Latest news with #Clues
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Rs 3 cr jewellery heist in Suryapet: Burglars cut through washroom wall to loot store
Hyderabad: In a scene straight out of a heist thriller, unidentified burglars tunnelled through a washroom wall to gain access to a jewellery store in Suryapet and made off with an estimated Rs 3 crore worth of gold and Rs 5 lakh in cash in the early hours of Monday. The daring break-in took place at Santoshi Jewellers, located inside the bustling Mahatma Gandhi Market. The crime came to light in the morning, when neighbouring shopkeepers noticed a gaping hole in the common washroom wall behind the store and alerted the jewellers. "We received a call from the neighbouring shop owner who noticed the hole in the wall. When we rushed in, we were shocked to see the store had been looted," the store management told the media. According to Suryapet police, the gang entered the premises from the rear side of the building, where an unlocked door led them to three shared washrooms. Using crowbars, gas-cutters, and other tools, the burglars created a hole through one washroom, which led into another washroom inside the jewellery store. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad "Opposite to this washroom was the storeroom secured with a shutter," a senior officer explained. "They used gas-cutters to slice open the shutter and access the room where the ornaments were kept," he said. Interestingly, the gang did not enter the main showroom. Instead, they targeted the storeroom attached to the showroom, bypassing the front completely. A CCTV camera inside the storeroom recorded the burglars at 12.45 am, but was soon covered with a plastic mug to obscure further footage. Police said a locker inside the room was left untouched, suggesting the burglars knew exactly where to look. After the heist, the gang retraced their path through the same hole, disappearing into the overgrown vegetation at the rear of the building. Santoshi Jewellers initially claimed that 15 kg of gold, Rs 18 lakh in cash, and 400 grams of gold biscuits were stolen. However, by Monday evening, police said the owner was still auditing the inventory to ascertain the exact loss. While initial claims from the shop owner pegged the loss at Rs 15 crore, police said the number was based on panic and not verified. "The owner is still auditing the stock against records. As of now, the confirmed loss is around Rs 3 crore," a senior police official said. At least five persons are suspected to be involved in the burglary. Suryapet police have formed special teams and are probing whether it's the handiwork of a Jharkhand-based gang known for executing similar operations. "We are analysing the modus operandi, reviewing CCTV footage, and matching fingerprints lifted from the scene," the police official added. A Clues team was pressed into action to assist with forensic evidence. The shop, which had been closed over the weekend, was in the process of shifting to a new location, a detail police believe the offenders might have known. The gold ornaments typically kept on display had already been moved to the storeroom, making the burglars' strike eerily precise and well-timed, police added.
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Video podcasting is surging and creating much-needed work in Hollywood
Morgan Absher was trying to launch a career as an occupational therapist when COVID-19 derailed her plans. She turned on her phone, and "Two Hot Takes," a video podcast that takes a funny look at viral Reddit stories, was born. What she said started as a "depression hobby" has turned into a thriving career and made Absher a YouTube personality. Absher said video had deepened her connection with audiences and advertisers beyond what audio can afford. She believes seeing her helps the audience feel closer to her, and having video expands her accessibility to people with hearing impairments. Then there's the ability to work with advertisers who want to be seen as well as heard. "When you add video, you really open the door to the brands you can show," she said. She and the podcaster Kaelyn Moore now cohost "Clues," a new video-first true crime podcast from Max Cutler's Pave Studios. Podcasting has never been bigger. It's credited with helping shape the presidential election. Big Tech is coming for its piece of the pie. And now video is transforming the medium as people increasingly prefer to watch their favorite hosts, helping people like Absher build careers. YouTube said in February that more than 1 billion people listened to podcasts on the platform every month and that in 2024, viewers watched over 400 million hours of podcasts monthly on TVs. Edison Research said in October that YouTube had become the top podcast consumption platform. The rise of video pods has even led to debate over the question: How do you define a podcast, anyway? But one thing that's not up for debate is that video has expanded the market and job opportunities in podcasting. It's not just hosts who are benefiting Video podcasting's growth has created opportunity for people in a medium that's traditionally had a low barrier for entry but rarely is a full-time job. Along with podcasters like Absher, social media creators are increasingly getting in on the action. It's also creating opportunities for service firms like Podglomerate and Creator Science that help hosts translate their shows to the screen, as well as digital media and Hollywood folks whose traditional sources of work are drying up. Podglomerate is hiring people including motion graphics editors, animators, scriptwriters, and even composers, said Chris Boniello, who came out of video and now runs production for the company. "I do think it's going to bring a lot more people into the space," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see TV editors with multicamera skills coming into podcasting." YouTube and Spotify are helping grow