London’s Soho. Called “Ten Percent” (an English translation of “Call My Agent!’s” original name “Dix Pour Cent”), the original became a hit for the way it explored the often-fractious relationship between agent and talent, a relationship that can have a skyrocketing ego on one side and expectation management and endless anxiety on the other.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic“The Northman,” a violent epic of Viking revenge, is not a good movie. It’s like “Gladiator” without the Colosseum and with a stubbornly uninteresting hulk avenger hero. (It also drags on 45 minutes longer than it should have.) A lot of critics have overpraised the movie because they feel invested in the career of Robert Eggers, the maverick indie director who made the spectral Puritan horror film “The Witch” (2015) and the even more impressive two-men-in-a-lighthouse gaga period fever dream “The Lighthouse” (2019).

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAfter a topsy-turvy week, the thought occurred to me during AT&T’s investor call on Thursday: What if John Stankey wound up on the winning side of the streaming wars?Netflix took a nosedive on Tuesday with an earnings report that proved that it could not suspend the law of gravity forever. The steady upward climb of Netflix subscriber gains had to stop sometime, and that sometime was Q1 2022.The jolt that the news of six-figure losses in Q1 and a projected seven-figure loss for Q2 packed a wallop on Netflix stock price.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticSPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers from the Restaurant Wars episode of “Top Chef” Season 19, which aired April 21 on Bravo.The most stressful storyline on TV this year, bar none, has been the exquisite tension of waiting for everyone on the 19th season of “Top Chef” to find out that contestant Jackson Kalb was competing without a sense of taste, thanks to a nasty bout of COVID before production began. Incredibly, Kalb had kept it a secret for weeks as he cooked spectacular dishes lauded for their bold flavors — none of which he could taste at all.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticTelevision, this spring, has been full of stories of real-life people struggling against the petty matters of their respective realities and reinventing themselves as heroic figures. On “The Dropout,” Elizabeth Holmes (Amanda Seyfried) pushed past the limits of science to declare herself a genius, no matter how unrealistic her putative accomplishments; on “Inventing Anna,” Anna Delvey (Julia Garner) made herself into a wealthy woman of leisure, despite having neither wealth nor, in her endless gyrating calculations, leisure time. And on “WeCrashed,” Rebekah Neumann (Anne Hathaway)…I know.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeYou know what I’m talking about. The event that changed the course of Oscar history.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticPerhaps the only gratifying thing about Rudy Giuliani’s appearance on “The Masked Singer” is that the element of surprise the show’s producers craved was ruined in advance.Wednesday night’s episode of “The Masked Singer” saw former New York City mayor and lawyer for former President Donald Trump revealed as the Jack in the Box. Fitting his costume, the disguised Giuliani explosively popped out of his captivity to perform George Thorogood and the Destroyers’ “Bad to the Bone” after a dancer turned his crank, to squeals of delight from the show’s audience and judges.

Dina LaPolt Guest ColumnistDuring the spring and summer of 2020, as protests across the country illuminated the systematic injustices Black Americans have faced and continue to face, the music industry was one of many that was called out to take accountability and action for its treatment of a group of people that is largely responsible for its many decades of profitability. While the industry’s unfair treatment of Black Americans is longstanding and deep-seated, one seemingly simple course of action is to cease all usage of the term “master recording,” which may sound innocuous but, as detailed in Variety’s expansive August 2020 interview with Pharrell Williams, derives from the words “master and slave.” For those not aware, the terms have long been used to distinguish between a source recording (the “master”) and the subsequent copies made (the “slaves”), which has led to a pervasive use of both terms in many industry contracts.