Nintendo has added a couple of new rewards to the My Nintendo program. While these typically consist of discounts on select titles, this latest batch of rewards includes some great 3DS and Wii U games that My Nintendo members can download for free. This marks the third batch of full titles to be offered on My Nintendo, and as with the previous selections, it consists of four games spread evenly across 3DS and Wii U. On the former, My Nintendo members can download the colorful Breakout-style game Siesta Fiesta and the puzzle-platformer Mighty Switch Force, each of which costs 50 Gold Points. Wii U owners, meanwhile, can download Gunman Clive HD Collection for 30 Gold Points and the creepy adventure game Year Walk for 50 Gold Points. Each of the above rewards will be available until March 26, giving you over a month to claim them. The previous batch of free My Nintendo games expired this past weekend and included Toki Tori 3D, Retro City Rampage DX, XType Plus, and Tengami. Additionally, My Nintendo members can still redeem their Points for discounts on Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Code Name: STEAM, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Mario Kart 7, and other titles. While Nintendo has yet to offer any Switch rewards on My Nintendo, Switch owners will still earn Gold Points for every game they purchase digitally. Those with a Switch can also still pick up some games at a discount for a limited time. A sale is currently going on in the Switch Eshop until February 1, offering deals on some great titles, such as Arms, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Doom, L.A. Noire, and more. Switch owners will also soon be able to purchase the acclaimed adventure game Night in the Woods, which releases on the Eshop on February 1.

Final Fantasy XV has certainly received its share of bizarre DLC, from Power Rangers-like combat suits to a Cup Noodle hat, but one of the most unexpected additions to the game is the Assassin's Festival, a limited-time event themed after Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed series. The event has been running on PS4 and Xbox One since last August, but those who've yet to participate in it only have a few more days to do so. The Assassin's Festival is scheduled to conclude on January 31, making this your last opportunity to take part in the event and earn Assassin's Creed-themed items. Like the Moogle Chocobo Carnvial, the Assassin's Festival is free for all players to participate in and is a self-contained mode that's accessed from the main menu. Along with quests and mini-games, the Assassin's Festival adds gameplay elements from the Assassin's Creed series to Final Fantasy XV, such as stealth segments and the ability to perform a Leap of Faith. In addition to the Assassin's Creed-themed mini-games and quests, players can earn Medjay's Assassin's Robes for all four of their party members from the event. Those who received a Dream Egg will also be able to unlock Master Assassin's Robes for main character Noctis. However, the Dream Egg could only be obtained from the aforementioned Moogle Chocobo Carnival, which ended back in September. Final Fantasy XV is available now for PS4 and Xbox One and will release for PC via Steam this year; however, PC players will miss out on the Assassin's Festival event, as the Windows Edition is scheduled to arrive March 6. In addition to the base adventure, the PC version will come with all of the DLC included in the game's season pass, as well as a new dungeon, vehicle, and boss fights. Square Enix is also bundling that content together for PS4 and Xbox One in the Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition, which likewise releases on March 6.

Following some server issues that cropped up last week, Epic Games has once again brought something new for players to do in Fortnite. The Battle Royale portion of the game has announced a new limited-time mode for all players on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and it's available now. Sniper Shootout is now live, and as you can probably guess, it's a sniper rifle-centric experience. All weapons on the map have been replaced by sniper rifles, though you'll also find some revolvers to make short-range encounters less of the nightmare they'd be with snipers only. Consumables can also be found like normal, but grenades have been removed to ensure it's the aforementioned weapons (or melee attacks) that are involved in any kills. This is the first instance of Sniper Shootout, so it remains to be seen if it'll become a regular part of the rotation. It should make the new city area introduced in the recent Fortnite map revamp an especially popular drop zone, what with all the tall buildings. You'll have only a few days to check out the mode, as it will rotate out on Friday, February 2. There's no word on what will be next, but other limited-time modes we've seen include those that focus on suppressed weapons or explosives. Another turned the game into a 50v50 affair, which I was particularly fond of. A new Fortnite update was released last week, but it was accompanied by extended downtime due to an issue with the game's servers. Subsequently, players again found they were unable to play or join up with friends, though Epic has since released a fix for the social/party issues. An additional, smaller Fortnite patch was also deployed over the weekend to fix some other lingering bugs.

Assassins Creed Origins will get a New Game Plus mode soon, Ubisoft has announced. Community Manager Dominik Voigt responded to a fan question on Reddit by saying, "New Game Plus is coming. We'll have more information to share soon." Little else is known about the mode as yet, though New Game Plus modes in other games typically offer a chance to replay the campaign with a number of modifiers active, including increased difficulty for example. There's also no indication of a timeframe as to when we can expect the mode to launch. The news comes just days after Assassin's Creed Origins' latest DLC pack, The Hidden Ones, launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Hidden Ones is a story-driven expansion that sheds more light on the rise of the Assassin Brotherhood. It is set four years after the events of the main game and takes players to the new Sinai Peninsula region, where they'll have to "investigate a clash between a rebel faction and occupying Roman forces." Another added content pack, the Discovery Tour, is coming to the game on February 20. The mode turns off combat and story quests, allowing you to simply explore and learn about the game's version of ancient Egypt at your leisure.

A new batch of games are now discounted on the US PlayStation Store. While last week's selection of deals was rather slim, players have considerably more options to choose from this week thanks to the big PlayStation Essentials sale, which offers discounts on a ton of great PS4, PS3, and Vita games. As per usual, the biggest selection of discounts are for PS4, all of which offer an additional percentage off for PS Plus subscribers. Call of Duty: WWII is $45 (or $48 without PS Plus), Destiny 2 is $39 ($42), Star Wars Battlefront II is $36 ($42), Battlefield 1 Revolution is $24 ($30), The Last of Us Remastered is $10 ($12), Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy is $24 ($30), Persona 5 is $30 ($36), Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is $21 ($24), Batman: Arkham Knight is $10 ($12), The Last Guardian is $20 ($24), Grand Theft Auto V is $30 ($36), L.A. Noire is $30 ($34), Injustice 2 is $25 ($30), and NBA 2K18 is $42 ($48). The PS Essentials sale also encompasses a huge selection of great, lower-profile PS4 titles that you may have previously overlooked. What Remains of Edith Finch is $12 ($14), Axiom Verge is $10 ($12), Pyre is $10 ($12), Octodad: Dadliest Catch is $4.49 ($6), Oxenfree is $5 ($7), Overcooked is $6.79 ($8.49), Inside is $8 ($10), Cities: Skylines is $24 ($32), Human Fall Flat is $4.49 ($6), Observer is $18 ($21), and The Jackbox Party Pack 4 is $10 ($15). On PS3, players can get Grand Theft Auto V for $20 ($24), Persona 5 for $25 ($30), Resident Evil 4 for $5 ($7), South Park: The Stick of Truth for $7 ($9), Devil May Cry HD Collection for $5 ($7), Okami HD for $5.59 ($7), and Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen for $7.49 ($10.49). Vita owners can also pick up Axiom Verge and Octodad for their aforementioned prices thanks to Cross-Buy, as well as Zero Escape: The Nonary Games for $16 ($20), Muramasa Rebirth Complete Collection for $10.49 ($14), and Skullgirls: 2nd Encore for $10 ($15). The PS Essentials sale will be available this week and ends at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on January 30. You can see the full list of discounted titles on the PlayStation Store.

A series based on the 2013 hit is set to begin in August. Weeks after Disney subsidiary Marvel Entertainment announced that it would inherit the comic book rights to Conan the Barbarian from Dark Horse Comics in 2019, the Oregon-based independent publisher bounced back by revealing that it will be soon be publishing a number of titles based on Disney properties. First up is Frozen. Dark Horse’s Frozen series, written by Joe Caramagna with art from the Kawaii Creative Studio, is set to launch in August, according to the publisher. “We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Disney on this great project," Dark Horse president Mike Richardson said in a statement. "Frozen has legions of fans, many of whom are here at Dark Horse. I’ve personally enjoyed repeated viewings with my granddaughter, and I look forward to sharing this new series with her.” More details about the Dark Horse series — to be titled Disney Frozen — will be shared at some point in the future, with the publisher’s official announcement adding that “Dark Horse and Disney will announce additional comics in the coming months.” It’s unclear whether or not those titles will be Frozen-related. This is far from the first time that Disney has gone to outside comics companies to license its material since its Marvel purchase in 2009; indeed, Frozen comic book material has already been released by independent publisher Joe’s Books for a number of years. And last year, Californian publisher IDW Publishing surprised many with the news that it had partnered with Disney for a Big Hero 6 comic book series in 2018, despite that property originating with the Disney-owned Marvel Entertainment.

