Though it came down to the wire and took an all-night negotiating session, Hollywood avoided another costly writer’s strike earlier this week. The Writers Guild of America, which represents upwards of 12,000 movie and television writers, came to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of Hollywood studios and networks. The three year contract reportedly resolves several issues including the WGA health plan, how long a writer can be held by a television series as well as parity for online and cable residuals.
In other breaking news, the nominations for this year’s Tony Awards were announced, but it is anyone’s guess which of the four productions up for Best Musical will come out on top. The same is true of the four plays, each of which is by an American playwright making their Broadway debut. The only sure thing is that Bette Midler will win the Best Leading Actress in a Musical Award for “Hello Dolly!”
Meanwhile, after a 15 year decline in which global recorded music lost 40% of its value, the music industry is showing signs of life. You can thank streaming. For the second year in a row, music sales worldwide have increased – that includes physical product, digital and income from streaming.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including more layoffs at ESPN, “Saturday Night Live” heads to China (sort of) and Ryan Seacrest gets a new television gig.

Fyre Festival Head Billy McFarland: ‘We Were a Little Naive’
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/fyre-fest-head-billy-mcfarland-we-were-a-little-naive-w479502
Shake-up at the MPAA. Hollywood’s Chief Lobbyist, Chris Dodd, To Be Replaced by Charles Rivkin
http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-dodd-mpaa-exit-20170428-story.html
Why Chris Dodd Stepping Down From MPAA Should Not Have Come as a Surprise
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2017/05/04/as-head-of-mpaa-chris-dodd-stumbled-upon-another-job-filled-with-difficult-politics/
comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of April 30, 2017
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-april-30-2017-300448493.html
India’s ‘Baahubali 2’ Takes Third Place at Global Box Office With $81 Million Debut
https://variety.com/2017/film/asia/india-baahubali-2-third-place-at-global-box-office-81-million-debut-1202404515/
‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ Gets Release Date
https://variety.com/2017/film/news/star-wars-episode-ix-release-date-may-2019-1202395171/
Hollywood Lifts China 2017 Box Office Back to Growth
https://variety.com/2017/film/asia/hollywood-lifts-china-four-month-box-office-1202404454/
Global Music Report Shows Biggest Annual Growth in 20 Years — But YouTube Remains a Huge Threat