This week's Trending Up looks at country and Americana's new A-list singer-songwriter, as well as the Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez face-off and Beyoncé's big synch gains. WWelcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. This week: Zach Bryan puts up undeniable star numbers with his new album release, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus square off with their simultaneous single releases, G-Eazy helps fans flash back to a different time in social media and more. It’s fitting that, on the Billboard charts, the summer will end with a male country artist once again reaching new commercial heights. Capping off a season of such success stories for Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony, Zach Bryan is poised to debut big with his self-titled new album following its release last Friday (Aug. 25), if early streaming numbers — particularly those for the Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything” — are any indication. The 16-song Zach Bryan earned a whopping 54.4 million U.S. on-demand streams on its release date, according to Luminate – and while its daily streams dropped a bit over the next few days, the follow-up to last year’s American Heartbreak had cleared nine-digit total streams by the end of Sunday, and had earned nearly 147 million streams by the end of Monday. Meanwhile, “I Remember Everything,” in which Bryan and Musgraves narrate a romance that has slipped away long ago, has been the album’s breakout track on streaming services, earning 18.1 million on-demand plays over its first four days of release. How high can “I Remember Everything” climb? On the Hot 100, Bryan has made it to No. 10 with “Something in the Orange,” and Musgraves has peaked at No. 60 with “Follow Your Arrow,” so both artists could earn new career highs with the same song. And after American Heartbreak peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 last year, Bryan, who announced a slew of stadium and arena dates for 2024 earlier this week, has his sights set on a potential first No. 1 on that chart. – JASON LIPSHUTZ Miley Leading Selena in Disney Star Single Showdown When pop heads noticed that pop stars Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus – once known for their respective starring roles on the ‘00s Disney teen shows Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana – were both releasing new singles on Friday (Aug. 25), it naturally brought out the spirit of competition between the longtime fans. The artists leaned into themselves on social media, with Cyrus reposting a video shared by one fan of her and Gomez trading barbs in an old episode of Hannah Montana where the latter guest starred, along with the message “@selenagomez and I are both dropping our new SINGLEs SOON…. I SAY WE #USEDTOBEYOUNG.” (“Single Soon” and “Used to Be Young” being the names of Gomez’s and Cyrus’ new releases, respectively.) Well, the early returns are in, and so far it appears that Cyrus’ “Young” has the lead on Gomez’s “Single” in both sales and streams. Through its first four days of release, “Young” has racked up over 10.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams and over 15,000 digital song sales, according to Luminate, while “Single” has amassed over 8.1 million streams and nearly 6,400 in sales – leads of 28% and 144%, respectively. (Both should be due for debuts in the top half of the Hot 100 next week, though they will probably be overshadowed somewhat by Bryan and Musgraves’ even more resounding bow.) And they’re not the only two kids-TV-to-adult-pop crossover stars with likely chart triumphs for next week. Ariana Grande, former Nickelodeon Victorious and Sam & Cat actress, has also seen huge spikes for her 2013 debut album Yours Truly upon its 10th anniversary, which she commemorated with a deluxe reissue and a series of commemorative festivities. The album skyrocketed to nearly 3.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Friday, up a resounding 946% from the previous Friday (323,000). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER G-Eazy’s “Tumblr Girls” Rides the TikTok Nostalgia Wave “pov: it’s 2014, ur 8 years old and see all the teenage girls with their Starbucks, PINK and striped crop tops and u wish u were a teenager!” Two weeks ago, a TikTok user posted this caption to a clip of themselves grooving out in their bedroom and earned 770,000 likes and 5,000 comments; the soundtrack to that adolescent memory was G-Eazy’s 2014 track “Tumblr Girls,” featuring Christoph Andersson, which has become a sort of nostalgia anthem in recent weeks as TikTok users look back on their mid-2010s memories. G-Eazy actually isn’t featured in the trending part of the song; instead, it’s the song’s outro – crooned by the rapper’s frequent studio collaborator Andersson, with the lines “Never knew her name, they’re looking all the same to me/ They only chase the fame, there’s no one left to blame but me” – being highlighted in TikTok clips. As more videos of 2014 flashbacks accumulate, “Tumblr Girls” has shot up in overall listens, with weekly streams basically quadrupling from 552,000 the week ending Aug. 10 to 2.25 million two weeks later, according to Luminate. “Tumblr Girls” never charted upon its debut, but it’s become a fan favorite — so much so that two years ago, G-Eazy released a sequel, “Running Wild (Tumblr Girls 2),” although TikTok has yet to scoop that one up in the same way. – JL Beyoncé’s “XO” Gets Streams ‘Turned’ Up by Teen TV Sensation We’ve written plenty on Billboard about the extensive artistic partnership Amazon Prime’s hit coming-of-age drama The Summer I Turned Pretty has developed with Taylor Swift, having featured over a dozen of Swift’s songs across its two seasons. But the show’s second season proved that it can also deploy the music of another pop icon currently on a globe-conquering world tour: Beyoncé, whose 2014 classic “XO” is featured in the finale’s climactic scene, resolving the long-building love triangle between the characters Belly (Lola Tung) and brothers Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and and Conrad (Christopher Briney). The scene had an unsurprising impact on viewers, who then proceeded to stream the Beyoncé self-titled ballad en masse. The song jumped from 388,000 official on-demand streams for the tracking week ending Aug. 17 (the day before the finale was released to streaming) to nearly 990,000 streams for the following week – a jump of 155%, according to Luminate. With Summer already having been renewed for a third season, you can bet that pop stars of all shapes and sizes will be angling to get a prime sync on the Prime smash. – AU Q&A: Christine Rogerson, SVP of Business Operations at Vibee, on What’s Trending Up in Her World A very hectic season in the live industry is coming to a close. What was Vibee’s focus over the summer? Vibee spent the summer hosting and engaging with our fans at several festival integrations like Lollapalooza in Chicago, Day Trip in Long Beach, TidalWave in Atlantic City, and BeachIt! in Virginia Beach. We were also in the thick of our planning processes for the monumental U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere run of shows in Las Vegas, Lionel Richie’s Dancing on the Sand in the Bahamas, the inaugural EDSea cruise, and Tiesto’s Chasing Sunsets in Cabo San Lucas. Can you speak a little bit about the newly announced immersive U2 fan portal and what attendees can expect? Fans are in for a real treat with the Zoo Station fan portal. The portal was developed by Vibee in collaboration with Gavin Friday, who is U2’s longtime creative director, and with insight and input from the band. Fans will move throughout 12,000 square feet of immersive exhibits over two floors. Key attractions include the incredible Anton Corbijn Gallery featuring photos and videos from the famed photographer as well as the Zoo Station Cinema which is curated by The Edge himself! For those fans who love memorabilia, the U2 Pop-Up Shop will be a must visit with a variety of collectibles, including a capsule collection of limited edition exclusive U2:UV items. It’s truly a special experience for newer or those dedicated fans of U2. What industry-wide trends did you notice this summer in terms of the evolution of immersive fan experiences? Right now, fans are still prioritizing entertainment and travel in their personal budgets but, as discretionary dollars become more precious, we have to ensure that we are presenting people with standout experiences that meet or exceed their needs and expectations on multiple levels. People are looking for memory-making opportunities and bucket list moments. As a destination experience company, Vibee is seeking out those ways that we can engage with fans, curate an experience, weave in a story, and connect great music with amazing destinations. The feedback that we received from fans is that they were searching out those unique experiences and shared moments at the events that they were able to attend. We aim to deliver on that. Fill in the blank: in the next few years, concertgoers will be surprised by ______. …the ways in which immersive experiences continue to enhance live music events, which is exactly what Vibee is committed to accomplishing through our artist partnerships, thoughtful curation, destination selection, and bespoke inclusions. – JL

