Yessian, a global music production and licensing company, has secured hello tomorrow, headed by partners Mary Eiff and Michelle Stuart, to handle sales on the East Coast. Yessian is also represented by Susan Titus on the West Coast, Ann Asprodites in the South and Mo Butler, Marni Halliburton and Helen Kaye in the Midwest….Lorraine Fearon has joined Framestore‘s Integrated Advertising division as new business manager, a role in which she will draw on her experience of working with top brands and directors, as well as her network of advertising contacts to raise VFX house Framestore’s profile within the industry. Joining from HLA in London, Fearon has in-depth knowledge of the industry, having represented directors such as Simon Ratigan and John Hardwick, and working on advertising campaigns for brands such as Honda, Sony and M&S….Integrated creative studio Decon, based in New York, has hired Jessica Passoff as director of marketing and sales. She earlier worked in-house at GARTNER, Sound Lounge and Hungry Man as an East Coast rep…..DP Eric Robbins most recent feature The Sacrament premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and is now again available via Paradigm….
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