Voices

Is Internet Killing the Video Star?

Applying lessons learned from the music industry to TV.

Now Showing on YouTube: Spotify

The world’s biggest paid music service advertises on the world’s biggest free music service.

News Byte

Remember Draw Something? Here Comes the Sequel.

Last year’s mobile one-hit wonder Draw Something is getting a sequel, per this tweet from OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter. Porter was responding to a tweet by Ryan Seacrest with a Draw Something 2 screenshot depicting “American Idol’s” Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey. Zynga acquired OMGPOP last year, but the popularity of Draw Something plummeted shortly thereafter. Zynga had to write down the acquisition by as much as $95 million.

YouNow, Web Video’s Live Amateur Hour, Bulks Up by Buying Blog TV

Live Web video can be one-to-one, or one-to-many, or something in between. YouNow takes the middle route, and that could be interesting.

Casino Game Makers Outline a Winning Strategy on Facebook

Casinos and some of their partners are seeing the benefits of letting players connect to games found in casinos before, during and after visits to Las Vegas.

On Twitter, “The Real Housewives Of New Jersey” Trumps “Modern Family.” Why?

Twitter loves TV. And TV loves Twitter. But the relationship between the two is a funky one: Sometimes Twitter gets excited about TV shows that lots of people don’t care about. And sometimes TV’s most popular shows aren’t nearly as popular on the social messaging service.

News Byte

Elvis, Muhammad Ali and American Idol Sold For $509 Million

CKX, the holding company that owns the production company behind “American Idol,” is being sold to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $509 million. Besides 19 Entertainment, CKX also owns licensing rights for Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali, as well as a majority share of Presley’s Graceland mansion. Deadline and the LAT have good background.

Viral Video: Christoph Waltz Slays on "American Idol" (No, Really Slays!)

BoomTown loves the spoof videos that late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel does–Hello, Humpilates!–and this one featuring actor Christoph Waltz is another great one. Waltz always plays scary dudes–usually, some version of a Nazi, if not one, in fact–in movies, and so making him a homicidal judge on the talent show “American Idol” is perfection.

Shocking Bieber Upset: Oil Spill Tops Twitter's 2010 Trends

Although World Cup tweeting caused record high volume and infrastructure demands on Twitter, the most-discussed topic on Twitter this year was actually the Gulf oil spill, said the San Francisco-based company tonight.

Presto Chango: KaChing Becomes Wealthfront