Try to be on topic Xbox One vs PS4 Introduction The Xbox One and PS4 are almost here. Pre-order allocations for each console have already sold out, meaning that if you want to get a next-gen console on day one, you had better be ready to queue for a shop praying they have stock. Looking to the current console kings, the Xbox 360 and PS3 have both sold over 75 million units, and have been around for the best part of a decade. Will the next generation prove as popular? Pre-orders in the millions suggest they will. But which is likely to come out on top? We've compared the two consoles to help you make the right decision. Updated: 27/09/2013 We finally know the UK release dates of both the Xbox One and PS4. Although the PS4 will get out there first globally, on 15 November, it's actually the Xbox One that'll land on our shores first. The Xbox One will be released here on 22 November, a week before the PS4's 29 November release date. 22 November is a 'global' release date for the Microsoft console, when it'll launch in the Xbox One's 13 key markets. That includes both the US and the UK. If you pre-ordered a 'day one' edition of th Xbox One, you'll get a free copy of FIFA 14 with the console. Later pre-orders will get a copy of Forza Motorsport 5 - mostly because they sold out of copies of FIFA to give away with the Xbox One. Xbox One First Look We'v been lucky enough to have a first-hand look at Microsoft's new console. If you want to get your eyes on it, watch the video below. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Price and Release Date Xbox One - £429, November release PS4 - £349, 29 November UK release Sony has finally officially unveiled the release date of the PS4. The date of 29 November, a Friday, was revealed at Gamescom 2013, one of the year’s most important gaming expos. We lose out a little in the UK here, as it’ll land on 15 November in the US. During the conference, Sony announced that the PS4 had racked-up a million pre-orders. The Xbox One will land on 22 November, meaning in the UK it's here a week earlier. Although it'll get to the UK a week later, the Sony PS4 benefits from being cheaper. It costs £349.99 while the Xbox One costs £429 - a disparity of £80. The price difference has earnt Microsoft much criticsm, but it's an easy issue to explain away. The Xbox One comes with a Kinect sensor, which is needed to make the console function. Current-gen Kinect costs around £100, and as the next generation model is much more advanced, it accounts for the entire price difference. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Stock If you wanted to pre-order a PS4 for the console's release date, you're already too late. On 8 August, Sony announced that the initial stock allocation for the PS4 had run dry - massive numbers of pre-orders saw to that. At the time of writing, you can still pre-order an Xbox One for its release. It's not game over yet, though. Part of the reason why Sony has run out of pre-order stock already is that it is holding back consoles to go into stores on launch day. You might need to get up early, but it'll be worth it. As yet, we don't know how long after launch the 'second wave' of PS4s will start shipping out - as it's highly likely that the initial in-store stock will sell out very quickly. Xbox One Unboxing Video Want a closer look at the Xbox One? On 8 August, Microsoft posted an unboxing of the upcoming console. It offers precisely zero surprises but gives you a better look of how big the console is. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Design Xbox One – 10 per cent larger than 360, 'big black box' design, 3.18kg PS4 – Slanted design, 2.8kg The Xbox One and PS4 are completely different prospects bodywork-wise. Microsoft’s Xbox One is far, far larger – an imposing black monolith of the living room. The PS4 is sleeker, slimmer and less likely to dominate your under-TV space. Both keep the severe, black and masculine style that’s common to games consoles, though. This picture demonstrates the size difference very well. The Xbox One is 10 per cent larger than its predecessor, the current Xbox 360. It weighs around the same as the current console, though, at roughly 3kg. The PS4 is only marginally lighter, at 2.8kg. This shouldn’t come as a great surprise, though, as they both have to fit in similar components. Why the extra size in the Xbox One? It’s likely that part of the internal volume of the Xbox One’s case is there to aid cooling. Overheating was a significant problem in the Xbox 360, responsible for causing many of the red ring issues that plagued the console’s earlier years. Xbox One vs Sony PS4- Which is more powerful? If you're a hardcore gamer, there's a good chance you care about how your games look. And that's all down to the power a console has on tap. Which of the new consoles is more powerful? The simple answer is the PS4. We'll look deeper into the technical reasons why in a minute. However, it's worth noting that it's likely there will only be minor differences in titles releasd for both consoles. There's little benefit for a developer in making one version a good deal prettier than the other. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – CPU Xbox One – AMD 8-core Jaguar CPU PS4 - AMD 8-core Jaguar CPU The next Xbox and PS4 use extremely similar CPUs, made by AMD. Both use an APU setup, which links together both CPU and GPU into one package. They’re 8–core chips using ‘Jaguar’ cores – a term picked by their maker AMD to denote their chipset generation. The Xbox One runs at 1.75GHz, which was bumped-up from their original spec of 1.6GHz. Sony hasn't actually confirmed the clock speed of its PS4 CPU. However, even it is set at 1.6GHz, slower than the Xbox One, it's the GPU that will really matter. The difference in core processor power isn’t likely to be that great, and that both consoles use x86 architecture will make life much easier for developers – simplifying the porting process. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – GPU and RAM Xbox One – Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB DDR3 RAM with 32MB eSRAM PS4 - Comparable to Radeon HD 7000-series, 8GB GDDR5 RAM The PS4 and Xbox One both use an AMD GPU. At first glance it seems like their GPUs may be identical, but they are not. The PS4 graphics processor is 50 per cent more powerful, with 1152 shader processors against the Xbox One’s 768. Realising that this sounded pretty bad, Microsoft worked on upping the One's power a bit and on 2 August announced that its GPU speed from 800MHz to 853MHz. It's a nice tweak for the tech heads, but doesn't see the Xbox One match up to the PS4. Having extra processing power will let the PS4 perform more tasks simultaneously – which should in theory allow for more impressive visual effects. A more impressive GPU is matched with more impressive-sounding RAM. The PS4 uses GDDR5 RAM, while the Xbox One has more conventional DDR3 memory – and both have 8GB of the stuff. GDDR5 has much higher bandwidth than DDR3, designed for intensive applications such as in graphics cards, while DDR3 is ‘bog standard’ system memory. If DDR3 was all the Xbox One had, it’d be in serious trouble. But it also has an eSRAM buffer that should help to bridge the 100GB/sec bandwidth gap between the two RAM types. It has a 32MB chunk of eSRAM that will function as a frame buffer. The news that the Sony PS4 is (almost) categorically more powerful than the Xbox One is one of the reasons why the PS4 pre-order sold out before the Xbox One's. With a more powerful GPU and, seemingly, faster memory, the PS4 is clearly out in front on graphical specs. But how do they pan out compared to PC graphics cards? The Xbox One is said to be on-par with a Radeon 7790, the PS4 a Radon 7870. Unless you're a PC gamer, that's really not going to mean much. Let's reduce it to cold hard cash. That the Radeon 7790 costs around £100 and the Radeon 7870 £150 tells you all you need to know. However, EA’s chief technology officer Rajat Teneja claims that the consoles are a whole generation ahead of the top-end PCs on the market. To some that’ll seem like a ridiculous statement when top-end gaming PCs cost thousands of pounds, and these consoles will cost a few hundred. What’s less contentious is that the Xbox One and PS4 are around 8-10 times as powerful as the previous-gen Xbox 360 and PS3. However, let’s not forget that an increase in graphical fidelity requires an exponential increase in power – so we won’t be looking at games that look 8-10 times as good. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 –Graphics A key question for any head-to-head in the games world is - which has better graphics? It is a question that is, and will probably always be, very difficult to impossible to answer. As with the current Xbox 360 vs PS3 battle, which console has prettier graphics will vary from game-to-game, and generally the difference is not that great. It's all down to the way games are made. A developer produces a game for a 'lead sku', the core platform that it decides to create the building blocks of a game on. That game is then ported over to the other platforms it is to be released on. Of course, with a project that's as big a deal as an AAA console game, work will happen on the Xbox One and PS4 versions simultaneously. The one way to guess at which console has the greater graphics potential is to look at what is going on under the hood - checking out the CPU, the GPU and the core system memory that run the show. Xbox One vs PS4 - Launch Games and Exclusive Games Following Gamescom 2013, we know the entire list of games we'll see released for PS4 at the console's launch (boxed games only). Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Battlefield 4 Call of Duty: Ghosts Driveclub FIFA 14 Just Dance 2014 Killzone: Shadow Fall Knack LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Madden NFL 25 NBA 2K14 NBA LIVE Need for Speed: Rivals Skylanders: Swap Force Watch Dogs And for the Xbox One: Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Battlefield 4 Call of Duty: Ghosts Crimson Dragon Dead Rising 3 FIFA 14 Fighter Within Forza Motorsport 5 Just Dance 2014 Killer Instinct LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Lococycle Madden NFL 25 NBA 2K14 NBA LIVE 14 Need for Speed: Rivals Powerstar Golf Ryse: Son of Rome Skylanders: Swap Force Watch Dogs Zoo Tycoon Zumba Fitness: World Party Many of the best upcoming games for the next-generation consoles are not exclusives. Bungie's Destiny, Battlefield 4, Assassin's Creed IV and many others will arrive for both systems. And as the consoles use the same processor architecture, porting between the two should be fairly easy. However, it's the games that won't come to both consoles that should affect your buying decision - Xbox or PlayStation? Although the PS4 will reportedly have more exclusives within its first year, we actually know about more Xbox One exclusive games at present. Here's the run-down. Xbox One Exclusives Halo 5 What is it? The next-gen instalment of the key Xbox game series – an extra-terrestrial first-person shooter. Dead Rising 3 What is it? Zombies, zombies, zombies. A third-person action adventure. It’s darker than the previous games and is set in an open-world environment rather than a hemmed-in mall. Forza Motorsport 5 What is it? The Xbox’s answer to Gran Turismo. A half-serious driving game with hundreds of cars and beautiful visuals. TitanFall What is it? A first-person multiplayer shooter from the old heads of the development team that made Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward.) Killer Instinct What is it? A one-on-one fighter resurrected from the 16-bit days of gaming. Think Mortal Kombat with even weirder characters. Sunset Overdrive What is it? A colourful mutant-filled action game with a world reminiscent of Jet Set Radio – but packed with zombies. Made by Insomniac games. Ryse What is it? A brutal first-person melee action title from Crytek, the maker of the Far Cry and Crysis games. Project Spark What is it? A ‘game making’ game that’s comparable in many respects to Sony’s LittleBigPlanet. Quantum Break What is it? An action-packed shooter in which you can manipulate time. Here’s hoping it’s better than the current-gen Timeshift. Below What is it? An artsy-looking indie adventure from the maker of Sword and Sworcery. PS4 Exclusives Driveclub What is it? A racer that’s out to take on Forza Motorsport 5 with a more arcade-like take on racing. Killzone: Shadowfall What is it? A gorgeous-but-grim first-person shooter, continuing the PlayStation-exclusive series. Infamous: Second Son What is it? The third large-scale Infamous game, in which you play as a man with superpowers. Knack What is it? A bright and breezy third-person action-adventure, and one of the most family-friendly launch titles. Octodad: Deadliest Catch What is it? A bonkers indie game in which you play as an octopus. The Order: 1886 What is it? An action game set in Victorian London. Xbox One vs PS4 - DRM Policies Until earlier this year, it was thought that the Xbox One would take an aggressive and novel approach to games DRM - digital rights management. This is the copy protection uses to try and combat piracy. When the Xbox One was first announced, and at its E3 showing, we believed the console would need to connect to the internet regularly in order to function. The positive side of this is that you would no longer need a game disc to play a game - making the Xbox One a jukebox of instantly-playable installed games. Sounds good, eh? There were several negatives to this approach. Games rental was thrown out the window, as was free sharing of game discs between friends. Games trade-ins were to be limited to approved partners too - sure to make games retailers a bit anxious. This caused a huge backlash among gamers, especailly as the Sony had already announced its intention to use traditional disc-based approach to its PS4 anti-piracy measures - with no need for an online check-in. On 19 June, Xbox's Don Mattrick wrote on the Xbox blog that the online check-in was to be scrapped. ]You will no longer need internet access to play an Xbox One. But you will need to have the disc in the drive in order to play a game. And although downloadable versions are available as well as the disc type, these can't be shared among friends at all. Sony never had any plans - that we know of - to use an aggressive anti-piracy DRM system. While there are sure to be downloadable updates for games, you won't need to have internet access to play a disc-based game with the PS4. Unless it's an online-only multiplayer game of course. Therefore, the Xbox One and PS4 will function much as the PS3 and Xbox 360 do today. [Commercially, the biggest impact this will have is in allowing the second-hand games market to function just as it does now. It'll be up to the games publishers to introduce ways to dissuade buyers from purchasing used games - most likely by offering one-use unlock codes that give access to additional content in the boxes of new games. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Motion Control [Xbox One – Mandatory Kinect (2.0) PS4 – PlayStation Move Microsoft has thoroughly re-worked motion sensor Kinect for the next-generation Xbox One. It’s now something that comes with every Xbox One - and Microsoft says it has no plans to sell consoles without Kinect. Xbox One Kinect, previously dubbed Kinect 2.0, is higher-fidelity than the first-gen model. It uses 1080p cameras where the original Kinect has a much lower-res VGA sensor. Even budget phones use higher-res cameras than that. The new Kinect also uses an IR sensor to more reliably discern depth of its view field – making it much more accurate at judging the distance between the Kinect and objects. Its field of view is much larger, making it easier to setup and use. Kinect is programmed to discern all joint movement, and even separates thumbs from your fingers. It’s far more powerful than the Xbox 360’s Kinect. The PS4 stays using Move, the motion control system used by the PS3. However, Move is now built into the controller. There’s a Move light on its back, used by the PS4 console to judge its position, while harvesting accelerometer data from the controller’s insides for higher-fidelity motion-sensing. Sony does have an additional bit of tech that provides more Kinect-like features, the PS4 camera. Like Kinect, it's a camera 'bar' that will sit by your TV. The plan was reportedly to include this with the console as standard, but Sony backtracked when it realised it could beat the Xbox One on price by not including it. The PS4 camera costs £50 so would have substantially increased the cost of the console. However, it's not a mandatory part of the PS4 experience, where Kinect is with the Xbox One. The downside to this, of course, is that it'll make developers much less keen to add camera functionality to their games, as it automatically blocks out part of the gaming audience. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – TV and Multimedia Xbox One – HDMI pass-thru for TV operation, streaming services inc. Netflix [PS4 - Streaming services inc. Netflix, LoveFilm Both consoles will offer a wide array of streaming services at, or just after, launch. We're yet to learn th full line-up to expect, but the current roster is likely to appear - Netflix, LoveFilm, Sky Now TV and iPlayer area dead certs. [To date, Sony has been much quicker at adopting these new services. However, now that the relationships are already in place, we expect all the big names to be involved from day one. The Xbox One’s big multimedia win is the use of HDMI pass-thru to let you control certain digiboxes using Kinect, and your controller. At the console’s launch Microsoft showed off asking your console to search for TV programmes using the Kinect’s voice recognition. However, some of the Xbox One’s TV functionality will not be in the UK – at launch. Microsoft’s idea is that the Xbox One will become the centre of the living room, by making you do your TV watching through the console. But don't bet on it being as good as that may sound in your head. The Xbox One's media services will also require a subscription to Xbox Live Gold. Netflix, LoveFilm and even the TV control feature will also demand an Xbox Live Gold account. This costs around £40 a year, although shop around and you'll find a year's subscription for around £30. Sony has confirmed that you will not need a subscription to PlayStation Plus to access video streaming services on the PS4. PlayStation Plus is Sony's Xbox Live Golf equivalent. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Optical drive and Storage Xbox One – Blu-ray PS4 – Blu-ray In the previous generation of consoles, the PS3 went for Blu-ray and the Xbox 360 used DVD and dipped a toe in the HD DVD waters, with an optional HD DVD player accessory. The HD DVD format died a death, although thanks to the relatively small storage needed by this generation’s games, it could make do with DVD. For this generation, DVDs won’t be good enough. Unless we’re going to start having games with 10 discs. ]Some have suggested that this generation’s consoles will do without optical drives, this is premature. Both consoles use a Blu-ray drive, with discs capable of storing up to 50GB a piece. Both consoles also have a 500GB hard drive. This will be used for game installs (a hard drive can read and transfer data much faster than an optical drive), and to download games from PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Game downloads have become a big part of modern consol culture, and we only see that increasing in the next generation. Xbox One vs Sony PS4 – Controller Xbox One – Minor re-design, Kinect redesign [PS4 – Moderate re-design, integrated Move Sony has given the Sixaxis a fairly significant redesign with the PS4. There’s now a lot more control packed into the pad’s body, with a trackpad that sits between the D-pad and the buttons. There’s also a Move light on the controller’s rear, letting it function like the Move motion control ‘sticks’ available today. The final – slight - change in direction comes with the share button, which lets you quickly share moments of gameplay. There are some pretty serious changes here, but it shouldn’t feel too different in the hand. The controller’s shape is much the same as the current-model The Xbox One controller is a lot closer to the current edition, but Microsoft does claim that more than 40 improvements have been made. What's new? Most of the changes relate to ergonomics, but the new controller also has an integrated battery compartment, Wi-Fi Direct and new triggers. Xbox One or PS4 - Which should I buy? Right now the question of which next-generation console to buy is largely academic. Pre-orders have sold out, meaning you'll always have a while to change your mind. However, the Sony PS4 has a pretty solid claim as the 'gamer's console'. Its basic package is cheaper and its graphics processor is more powerful. You also don't have to sign up to any additional paid services in order to access things like Netflix, LoveFilm and so on. It's the people's console. There's a lot of potential to be unlocked in the new Kinect, though, and the Xbox One argubly has the more interesting exclusive games, so far.

