Business
Legendary Television City may be be sold in further blow to Hollywood
Television City, one of the most famous studios in the entertainment industry where generations of TV shows have been created, is expected to hit the market again as its owner grapples with debt.
It’s the latest sign of distress in Hollywood as the film and TV industry struggles from a sharp falloff in production activity across Southern California.
Television City’s owner, Hackman Capital Partners, is already in the process of selling the historic Radford Studio Center, which gave L.A.’s Studio City neighborhood its name. Hackman defaulted on a $1.1-billion mortgage in January and investment bank Goldman Sachs took over the property, which is now escrow for a sale to Netflix.
The sprawling Television City property is one of the most desirable locations in Los Angeles, sharing fences with the Original Farmers Market and the luxury Grove outdoor shopping center, each of which attracts millions of visitors every year.
If the studio at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue where “American Idol,” “All in the Family” and scores of other shows were filmed becomes available as expected, the owners of the Grove and the Farmers Market would be among the likely contenders for the property for potential expansion of their businesses, said sources familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
Grove owner Rick Caruso was among the bidders for Television City, formerly known as CBS Television City, last time it was on the market and could emerge as a possible bidder.
The highest bid when broadcaster CBS sold the studio in 2019 came from Hackman Capital Partners, an international movie studio operator and commercial property landlord that paid $750 million for the 25-acre site that is near Hollywood, Beverly Hills and and the Sunset Strip.
Hackman Capital’s plan to recoup its investment included continuing to operate Television City as a studio for rent while adding new revenue-generating features.
Last year the city approved Hackman Capital’s $1-billion plan to add 980,000 square feet of offices, sound stages, production facilities and retail space.
The original studio designed by famed Los Angeles architect William Pereira erected in 1952 has city landmark protections, but newer structures on the property do not and there are acres of surface parking that could be converted to other uses.
Both Caruso and Farmers Market owners A.F. Gilmore have sued to limit the planned expansion of the studio, calling it a “massively scaled” development that “would overwhelm, disrupt, and forever transform the community.”
The debate over the development has played out amid a serious downturn in the region’s entertainment industry, with studios shifting film and television production to Georgia, New Mexico and other out-of-state locations.
L.A.’s entertainment industry also suffered a series of blows including the COVID-19 shutdown, strikes by writers and directors in 2023 and cutbacks at studios that reduced demand for sound stages.
A group of Hackman Capital’s lenders led by Deutsche Bank filed a notice of default last month, saying they’re owed more than $357 million. Hackman Capital is still trying to renegotiate its debt.
“The studio market is evolving, and the financing environment for studio assets remains complex,” Chief Executive Michael Hackman said in a statement. “We are engaged in active discussions with our lending partners and are carefully evaluating all of the alternatives.”
A person familiar with the process but not authorized to speak about it publicly said Hackman Capital will be hard-pressed to pay its debt in light of challenges facing the industry. The notice of default is “the baby step to put Television City in play” for new buyers, the source said, “and it is in play.”
Already in play is Manhattan Beach Studios, another Hackman Capital property encumbered by a $240-million loan from Deutsche Bank that the lender is in the process of selling. A buyer could foreclose on the property and potentially change its use to advanced manufacturing such as aerospace or defense, which is in high demand in Southern California.
Brokerage Cushman & Wakefield, which is managing the sale, emphasized in marketing materials that the 22-acre site has “significant available power capacity” and “offers flexible uses” on “some of the most irreplaceable underlying land in the South Bay.”
Business
Human-Shaped Robots at This Car Factory Can Perform Humanlike Tasks
Humanoids — human-shaped robots — at this BMW factory in South Carolina are expected to respond to voice commands, solve problems and react to unforeseen events. U.S. automakers hope that this technology can give them a fighting chance against their Chinese rivals that enjoy lower costs.
Business
Spotify to label ‘AI personas’ and exclude AI music from personal recommendations
In its latest effort to protect human creators from the flood of synthetic music, Spotify will soon require AI-generated identities to carry an “AI Persona” label while barring their tracks from users’ algorithmic mixes.
