Latest news with #DrStrangelove
Mint
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
The consumer longs for humanity in music, says YouTube's head of music
Ten minutes into our interview, Lyor Cohen pulls out his phone and opens YouTube to play Fight for Your Right to Party. I hadn't heard the popular 1986 Beastie Boys track—one he backed in his early 20s, when hip-hop was still new and major labels had dismissed the song as 'scraping the bottom of the barrel." Cohen bobs his head as the Google India rep and I listen to the party anthem of the late 80s America that climbed to rank 7 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Now 65, Cohen has spent over three decades in music, repping acts like Run-DMC and labels like Def Jam that helped define the '80s hip-hop era. He later led the Warner Music Group for nearly a decade, and for the past eight years, he's been the global head of music at YouTube and Google. Still, when asked about the platform's impact on the industry, he's clear: 'Even though I work for them, I don't represent them, I represent the music industry." 'Indians 'see' music, they don't 'hear' it," Cohen says of the second-biggest music market by number of streams that ranks 14th in revenue terms as per the last estimates from IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry). 'But a 14-year-old kid from India who doesn't have a job yet but loves Badshah should not be disrespected, right? They're not paying with a subscription, but they're paying with their eyeballs, which makes them a valuable customer." Cohen believes Indian artists should push themselves to go global, citing the example of rapper Hanumankind, arguing that success in music is 'not determined by a region, but by an artist's ambition". Also read: 'Dr Strangelove' remains the essential anti-war film Cohen was recently in Mumbai for the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) and spoke to Mint on the sidelines. Edited excerpts from the interview on the past, present, and the foreseeable future of the music industry: If you were 25 and starting over in this industry now, what would you do differently, both in terms of running a record label and championing artists? One of the things about my career that I value is that I didn't know so much to get scared. So I took a lot of risks without understanding how risky it was. Like just going from my hometown in Los Angeles to New York in 1983 with a hole in my shoe, and following artists who talked (rapped) instead of conventional singing... Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Back then, it felt like walking into a dark room. I stayed close to the edges and somehow made it out, and my career advanced. Now people show me the room, and it is terrifying. The cost of making music and bringing it to the world has been reduced so dramatically, but it has created other problems. The endless scrolling, for instance. All of a sudden, artists are like 'social media people' chasing shortcuts to cut through that clutter. Isn't the platform that you represent also creating and providing that shortcut? So you're telling artists not to chase the endless scroll while the platform is providing users the scroll… I love that you went there. I declared this early on to my colleagues that even though I work for them, I don't represent them; I represent the music industry. And I think because of that, I'm one of the few traditional media people who have survived in this tech culture. I want scrolling to be used as a discovery vehicle. I look at it as a sugar high. I want our scroll to be an appetiser, and YouTube to act as the main course that allows people to go deep into the music experience. And the users who pay for the music subscription: that's the dessert. This way, it becomes a more nutritious experience. And we're the only ones that could do that. Can artists afford not to chase the scroll, though, when the consumer is so hooked on it as well? A lot of people think artists have an easy existence. But, like in almost every other profession, very few make it to the top here and are wildly successful. This is art... Sometimes, even if you cut through the clutter and you don't consistently do what an artist is supposed to do, you will end up having what we call a 'one-hit wonder'. To have a long-lasting career, you have to be a master craftsman of your craft. And what is your craft? You make the most compelling songs. Many artists still struggle to make money, often losing royalty to covers or lofi versions on audio streaming platforms. How do you see this gap between artist earnings and platform profits? This is not the case with us. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent that. There's a whole campus in Zurich, Switzerland, dedicated to creating content IDs that capture that variation and allow the rights holders to capture the money. Fair point. But do you ever worry that being the biggest player in streaming can make YouTube complacent? The opposite of complacency doesn't have to be based on worry, but it can be based on ambition. I'm ambitious. And this company is ambitious. How do you see the role of music executives changing in the next 5–10 years, and how should the next generation of leaders prepare for it? I believe that the music industry never really landed the plane to take a moment to recognise the dramatic changes that are happening around us. So music executives have been changing the plane as they're flying. They must try to articulate the value proposition to the artistic community. It is also important that they protect artists in a way that gives them the courage to make those magical records. So you, as the music executive, hire all these cottage industries to get the clicks if you must, but don't tax the artist for it. Let them spend time in the haystack looking for the needle. Don't make them chase the endless scroll. Make them chase the magic that we're all desperately in need of. How do you view protecting human artistry in the wake of AI's intervention into music? Our system is organised around the consumer. And I think the consumer longs for humanity. Where we could be helpful is to augment the human touch, not replace it. If we replace it, I think the consumer would not dig it as much. With AI, I think the consumer is digging the ability to manage their life more efficiently, but music isn't about efficiency. You don't navigate music, you get lost in it. Also read: Trying to choose the right laptop? It depends on what you want it for
Times
15-05-2025
- Science
- Times
Nuclear weapons are terrible — but it's foolish to ban the bomb
And then we all became crisps, and most of the world a vacant desert, unless one chanced to live in Argentina or Uruguay, which might be spared. 'Over time, almost no one will survive,' Mark Lynas writes in his revisit to the Dr Strangelove nuclear doomsday scenario. 'What is surprising … is how little anyone seems to care.' He means that, in a world insanely overburdened with nuclear weapons capable of extinguishing humankind, it is extraordinary that we seem so little moved by the prospect. In the 1950s we read novels such as Nevil Shute's On the Beach, which chronicled the last gasp of civilisation, implausibly set in Australia. And we trembled under our blankets. Today, however, we accord the nuclear threats of Vladimir