The band's Las Vegas Residency launches on Friday (Sept. 29). Get ready to rattle and hum: U2‘s Las Vegas residency kicks off Friday (Sept. 29). The band added several more shows to U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere, which was originally announced in a Super Bowl commercial. In anticipation of the Las Vegas residency, U2 will drop a new single, “Atomic City,” on Friday. The band released the music video teaser on Wednesday. Tickets to the Las Vegas residency currently start at around $200-$250 on sites such as StubHub, Seat Geek, Vivid Seats and Ticketmaster. BUY NOW U2 LAS VEGAS RESIDENCY TICKETS According to an announcement in May, U2.com paid subscribers were able to submit a presale ticket request for the newly added shows even if they already have tickets for previous concerts. Presale and general onsale began in May. Citing “unprecedented demand,” the band — who have nearly two dozen Grammys under their belt — announced the new batch of residency concerts at The Sphere on May 12, with the press release noting that there had been more than 1 million ticket requests at the time. The eight additional concerts brings the show total to 25, with the recently added dates happening Dec. 1-16. This isn’t the first time U2 has extended its residency. In addition to new dates added in May, the band added seven dates in late April, also citing demand for tickets in its decision to tack on more shows. “U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again,” Bono, The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton said in a previous statement announcing the Las Vegas residency at the new, state-of-the art theater at The Venetian. “And what a unique stage they’re building for us out there in the desert. We’re the right band, Achtung Baby the right album, and Sphere the right venue to take the live experience of music to the next level. That’s what U2’s been trying to do all along with our satellite stages and video installations, most memorably on the ZOO TV Tour, which ended in Tokyo 30 years ago this fall. Sphere is more than just a venue, it’s a gallery and U2’s music is going to be all over the walls.”

The Portland-based experimental electronic producer today (June 9) releases his first album in nine years, Syntheism. Eprom For more than 15 years, Eprom has been delivering some of the dance’s sphere’s most heavy-hitting, left-of-center experimental electronic music. This textural, nuanced and often very hard output has placed him alongside peers including G Jones and Alix Perez, scored him slots at both major festivals (Electic Forest, EDC Vegas, Electric Zoo) and prestige clubs (Los Angeles’ Low End Theory and Hamburg’s Golden Pudel), grabbed the attention of designer Rick Owens (who’s used Eprom’s “The Cat” to soundtrack marketing materials and fashion shows) and impressed Aphex Twin enough that the electronic icon opened a 2016 show with Eprom’s “Samurai.” Much of this music has been created in the backyard studio from which the Portland-based producer, born Alexander Dennis, speaks with Billboard via Zoom on a sunny May afternoon. The occasion is his new LP, Syntheism. Out today (June 9), it marks the first Eprom album in nine years and finds the producer at the height of his powers, with the 15 tracks taking surprise left turns, sometimes embracing melody and sometimes ditching it completely in favor of distorted, rapidfire beats that hit the neocortex like a sledgehammer. The album is conceptually tied together by an alternative history that imagines what reality would be like today if the drought that preceded the collapse of the Akkadian Empire — the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Iraq — never occurred. Through this mental exercise Eprom has created his vision of techno-utopian society, with its own culture, languages and beliefs, and with each track on the album named after a hypothetical organization that fostered the achievements of this hypothetical world. “All my previous projects had been very dystopian in intent, reflecting all the ills of the world,” Eprom says. “I felt like it was time to offer an alternative.” If this all sounds heady, trust that it will get even headier when Eprom performs a one-night-only show, Syntheism Robotics, at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on July 29. The performance — a collision of music, technology and utopian visions — will extend the themes of the album and, naturally, involve custom-built robots. Here, Eprom talks about his love of The Prodigy, Primus and Haddaway (yes, Haddaway), the consolidation of the dance music space and more. 1. Where are you in the world right now, and what’s the setting like? I’m in Portland. I’m in my studio, which is a building in my backyard. And it’s a nice day. This is where I do most of my work, and this is where I made the album and built the show I’m doing now. 2. What was the first piece of music you bought for yourself, and what was the format? I bought Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion II on CD. I was really into it. But my mom worked at the Music Library at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. So at that point she had already made me a lot of cassette tapes of stuff I was into. I could go in there and check out records and listen to them on their nice Hi-Fi setups. When I was nine or so I was listening to the Beatles and Michael Jackson and Queen. When I was 10, I got really into Nine Inch Nails. Major shift, and just that sort of shift in attitude of being a kid to being a tween and wanting to distance yourself from your parents’ aesthetics and tastes. That hit me hard, and I started getting into punk rock and Minor Threat and alternative bands like Primus and Nirvana and stuff like that. 3. Did the Dartmouth library and Primus and Nirvana, or did you have to go elsewhere? Oh, yeah, they had everything. They had a huge cross section of every kind of music. I remember checking out the Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which is still a majorly influential piece for me. And you could get the sheet music too, so I’d read the sheet music and listen to the piece. I was really into that piece because it was in the movie Fantasia, in the dinosaur part. So I was obsessed with it. It was so discordant and gnarly and scary. I just love that about it. So that was a major formative musical experience growing up, having that library to go to after school. 4. That segues very well to my next question, which is: What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid, and and what did they think of what you do now? My mom worked at that library. She also worked at the Dartmouth English Library. She was continuing education throughout that time, going for a master’s degree. My dad was a stockbroker, and he still is. He has also played bass in bands pretty much his whole life, and still plays. That was another major musical touch point for me — the fact that my dad was always playing gigs and rehearsing around the house. They’re proud of what I do. My dad loves funk and soul and blues and stuff, but he also has a taste for experimental music, and he has a pretty strong understanding of what I do. He’s come out to a bunch of the shows. 5. What is the first non-gear thing you bought for yourself when you started making money as an artist? I was a full-time graphic designer and web designer and also doing shows. So I had money at the time from working at this startup company, and music was a hobby. It was sort of a soft transition rather than “all of a sudden I’m making a bunch of money in music.” It was more, “I’m making less money now because I want to focus on music.” I didn’t run out and buy new toys or anything. I spent so much money on gear. But I went out and bought a really dope fixed-gear bike when I was like, 25, to ride around in San Francisco. I was riding all the time, and I just had a beater and wanted a really nice one. 6. If you had to recommend one album for someone looking to get into electronic music, what would you give them? That’s a really hard question. I think a lot of the backbone of my sound would be encapsulated in The Prodigy‘s Experience, which is from like, ’92 I believe. It just nails that whole rave aesthetic of the time. Not all my stuff sounds like that, but it’s always been a major influence on me. 7. Syntheism is your first album in nine years. Why has there been so much time since your last LP, Halflife? I made a bunch of EPs during that time. I had a sketch for an album around 2015, and I scrapped it and basically condensed it into an EP, and those tunes ended up in various releases. Now I’ve just had the opportunity to put it together because of the pandemic — I had so much time right here in the studio during 2020. I could just do stuff that wasn’t specifically geared towards the dancefloor and felt better on an album. I think that’s the case with a lot of music coming out these days. There’s a bit of a broader range of the sonic palette on a lot of the releases I’m hearing, because people generated so much stuff for themselves, or let go of some of their expectations — whether they be self-imposed or externally imposed by what works on a dancefloor. It was liberating for me to have so much free time and so much creative freedom. 8. The album also has a really interesting, I don’t know if you’d necessarily call it backstory, but mythology, regarding the Akkadian Empire. Tell me about that? I came up with that in collaboration with Jackson Greene, who’s my art director. He and I had some conversations about the first song, which is essentially a series of logo drops like you would see at the beginning of a movie — like the 20th Century Fox logo drop has an associated sonic identity with it. I made those as sketches, and then tied them all together as the intro to the album, like it’s a movie. Retroactively, we were like, “What could these mean? What could they represent?” And we came up with this utopian alternative reality, in which the the empire of Akkad, the Akkadian Empire, never perished and became the the most dominant cultural force in the world, in a way that the Roman Empire is for us in reality. What if they gave us the evolution of writing? They were the most influential political force for a really long time — what would the world look like now [if it had stayed that way?] It’s an alternative reality, but it’s also a utopian future positive aspirational reality. It’s asking what corporate aesthetics would look like if they weren’t so driven by capitalism and greed. That gave us a really fertile ground for creating all the visual components of the of the album. The single covers represent products in this alternative reality … and most of the visuals in the live show touch on various aspects of that world too … I didn’t write the album with all that stuff in mind, but it’s helped tie everything together aesthetically for the show. 9. Do you have a longstanding interest in history? Was this already in your repertoire of knowledge? I have a longstanding interest in art history. I minored in art history. Until recently I’ve never really delved into that rise and fall of empires kind of stuff. Now I’m finding it really interesting. I’m interested in the history of language specifically, and especially letter forms and typography and design. I’m also interested in drawing parallels and finding connections between the past and potential futures, and learning from the past and drawing on everything we have. 10. Does making those parallels, or even doing a history-based project like this, give you hope for the future? Yeah, that’s the point. I’m imagining what [reality would be like] if we really internalized the lessons of history. How would our world improve? So yeah, it’s a utopian vision. That felt important to me, because the world felt so dystopian at the time, and all my previous projects had been very dystopian in intent, reflecting all the ills of the world. I felt like it was time to offer an alternative. So that’s where I went with the album and the background aesthetics. 