The change will take effect in mid-September. It follows Spotify’s earlier moves to help subscribers understand the difference between genuine and artificial creators. The platform announced a verification badge in April designed to highlight human artists. In a statement Tuesday, Spotify said the new AI persona label is meant to make the streamer “the most transparent and trustworthy place to listen to music.” Music from labeled AI personas will also be excluded from the Swedish company’s personalized recommendations by default.
“While we believe all artists have creative choice in determining how they present themselves, Spotify’s programming is focused on elevating music from authentic artists building careers in music,” the company said.
The AI persona badge will appear on an artist’s profile, in the search feature and in playlists.
This is a step in the right direction, said Tiffany Naiman, the director of Music Industry Programs at UCLA. But, she said, she’s more interested in how the company will be identifying AI personas.
“I want to know the process. How [will they] know the difference? Are there going to be [real] artists that get tied up in it?” Naiman said. “It feels very ‘Blade Runner,’ right? Like you’re human, you’re not human.”
Starting Tuesday, Spotify users will be able to identify themselves as AI personas, if applicable. But the company said it “won’t rely on self-disclosure alone” and will use “human review alongside AI investigative tools to apply the label.”
Artists who get labeled as AI personas by Spotify will be allowed to appeal the label. In the coming months, users will also have the ability to report artist profiles as potential AI personas.
The label is the latest feature from the streaming platform that builds on transparency between the artist and their listeners. Recently, Spotify has also introduced SongDNA, an interactive feature that shows the creative team behind the track; AI Credits, a disclaimer where artists can reveal how much AI was used in their creative process; and Artist Profile Protection, which allows artists to review and approve all releases on Spotify.
Artificial intelligence is becoming an essential part of Spotify’s business. The company announced a new AI deal last week with the digital music licensing company Merlin. The partnership will enable artists across the more than 30,000 labels and distributors in Merlin’s network to participate in Spotify’s upcoming AI tool. It hasn’t launched yet, but the goal is to let fans create AI-generated remixes and covers of existing songs on the platform.
Spotify is following in the steps of other streaming platforms that have taken more aggressive approaches to the new technology. Deezer, a French streamer, was the first to detect, tag and exclude AI-generated music from algorithmic recommendations. The company recently disclosed that up to 90,000 AI tracks are being uploaded to the platform daily, representing more than 50% of its new music uploads. Tidal has banned AI-generated music from receiving royalties on its platform.
“We know the music ecosystem is evolving, and so will our approach,” said Spotify in a statement. “We’ll continue to adapt as the landscape changes and as we learn from artists, listeners, and industry partners.”
Business
Nine shows, including ‘Clueless’ sequel, receive state tax credit
Nine television shows, including a sequel to the 1995 hit “Clueless,” have been awarded a tax credit for filming in the Golden State, according to the California Film Commission.
Most of the shows chosen for a production incentive are in their first season, such as Universal Television’s “Newlyweds,” a new series starring Jamie Lee Curtis that will film 26 days in Los Angeles and received a credit of $5.8 million.
The largest credit of $45.1 million went to a new, untitled scripted series from Disney Entertainment Television, which will film 142 days in California, most of which are in Los Angeles, according to the state’s film commission.
Other recipients include Paramount Television Studios’ “Ascent,” which stars Viola Davis ($21 million), Universal Television’s “The Rockford Files” reboot ($21 million) and season two of Sony Pictures Television’s “S.W.A.T. Exiles” ($16.2 million). The “Clueless” sequel, which will see actor Alicia Silverstone reprise her role as Cher, was awarded a $16.3 million credit.
“I’m so grateful that ‘Clueless’ gets to tell Cher’s next chapter in the city where her story began,” Silverstone said in a statement. “Los Angeles has been through so much over the past several years, but the city is resilient. You simply can’t recreate this city anywhere else, and I’m excited to bring Cher home.”
In total, the nine productions are expected to account for more than 1,000 shoot days in California and result in jobs for 3,000 cast and crew members, as well as 25,000 background actors, the California Film Commission said. The shows are set to generate about $608 million in direct production spending in state.
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