*By Conor White*
During the bitter months of winter, music-lovers may dream of summer festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Governors Ball.
But actually planning trips to those festivals is another matter entirely ー and an expensive one, at that.
Enter LiveXLive, a platform that brings festivals and other live events to music enthusiasts who can't afford to attend in-person.
"We set out to take the playbook from ESPN, to create the next generation MTV," founder Robert Ellin told Cheddar Thursday. "And then add the community and social components of it to give the consumer the most immersive experience while they watch a live event."
LiveXLive has already streamed 20 events in 125 countries to the tune of more than 45 million views. The company's next event is iHeartRadio's ALTer Ego Festival through a new partnership with the entertainment giant.
Ellin said the possibilities for his company are immeasurable.
"We gave them an opportunity to partner and curate a brand new revenue stream for the entire music industry," he said.
The new partnership with iHeartMedia should only boost LiveXLive's ($LIVX) already-rapid growth. The company now has over 650,000 paying subscribers and more than 1.2 million active users, with almost 30,000 new subscribers a month.
While it might seem counterintuitive for festivals to partner with a platform that allows users to watch events from their couches, Ellin argues it's actually a mutually beneficial arrangement.
"You can watch it on TV but you'd still rather be at the live event," he said. "We're driving more people to these events."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/livexlive-partnering-with-iheartmedia-to-stream-festivals).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
