Tabletop production company MK Films, Corp.–which recently moved into a state-of-the-art studio on Chicago's west side–has enlisted the services of Lindsey Fischbach of Heart + Soul Creative Services for artist representation in the Midwest and South regions. In addition to MK Films, Heart + Soul represents creative talents in still, motion, post, TV, digital, print and video with a roster including Hero Post, Gregory Miller Pictures, Grain & Glass and Spacejunk….
DPs Antonio Calvache, ASC, and Justin Henning, as well as costume designer Antoinette Messam, have joined Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA) for representation….
TASCAM, the professional audio division of TEAC of America, has promoted former director of business development Joe Stopka to VP of sales and business development. In his new position, the Chicago-based Stopka leads TASCAM’s sales, marketing, and product marketing teams for all of the Americas. A long-time industry veteran, Stopka launched his career as a studio guitarist, composer, and producer. He then transitioned to sales and marketing, working with MI and pro audio technologies at a leading U.S. AV integration and pro audio rep firm and distributor before joining TASCAM in 2016. As VP of sales and business development, Stopka is charged with building a stronger position in the pro audio and AV integration markets and further strengthening the company’s brand recognition in the MI marketplace….
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More