The Culture Desk covers film, television, music and the industries around them. Articles under this byline draw on public records, official data and published reporting, and are checked against their sources before publication.
Box office
Universal's horror film Other Mommy led the Oct. 9-11 weekend with an estimated $27.5 million, while Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning opened to about $5.5 million.
Film ratings
The G-to-NC-17 letters on posters come from a voluntary, industry-run system. Here is what each rating means, who reviews films and how a rating can be appealed.
music licensing
Sync fees are fully negotiated with no statutory rates.
SAG-AFTRA
The 2026 SAG-AFTRA contract sets strict rules for digital replicas and synthetic performers, including consent, compensation, and justification requirements that producers must follow.
Music Industry
Eighty-four percent of songs entering the Billboard Global 200 went viral on TikTok first. Here's how the platform's discovery engine has become the music industry's primary launching pad.
Music licensing
Spotify and Universal Music announced a licensing deal in May 2026 that allows Premium subscribers to create AI-generated covers and remixes.
music licensing
How film and TV productions secure sync and master rights to use existing songs, negotiate fees, and why some songs cannot be cleared.
music licensing
Two separate licenses are required to use music in film and TV.
music licensing
Producers must secure separate licenses for composition and recording rights, with streaming's global distribution and perpetual terms dramatically raising what popular songs cost.
streaming strategy
Netflix, Amazon and others use data on audience demand and retention to decide whether to expand hit shows into franchises.
Television
Disney is asking Jimmy Kimmel Live to trim roughly a fifth of its budget before extending his deal past 2027, a demand that tracks the economics squeezing every network late-night show.
Netflix
A $100 million deal for Jay Shetty's show is the biggest sign yet that video podcasts now overlap with television, radio and music promotion.
Universal Music Group
Universal Music signed a licensing deal with ElevenLabs for an AI remix platform, even as it keeps suing rival AI company Suno in federal court.
Drake
Sent to US radio on June 16, the Maneesh-produced track has become the defining single of Drake's record-setting Iceman era.
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