Director-composer Sanjay Leela Bhansali has overcome intimidation by Indian religious fundamentalists to bring his stunning historical epic to the big screen in Imax 3D, the first Indian film to be released in the format. Deepika Padukone (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), ShahidKapoor and Ranveer Singh bring welcome grandeur — and irresistible sensual appeal — to the film, setting the stage for a robust showing at the box office. Padmavaat, based on a poem written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540, describes how Rajput king Maharawal Ratan Singh (Kapoor) and his beautiful and politically savvy queen Padmavati (Padukone) attempt to save their centuries-old kingdom from a savage madman named Alauddin Khilji (Singh), the ambitious Sultan of Delhi bent on possessing Padmavati and dominating India. When Khilji triumphs, Padmavati chooses self-immolation over subjugation — an act deemed heroic in its time. Today’s women see it differently. Bhansali draws out the sizzling onscreen chemistry between Kapoor and Padukone, and finds eroticism even when the characters are wrapped in yards of gold-embroidered silks and draped in pearls and precious gems. Singh’s flamboyant, broadly sketched performance is right at the edge of believability — he’s all kohl-rimmed eyes and leonine growls — but in counterpoint to Kapoor's noble heroism it somehow works. Padmaavat’s sumptuous palace interiors and classically inspired music lend elegance to the film without overpowering it — a welcome shift in tone from the director of the lavish but uneven Devdas and Saawariya — and would doubtless be impressive in 3D or 3D Imax (this review is based on a 2D screening). Hindu fundamentalists threatened to destroy cinema halls and issued death threats against Padukone when they heard that the film might contain a dream sequence that showed a love scene between Padmavati, a Hindu, and Khilji, a Muslim. Although the filmmakers insisted no such scene was ever shot and India’s censor board found nothing objectionable about the film, the threats were enough to prompt Indian distributor Viacom 18 to delay its release. (Paramount, which had earlier announced it was distributing the film in the U.S., later amended that to state it would handle the film in the U.K. and other overseas territories, while Viva Entertainment took over its U.S. distribution.) Whether viewers show up for the controversy or for the Bollywood star power of its charismatic leads, they should emerge impressed by its dazzling visuals and Bhansali’s masterfully composed and executed musical numbers — even if Padmaavat's ultimate message of female devotion taken to deadly extremes places its gender politics squarely in the 16th century. Production companies: Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Bhansali Productions Distributor: Viva Entertainment Cast: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Screenwriters: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Prakash Kapadia Executive producers: Arvinder Gill, Raghav Khanna, Pratik Rawal Director of photography: Sudeep Chatterjee Production designers: Amit Ray, Subrata Chakraborty Stunt director: Shyam Kaushal Costume designers:Ajay, Maxima Basu, Harpreet Rimple, Chandrakant Sonawane Editor: Rajesh Pandey Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali Choreographer: Kruti Mahesh In Hindi 164 minutes

'Diary of a Teenage Girl' director Marielle Heller will helm for Sony's TriStar. Tom Hanks wants to be your neighbor. The Oscar winner is set to play late TV personality Fred Rogers in the biopic You Are My Friend, which has been acquired byTriStar Pictures. Director Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) will helm from a screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster. The screenplay appeared on the 2013 Black List. The feature, which is set to begin production in September, is inspired by a real-life friendship between Rogers and award-winning journalist Tom Junod. The cynical journalist begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write a profile piece on the beloved TV icon Mr. Rogers and finds his perspective on life transformed. Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf will produce via their Big Beach Films, along with Youree Henley. Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster will executive produce alongside Big Beach's Leah Holzer. Hannah Minghella and Shary Shirazi will oversee the project for TriStar. Rogers, the star of the long-running children's TV series Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, was the subject of the doc Won't You Be My Neighbor? that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is set to be released by Focus Features. He died in 2003. Hanks, repped by CAA, can currently be seen in Steven Spielberg's The Post. He is set to reprise his role of Woody in Pixar's Toy Story 4 and is attached to Amblin/Universal's sci-fi feature Bios. Heller, who recently wrapped filming on Melissa McCarthy-fronted Can You Ever Forgive Me? for Fox Searchlight, is repped by UTA and Ziffren Brittenham. CAA and UTA brokered the deal with TriStar.

Sam Raimi is in talks with Lionsgate to direct the upcoming adaptation of Pat Rothfuss’ New York Times bestseller The Kingkiller Chronicle. Based on the popular fantasy series about a wandering adventurer named Kvothe whose tragic upbringing leads him to notoriety, Raimi will helm the first film in the planned trilogy, titled The Name of the Wind. However, it’s unclear whether or not Raimi will maintain involvement throughout all three films in the trilogy. Lionsgate is taking a bold and innovative direction with this adaptation, releasing the films concurrently with a Kingkiller Chronicles television series on Showtime, as well as an interactive game. Since Rothfuss’ series is written in both novel and novella formats, this unconventional structure will tie into the novel’s equally unconventional narrative structure, conveying the plot through multiple mediums. Raimi will be pairing up with Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, who has been attached to this project since 2016 and will serve as executive producer on both the film and the series. According to Variety, the announcement of Raimi’s involvement comes courtesy of his reps at CAA, though Lionsgate has not commented on the news. Also, considering the vastness of the overarching project, it is unclear whether or not Raimi will direct any episodes of the series, nor if he is expected to be involved with the series in any capacity at all. Thescreenplay is being penned by one of Transformers: The Last Knight’s screenwriters Lindsey Beer. While Raimi’s involvement has been all but confirmed, Miranda’s creative role is especially significant, considering the important role that music plays in the novel (the main character, Kvothe, is a skilled lute player). In fact, while writing the songs for his Tony award-winning musical Hamilton, Miranda cited Rothfuss’ novel as inspiration, tweeting, “The Story Of Tonight is me trying to capture the feel of Kvothe & his friends leaving the Eaolian.” This will mark Raimi and Miranda’s first working relationship together, but not Raimi’s first foray into the fantasy genre. He currently serves as producer and creator on the Starz series Ash vs. the Evil Dead, based on his Evil Dead film series starring Bruce Campbell; in 2013, he directed Oz the Great and Powerful starring James Franco; and between 2002 and 2007, he directed the Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire. Considering his experience in the genre, as well as the cult status of his earlier work, Raimi could potentially help draw in a more creatively diverse crowd to this ambitious collaboration outside of the series’ loyal fanbase.

A full-length trailer for Danny McBride’s Crocodile Dundee sequel Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home has arrived, and it features appearances from several famous actors, including Margot Robbie and Russell Crowe. It’s been a little over a week since we first got wind of the supposed follow-up to Paul Hogan’s old film series via a teaser trailer. That confusing first glimpse featured McBride delivering a pretty cringeworthy rendition of the original film’s infamous “That’s not a knife” quote. The teaser prompted a ton of questions, ranging from “how are we just hearing about this?” to “so is this supposed to be a comedy or…?” The headscratching continued with the release of subsequent movie footage, which confirmed the involvement of major Hollywood stars like Chris Hemsworth and Hugh Jackman. The increased star power in those clips hasn’t managed to drum up much in the way of laughs, but thankfully, a recent scoop from the Brisbane Times seemingly revealed the project to be an advertising campaign for Tourism Austrailia. Despite being outed as a fake movie, the viral marketing campaign marches on today with the reveal of a brand new, full-length trailer. Eyebrows were raised when Hemsworth and Jackman got involved, but the full trailer is absolutely jam-packed with famous native Australians. A-list stars Margot Robbie and Russell Crowe are the obvious highlights, but they’re definitely not the only famous faces on display. Check the trailer out for yourself in the player above! Isla Fisher, Ruby Rose, and Luke Bracey all make appearances, as does Chris Hemsworth’s little brother Liam (who comes pretty close to delivering a chuckle-worthy moment). Australian R&B singer Jessica Mauboy gets a chance to show off her chops as well. There’s no apparent plot to be found in the two minute clip, but since this is all just a viral marketing campaign advocating for more people to take a vacation to the land down under, we suppose it doesn’t really need one. A laugh or two would’ve been nice, though. The campaign is apparently set to culminate on Super Bowl Sunday, which leaves plenty of time for more famous Aussies to film a short clip and get in on the act. Big names like Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, and Joel Edgerton could all lie ahead, as could folks like Eric Bana, Jai Courtney, Guy Pierce… Man, Australia really does produce a ton of Hollywood stars, doesn’t it?