11. The Denver show looks insane. What was it like putting it all together? We found this robotics company in Portland and just loved the stuff that they were doing. We hit them up, and we’ve been building the technical side of the show for a really long time. There’s a whole visual component to the show. Programming the robots, each song has its own sequence of maneuvers the robots do. It’s a lot of moving parts, and a lot of people came together to make it all happen. 12. Are you taking this all on tour, or is it just the one show in Denver next month? We did one show in Portland, and that was the proof of concept. Now we’re gonna bring it to Denver and potentially as many places as we can. It’s super expensive and hard to put on, so we can’t do it everywhere. We can do it where it can be supported. But Denver is perfect, because there’s already a great community and a lot of fans, so it seems like the next logical step. 13. Talk to me about Denver. I feel like the scene there is so unique and sort of singular in its tastes. What you seems very well suited for that city, as does music by artists I imagine you would consider peers. What’s going on in Denver that you perhaps don’t find elsewhere in the U.S., or globally? I think there’s a confluence of forces there. One is just having a lot of young people there. A lot of them are down to go out and party. I’m not really sure why that is, but it’s just true. [Laughs.] And so every show does well in Denver, no matter who it is. And there’s also a lot of good clubs there. When I started playing shows, I lived in San Francisco, and the first city I flew to to play a show at was Denver, and they were just very receptive. It’s always been a killer scene there. 14. In the day to day work of covering electronic music, so much of what comes across is house and techno, tech house, crossover pop, etc. But bass music doesn’t necessarily pushed as hard or discussed as much. What’s your take on where bass music is at in 2023? I think it’s having a renaissance There’s a lot of interest in this genre-defying flavor of bass music that’s happening right now, and I think that’s really great. There’s a lot of experimentation. I definitely consider myself bass music, and I come from that world. But also a lot of the stuff on the album is just pure electronic music and doesn’t really fit into that scene exactly. But I do think that scene is better than it’s ever been. There’s so much cool stuff happening. If you look just below the surface of mainstream EDM, there’s so many talented producers and so much cool music right now. 15. Do you have any guilty pleasure music? Yeah, kind of, but I don’t feel guilty about it. I really like happy hardcore and the cheesier side of ’90s dance and Eurodance stuff. Stuff like mid-’90s dance pop crossovers, like Haddaway, that kind of s–t. Happy Hardcore, I could never get away with playing at a show, but I love that s–t. 16. The most exciting thing happening in electronic music currently is? The democratization of technology is exciting to me. Computers getting cheaper, kids being able to make the music they hear in their heads with like, a $500 laptop is exciting to me. Music is just going to get better because of it. And the accessibility of knowledge is exciting to me — YouTube and tutorials and the collective knowledge we all have is exciting — because it’s just going to produce more and more interesting iterations of these ideas that have been out there for a long time. 17. The most annoying thing happening in electronic music currently is? I mean, I try not to be a hater about stuff, but I think that there are some real problems in the scene. The consolidation of festivals and venues is a big problem. And these aren’t aesthetic problems, they’re problems rooted in capitalism, and they’re problems of people not getting the shine they deserve — or of recycled lineups, because of things getting too big and small promoters getting pushed out and small clubs and bars not being able to sustain themselves. Sometimes those problems create aesthetic problems. A recycled lineup means everything’s going to sound the same, or a bigger and bigger festival means the sound has to be more and more bombastic and more and more lowest common denominator and there’s less room for experimentation. Those are problems in the scene, but they can be overcome. And those problems do sort of create their own little aesthetic whirlpools. You have all this stuff where people are trying to make festival bangers and that’s their focus, and in order to get on a big stage, you have to make a certain sound. You can hear it in the music though, and you can tell when someone’s being authentic or when somebody’s chasing clout. 18. What’s been the proudest moment of your career so far? I think Aphex Twin playing my music was the most personally validating thing. 19. What’s the best business decision you’ve ever made? Hiring a manager. I love my manager. He’s the best. I resisted the path of having a team around me for a long time, because I’m such a control freak and so independent, and it felt like capitulating to the demands of the market. Then I finally got one and realized how much pressure it takes off me as an artist and how much I don’t have to deal with all the day-to-day stuff. It’s so much better. 20. What’s one piece of advice you give to your younger self? Work harder. I have never had much of a work ethic until I was older. I met G Jones and I saw his work ethic and worked together with him. I was like, “Oh my god, this is how you really get some art made in this world. You just have to grind.” If I could tell my younger self that, I would. But you know, I wouldn’t take anything back. I am who I am today because of what I did then, and I’m happy.

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"I mean, two new songs?" 'SNL' host and musical guest Lizzo said with a laugh in her sketch with Please Don't Destroy. "I don't have those." Lizzo attends the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center on March 14, 2021 in Los Angeles. “Special” wasn’t the only new song Lizzo debuted on SNL this weekend. With late-night comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy’s assistance, the singer overcame a bout of writer’s block and brought “Horny Zookeeper” to life. In a writing night sketch, Saturday night’s (Feb. 16) host and musical guest sat down for a hilarious meeting with Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy. “I mean, two new songs?” she said with a laugh. “I don’t have those … I’m not joking.” Bob Dylan Just Announced Some New 2022 Tour Dates 04/17/2022 “I got writer’s block. Can you write me a new song? I’m gonna need you to write me a new song. New song now, b—-. Go,” demanded Lizzo. “I need y’all to write a Black woman anthem,” she clarified, before everyone in the room realized that really wasn’t going to work out. Lizzo was just about to give up when Please Don’t Destroy mentioned a sketch idea that inspired her to come up with some lyrics on the spot: “The bedroom is my petting zoo/ Said the bedroom is my petting zoo, little mama/ I got tiger claws, and you’re my llama llama/ Gonna set you on my lap like a duck, that’s the plan/ Then I make you eat a quarter with the seeds out the palm of my hand/ ‘Cause I’m a horny zookeeper/ You know that I’m a horny, horny, horny zookeeper.” Watch her perform “Horny Zookeeper” below, and see the full episode on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here.

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The drummer also played on Toni Basil's famous Hot 100 No. 1 hit "Mickey." Ric Parnell, second from left, with Spinal Tap. Ric Parnell, the drummer famous for appearing in This Is Spinal Tap, died Sunday. He was 70 years old. Harry Shearer, the musician’s bandmate from the 1984 mockumentary, first shared the news via Twitter, writing, “Ric Parnell, our drummer in This Is Spinal Tap, passed away today. No one ever rocked harder.” While Parnell became well-known for playing Mick Shrimpton, the doomed drummer of the fictional hard-rock act who happens to, well, literally explode onstage during the film, he brought bona fide musicianship to the role as the drummer for prog-rock group Atomic Rooster from 1970 to 1973, followed by stints with Italian bands Tritons and Ibis, short-lived pop-rock group Stars, and Italian/British jazz fusion act Nova. At one point, Steve Perry purportedly offered Parnell a spot in the lineup of Journey, but he turned down the opportunity to focus on working with his own studio band, Zoo Drive. Red Hot Chili Peppers Pay Tribute to Taylor Hawkins During Jazz Fest: 'We Love Taylor!' 05/02/2022 Prior to his big break in This Is Spinal Tap, he was also credited on Toni Basil’s 1981 debut album Word of Mouth. Though the LP peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, Parcell’s work behind the drum kit included the famous, cheerleader-ready boom-clap drumbeat of the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Mickey.” After the release of This Is Spinal Tap, the late drummer continued to perform with the rest of Spinal Tap — Michael McKean (as frontman David St. Hubbins), Shearer (as bassist Derek Smalls) and director Christopher Guest (as lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel) — continuing on as Mick’s much more alive brother “Ric Shrimpton.” He played on the group’s 1984 self-titled debut as well as their 1992 sophomore effort Break Like the Wind. His other credits included 1985’s 3 Ships by Jon Anderson of Yes. Read Shearer’s announcement of Parnell’s death below.

