Cultura Voice

The blockbuster album has begun looking like something of an endangered species in recent times. The birth of the streaming era, rooted in a track-led culture, has caused artists and record labels alike to question the future of the LP in an age dominated by playlists. The evidence: over 60% of Spotify streams for Drake’s record-breaking, 25-track Scorpion album are of just three songs (God’s Plan, In My Feelings and Nice For What). One recent study even suggested that a mere 16% of adults in the UK are now listening to an album all the way through in any given month. A couple of weeks ago, Apple Music boss Oliver Schusser  of his hope that Billie Eilish’s debut studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? , would strongly challenge this trend – and prove that, on the right terms, the album as a body of work still had great relevance amongst a young streaming audience in 2019. The stats are now in, and Schusser’s confidence was not misplaced. Reveal that,...

“I know, there is still a lot of skepticism on co-productions, simply because the case history is not large enough. Yet, I can tell you that a whole new slate of films is on its way. What amuses me is I know that this skepticism will (become) enthusiasm when the first breakthrough co-production film comes into being in the market.” said Cristiano Bortone, Managing Director of Bridging The Dragon, in a previous interview with CFI in May. Soon after the interview, U.S.-China co-production The Meg became a huge hit after many previous co-production attempts had fallen short. Produced by Warner Brothers and China Media Capital’s Gravity Pictures, the film was released in August and went on to overtake  Kung Fu Panda 3  as the highest-grossing U.S.-China co-production of all time, earning $527.8 million worldwide. The enthusiasm for co-production has likely been enhanced by the success of The Meg , as evidenced by the great turnout of Bridging The Dragon’s recent Si...