Disney is interested in casting Emily Blunt as the female lead in their Jungle Cruise movie opposite Dwayne Johnson. Following in the footsteps of the Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise is set to be the next tentpole based on a Disney Theme Park property, in this case the near-ubiquitous Adventureland attraction that takes patrons on a globe-trotting journey down several major rivers. The company has been trying to spin Jungle Cruise into a film franchise for well over a decade, with one version spluttering in the wake of Pirates‘ breakout success and another attaching Toy Story’s Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as leads before it fell apart. Now, it’s really happening, thanks in no small part to the presence of Dwayne Johnson in the lead role, with Jaume Collet-Serra (a veteran of four Liam Neeson actioners as well as Orphan and The Shallows) calling the shots. Thus far, The Rock has been the only talent attached to the project, but that could change soon. Screen Rant has learned that Disney is interested in Emily Blunt to play the female lead in Jungle Cruise. Her character would be a scientist who teams up with Johnson’s riverboat captain on the hunt for a magical cure. This wouldn’t be Blunt’s first time working with Disney. Previously she played The Baker’s Wife in Into The Woods and will take on the titular nanny in Mary Poppins Returns later this year, although Jungle Cruise would be her first non-musical for the Mouse House. Not that she’s ill-equipped for a Rock action movie; she’s proven her physicality in a wide range of films, from time travel sci-fi Edge of Tomorrow to drug cartel thriller Sicario and long ago almost worked with Marvel Studios. She’s already attached to a sequel to the former titled Live Die Repeat and Repeat, but Jungle Cruise would be a major franchise get for the actress. Indeed, the Jungle Cruise movie is set to be a big release for Disney, with Johnson having previously discussed hopes to start a Pirates-esque franchise and further inspiration taken from – like the Johnny Depp starring series – Indiana Jones. Given recent struggles with franchise-starters like the also theme-park inspired Tomorrowland, the company is surely hoping the Rock can work some of the magic that has recently made Jumanji a massive hit. While no official release date is set for Jungle Cruise, filming has been expected to start this spring, meaning more casting details are sure to arrive in the coming months.

Marvel’s latest “True Believers”one-shots seem to suggest Captain Marvel will appear in Avengers: Infinity War. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Comics, for their part, clearly believe their best sales strategy is to capitalize on the movies. This year is already seeing the comic book publisher launch events related to the Phoenix Force, the Black Order, and the Infinity Gems. It’s a fairly predictable strategy, given 2017 was a rough year for Marvel Comics. Recent years have seen Marvel run an initiative known as the “True Believers.” These are $1 reprints, used by Marvel to market characters and concepts they believe are going to sell. ICv2 has revealed that April’s “True Believers” one-shots all tie into Infinity War. The list includes Thanos the First, Avengers vs. Thanos, Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos Rising, Infinity Incoming!, Rebirth of Thanos, and Infinity War. Intriguingly, there’s one last addition that comes as something of a surprise: Carol Danvers. There have long been rumors that Carol Danvers will make some sort of cameo in Infinity War. When Marvel first began issuing casting calls for the film, they included Brie Larson’s name. The Russo brothers accidentally hinted that Captain Marvel would appear in Infinity War, and Larson’s recent filming schedule has caused a great deal of confusion. Although Larson’s recent filming in California was related to tax breaks, she also filmed scenes in Atlanta. These may well be related to Infinity War. The relationship between Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios soured over the last few years. Back in 2015, Disney forced a reorganization that split Marvel Studios away from the rest of Marvel Entertainment. Tie-in comics gradually changed shape, becoming little more than comic book adaptations of the latest movies. Thankfully, that seems to have changed this year. The tie-ins for Black Panther were original content, and Marvel recently began to publish their Infinity War Prelude miniseries. The first issue proved that these comics will be crucial setup for the movie. Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios are clearly cooperating a little more closely again. That means the True Believers: Carol Danvers one-shot may suggest the comic book publisher knows something the fans don’t. The timing of this one-shot suggests Marvel believe fans will leave Infinity War with a hunger to read more about Thanos, the Infinity Stones – and, crucially, Captain Marvel too. It’s just another breadcrumb along the trail fans have already been following for months. But it’s certainly a promising one.

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Despite the immense size of China’s music streaming market, Chinese recorded music revenues are minimal. The country made the Top 20 in the IFPI’s ranking for global recorded music revenue for the first time in 2014, just below Switzerland. These low incomes are due to many factors including the low fees paid to rights holders, a low adoption rate of subscription models and, perhaps most importantly, the historically weak copyright environment in China’s modern era. All of these aspects aid the widespread dilemma of music piracy in China and are intensified by the disparity between the law and actual enforcement. China’s lenient copyright system has reduced the obstacles for non-music affiliated companies to enter the digital music sector. The Chinese search engine, Baidu, obtained its enormous audience partially by offering search returns with links to unlicensed mp3 files, legal due to unprincipled legislation. Other technology companies use the ambiguous copyright laws to create large audiences in non-music affiliated industries. For example, Internet company Tencent began to offer music as a way to entice customers to stay within their social messaging and gaming platform. As the competition for market share intensifies, music becomes a vital player to these businesses as well as other large tech companies competing for capital. Since the dawn of digital music and streaming, there has been a large increase in efforts by both the Chinese government and various stakeholders in China’s music industry to establish and enforce stricter legislation and to increase collection of digital royalties. Organizations like The Music Copyright Society of China and The China Audio Visual Copyright Association have been created to collect and distribute royalties. Tencent China is now beginning to establish a music market where people are willing to pay for music. Over the past five years, digital music revenues for the recording industry have nearly quadrupled, amassing to roughly $195m. Primarily derived from online music streaming, this sum still only represents a small segment of the global total around $7.8 billion. Even so, streaming has accrued a momentous impact alone, driving positive revenue for the Chinese marketplace. Streaming’s new sovereignty is due to multiple factors, the most prominent being smartphones, which have made it easier than ever to access and subscribe to streaming services. According to the IFPI 2017 Global Music Report, 86% of China’s Internet users listen to music via smartphone; however, the streaming market is dominated by one single corporation. Tencent, the most prevalent of China’s Internet giants and also creator of popular messaging service, WeChat, owns the top two Chinese music streaming brands, QQ and Kugou Music, each with hundreds of millions of users. Kugou music has over 450 million active users and is China’s largest online music service. QQ Music, named after Tencent’s QQ messaging service, is the second largest, accumulating roughly 211 million monthly users. Finally, Kuwo Music, China’s third largest platform, has over 100 million active monthly listeners and was acquired by Tencent in 2016. These three companies combined represent over 70% of the music streaming market in China, showing Tencent’s explicit monopoly. Their domination results from many acquisitions executed over the last few years; most importantly, it purchased three international record label catalogues from Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group. This large purchase enabled Tencent the exclusive right to stream major label music in China. This means that Tencent has the power to choose which songs competitors are allowed to play. Tencent claims that such exclusivity is required for them to ensure the legitimacy of online music streaming services in China and also to help reduce piracy, but such a monopoly is concerning. Competitor service Xiami, owned by Alibaba, has been rather unsuccessful in incorporating music streaming into their platform mostly because it has failed to strike a deal with Tencent. Nevertheless, with China’s booming market, it is possible the major labels will reconsider their deals with Tencent when time for renewal approaches. Artists Tencent’s market monopoly may also be concerning for artists. Many of these services established their businesses on pirated music before they began to license it. Still to this day, unlicensed “indie” music is prevalent. Independent labels and artists generally get paid little in royalties, if anything at all, because of their weak leverage in negotiations with these giant streaming services. Compared to Western music services, monthly fees for Chinese streaming platforms are quite low. QQ’s Green Diamond service is roughly ten yuan per month, which converts to approximately $1.47 per month. Other services have similar rates and typically offer packages with features such as free downloads, high quality streaming, and artist engagement opportunities. These low monthly fees yield very small royalty revenues and per-stream rate payouts to recording owners are extremely low; however, these rates may rise if and when copyright laws give increased leverage to rights holders. Closing Thoughts There is still a great distance to go toward building an affluent music industry in China. Revenues are comparatively low for such a large market. Copyright laws regarding online music are out-dated and effectively enforcing them is currently ambivalent. Collecting digital royalties is problematic as well, but there still remains potential for greater copyright enforcement and further growth. Although illegal downloads still dominate music consumption in China, streaming service subscriptions are growing vastly with abundant mobile consumption. Given this, the music streaming landscape in China holds potential for the global music industry.

