Talk Fuse

    Culture

    Culture covers the stories that shape how we express ourselves and connect with one another. From film festivals and entertainment to social movements and artistic endeavour, these stories reflect the values, conversations and creativity that define our communities. Whether it's a new film project breaking ground, a performer taking their work to new audiences, or society grappling with important questions about identity and behaviour, culture encompasses the ways we live and the narratives we tell.

    This topic matters because culture is often where change begins. The entertainment industry responds to shifting tastes whilst simultaneously influencing them. Artists and creators challenge conventions, spark conversations, and hold up mirrors to society. Social and cultural movements highlight the issues that resonate with people's lives and futures.

    Culture also reflects broader trends in how we consume and engage with content and ideas. From streaming platforms to live performance, from traditional institutions to emerging voices online, the stories documented here chronicle the evolving landscape of how we entertain, educate and challenge ourselves.

    • PS Plus’ Big Walk Hits Big Sales, Surpasses 1 Million Copies Sold in Under a Week

      Panic has announced that Big Walk, the co-operative multiplayer game from the makers of Untitled Goose Game, has sold more than one million copies in just six days. The milestone is a notable achievement for an indie title, and the figure reportedly does not include players who accessed the game free via PS Plus Essential,…

    • Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is ‘Exploring’ A Music Career. His New Video Is a Good Start

      Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has released a video for “Your Dad,” a new song he co-wrote with Iam Tongi, the Hawaiian singer who won American Idol in 2023. The track features on the newly released album Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, a companion record to the recent live-action Moana film, and marks Johnson’s most personal…

    • Spotify to label artificial artist profiles with AI Persona badge

      Spotify has confirmed it will introduce an “AI Persona” badge from mid-September to flag artist profiles that are not human, whether disclosed voluntarily by the artist or identified through the platform’s own review process. The move is intended to preserve trust between listeners and artists as generative AI increasingly enables synthetic musicians and performer identities,…

    • Spotify to Start Labeling AI Artists

      Spotify has announced a new “AI Personas” feature to identify AI-generated artist profiles on its platform, marking one of the streaming service’s most significant efforts yet to improve transparency around AI content. The badge will appear on artist profiles, in search results and on track listings, alerting listeners when an artist’s identity is AI-generated rather…

    • Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Impact Fund Partners With Pacsun on Denim Collection

      Selena Gomez’s Rare Impact Fund has launched a sixth collaborative denim collection with retailer Pacsun, timed for the back-to-school season, with proceeds supporting youth mental health services. The partnership, which began in 2024, matters as part of a wider trend of celebrity-backed brands using retail tie-ins to fund charitable causes, and has so far raised…

    • Disney+ Grabs Global Rights to Formula E Racing Events

      Disney+ has secured global streaming rights to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in more than 140 territories, a landmark deal that brings uniform coverage to the electric racing series worldwide. In the United States, races will instead air on ESPN+ (now branded ESPN Select), while Disney’s arrangement allows Formula E to retain its…

    • Spotify to flag AI musicians and limit recommendation exposure

      Spotify has confirmed it will begin labelling AI-generated musicians with an “AI Persona” badge from mid-September, alongside new details on how the tags will be applied and appealed. Profiles will be flagged either through artists’ own disclosure or via Spotify’s internal review of photorealistic AI-generated names and imagery, with the badges excluding such acts from…

    • Spotify says it won’t recommend music from ‘AI Personas’

      Spotify has announced it will label AI-generated artist profiles and exclude their music from recommendations, as streaming platforms grapple with a growing wave of AI-produced content. From mid-September, profiles that do not represent a real person will carry an “AI Persona” badge, and such music will no longer appear by default in editorial suggestions or…

    • Inside the furious battle for power: Odds for a Democratic victory REVEALED as more Trump-backed seats added to flip list

      The Daily Mail reports on the intensifying battle for control of Congress ahead of the US midterm elections, focusing on the latest odds of a Democratic victory and highlighting additional Republican-held, Trump-backed seats that have been added to lists of races considered vulnerable to flipping. The piece underscores how competitive the fight for the House…

    • China’s Tencent Music Reports $1.32 Billion in Q2 Revenue as Ximalaya Integration Marks New Audio Push

      Tencent Music Entertainment Group, China’s dominant streaming platform, reported total revenues of RMB8.93 billion ($1.32 billion) for the second quarter of 2026, a 5.8% year-over-year increase. Growth was driven by strong performance in music services and the first quarter of contributions from Ximalaya, the long-form audio platform TME acquired in a deal that closed on…