And they call it puppy love! Jamie Lee Curtis may not have been one of the 2022 Academy Award winners, but she held something more precious than one of those golden trophies: the most adorable little puppy! During her tribute to late Golden Girls star Betty White, Curtis spoke about honoring the actress through Paw Works' mission of making sure abandoned dogs find a good home. Luckily, the message rang loud and clear to someone who was in attendance! The puppy Jamie Lee Curtis was holding during the Oscars ceremony was adopted by none other than John Travolta and his son! The Pulp Fiction star posted an adorable picture on Instagram of him, his 11-year-old son Ben and their new two-legged friend Mac & Cheese from the Oscars ceremony that night. John Travolta thanked Jamie Lee Curtis and Paw Works for the opportunity to provide this puppy with a new home for the family. See for yourself! https://www.instagram.com/johntravolta/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=6e4afb54-8e36-457b-8b2b-19cd1b1205d4 TV legend Betty White passed away on December 31, 2021 at 99 years old. Her infectious talent and personality would hit millions of TV screens playing iconic roles like in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland. Not only was she there for her fans, but dedicated her life to helping animals. Betty White was part of many charities that fans can pay tribute to in her memory. She worked with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association for more than 50 years, as well as Tree People, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Wildlife Learning Center, Actors and Others for Animals, The Aquarium of the Pacific, and Guide Dogs For the Blind. White would undoubtedly be proud of John Travolta and his son for their generosity. Jamie Lee Curtis also posted her own Instagram photo of herself and Mac & Cheese from the Oscars ceremony, and talked about how those who offer their home and their hearts to dogs are heroes. The Halloween star went on to thank the Academy Awards, as well as share that John Travolta, Mac & Cheese, her fashion designer Stella McCartney and Betty White all express their gratitude. https://www.instagram.com/curtisleejamie/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f54bbd6b-0cdc-4180-981a-bb66cbd65f04 While Betty White may not be with us anymore, she was still able to film herself for a documentary called Betty White: A Celebration before she passed. It was a Fathom Events screening on January 17th that hit over 900 theaters. The documentary featured quiet moments she spent at home, the time she spent with friends and her love of animals. For every animal that finds a home and builds a connection with its new owner, I’m sure Betty White will smile down in delight. Hopefully, this is a documentary that will eventually hit streaming services that everyone has the chance to watch. Here is where you can find Betty White’s best movies and TV shows to add to your watchlist. For those who want to see Mac & Cheese shining on TV, you can watch the 94th Academy Awards with a Hulu subscription.

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ZOO Digital is to debut a video content security feature that incorporates machine learning and facial recognition. The feature will address a major security risk by automatically obscuring video streams in all areas except those necessary for the subtitling and dubbing process. The feature works similarly to rotoscoping, a visual effects technique used to create a matte for a live action sequence for compositing purposes. ZOO’s technology will obscure all parts of each frame except the faces or mouths of screen actors, which need to be shown for accurate lip synching. By spoiling the video stream in this way, TV and movie assets used for localisation would have no entertainment value, thereby reducing their value as a source for piracy without impairing the subtitling and dubbing process. “We're dedicated to keeping the world’s most sought-after content in the right hands,” said Gordon Doran, ZOO Digital president. “Our new facial recognition capability helps manage the risk of handling TV and movie content. Although rotoscoping to spoil proxies has been around for a while, the manual technique is expensive and time consuming. By automating the process, the security feature could be used on all kinds of first-run content rather than just major Hollywood releases.” He added: “We have a team whose priority is content security, and this new feature adds to encryption, two-factor authentication, individual watermarking and more. We’re at the top of our game when it comes to keeping TV and movie content ultra-secure – and this feature will help raise the bar for the industry.”

Windows 10 UWP Unlike Denuvo, which has had a rather hit and miss history in the last year, Windows 10 UWP has remained remarkably resilient to the attempts of piracy. Using the UWP propertion, Windows has successfully protected its games and products for over a year now. Despite that long-term success, however, reports are suggesting that the Windows 10 UWP has finally been compromised. Zoo Tycoon In recent days, cracked copies of Zoo Tycoon have been appearing on various game piracy websites. This game was protected by Windows 10 UWP and with it now available and apparently working, it would appear that the walls have finally fallen. The announcement has, however, revealed a significant matter regarding the game itself and specifically the sheer amount of piracy protection it had. Piracy Protection In a report via DSOGaming, when Zoo Tycoon launched in October 2017, it came with the UWP protection. It did also, however, contain four other piracy protection measures. These included; MSStore, EAppX, XBLive and Arxan. Denuvo was surprisingly absent, despite this quite substantial list. The compromise of UWP in this game also indicates that all other piracy protection measures have also been compromised. It’s perhaps understandable why it took them four months to crack it. The wall has fallen Despite most piracy protection being compromised, often within days of launch, Windows UWP had remained remarkably stubborn. Doubtless, Microsoft will now look to update it again, but it shows that with enough time and effort pretty much all anti-piracy measures are only temporary, at best.

Video games pirates have reason to celebrate today after scene cracking group CODEX defeated Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform system on Zoo Tycoon Ultimate Animal Collection. While the game it was protecting isn't exactly a fan favorite, it was reportedly protected by five layers of DRM within the UWP package, including the Denuvo-like Arxan anti-tamper technology. As the image on the right shows, Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a system that enables software developers to create applications that can run across many devices. “The Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the app platform for Windows 10. You can develop apps for UWP with just one API set, one app package, and one store to reach all Windows 10 devices – PC, tablet, phone, Xbox, HoloLens, Surface Hub and more,” Microsoft explains. While the benefits of such a system are immediately apparent, critics say that UWP gives Microsoft an awful lot of control, not least since UWP software must be distributed via the Windows Store with Microsoft taking a cut. Or that was the plan, at least. Last evening it became clear that the UWP system, previously believed to be uncrackable, had fallen to pirates. After being releasedon October 31, 2017, the somewhat underwhelming Zoo Tycoon Ultimate Animal Collection became the first victim at the hands of popular scene group, CODEX. “This is the first scene release of a UWP (Universal Windows Platform) game. Therefore we would like to point out that it will of course only work on Windows 10. This particular game requires Windows 10 version 1607 or newer,” the group said in its release notes. CODEX release notes CODEX says it’s important that the game isn’t allowed to communicate with the Internet so the group advises users to block the game’s executable in their firewall. While that’s not a particularly unusual instruction, CODEX did reveal that various layers of protection had to be bypassed to make the game work. They’re listed by the group as MSStore, UWP, EAppX, XBLive, and Arxan, the latter being an anti-tamper system. “It’s the equivalent of Denuvo (without the DRM License part),” cracker Voksi previously explained. “It’s still bloats the executable with useless virtual machines that only slow down your game.” Arxan features Arxan’s marketing comes off as extremely confident but may need amending in light of yesterday’s developments. “Arxan uses code protection against reverse-engineering, key and data protection to secure servers and fortification of game logic to stop the bad guys from tampering. Sorry hackers, game over,” the company’s marketing reads. What is unclear at this stage is whether Zoo Tycoon Ultimate Animal Collection represents a typical UWP release or if some particular flaw allowed CODEX to take it apart. The possibility of additional releases is certainly a tantalizing one for pirates but how long they will have to wait is unknown. Whatever the outcome, Arxan calling “game over” is perhaps a little premature under the circumstances but in this continuing arms race, they probably have another version of their anti-tamper tech up their sleeves….. https://torrentfreak.com/pirates-crack-microsofts-uwp-protection-five-layers-of-drm-defeated-180215/