Despite the immense size of China’s music streaming market, Chinese recorded music revenues are minimal. The country made the Top 20 in the IFPI’s ranking for global recorded music revenue for the first time in 2014, just below Switzerland. These low incomes are due to many factors including the low fees paid to rights holders, a low adoption rate of subscription models and, perhaps most importantly, the historically weak copyright environment in China’s modern era. All of these aspects aid the widespread dilemma of music piracy in China and are intensified by the disparity between the law and actual enforcement. China’s lenient copyright system has reduced the obstacles for non-music affiliated companies to enter the digital music sector. The Chinese search engine, Baidu, obtained its enormous audience partially by offering search returns with links to unlicensed mp3 files, legal due to unprincipled legislation. Other technology companies use the ambiguous copyright laws to create large audiences in non-music affiliated industries. For example, Internet company Tencent began to offer music as a way to entice customers to stay within their social messaging and gaming platform. As the competition for market share intensifies, music becomes a vital player to these businesses as well as other large tech companies competing for capital. Since the dawn of digital music and streaming, there has been a large increase in efforts by both the Chinese government and various stakeholders in China’s music industry to establish and enforce stricter legislation and to increase collection of digital royalties. Organizations like The Music Copyright Society of China and The China Audio Visual Copyright Association have been created to collect and distribute royalties. Tencent China is now beginning to establish a music market where people are willing to pay for music. Over the past five years, digital music revenues for the recording industry have nearly quadrupled, amassing to roughly $195m. Primarily derived from online music streaming, this sum still only represents a small segment of the global total around $7.8 billion. Even so, streaming has accrued a momentous impact alone, driving positive revenue for the Chinese marketplace. Streaming’s new sovereignty is due to multiple factors, the most prominent being smartphones, which have made it easier than ever to access and subscribe to streaming services. According to the IFPI 2017 Global Music Report, 86% of China’s Internet users listen to music via smartphone; however, the streaming market is dominated by one single corporation. Tencent, the most prevalent of China’s Internet giants and also creator of popular messaging service, WeChat, owns the top two Chinese music streaming brands, QQ and Kugou Music, each with hundreds of millions of users. Kugou music has over 450 million active users and is China’s largest online music service. QQ Music, named after Tencent’s QQ messaging service, is the second largest, accumulating roughly 211 million monthly users. Finally, Kuwo Music, China’s third largest platform, has over 100 million active monthly listeners and was acquired by Tencent in 2016. These three companies combined represent over 70% of the music streaming market in China, showing Tencent’s explicit monopoly. Their domination results from many acquisitions executed over the last few years; most importantly, it purchased three international record label catalogues from Warner Music Group, Sony Music, and Universal Music Group. This large purchase enabled Tencent the exclusive right to stream major label music in China. This means that Tencent has the power to choose which songs competitors are allowed to play. Tencent claims that such exclusivity is required for them to ensure the legitimacy of online music streaming services in China and also to help reduce piracy, but such a monopoly is concerning. Competitor service Xiami, owned by Alibaba, has been rather unsuccessful in incorporating music streaming into their platform mostly because it has failed to strike a deal with Tencent. Nevertheless, with China’s booming market, it is possible the major labels will reconsider their deals with Tencent when time for renewal approaches. Artists Tencent’s market monopoly may also be concerning for artists. Many of these services established their businesses on pirated music before they began to license it. Still to this day, unlicensed “indie” music is prevalent. Independent labels and artists generally get paid little in royalties, if anything at all, because of their weak leverage in negotiations with these giant streaming services. Compared to Western music services, monthly fees for Chinese streaming platforms are quite low. QQ’s Green Diamond service is roughly ten yuan per month, which converts to approximately $1.47 per month. Other services have similar rates and typically offer packages with features such as free downloads, high quality streaming, and artist engagement opportunities. These low monthly fees yield very small royalty revenues and per-stream rate payouts to recording owners are extremely low; however, these rates may rise if and when copyright laws give increased leverage to rights holders. Closing Thoughts There is still a great distance to go toward building an affluent music industry in China. Revenues are comparatively low for such a large market. Copyright laws regarding online music are out-dated and effectively enforcing them is currently ambivalent. Collecting digital royalties is problematic as well, but there still remains potential for greater copyright enforcement and further growth. Although illegal downloads still dominate music consumption in China, streaming service subscriptions are growing vastly with abundant mobile consumption. Given this, the music streaming landscape in China holds potential for the global music industry.

JAPANESE authorities have imposed administrative measures on virtual currency exchange Coincheck after hackers stole hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets from the Tokyo-based firm in one of the biggest heists ever. Units of the cryptocurrency NEM worth A$660 million were taken — based on the exchange rate on Friday — exceeding even the $593 million in bitcoin stolen from the MtGox exchange in 2014. Coincheck suspended trading of all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin on Friday, and said it had lost 523 million units of NEM, the 10th biggest cryptocurrency in the world based on market capitalisation. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) said in a statement that it had ordered Coincheck to investigate the cause of the incident, “properly” deal with clients, strengthen risk management and take preventive measures. The financial watchdog told the exchange to respond to the orders by February 13, warning that the agency would raid its office if necessary. Coincheck President Koichiro Wada bowed and apologised at a press conference after the hack was revealed at a press conference last Friday night. He said the company may seek financial assistance, according to Kyodo News service. Japanese TV footage showed a small group of customers standing outside the company’s Tokyo head office Friday night. Coincheck, which calls itself the leading Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange in Asia, said it detected the unauthorised access to its system about 3am (5am AEDT) last Friday morning. Coincheck has said it will use its own funds to reimburse about 46.3 billion yen (around A$531 million) — at a rate of 88.549 yen per NEM — to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings. The company said it would reimburse customers in yen, not cryptocurrency. The FSA said at a briefing Monday that it was checking to ensure Coincheck had the ability to make those refunds. The watchdog added that it was carrying out checks at other exchanges in the wake of the theft to detect potential security problems. The agency will supervise Coincheck to ensure the measures are being implemented and contracts are being honoured, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular briefing. “While examining the cause of the incident and taking necessary measures, we want the ministries and agencies concerned to urgently study what further measures we’d need,” the top government spokesman said. Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso told parliament on Monday that the government would take “necessary administrative measures, including an on-site inspection.” Coincheck “did not store the important things separately. I think they lacked fundamental knowledge or common sense,” he said. One unit of NEM was trading at 95 cents on Monday morning, according to coinmarketcap.com. Japan is a leading market for cryptocurrencies, with nearly one third of global bitcoin transactions in December denominated in yen, according to specialist website jpbitcoin.com. As many as 10,000 businesses in Japan are thought to accept bitcoin, and bitFlyer — the country’s main bitcoin exchange — saw its user base grow beyond one million in November. Many Japanese, especially younger investors, have been seduced by the idea of strong profits as the economy has seen years of ultra-low interest rates offering little in the way of traditional returns. In the wake of the MtGox scandal, Japan passed a law on cryptocurrencies that requires exchanges to be regulated by the FSA. The law went into effect in 2017. Coincheck had submitted an application to the FSA for a licence and was allowed to continue operating while it awaited a decision, the agency said. It comes as the national tax office in the Netherlands says its website briefly went offline because of a DDoS cyber attack, after the country’s largest banks were targeted. ABN Amro and ING on Monday said they were both targeted by hackers, temporarily disrupting online and mobile banking services over the weekend. The tax office said it’s website went down for five to 10 minutes after a DDos attack. Rabobank also fell victim to an attack on Monday, while ABN Amro and ING In Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), attackers use computer networks they control to send such a large number of requests for information from websites that servers that host them can no longer handle the traffic and the sites become unreachable.

