Audio mixing/music/sound design shop Tonic has extended its New York reach, adding to its midtown and West Side locations with the opening of Tonic Downtown, housed in the Full Circle Post facility. The Tonic talent roster includes composers Peter Fish and A.J. “Andy” Gundell, sound designer Jun Mizumachi, and mixers Bill Cavanaugh, Doug Johnson, Anthony Erice and Juan Aceves…..Feature film composer Stewart Copeland, who’s handled for spots via Groove Addicts, Los Angeles, has wrapped the score for Mitsubishi’s “King of the Hill,” which was directed by Gerard de Thame of bicoastal HSI Productions for BBDO West, Los Angeles. The stirring percussion imparts an air of warrior-readiness to advance the storyline of two vehicles about to do battle. A dusty black truck waits atop a commanding hill for a red Mitsubishi truck that navigates rough terrain. Both trucks rev their engines. As the Mitsubishi snarls, the generic black truck lets out a whimper and leaks from its undercarriage, scared into submission. Copeland’s Groove Addicts support team included creative director Dain Blair and engineer Gerhard Joost. Tom Jucarone of Sound Lounge, New York, was the audio post mixer…..Finger Music, Santa Monica, has wrapped a Dodge Charger spot, “Unleashed,” for agency GlobalHue, Southfield, Mich. Finger’s Dave Hodge served as creative director/arranger/composer/sound designer on the visual effects-driven project. He collaborated with Kool Keith on the rap score; Hodge composed the music track, for which rapper Keith–whose credits include assorted albums and singles–wrote original lyrics. Jenny Warren executive produced for Finger. Audio post mixer was Jay Scott of GTN, Oak Park, Mich. Post/effects house was The Syndicate, Santa Monica….Dave Wittman of bicoastal Elias Arts composed the score for Jordan Brand’s “B More,” directed by Antoine Fuqua of bicoastal Anonymous Content for Wieden+Kennedy, New York. The spot juxtaposes a pre-game Carmelo Anthony, a professional basketball player, with scenes of him walking through the early life experiences that brought him to his current star status. To build more tension over the course of the ad, Wittman complemented a looped vocal track with modern hip-hop production, strings, and, finally, a choir. Sound designer/audio post mixer was Marc Healy of Mackenzie Cutler, New York……
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More