NEW YORK (AP) — Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee, who challenged theatrical convention in masterworks such as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," died Friday, his personal assistant said. He was 88. He died at his home in Montauk, east of New York, assistant Jackob Holder said. No cause of death was immediately given, although he had suffered from diabetes. With the deaths of Arthur Miller and August Wilson in 2005, he was arguably America's greatest living playwright. Several years ago, before undergoing extensive surgery, Albee penned the following note to be issued at the time of his death: "To all of you who have made my being alive so wonderful, so exciting and so full, my thanks and all my love." Albee was proclaimed the playwright of his generation after his blistering "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opened on Broadway in 1962. The Tony-winning play, still widely considered Albee's finest, was made into an award-winning 1966 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The play's sharp-tongued humor and dark themes were the hallmarks of Albee's style. In more than 30 plays, Albee skewered such mainstays of American culture as marriage, child-rearing, religion and upper-class comforts. "If you have no wounds, how can you know you're alive?" a character asks in Albee's 1996 "The Play About the Baby." "It's just a quirk of the brain that makes one a playwright," Albee said in 2008. "I have the same experiences that everybody else does, but... I feel the need to translate a lot of what happens to me, a lot of what I think, into a play." Albee challenged audiences to question their assumptions about society and about theater itself. "Plays are acts of protest meant to change people," he once told The Star Tribune of Minneapolis. He did it with humor and a sense of linguistic delight, using withering barbs and word play to hint at deeper meaning. "I think if a writer gets ideas, you've got to get them out of your head," he said. His unconventional style won him great acclaim but also led to a nearly 20-year drought of critical and commercial recognition before his 1994 play, "Three Tall Women," garnered his third Pulitzer Prize. His other Pulitzers were for "A Delicate Balance" (1967) and "Seascape" (1975). Many of his productions in the years after "Seascape" were savaged by the press as inconsequential trickery, a shadow of his former works. But after "Three Tall Women," a play he called an "exorcising of demons," he had several major productions, including "The Play About the Baby" and "The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?," which won him his second Tony for best play in 2002. Many of his works had similar things in common: domestic rancor inflamed by booze, a sense of unknown anxiety, a lost child who creates a marital friction and precise but flailing language that alternates between comic and profound. In interviews, Albee recoiled at the idea of drawing parallels between his works or between his cynical outlook and his unhappy childhood. "Each play of mine has a distinctive story to tell," he told The Santa Fe New Mexican in May 2001. "What unites them all is that I'm trying to make people more aware of whether they're living their lives fully or not." Albee was born in 1928 and was adopted by a wealthy suburban New York couple. His father, Reed Albee, ran the Keith-Albee chain of vaudeville theaters; his mother, Frances Albee, was a socialite and a commanding presence who kept a hold on him for much of his life. Estranged from his parents, Albee moved to Manhattan's Greenwich Village and worked as a messenger for Western Union before gaining notice with "The Zoo Story," a one-act play about two strangers meeting on a bench in Central Park. Written in 1958, it was first produced in Berlin, translated into German. With "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and 1964's "Tiny Alice," Albee shook up a Broadway that had been dominated by Tennessee Williams, Miller and their intellectual disciples. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" presents an all-night drinking bout in which a middle-age professor and his wife verbally spar and unravel their illusions during a visit by a younger couple. The play, spiked with dark humor, focused on the interplay between reality and fantasy, a theme that persisted in many of his later works. It won five Tonys including best play, actor (Arthur Hill) and actress (Uta Hagen), and the film version won five Oscars including best actress (Taylor) and supporting actress (Sandy Dennis). Albee also directed the American premieres of many of his own plays, starting with "Seascape" in 1975. "Seascape" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" were revived on Broadway in 2005, and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" was revived on Broadway again in 2013. "A Delicate Balance" was revived a year later, starring Glenn Close. Albee brought back "The Zoo Story" to startling effect in 2007 with "Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry." The shattering encounter between two strangers in a park — the aggressive, almost psychotic Jerry and the bland, middle-aged Peter — that is "The Zoo Story" became the second act of the new work. The first act, based on Albee's much later "Homelife," fleshes out Peter's character. It was one of a number of fruitful productions around the time the playwright turned 80 in 2008. That year saw the world premiere of his play about identical twins, "Me, Myself and I," at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey; a New York revival of two of his early one-act classics, "The American Dream" and "The Sandbox"; and the premiere of "Edward Albee's Occupant," a piece about sculptor Louise Nevelson and the cult of celebrity. Albee was honored by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1996 for his lifetime contributions. Then-President Bill Clinton praised Albee as a man who inspired a generation of American dramatists. Clinton also awarded Albee a National Medal of the Arts that year. Into his 70s, Albee continued to write provocative and unconventional plays. In "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?" the main character falls in love with a goat. "I don't like the idea of getting older and older because there's meant to be a time when that has to stop," Albee said in 2001. "Dying strikes me as being a great waste of time." Albee's longtime companion, sculptor Jonathan Thomas, died in 2005. "I couldn't write for a long time," Albee told The New York Times in 2007. "The mourning never ends; it just changes. But then I got back into a feeling of usefulness." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/virginia-woolf-playwright-edward-albee-dies-at-age-88/ar-BBwg99O

After several 'pirate' sites were ordered to be blocked in Norway last week, prominent advertisers have now been sucked into the controversy. Not only have adverts for Norway's government-owned rail company been appearing on PrimeWire, but ads featuring the country's most famous fictional pirate have also been thrown into the mix. Early September the Oslo District Court followed in the footsteps of other courts around Europe by ordering local ISPs to block several pirate sites. The action came after Hollywood studios including Warner, Paramount, Fox, Universal, Sony, Disney and Columbia successfully argued that The Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Viooz, PrimeWire, Swefilmer, DreamFilm and Movie4K should be off-limits to Norwegian consumers. While ISPs are yet to fully implement the international headline-grabbing blockade, it appears that the message that these sites are effectively banned hasn’t reached some prominent advertisers. For example, in what is likely to be an embarrassment to local authorities, during the past few days adverts for NSB, the Norwegian government-owned national railway system, have been appearing on prominent unauthorized streaming portal PrimeWire. Furthermore, ads for Norway’s leading tourist attraction, the Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park, have also being appearing on the popular and soon-to-be-blocked site. Interestingly enough they feature a character known as Captain Sabertooth. The star of the most expensive children’s movie in Norwegian history, Sabertooth is also the country’s most famous pirate and the centerpiece of kids’ TV series, stage plays and books. Speaking with NRK, the outlet that spotted the bloopers, Rights Alliance chief Willy Johansen says that legitimate companies are inadvertently helping to fund pirate sites. “Illegal websites earn big money from advertising. This is not good at all,” the anti-piracy chief says. “The media agencies around Europe are spreading ads to hit a certain number of people, without looking at where they’re placing them. In this respect media agencies need to sharpen their approach.” The revelations are also proving a disappointment to the companies whose ads appeared on PrimeWire. Annie B. Schjøtt, Sales and Marketing Manager at Kristiansand Zoo and Amusement Park, says it was never their intention to place ads on pirate sites. “We totally renounce such [pirate] sites. We are a cultural operation ourselves, and we absolutely did not want to be involved in supporting people who copy other people’s work,” Schjøtt says. A communications manager at government-owned railway company NSB described the situation as “regrettable.” While no one is suggesting that the companies deliberately targeted pirate sites, somehow their advertising spend is being funneled to sites that have been deemed to operate illegally. So how did they get there? Apparently that’s the indirect responsibility of Carat, the media agency which handled the ads. Digital Strategy Director Erik Solberg says that the ads were placed through an intermediary but the company is working hard to ensure there are no more embarrassments. “We can only deplore this. We have closed all the activity of the subcontractor in the network,” Solberg explains. “We are working diligently to make sure this does not happen again. The supplier is a major international advertising network.” The timing of these revelations could prompt a more urgent approach to tackling the pirate site advertising issue in Norway. Just yesterday in neighboring Sweden, Rights Alliance and national advertising association Swedish Advertisers announced new guidelines to help companies keep their ads off illicit sites. “It appears that advertisers’ logos, trademarks and advertisements – often without the advertiser’s knowledge – are ending up on illegal sites,” said Swedish Advertisers legal advisor Tobias Eltell. “It may be a question of sites that provide video, images, text and music without the rights holders’ consent. For serious advertisers, this may become a huge problem and therefore Swedish Advertisers have developed recommendations that may be helpful for advertisers.” The guidelines (Swedish) include observing good ethics, boycotting advertising contracts that include bulk sales, and insisting that ads are not only targeted at a specific audience at a certain price, but also determining where those ads are ultimately placed. https://torrentfreak.com/controversy-as-ads-for-famous-kids-pirate-appear-on-banned-pirate-site-150910/

SynTheSiZ3r Sessions: Trance 002 (Mixed by ilwt) [07-10-17] So we have got some news for you guys, The radio is now functional! It's time to throw some new fat Trance and on that side one of our user ilwt has mixed some tunes for ST3 Tracklist for the mix is below 01.Bee Hunter - Power Jaw (Original Mix) 02.Allende - 10 Minutes to Infinity 03.Sonorous - Glass Garden (Max Freegrant & Slow Fish Remix) 04.Mark Sixma & Emma Hewitt - Missing (Extended Mix) 05.Craig Connelly per. Dovestone - THello (Extended Mix) 06.Fram! feat. Ange - Limits (Original Mix) 07.Matthew Duncan - Leaving 08.Duderstadt - Muhanjala (Davey Asprey Extended Remix) 09.Oto Kapanadze - Serenity (Original Mix) 10.Alex Delta - Second Chances (Jesser ReMode) 11.Alex Leavon - Ogma (Extended Mix) 12.Wilderness & A-Line - Apamile (Original Mix) 13.Alexander Spark & Abstract Vision - Identity (Extended Mix) 14.MaRLo Feat. Emma Chatt - Leave My Hand (Feenixpawl Extended Remix) 15.Tim Mason - Modulate (Original Mix) 16.Noise Zoo - Fractal (Extended Mix) 17.Andrew Rayel - Dark Warrior (Willem de Roo Remix) 18.Marc van Gale - Midnight Faces (Original Mix) 19.Novan vs Titus1 feat. Luke McMaster - only Love (Vadim Bonkrashkov Remix) 20.Purple Stories Manuscript (Extended Mix) 21.Holbrook & Skykeeper - Revival (Extended Mix) Track length : 1:59:40 If you loved this mix, then don't forget to thank ilwt for his outstanding mix. You can leave a message for him in this thread ST3 Radio Mix. Also you can discuss about this News in the above thread.