The game Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 was released on PC and consoles in may 2017. In the network appeared information that the next Studio developers decided to abandon the Denuvo anti-piracy protection, and removed it from his game. A huge number of players watching the situation around Denuvo. Recently a group of hackers CPY managed to crack the latest protection, and to lay out the network for two games that used Denuvo 4.8. Soon, however, came news that the company Irdeto, which specializes in cybersecurity, acquired Denuvo. Now the management intends to further combat piracy, and to develop complex protection for games. The game Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 was released on PC and consoles in may 2017. The project received mixed reviews from the press and players, and subsequently the developers felt their game a failure.

FairPlay Canada (www.fairplaycanada.ca), a coalition of Canadian artists, content creators, unions, guilds, producers, performers, broadcasters, distributors, and exhibitors is asking the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to take action to address the theft of digital content by illegal piracy websites. The jobs of hundreds of thousands of Canadians who work in the creative sector are at risk as a result of increasing online piracy, from songwriters and set builders to makeup artists and local news reporters. Payments from legitimate streaming services, broadcasters, distributors, and exhibitors help support these artists and creators. "We know Canadians love digital content, whether it's watching their favourite TV show or sports team, or streaming their favourite playlist online," said Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, President and CEO of Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN), who is filing the coalition's application. "Often, they are the biggest supporters of Canada's own creative content. However, online theft is hurting Canadians' ability to enjoy the content they love and protect the jobs of the artists who create it." FairPlay Canada wants the CRTC to modernize the tools used to protect Canadian artists from online piracy. The coalition is proposing that the CRTC establish an independent agency, the Independent Piracy Review Agency (IPRA), to assist it in identifying websites blatantly engaged in content theft. The CRTC would require Canadian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take measures to prevent such sites from reaching Canadians. The IPRA and CRTC process would be subject to oversight by the Federal Court of Appeal. "What we are proposing has been effective in countries like the UK, France, and Australia," added Dr. Chandrasekar. "We are ardent supporters of this incredible coalition that has been formed to propose a new tool to empower the CRTC to address online piracy in Canada. We have great faith in Canadian regulators to modernize the tools available to help creators protect the content they make for Canadians' enjoyment." FairPlay Canada is a coalition of more than 25 organizations representing every aspect of Canada's film, TV, radio, sports entertainment, and music industries, including: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Association québecoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle, et de la video (ADISQ), Asian Television Network (ATN), Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM), Bell, Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters (CAFDE), CBC / Radio-Canada, Les Cinémas Ciné Entreprise Inc., Cinémas Guzzo, Cineplex, Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Cogeco Connexion, Corus, Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), DHX Media, Entertainment One, Ethnic Channels Group, Fairchild Media Group, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Landmark Cinemas, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), Movie Theatre Association of Canada (MTAC), Quebecor, Rogers Media, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), TIFF, Unifor, and Union des artistes (UDA). Supporting Statements "The Canadian Academy stands with our partners in FairPlay Canada against the online theft of creative content. Our members are hard-working men and women who drive Canada's creative and screen industries and who deserve to be compensated fairly for their work. We want them to continue producing quality films and TV shows, and inspire the next generation of Canadians to create the kind of world-class content that the Canadian Academy celebrates without the concern of digital piracy." - Beth Janson, CEO, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television "Canadian performers work incredibly hard to pursue their craft and tell unique Canadian stories. Online piracy steals their work and the paychecks they rely on. It's time to follow the lead of countries like the UK and Australia and take action against illegal operators." – David Sparrow, National President, Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) "The Association québecoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle, et de la vidéo (ADISQ) is proud to support this initiative to fight online piracy. For more than 15 years, the music sector has been a part of changing consumer habits, but artists are more vulnerable than ever to the loss of income due to online piracy. All Canadians and the rest of the world lose access to great content if the music community is no longer able to offer a rich and diverse music offering." - Claude Larivée, President, Association québecoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle, et de la vidéo (ADISQ) "The Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) is pleased, on behalf of Quebec's independent producers of audiovisual content, to join this initiative, which actively engages internet service providers in the fight against the illegal downloading of works. The piracy of audiovisual content is indeed a scourge for all components of the industry as well as for the consumers themselves." - Hélène Messier, President and CEO, Association québecoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) "Digital content piracy hurts everyone, those who watch and listen to content from legal sources and those in the creative industry that produce it. Digital rights holders need up-to-date tools to combat piracy where it's happening, on the Internet, and the process proposed by the coalition will provide just that, fairly, openly and effectively. Bell is pleased to work with our partners across the industry and the CRTC on this important step in ensuring the long-term viability of the Canadian creative sector." - Randy Lennox, President, Bell Media "While illegal content piracy is not a new problem, it is growing – and its economic effects continue to harm thousands of creators and other creative industry stakeholders in both Canada and globally. On behalf of CAFDE (Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters), we're committed to working alongside our industry peers and the Canadian government to establish a long-overdue process for combatting illegal content piracy." - Emily Harris, President, Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters (CAFDE) "We support efforts to stop piracy of copyrighted content. Groups who steal and re-sell content without permission are breaking the law and undermining financial support for culture." - Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO, CBC/Radio-Canada "Our cinemas are the hearts of the communities which they service. There are over 11,000 Canadians who work in cinemas across the country and film theft is a very significant threat to their livelihood. We fully support any initiatives that will curtail the access to illegally obtained content through the internet." - Raffaele Papalia, President, Les Cinémas Ciné Entreprise Inc. "As proud players and employers in Canada's film industry, our number one job is to make sure Canadians continue to have the opportunity to see the movies they love. This proposal is not about taking away Canadians' enjoyment of movies from legitimate services, but about fighting theft. There are over 600 employees in our theatres who rely on the film industry for their living – does that factor at all into the equation for these illegal piracy websites?" - Vincent Guzzo, President and CEO, Cinémas Guzzo "The theft of films through illegal downloading is the primary concern to Cineplex, but the impact is felt by every Canadian business operating as part of the ecosystem. Our focus is to do whatever we can to prevent others from benefiting financially by illegally stealing the creativity and significant contributions of those in the industry. Innovation is not going away but there is no doubt that having a review agency like the IPRA would help block and shutdown Internet sites offering pirated and stolen content and assist industry players in their drive to further develop new technologies, applications and services for Canadians and the world." Ellis Jacob, President and CEO, Cineplex "Simply put, piracy hurts Canada and Canadians. It harms our production sector, shrinks economic output, eliminates jobs, increases prices for Canadian audiences, decreases domestic content production, and reduces our cultural influence around the world. Piracy is illegal and it should not be allowed to continue." – Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO, Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) "The impact that piracy has on the television industry extends much further than lost revenue, it impacts our ability to continue to invest in great Canadian content, and makes it harder to sustain the jobs of the thousands of Canadians who make that content. It's time to take more concrete actions towards protecting the rights of Canadian creators, broadcasters and distributors, and we're looking forward to working with the CRTC and our industry partners to do just that." – Doug Murphy, President and CEO, Corus Entertainment "FairPlay is about a simple priniciple. Canadian creators should be paid for their work like anyone else. We need to modernize our laws and take on this new generation of piracy sites, raking in millions trafficking in content stolen from Canadian creators." – Tim Southam, President, Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) "As a company largely focused on the creation of quality content for kids, we believe content creators are owed the respect and recognition they deserve, which includes protecting their intellectual property. Part of supporting a vibrant Canadian creative community, requires stronger tools for creators to protect their stories from content pirates. At DHX Media, we believe that Canada must adopt proven international measures to ensure storytellers are fairly compensated for their creativity and work." – Steven DeNure, President and COO, DHX Media "As the largest distributor of international TV, online piracy continues to affect our business across multiple consumer markets. Immigration levels are increasing in Canada, however the pay TV business has seen a decline over the years on account of content piracy. This has a direct impact on our ability to create compelling Canadian content, hire more personnel. The unregulated digital market coupled with lax enforcement is a boon to pirates. Better regulation and strict enforcement is the need of the hour to protect the entire Canadian broadcasting industry. We look forward to working with the CRTC and our partners on this initiative." – Slava Levin, CEO, Ethnic Channels Group "Fairchild TV welcomes the concerted efforts of stakeholders in the Canadian film and television marketplace to combat the pernicious effects streaming pirated content services are having on our businesses. As the largest Canadian producer/creator of Chinese television content, we have been very vocal about the detrimental impact such unauthorized use of our content is having on our bottom line," he added, "and like other Canadian ethnic broadcasters, who pay to secure Canadian rights to foreign material that ends up on these streaming services, we are pleased to be part of a much larger effort to educate the public and remedy this situation." – Joe Chan, President, Fairchild Media Group "Piracy is not a victimless crime. It's taking money out of workers' pockets and it's reducing the amount of work that is available. That's why the IATSE supports the creation of an independent Internet Piracy Review Agency (IPRA). Canada needs to take action to help protect and create jobs, stimulate the economy, and attract new investment." John M. Lewis, International Vice President and Director of Canadian Affairs, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) "The impact of piracy extends well beyond the actors on screen. Movie exhibition is the culmination of efforts by hard working film crews, talented production staff, and our dedicated theatre cast and management. Our industry embraces technological innovation but sees a role for the CRTC in ensuring that measures to prevent the theft of digital product such as movies is commiserate to the penalties imposed with the theft of all other goods and services, and doing so will alter the present consumer mindset, one that does not recognize or equate that the theft of digital content, is in fact theft." - Bill Walker, CEO, Landmark Cinemas "The prevalence of online piracy is a growing threat to an industry that has brought so much pride to Canada, and so much enjoyment to viewers, over the years. We applaud the partners working together to call for new regulations to help protect all those affected, today and in the future, and we are proud to support their efforts as part of FairPlay Canada." – Michael Friisdahl, President and CEO, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) "Movie theft is one of the most serious issues facing all sectors of the film industry in Canada and on a global level. The members of the Movie Theatre Association of Canada stand behind these efforts to block and shut down Internet sites that offer illegally obtained content." - Nuria Bronfman, Executive Director, Movie Theatre Association of Canada (MTAC) "Quebecor Content invests heavily in the production of original content that reflects Quebec's culture and values. These high-quality productions differentiate us from the U.S.-based giants. It is important that our governments take action to prevent piracy in order to safeguard our ability to finance the production of high-quality content and protect the work of our cultural workers." - France Lauzière, President and CEO, TVA Group; Chief of Content, Quebecor "We're all for new ways of watching content, but piracy means that the content creators don't get paid for their work. We believe this proposal represents a balanced and proven approach that goes after the people who illegally rebroadcast content. Taking action against piracy will ensure we can continue making and broadcasting the programming that Canadians love, while protecting the jobs of the Canadians who create it." – Rick Brace, President, Rogers Media "TV content providers in Canada will soon be put out of business by the serious streaming piracy problem. The regime proposed by the coalition is an efficient system to require ISPs to disable access to infringing streams. It is an effective means to address the piracy problem and it should be established as soon as possible." - Desmond Chan, Deputy General Manager, Legal and International Operations, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) "Online theft of digital content not only impacts those of us working in the creative industries – it hurts all Canadians. There are incredible artists working hard every day to make new and exciting content, but they can't keep making that content if they aren't getting paid. We want the CRTC to work with FairPlay Canada in developing the best possible solution to this pressing issue, starting with this proposal." - Piers Handling, Director & CEO, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) "Canadian media is losing millions to Internet piracy, and hundreds of jobs are at risk if the CRTC doesn't do something to block access to blatantly illegal sites hosted on foreign soil. Twenty other countries have taken action to protect their cultural industries so why are we sitting on our hands?" - Jerry Dias, National President, Unifor "For too long now, artists' rights have been violated by hacker sites that fraudulently host thousands of television and film productions. The UDA condemns such practices. Pirating not only denies audiovisual artisans their right to have their work acknowledged, but also trivializes the privileged relationship they entertain with the public through their work. This in turn cruelly impoverishes our culture." - Sophie Prégent, President, Union des artistes (UDA)

