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The annual summary of your listening habits has become a phenomenon – but marketing wheeze aside, Wrapped doesn’t reflect what we truly love As a marketing exercise, it’s hard not to be hugely impressed by Spotify Wrapped. In less than a decade, the streaming giant has somehow managed to turn what’s essentially a bit of automated data-scraping into a global event. It’s a triumphant exercise in underlining the platform’s dominance in its field – this year, it arrives with the slogan Wrapped Or It Didn’t Happen, as if music consumed via Spotify is the only music that matters – and indeed in getting free advertising by encouraging users to share on social media Spotify’s personalised and heavily branded lists of most-streamed artists and listening trends. This year, the arrival of Spotify Wrapped results was heralded by a huge billboard advertising campaign, brand partnerships ranging from Amazon to FC Barcelona, a London launch gig that stars Sam Smith, Charli XCX and Chase and Status a...

People have entered the UK in record numbers since the points-based system came in and ministers want to reverse this Since the UK introduced a points-based visa system post-Brexit, ministers have talked tough on immigration while allowing employers to look abroad to plug workforce gaps and encouraging universities to bring in overseas students. Last week Conservative MPs demanded urgent action after it emerged that net migration – the number of people immigrating minus the number emigrating – was a record-breaking 745,000 in the calendar year 2022. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/HhzWbEo

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A new exhibition collates more 800 objects to give insight into the zine scene, a way to democratize art and journalism A medium that basks in the unruliness and unpredictability of the creative process, zines are gloriously chaotic and difficult to pin down. Requiring little more to produce than a copy machine, a stapler and a vision, zines played a hugely democratizing role in art during the 20th century and have managed to stay popular and relevant in spite of web-based innovations, like blogs, that might have supplanted a less compelling medium. The Brooklyn Museum’s substantial and exciting new exhibit, Copy Machine Manifestos, offers a welcome, thorough examination of zines made by artists. With over 800 objects on display, Copy Machine Manifestos is a crucial step toward documenting the zine scene, even if, in zine terms this show is a proverbial drop in the bucket. As the exhibition co-curator and art historian Drew Sawyer put it in an interview: “Even if we wanted to be very...

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Chelsea, QPR and Tottenham player who as England manager displayed one of the sharpest football brains of his generation As a player, coach and manager, Terry Venables possessed one of the sharpest football brains of his generation. His career reached its peak when he guided England to the semi-finals of the European championships on home ground in the summer of 1996, losing to Germany on penalties. But that was only after beating Scotland with an unforgettable goal from Paul Gascoigne, and trouncing a highly rated Netherlands team with the finest display seen from the national team since the World Cup victory 30 years earlier. Venables, who has died aged 80, went into those matches already knowing that he would be replaced once the tournament was over, thanks to the dim view taken by some senior members of the Football Association, his employers, of his outside activities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/gx6YPVq

Everton burned with a sense of injustice over the record 10-point deduction that has revived relegation fears just when it seemed Sean Dyche’s side had left them behind. Manchester United performed with cool heads and cold intent instead, and savoured their biggest victory of the season as a result. Erik ten Hag’s team’s previous seven league wins this season had been by a single goal margin but here they ran out comfortable victors, eventually, over an Everton team reeling from the heaviest sporting sanction in Premier League history. A stupendous overhead kick from Alejandro Garnacho set United on their way to an impressive win, in which the 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo excelled on his full debut, before a second-half penalty from Marcus Rashford took the contest away from the hosts. Anthony Martial added the gloss with his first goal of the season late on. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/1fspmlQ