The Sun
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Punters sees ridiculous winnings from 25p bet TREBLED thanks to bookies
ONE canny William Hill customer had an Easter Monday to remember after scooping a staggering £21,383 from a modest 25p Lucky 15! Thanks to some shrewd selections - and a colossal boost from William Hill's Best Odds Guaranteed - the punter pocketed nearly £14,000 extra on top of their winnings. 1 The cheeky flutter, which turned into a life-changing payout, began with a bang when City Of Strangers bolted up in the 5.30pm at Redcar. Moments later, Battle It Out lived up to its name to claim the 5.40pm at Fairyhouse. Then came Dr Strangelove, who proved just the tonic in the 5.50pm at Kempton. Finally, the grand finale with Orchestra hitting all the right notes in the 6.20pm, also at Kempton. Without Best Odds Guaranteed and a 10% bonus for four winners, the return would've still been an impressive £7,391.72. But thanks to that savvy opt-in, the final payout soared to over £21K! Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: "We've been reminding customers to opt in to Best Odds Guaranteed and this is exactly why! "One shrewd punter combined four correct selections who all won within an hour of each other on Easter Monday, which would've seen them take home £7,391.72. "But thanks to them having opted in to Best Odds Guaranteed, they saw their winnings given a brilliant boost, jumping up to £21,383.73. "That's nearly £14,000 in extra winnings, and it just goes to show that Best Odds Guaranteed really is the punters' friend!" Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
As stock markets swing, remember: it pays to stay calm
One of my favourite Christmas presents last year was a small, framed picture of three words: It'll Be Fine. It was an in-joke: apparently, it is what I say. I suppose I do believe that most things are neither as bad as we fear nor as good as we hope. We muddle through and, most of the time, having been fortunate enough to have been born in Britain in the second half of the 20th century, it really has worked out well. This is certainly how I have learned to view my investments. I was not always so sanguine. Ironically, when I had less to lose, I worried more. Over time, I have realised that investing really is the Triumph of the Optimists, as a study of a hundred years of stock market performance described it a while ago. Or as the subtitle to Stanley Kubrick's 1964 black comedy Dr Strangelove put it: 'How I stopped worrying and learned to love the bomb.' The bomb, for investors, is a bear market – the sustained decline in the value of our investments that I have learned to, if not exactly love, then at least embrace. Just as well, you might say, because in recent years the bear has been a frequent visitor. We have experienced 20pc-plus declines in the value of shares four times in the past seven years. That is more than you might expect on the basis of the 30 bear markets in 190 years identified recently by Goldman Sachs.
The Guardian
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
On my radar: Kit de Waal's cultural highlights
Born in Birmingham in 1960, Mandy Theresa O'Loughlin is better known as author Kit de Waal. After a career as a magistrate specialising in adoption and foster care, she studied creative writing at Oxford Brookes University. Her debut novel, My Name Is Leon, was published in 2016, winning the Kerry Group Irish novel of the year award. De Waal, who chairs this year's judging panel for the Women's prize for fiction, is a fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, where she set up a scholarship for writers from marginalised backgrounds. Her latest book, The Best of Everything, is out now (Tinder Press. Dr Strangelove, Noël Coward theatre This was just extraordinary. Steve Coogan, who played Dr Strangelove and three other characters, has such stage presence that you don't notice it's a translation. You think of him as a comedian, but he's a really, really good actor. It's not the same as the film, but it translates very well. The set was incredible. Obviously, there are resonances between what's going on now and Dr Strangelove. It's cleverly done – a brilliant production. Sean Foley, who adapted and directed it, is a genius. Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches, Compton Verney, Warwickshire Compton Verney is a beautiful art gallery. At the moment it's displaying this unusual 17th-century painting: often you've got a white woman next to a black woman, but the black woman is subservient. This is one of the few paintings where both women are the same size and position. They're wearing these little spots of paper in the shape of a sun, moon and stars. They were a vanity thing: 'Oh, look at me. I look fabulous.' They look very strange, in fact – like when a man has shaved and he's got a bit of toilet paper on his face. Scott Matthews I recently went to see Scott Matthews, a folk singer I absolutely adore. He has won an Ivor Novello award but he's very under the radar. I've probably seen him five times. He's a sign writer by trade, so a friend of mine got him to write out the lyrics to my favourite song of his, calligraphy style. It's called Mona, which was the inspiration for my second novel: it's about a woman who doesn't come home, and it's about yearning. His music's fantastic, but the lyrics are extraordinary. I think the only person who has lyrics as good is Joni Mitchell. Paris Noir, Centre Pompidou At the weekend I'm going to Paris, and I can't wait. This is an exhibition of 150 black artists in France from 1950 to 2000, tracing their influence on French life, Paris and the international scene. I saw that it was coming and I couldn't have got tickets any faster. I think it's great to have something dedicated to black art at such a prestigious venue. I really applaud them for doing that. The work being showcased in the publicity material looked incredible. Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto by Candlelight, St Mary le Strand, London I go to hear this at least once a year – it's my favourite piece of music. I call it the theme music to Brief Encounter, which is probably a bit of an insult. It's a wonderful pairing of music and film: it speaks about sadness and deep love. I first saw the film when I was 18, and since then I can't bear to just hear one of the three movements. If ever I put it on, I make sure I've got 33 minutes to myself, so I can hear the whole thing. Whitby Abbey Last weekend, I went to Whitby and took the 199 steps up to Whitby Abbey to see where Bram Stoker got the inspiration for Dracula. It's very beautiful, atmospheric. I can absolutely see why he got the idea for a vampire from there. It's a gothic ruin on the top of a hill, overlooking the sea. It's black stone. While he was waiting for his wife to join him in Whitby, he found a book that talked about this count in Romania who used to kill his enemies with a stake through the heart, and he just put two and two together.
