Cocktails won’t be served, but ABC says a new online “music lounge” will offer a full menu of songs and artists featured on its shows.
The virtual ABC Music Lounge is aimed at making the most of the tunes included on “Grey’s Anatomy,” ”Desperate Housewives” and other programs, the network said Thursday.
The Web site offers a streaming “radio station” playing 200-plus singers and bands whose songs have been heard on ABC, Web pages for featured artists and a link for online song purchases.
Music videos, exclusive performance footage and interviews with artists and show producers also are on the site.
“This is way to bring all the music of ABC into one place, to allow people to find and enjoy it,” said Michael Benson, ABC executive vice president for marketing.
Artists showcased on the new site include Adele, the Fray, Lenka, Anya Marina, Joshua Radin and Rilo Kiley.
ABC Music Lounge’s scheduled Thursday debut was to coincide with 100th episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” To mark the occasion, the Web site offered a retrospective of the music featured throughout the drama’s run.
Other TV networks highlight on-air music on their Web sites, but ABC said its goal is to offer the most “robust” destination. The Music Lounge is another measure of the growing importance of television to the music industry, ABC executives said.
“There’s been so much talk about CD sales declining. That doesn’t mean the use of music and demand for music is declining,” said Peter DiCecco, ABC senior vice president of business and legal affairs for music. “People always want a venue to find music. TV is that venue.”
ABC also is taking on the “important responsibility” of helping to launch new artists in a changing music industry, said Dawn Soler, ABC vice president for TV music.
According to the network, sales of the Fray’s “How To Save A Life” jumped nearly 300 percent after playing in a n episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” while digital downloads of Lenka’s “Trouble Is A Friend” also jumped after it was included on the show.
The network is working with Epic Records and other labels to create a new business model that provide for revenue-sharing and help reduce license fees for the use of music on TV, Benson said.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More