the field, with creators eager to cash in on video's much-bigger revenue pie. EMARKETER expects advertisers to spend some $108 billion on digital video in 2025, versus about $2.5 billion being spent on audio podcast advertising. YouTube, with its massive scale and powerful algorithm, can be a great discovery engine, solving a problem that has long vexed the medium. Podcasters also like that YouTube keeps people watching by serving them more episodes. Spotify, meanwhile, is promoting short video clips to entice people to tune in. For advertisers, SiriusXM recently rolled out Creator Connect, a tool that creates different versions of a podcast ad for video and social media. Gabe Tartaglia, who heads podcast and satellite sales for SiriusXM, has said that the company has heard from advertisers that they want to be able to buy against hosts' multiplatform efforts. About 12% of SiriusXM's podcast advertisers are already running ads on more than one format, he said. Jay Clouse, the founder of Creator Science, said his own video podcast grossed $60,000 in revenue in 2024 between programmatic ads on YouTube and brand integrations — triple what it was making in 2022 as an audio-only podcast. 'No doubt video has increased the cost' The rise of video has raised the once low barrier to entry for podcasting. While people could make a show with as little as a phone, full productions with everything from location rental, hair, and makeup can cost as much as $10,000 a shoot. With YouTube comes opportunity but also competition. To stand out quickly from the millions of other creators, you have to work hard to optimize your title, thumbnail, and format, Clouse said. "You're still auditioning for them," he said. "They might listen for 60 seconds and leave. So the first 30 seconds, two minutes, has to be retentive. You need to think about the title and thumb before you record. It needs to be attention-grabbing, and you need to know what the package is going to be." Forever Dog Productions, a podcast studio founded in 2016 and known for its work with comedians like Bowen Yang of "Saturday Night Live" and Ayo Edebiri of "The Bear," went all in on video in 2023. Growing on YouTube has meant a lot of testing and studying things like retention and watch time to find the audience. It also more than doubles the number of people required. "You can't half-ass it," Joe Cilio, one of Forever Dog's founders, said. "No doubt video has increased the cost and amount of personnel." For those coming from traditional TV and film, a reality check can await. "Sometimes the Hollywood people have to downshift because they're used to television and now they're in digital media," Cilio said. "It's smaller potatoes; it's less money." Hosts who are used to the cozy embrace of their listeners can likewise be unprepared for the negative comments that can come with being on YouTube and beyond, where making snarky remarks is as easy as hitting play. "Podcast people like being pod-famous, but then you start putting them on Facebook — people are crazy," Cilio said. "Talent can take the comments so hard. The price of engagement can weigh heavily because people don't want to be criticized." The New York comedians Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton host the podcast "Celebrity Memoir Book Club," a part of Vox Media, on which they discuss celebrity memoirs. They've seen the discovery and revenue benefits of video but acknowledge the downsides, like the expense and emphasis on visuals.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The groove was so thick. It was unbelievable': The making of Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. It's incredible to think that Addicted to Love – while obviously a surefire smash once it was in the can – was actually the third single to be released from Robert Palmer's 1986 album Riptide. Following a disappointing UK number 95 for lead-off single Discipline of Love and the number 85 'hit' of its title track, Palmer had gone from the top of his game to being on his uppers. The early projections for the new album – his eighth – weren't looking good and yet, just a year earlier Palmer had been flying high. Following his quirky new wave early eighties hits Clues and certified '80s classic Some Guys Have All The Luck, the established solo artist (following his time with Vinegar Joe) had, in 1985, landed the lucrative gig fronting The Power Station, the rockier Duran Duran side project featuring the band's Andy Taylor and John Taylor. The project would be a sure-fire winner and play a huge part in boosting Palmer's quirky soul/new wave profile in a new pop direction. What's not to like? Plus, the band would also bring in not one but two members of Chic, with their bassist Bernard Edwards in the producer's chair (alongside his regular engineering collaborator Jason Corsaro) and Chic's inimitable Tony Thompson on drums. The Duran/Edwards/Corsaro combination had already been put together to devastating effect for Duran Duran's global hit bond theme A View To A Kill in early '85. And the Duran member's hook-up with Edwards would be a natural progression for the band after working with his Chic bandmate Nile Rogers for The Reflex and Wild Boys the year before. After the project's predictable success (with lead single Some Like It Hot becoming a US Billboard number six) Palmer departed after a job well done to consider his new direction and newfound fame, with label Island cleverly able to score the services of that same Power Station production dream team for his next solo album. With Edwards and Corsaro in the bag, getting Thompson in on drums once more was a formality, effectively putting the Power Station band and their producer and engineer back together sans the (now reformed) Duran Duran contingent. The subsequent recording sessions would be financed by Island Records and take place at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas, which – conveniently – was where Palmer