Content Creators Coalition Demands Anti-trust Hearings Into YouTube's 'Attempts To Censor Artists' The Content Creators Coalition is demanding anti-trust hearings before the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees in response to recent reports that Google’s YouTube is requiring all artists that it has production and promotion deals with to sign ‘non-disparagement' agreements. Non-profit advocacy group, the Content Creators Coalition (C3) today sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and related subcommittees demanding anti-trust hearings over reports that t Google’s YouTube is demanding that its production and promotion deals with artists include a ‘non-disparagement' agreement. In C3's view, YouTube is leveraging its platform monopoly to censor artists from speaking out about the service’s unfair compensation for artists and the need to update the broken DMCA safe harbors. The full letter: The Honorable Chuck Grassley, Chairman Senate Committee on the Judiciary 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Bob Goodlatte, Chairman House Committee on the Judiciary 2138 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Grassley and Chairman Goodlatte: We write to request that the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, as well as the respective subcommittees with jurisdiction over antitrust issues, schedule hearings in response to reports that Google is leveraging its platform monopoly to silence artists. Google’s actions are clearly aimed at thwarting the Congressional review of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbors as well as the public debate about the issue. This not only hurts artists, who aren’t receiving fair compensation for their music from the YouTube platform monopoly, but also leaves consumers with less music as the next generation of artists disappear. As you know, an unprecedented groundswell of artists have called out Google for gaming outdated laws to facilitate YouTube’s profiteering from rampant music piracy on its service. In filings to the United States Copyright Office, a cross section of music creators argue that the DMCA’s safe harbors are actually “safe havens” that allow platform monopolies to use the ubiquity of unlicensed free music on their services as a cudgel in negotiations to drive down their own licensing costs. We are deeply troubled by recent reports indicating that “(Google’s) YouTube (service) has asked musicians to agree not to disparage the streaming-video service in exchange for promotional support, according to people familiar with the matter, a way to quell persistent criticism by artists.” Simply put, Google has abused its monopoly power to give artists pennies on the dollar and appears to be further abusing that power to buy the silence of artists who might otherwise speak out and draw public scrutiny to these practices. This is not the first time Google has resorted to underhanded tactics to thwart a full Congressional and public airing of its abuses. When our organization placed ads on YouTube criticizing its treatment of artists, our ads were censored without explanation. Internal emails give the strong appearance that Google’s influence-purchasing machine successfully ousted Google critics, the Open Markets Initiative (now the independent “Open Markets Institute”), from the New America Foundation. With jurisdiction over copyright and antitrust laws, the Judiciary Committees are uniquely situated to get to the bottom of these apparent abuses. We ask that you do so swiftly. Thank you for your consideration of our request. Sincerely, Melvin Gibbs, President John McCrea, Vice President Tommy Manzi, Treasurer Rosanne Cash, Vice President At Large Tift Merritt, Vice President At Large Matthew Montfort, Vice President At Large CC: The Honorable Jerry Nadler, Ranking Member, House Committee on the Judiciary The Honorable Tom Marino, Chairman, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law The Honorable David Cicilline, Ranking Member, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary The Honorable Mike Lee, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights The Honorable Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights

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TVADDONS has started to deliver on its ambitious promise to “change how people access streaming media forever”, starting by unveiling a new GitHub Browser it claims makes browsing and downloading third-party add-ons for the Kodi media player easier than ever before. TVAddons has unveiled the first part of its ambitious new plans to “change how people access streaming media forever”. The hugely-popular add-on repository has revealed a new GitHub Browser. According to TVAddons, this makes it possible for users to install any Kodi add-on directly from the developer's own GitHub repository. In practice, this will make TVAddons "more resilient and decentralised”. The add-on repository says its latest innovation brings about a “new age in Kodi addon development”. Announcing the news, TVAddons wrote, “Behind us are the days where you were restricted to Kodi addons made available through our Fusion Installer or clones. “Not only does the GitHub Browser give users more choice, it empowers independent developers. Now developers can more easily distribute their addons to the masses. “Aligning themselves with a particular group or community to facilitate addon distribution will no longer be necessary.” TVAddons says the latest announcement is just the first phase of a slew of new improvements it has planned for 2018. “This is just the beginning, there are many big things to come. "Thank you for being a part of our communithy,” it concludes in its official blog post. (sic) Earlier this month, the hugely-successful Kodi add-on repository has announced plans to “change the way people access streaming media forever” this year. TVAddons, one of the most popular online destinations for third-party apps – dubbed add-ons – for Kodi, made the pledge on its homepage on January 4th 2018. For those who don’t know, Kodi is a neutral, open-source media player that can be installed on a broad range of devices – from discount set-top boxes powered by Android, to known brands, like Amazon Fire TV Stick. Add-ons can be built by third-party developers to enable a number of additional features, including the ability to stream premium content, like paid-for sports and movie channels, for free without permission from the rightsholders. TVAddons is one of the largest repositories for Kodi add-ons online. The website sees 19 million monthly active users. TVAddons was shut down back in June 2017, following the seizure of its domain and social media accounts. The add-on repository resurfaced later in the year, and quickly regained popularity. TVAddons recently celebrated its sixth anniversary. It used the opportunity to tease its plans for the future. In a statement posted on its website, TVAddons said: “We have grand plans moving forward. “We’re almost ready to introduce a new generation of Kodi addons that will change the way people access streaming media forever! “Expect the release of these addons in the coming weeks, along with our return to a standard addon submission policy which will once again foster innovation while remaining 100 percent DMCA compliant.” The announcement follows a tumultuous time for Kodi. Earlier this year, research from FACT revealed that there are now one million Kodi Boxes in use across the UK. https://twitter.com/tvaddonsco/statu...42877577457666 The FACT research was conducted in association with the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, Intellectual Property Office, Police Scotland, and anti-piracy outfit Entura International. It estimated that up to 25 per cent of the online viewing public access content illegally online. According to the FACT report, the UK is one of the countries most affected by the increasing demand for Kodi boxes. Those supplying the Kodi Boxes range from individuals building boxes for a select few friends and family, to sprawling organised crime networks. There has been a steady stream of reports of individuals who have been arrested for selling these devices, however, FACT claims these are just the "tip of the iceberg". According to FACT, there are a number of large-scale operations currently in the early stages. However, the organisation is unable to specify any other details at the moment. The crackdown on so-called Kodi Boxes in the UK is likely to carry severe penalties. Back in April, the EU Court of Justice judgement in the Filmspeler case included confirmation that streaming by end users on illicit set-top boxes, like those powered by Kodi, constitutes an infringement of copyright. The Digital Economy Act, which came into effect in October 2017, extends criminal penalties for online copyright infringement to match those of physical copyright infringement. That means the maximum prison sentence that can be awarded in online copyright infringement cases has increased from two years to 10 years. This change could result in longer custodial sentences for the criminals involved in distributing illicit streaming devices.

Remember Napster? The early file-sharing service that effectively gave rise to the advent of digital music piracy? Well, Iron Maiden’s frontman Bruce Dickinson certainly seems to, slamming the service, its creator, and those who partake in music piracy still in a new interview with German music blog Comebackstage. While Metallica’s hatred towards Napster was so public that the band’s lawsuit effectively shut down the service in 2002, Napster’s effect on the music industry has continued to this day, with musicians rightly holding a grudge against the service. “[Musicians starting out today] have a tough job, actually, because digital downloading, well, not digital downloading now in itself, but the result of Napster and things like that,” Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson explained in the interview, as transcribed by NME. “Even though downloading is now kind of mainstream, Napster destroyed the concept of music having any value – which is terrible.” “I think the guy [who founded Napster] should be locked up, maybe he has been, he deserves to be. It was an act of pure selfish destruction.” “For a band like us, actually we still make records, but we pretty much accept that we don’t really make hardly any money out of making a record,” Dickinson continued. “We still do it because we have to, because we love it and we have to do new music. But the great thing with us is we can tour and make money [from performing] live. Other bands, bands who are coming up doing great music, they don’t get that luxury.” The Iron Maiden vocalist also went on to share his disbelief at how the general public don’t value music as much as they should due to its easy illegal access, noting how people buy copies of his new memoir, What Does This Button Do?, but not his albums. “I get paid when they sell a [copy of my] book. The difference is, I took two and a half months to write this book, and I get paid a royalty, and, actually, it’s very reasonable, it’s very fair,” Dickinson noted. “If this book was a record and I took two and a half months to make it, I would have to give it away, because people will pay for a book, but they won’t buy an album. That is really sad and it’s wrong.” “Now, I don’t know where we’re gonna get to in the future. It’s possible that the digital downloading world will start to charge a little bit more money and artists will get paid a little bit more.” “When you consider that most people, when they sit down and listen to an album, they might drink a pint of beer or have a can of energy drink or something else like that,” he continued. “So they’ll pay the price of an energy drink, but they won’t pay the price for the album. And it’s sad.” “I think everybody needs to be educated about the fact that music has real value and musicians have real value; they spent years working on their craft to entertain people.” Notably, Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster and former President of Facebook, stepped down from his role as a member of Spotify’s Board of Directors back in 2010.