Hello iS friends! In this topic we talk about all related to magic process of music making! I have some experience in this kind of art, and want to share with you[All this is my exclusive for iS]! Don't be shy to ask any questions or share your experience! DAW's / Synth's / Gear's / Techniques / Share Places / Labels ... all goes here! Or maybe you have your own tracks? For newbies here's a tutorial in QA style Q : What I need to do something(good)? A 0 : Do you really need it? I mean... someone sayd: all best music already here and you got whole life to explore it, but whole life is not enough. A 1 : You need a good sound card and at least mediocre PC/MAC Nice lowest budget card for beginner: Q 1.1 : I don't have any budget at all! ... Am I hopeless ? A 1.1 : Not necessary. You still can use your integrated audio(Realtek\SoundMax\e.t.c). But remember that ->this devices are not intended for any kind of music production! <- Also, if you on windows you need a special driver (because default windows audio engine are HORRIBLE for any kind of music production. Grab this driver here -> http://www.asio4all.com/ ASIO4ALL is a hardware independent low latency ASIO driver for WDM audio devices. It uses WDM Kernel-Streaming and sometimes even more sophisticated methods to achieve its objectives. ASIO4ALL is very far from ideal, but it's definitely better than windows default engine! In good sound cards you get warm and cosy native ASIO driver by default ! A 1.2 : You need a good monitor headphones(you just can't hear exactly what you are doing in crappy or gamer oriented headphones!) Nice low budget headphones for beginner: A 1.3 : You need a good monitor speakers(you also just can't hear exactly what you are doing in crappy speakers, and I warn you from doing anything with laptop or pseudo "china-hi-fi 1 million Watt of s**t" speakers! ) Nice low budget speakers for beginner: Q 1.3 : Can I use only headphones? A 1.3 : For editing, submixing : OK For (good)main mixing : To be honest... not enough Mastering? : no way! A 2 : Get some DAW(digital audio workstation), sound editor, several (S E V E R A L ) VST synths/effects. VST - is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software. Thousands of plugins exist, both commercial and freeware, and VST is supported by a large number of audio applications. Top 10 Best Music Production Software – Digital Audio Workstations Top 5 Audio Editors The 54 best VST/AU plugin synths in the world today The 30 best VST plug-in effects in the world today GOLDEN RULES HERE : Choose one DAW and sound editor( it's like one love ). Don't grab tons of VST's synth/fx at once, take a good one/two and learn how to work with them ... read manual! Newbie with a VST-zoo looks like dumb monkey with tons of books and all books has torn and messed up with a kilos of monkey s**t.. sad picture . A 3 : Get a good learning material and learn with patience and attention! But not from YouTube videos like [EpicPartyTwerkingBro - H0w_T0_M4K3_Super$Epic$Punchy$Crunchy$Bouncing Beats like *Famous DJ/Artist Name Here*]! Btw... youtube have a very small amount of good learning videos about music making. Take a professional book or video course. A 4 : PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! QA For those who already tried do something in music making : Q : What do you say about hardware synths? I heard *Famous DJ/Artist Name Here* use *Synth name here*! A : If you don't know how to play, it will be just a piece of noisy plastic for you, maybe with good presets(read about presets below)! If you know at least basics of synthesis, already read all reviews about this synth ... want perform on stage(and you know what you want perform)... why not buy one ! BUT REMEMBER : *Synth name here* NOT WILL MAKE YOU *Famous DJ/Artist Name Here* ! Q : PRESETS MAN !!! AND SAMPLES !!! I HAVE A 100∞TB OF THIS S**T!, WHAT DID YA SAY NOW BRO? A : If all of your music made only of samples and presets: You are happy little cassette player with one album on repeat: "I've heard this before VOL 100∞" . Q : I wanna sound like *Famous DJ/Artist Name Here* ! A : Copycats are sound very boring to me... But if you want to pick a style... First of all you must have a well trained ears(you must hear notes, octaves, chords... of song)! You need to inspect style very deep... like in microscope(hours, days...) And off course you need a strong knowledge in synthesis, sampling and music theory to reproduce it! (... It's about genres with "at least medium complexity" ... ) Q : I have one goal : be rich and famous, how?! A : If you want make music only for a money, this is will be a product. Not music at all. And you will get a huge competition in "music-fast-food world" business full of bureaucracy, no matter how good you are in ...music. Q : Why do you post this on this site(iS not pro-audio related)? A : Because I believe that iS is not just a another torrent invites forum, and first of all it's a community of peoples who love to share, share their best! You can read this as a my catch phrase : iS - More than a torrent invites! Little Tips Always train your ears!(listen all instruments in a song, also try to listen all parts separately (ehhh... it's very difficult on bad headphones or speakers ). Feel the rhythm(... drum every rhythm with a pencil ... everywhere! , looks little strange... but who cares! ) Try to make your own style... no matter what trend it is, individuality matters! Don't make a star dreams, just doing it! Don't force yourself if you can't do it right now, or if something going wrong, it's for fun remember? Your ears get very tired after several hours of work, take a rest!(or you can mess up a lot! ) You hear music in different ways... almost every time... That's all for now, hope you like it! And as I said before : questions are welcome!

Kid Rock has fired back at the lawyers who claimed he was in possession of a glass sex toy that they hope to use as evidence in a sexual harassment case Insane Clown Posse's former publicist has filed against that group. A subpoena said that "Dirty Dan" Diamond, a former employee of ICP's Psychopathic Records label, had given the dildo to the singer after trying to hand it to publicist Andrea Pellegrini. Now, in two separate letters addressed to lawyers involved in the case, Kid Rock has accused Diamond of lying and the attorneys of using the case as an opportunity to get publicity. Moreover, the singer said he has not been served with a subpoena. "I've never heard of, seen, or met any people involved in this case," Kid Rock wrote in a letter on his website addressed to attorneys Jim Rasor and Jon Marko, who represent Pellegrini. "But I'm pretty sure you already know that. What I do know is that you've been dragging my name around in the media to gain attention for your sad ass excuse for a law firm. I don’t care what you do when you finally catch up to the ambulances you chase, but I do care when you bring my name into it for no reason at all." He went on in the letter to ask the lawyers, "Did you study how to look like douchebags in college?" He also asked them how they would feel about reading a press release saying they were caught "molesting animals at a petting zoo while high on bath salts," as an example of how absurd the glass dildo case was. "Say you were people who aren't a blight on our planet – wouldn't you be pissed off that your name, for days on end, was being mentioned in the press when everyone involved knew you weren't involved in any way?" he wrote. "Welcome to my side of this story." Similarly, the musician wrote a letter to lawyer Brian E. Koncius, who is representing Dirty Dan in the case. "I've never met your client, and if I had met your client I'd certainly remember if he tried to give me a glass fucking dildo," Kid Rock wrote. "Even if it was the 'Rasor Law Firm' that sent a press release to the press, you have done nothing to clear up this blatant lie which makes you to blame too. It is obvious that all you assholes are using my name and notoriety to garner publicity for yourselves, which makes you the worst kind of scum. You're the types of lawyers that make America a worse place for everyone." The singer explained that one reason he continues to reside in Detroit, as opposed to Los Angeles, was so he could avoid the press. He also offered up an outlandish scenario for Koncius, as he did for the Rasor Law Firm: "One day you come downstairs to the angry glare of your wife who asks if you really were arrested over the weekend for driving high on crystal meth with a bound and gagged hooker in your trunk. Did you? Because it's all over the Internet, some lawyer you've never met put it out in a press release! Must be true right?" Kid Rock closed this letter by asking Koncius to prove that he represents people "interested in doing the right thing," as his website purports. Pellegrini filed her suit against ICP in September 2013, claiming "wrongful termination, harassment, retaliation and infliction of emotional distress" against the members of ICP, their label and manager, William Dale. ICP has denied the allegations.