was living at the time. What could go wrong? Well, there was the small matter of those two flop singles. Perhaps by the end of '85 the post-Power Station new pop/rock Palmer wasn't such a bankable prospect? By this point, Palmer's management's relationship with Island Records had grown rather fractious with the company willing to indulge the obvious star-power and potential of Palmer (top producers… session musicians… and financing his stay in The Bahamas) while seemingly unable to obtain the hits required to keep the entire enterprise afloat. It looked like his off-beat early 80s charm and fortuitous hook-up with two-fifths of Duran Duran were now far behind him, with the fate of the yet-to-be-released '86 album Riptide album now in limbo. Nevertheless, at Compass Point, Palmer and team had been successful in capturing magic. It was just that Island and the record-buying public didn't know it yet. Tony Thompson set the scene for Riptide's turnaround track to Modern Drummer: 'We did Addicted To Love in a recording studio in the Bahamas called Compass Point. At the time Robert lived across from the studio. So Bernard Edwards, one of my favorite guitarists, Eddie Martinez, keyboardist Jeff Bova, Andy Taylor, who also played guitar on that track and me went down to do Robert's record.' "[Palmer] had such eclectic tastes," Martinez told UCR. "He'd listen to Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole and then have Sepultura and Husker Du on the same cassette. It was great music, irrespective of the genre. "I remember hearing Addicted to Love for the first time. He told me he dreamt the song and then wrote the lyrics. We recorded the tracks with Bernard Edwards producing, Jason Corsaro engineering and printing all of the stuff. "He brought down a Sony 24 track digital machine to the sessions, which as you know, this is pretty early on. People were still hanging with analog, but Jason was such a brilliant engineer." 'As a member of Chic and the Power Station, Tony was a powerhouse drummer that put together a style which transcended the styles of rock, funk, and pop,' explained The Legends of Music. 'When you celebrate hits such as Good Times and Le Freak by Chic, everyone can't talk enough about how infectious the groove is. Who do you think invented that? 'Tony really had a talent for creating tight, danceable beats and that is what made him stand out in a rhythm-driven disco era. However, where he really came into his element was on Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love. His performance on that track was conclusive proof that Tony was a master at blending rock's intensity with funk grooves.' Elaborating on that Addicted To Love drum sound, 'Everyone always assumed that there was some kind of special knobs turned when we did that first Power Station record,' explained Thompson. 'All it basically was, was a brand-new Yamaha kit in a very live, brick, recording studio in London called Mason Rouge. 'I hit the drums very hard. That's it! [laughs] We did Some Like It Hot, and everyone had all these stories, saying all kinds of things, about tricks that were going on. Samples weren't even around back then. So, bottom line, the sound came from a good kit, hit hard, in a nice live room.' And Addicted to Love would take that idea and Thompson's hard-hitting playing to the next level. 'That was the first time anyone ever spent time to get a drum sound like that,' Thompson explained. 'I remember my drums were set up in the room, and there was a door that led to a hallway. The engineer, Jason Casaro, took a tube the size of my bass drum and built this tunnel from my bass drum all the way out into the hall and up the stairs. It was this weird thing he hooked up. And it worked.' "Jason [Corsaro] had created a scenario where Tony Thompson's drum set was facing out of the room,' recalls Martinez. 'The doorway to the studio was kept open, and he set up Tony's drum set right at the opening of that door. Then outside that door there was a long hallway, I'd say, easily, 30 feet, if not longer. 'He set up microphones, respectively, at different distances and through his madness, came up with [that sound]. I mean, the drum sounds on that album, and Addicted in particular, I just listened to an isolated track of Tony playing on that and was just blown away." And, of course, it's not just the drums that makes Addicted magical. "[Riptide] enabled me to go into everything that I know, or everything I knew at that time as a guitarist,' relative to harmony and things like that, in terms of chord voicings," says Martinez. "I think that was really important for that record to be able to have that kind of background and apply it to the music. It was like a blank canvas and whatever you heard, you were allowed to explore. 'To me that's heaven for a guitarist working on a record." Then of course there's the music video. Directed by English photographer Terence Donovan, it features a set of rouge-lipsticked expressionless mono models miming as Palmer's backing bands while Palmer goes through his frontman motions as if this kind of thing happens every day. Speaking to Q magazine, Mak Gilchrist (on bass) said: 'We were meant to look and act like showroom mannequins. Director Terence Donovan got us tipsy on a bottle of wine and as we were having our make-up retouched I lost balance on my heels and knocked the top of my guitar into the back of Robert's head, and his face hit the microphone.' The video proved to be such a hit that Palmer would recycle its stoney-faced model concept for I Didn't Mean to Turn You On (also from Riptide), and follow-up album Heavy Nova's Simply Irresistible, and the animated Change His Ways. But we'll leave it to Thompson to sum up Addicted's magic: 'The groove in the house was so thick, and what am I playing? A simple, Boom-Bop-Tish-Bop-Boom-Bop. It was unbelievable. 'I locked into that with everyone else swinging, and it brought the walls down. That song was a masterpiece.