As part of the national anti-fraud awareness campaign Take Five, this week the Federation Against Copyright Theft asked consumers to consider whether the site or service they're using is pirate or not. Their sound advice is to do research to find out, but there are actually plenty of tell-tale signs for those lacking clarity on the pirate high seas. There’s a persistent theory that people exist who are using pirate sites but don’t realize that they’re unauthorized and/or illegal. While that seems likely, it’s hard to believe the volumes are particularly significant. Nevertheless, numerous campaigns have attempted to enlighten consumers as to what is and isn’t legal and this week the Federation Against Copyright Theft raised the issue once again. Tagging onto UK anti-fraud awareness campaign Take Five, the anti-piracy outfit asked people to take five minutes to consider the legality of the site or service they’re currently consuming. https://torrentfreak.com/images/take5-1.png FACT’s advice above is basically sound. They ask people to do their research on the sites FindAnyFilm and GetItRight, both of which should give consumers an idea of where content can be obtained legally. Trouble is, neither resource is comprehensive, so five minutes of research could turn into ten or fifteen, by which time people could get bored of trying to do the right thing. So, with this in mind, here are a few light-hearted tips to help people spot whether the site they’re using is authorized by the movie industry or a product of a swashbuckling mind. Does the site want your name, address and life history? If the site you’re accessing looks really polished, has a positive Wikipedia page, but won’t give you anything more than a trailer without handing over your full identity and credit card details, this is probably a legal platform. Since they have to license movies from Hollywood and other filmmakers, sites like these cost a lot of money to run. As a result, they want your money to pay the bills and they like to make sure you can pay up front. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. No money, no access – capiche? Does the site look polished but doesn’t ask for a dime? If the site you’re looking at seems like the one mentioned above but doesn’t seem to care who you are, this is starting to look like a pirate site. If it then offers up thousands of movies and TV shows without accessing your wallet or dental records, you’re definitely on the high seas. While this position is pleasurable for people with a penchant for piracy, there are plenty of points to ponder. Is the site already starting to get on your nerves a bit? You’re browsing a site, looking at all the beautiful movies and TV shows on offer, then one takes your fancy. You click it with both anticipation and excitement but instead of the video appearing, a new tab or popup appears in your browser. If this unexpected visitor offers a penis extension, a night out with a girl in your area, or a get-rich-quick scheme you feel you need but don’t understand, this is probably a pirate site. These stupid offers are the price you pay for not paying. This is how it works. While movies and TV shows cost money to create and require financial support from the consumer, pirate sites use various techniques to obtain that content for free. Then, with a wave of a magic wand, they cover the costs of delivering it to pirates using advertising. However, due to pressures put on them by the content industries, pirate sites generally have to serve up poor quality ads. Crappy ads everywhere = almost definitely a pirate site. The movie site i’m using is really confusing, is it legal? After obtaining your banking details, mother’s maiden name, and blood type, legal sites are generally very straightforward. Pleasurably content and feature-rich, services like Netflix and Spotify are simplicity itself to use. Their interfaces are clean, tidy, and don’t do anything unexpected. These are just some of the key features you get in return for handing over your money to a legal service. On the other hand, however, if you’re on a site that has six different download buttons and none of them seem to actually download anything, this is probably a pirate site, and a low grade one at that. Back away quickly, regroup, and never go back – unless you have an ad-blocker turned all the way up to 11, of course. Wow! This site has all the latest movies! Is it legal? Some of Hollywood’s greatest assets are its just-released movies. It holds these tightly, like a protective mother, restricting viewing only to those who pay large amounts of money for the privilege. As a general rule, if you’re watching them for free on the Internet, chances are it’s not only unauthorized but probably illegal too. That being said, most people don’t give a damn due to all the excitement, free content, and tiny chances of being caught. Note: If a movie came out today, last week, or even last month, and you’ve spent a large sum of money to watch it alongside hundreds of noisy others in a big room while eating over-priced taste-free snacks, CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve found the only way to watch the latest movies legally. I really love this site, it has everything I want in one place. Is that legal? STOP. This is definitely an illegal site. While it is the movie and TV industries’ job to entertain the masses, it also has a side mission to ensure that you will never – EVER – find all the content you want in one place. Remember: to stay legal and have access to the broadest range of video content, you need to subscribe to several official services while handing over handfuls of cash every month. If you find that after parting with large sums of cash you still can’t find all the content you want, then you can be sure you’re doing this by the book and entirely legally. Only people using pirate services find all the stuff they need in one or two places. A service is offering me every TV channel for £10/$10/€10 per month. Legal? If your local TV cable or satellite provider demands a pile of cash an inch thick to access every channel they have for a month, please be informed they have worked very hard to achieve that monopoly position. There is no way on planet earth that another legal supplier will be able to undercut them by 90%. Yes, that includes fully-loaded Fire TV Sticks bought off Pete down the pub. As a rule of thumb, if you’re delighted with the ‘special’ TV service you bought off Facebook yet still have enough money to take the family out for a meal at a half decent restaurant, alarm bells should be ringing. Legal buyers can generally afford to gorge on either TV or food. If you’re full to bursting due to excessive consumption of both, you’re either using a pirate service or have enough money not to need one. These tips are not exhaustive – feel free to add your own in the comments. Source: Torrentfreak.com

The producers are also planning to file a similar complaint against piracy with cyber police in other states as well. India - Padmaavat finally hit the theatres on January 25 after facing a lot of troubles ever since its inception. However, their problems didn't end there. The makers were confronted by an old demon called 'piracy' which has plagued the entertainment industry for many decades. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus was live streamed from a theatre on Facebook by a page named 'Jaaton Ka Adda' just hours after it was released across India. The video, however, was later deleted from the page but it looks like the admin must have downloaded the copy before taking it down from their page. Taking adequate measures to ensure that the film is not being recorded and distributed across social and digital platforms illegally, Viacom18 has now sought John Doe order from Madras High Court against any person or entity infringing the said film and directing all concerned to immediately block illegal websites/URL's hosting content related to the film. This would thereby restrain all unauthorized copying, transmission, communication, display, release, upload, download or exhibit of the film or part thereof in any manner. In an official statement released to the media, the producers have urged the viewers not to watch the film on an illegal platform or through unauthorised means but only across theatres and multiplexes to enjoy this masterpiece. They have also asked viewers and fans to show their solidarity for the film which has already faced enough challenges. Viacom18 has also filed a complaint with cybercrime of Maharashtra unit for necessary action against the person who has committed the offence of copyright infringement. The producers are also planning to file a similar complaint against the piracy with cyber police in other states as well. The movie has collected Rs 83 crore in just three days of its release including the cost covered in limited paid preview shows. It is all set to cross the coveted Rs 100 crore mark on Sunday (January 25) since the film is riding high on strong word of mouth and the grandeur of the movie.

A Facebook page live-streamed some 80 minutes of Padmaavat from the theatre. This new-age menace shocks the industry, Besides appealing to fans to shun illegal content, Bollywood hopes for united action. Piracy and Bollywood films go hand in hand. Of course, we are not proud when we say this, but a film today is available online almost immediately after it is released. While earlier, there were pirated DVDs, and then came online downloads, the latest way to make a film available is shocking, to put it aptly. A Facebook account holder used the ‘Facebook Live’ video streaming feature to broadcast Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat in real time, from the movie theatre. Yes! Later, the page had to delete the clip due to copyright infringement issues, but almost 80 minutes of this brand new film, right from the starting credits, had been viewed. The page admin even put out a picture later, and claimed that around 20,000 people had watched the film within the first hour; 15,000 people had shared the link; and almost 5 lakh people had become a part of it. In this age of social media, first came ‘live tweets’ by film critics, who would tweet the happenings on the big screen in real time and keep movie fans updated. Now this ‘live streaming’ of a new film has shocked the industry. How does one combat this? Rahul Dholakia, director of Raees — it’s the most pirated Bollywood film of 2017, according to a recent survey — exclaims, “Oh hell! If this is going to be the way, then it’s really dangerous. Sooner or later, these people [who leak films] will even get good quality [of prints]. I remember, Raees’ pirated print was very good. We had to pull down 175 sites on the first day!” He adds, “The producer doesn’t get revenues; it’s not fair. They put in their money and take risks, and the director spends time on quality. At the end of the day, when it’s not serving either purpose, you’re disappointed.” Akshay Kumar’s Jolly LLB 2 and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha also made it to the list of most pirated films. Viacom18 Motion Pictures, co-producers of the Rs 190-crore film, Padmaavat, have taken some steps to curb this menace. They’re also hoping that viewers would help the film. They said in a statement given to us: “… [We] are urging viewers and fans to show their solidarity [with] the film, which has faced enough challenges, and not watch it on [an] illegal platform or through unauthorised means, but only across theatres. “[We have] also sought [a] John Doe order from Madras High Court against any person or entity infringing the said film and directing all concerned to immediately block illegal websites/URLs hosting content related to the film. This would thereby restrain all unauthorised copying, transmission, communication, display, release, upload, download or exhibit of the film or part thereof in any manner.” Trade expert Atul Mohan reasons, “For a film like Padmaavat, you would be stupid to watch it on a five-inch smartphone screen or even your computer. It’s meant to be enjoyed on the big screen in 3D.” Sanjay Gupta, whose film Kaabil was the second most pirated film of 2017, feels that more than the director, it’s the producer who bears the burden of damages when a film is leaked. “Piracy affects a producer the most. I remember the stress Rakeshji (Roshan) went through, as he produced Kaabil. By the weekend, we had blocked more than 3,400 websites. Piracy has been there since the ’90s, because our film industry as a whole doesn’t come together. This problem is not rampant in the south, as the actors there have their fan clubs [who keep an eye on piracy] and there’s a producers’ association. We don’t have unity. There are four-five different associations [in Bollywood].” Rather than blaming social media, he says, “This (Padmaavat) example clearly means that the security at the theatre had lapsed.”