Copyright Variety
SZA and Los Angeles-based Italian restaurant Jon and Vinny‘s have teamed up to provide 1,400 free meals for people struggling without SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. SZA’s own NOT Charity is behind the partnership. “Yall know how much I love Jon and Vinny’s,” SZA wrote on a collaborative Instagram post with Jon and Vinny’s. “But it ain’t no fun if the Homies can’t have none!!” “Last week [SZA] reached out to us with an idea and now, with her help, it’s a reality,” wrote the restaurant. “Over the next 7 days we are partnering with her NOT Charity to provide 1400 free meals (100 dinners for 2 per day) for Los Angeles community members who receive SNAP.” Each meal will be available as takeout at the restaurant’s Slauson location from 3 to 5 p.m. starting Nov. 11 and ending Nov. 17. “Thank you SZA for inspiring all of us to be there for our neighbors,” wrote Jon and Vinny’s. The future of SNAP benefits for approximately 5.5 million Californians remains uncertain amid the government shutdown, leaving many without resources. + Luminate, a data partner, and TME Chart, a music chart under Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), have announced a new global data partnership. The agreement allows the integration of streaming and sales consumption metrics from TME platforms, including QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and JOOX, into Luminate’s industry-leading music data platform CONNECT. The new partnership provides international visibility into China’s music market and the data will be reflected in CONNECT’s global streaming and sales in the coming weeks. Speaking on the announcement, Luminate CEO Rob Jonas shared, “This partnership marks a pivotal moment for the global music industry, underscoring Luminate’s unwavering commitment to providing the most accurate and comprehensive measurement of music activity worldwide. As the industry’s most trusted source of streaming and sales data, our customers and partners expect as much information as possible to make the best business decisions, and we know how valuable it is for a market as large and influential as China to be represented in those insights.” TC Pan, Group Vice President of TME and President of the Content Cooperation Department, said, “This collaboration with Luminate represents a data-driven effort to establish a unified global content ecosystem. China is one of the most dynamic music markets in the world, and through this partnership, all content on TME’s platforms — whether domestic or international — will participate in, and even help shape, global music trends. Moving forward, TME will continue to strengthen its content ecosystem, enabling more quality content to be discovered worldwide, realizing long-term value through a journey from ‘data connectivity’ to ‘ecosystem synergy.’” + Sony Music Publishing today announced the appointment of Michael Young as chief information officer. Based in Nashville, Young will report to Sony Music Publishing’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Kelly. As CIO, Young will lead the company’s technology strategy and its ongoing transformation initiatives to advance growth, scalability and efficiency on behalf of SMP songwriters and catalogs worldwide. He will also work closely across departments to optimize workflows, expand data-driven insights, and refine and implement best practices across software development, security, compliance and data governance. Young said, “I am extremely excited to join Sony Music Publishing. As a career technologist and a lifelong amateur musician, it’s thrilling to be a part of SMP’s mission-driven culture. I look forward to working with the team to advance support for SMP songwriters throughout their creative journeys.” Kelly said, “Michael is an experienced leader who understands how to innovate. We look forward to advancing our capabilities and delivering further growth on behalf of our songwriters around the world.”
