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It’s been a while since I had a genuine belly laugh from a supposedly-comical brand marketing video. But Harley-Davidson’s “e-bike guru” did just that as it poked and prodded its way through cycling culture stereotypes on its way to landing a surprisingly relatable message about simply enjoying riding.

Part of that success might be because it wasn’t really a Harley-Davidson production, but rather came to us via Serial 1, an H-D spinoff company that builds premium electric bicycles.

If Harley is a hundred year old, slow-moving corporate machine, then Serial 1 is its spunky, nimble startup love child. No chrome, no throttles, just electric motor-assisted pedaling.

Serial 1 teamed up with Allies & Co and Bash, a production and film team, to create the “eBike Guru”, a comical short that explores how a new e-bike owner might be tempted to fall into the trap of stereotypical cycling culture.

The short follows Greg as he receives a new e-bike and quickly turns into a cycling snob, much to the ire of his exasperated wife Kathy.

Once Kathy has enough of Greg’s antics, she calls the e-bike’s help line and is put through to a special line for the “eBike Guru” to solve Greg’s problem.

I won’t give anything away. The video is only 8 minutes long and is worth a watch. Let’s be real – it’s Sunday and you’re not doing anything better.

Serial 1 definitely came out of left field when it launched barely a year ago.

Brand Manager for Serial Aaron Frank explained how the company’s status as outsiders in the industry meant that they had to look for clever ways to get their message out.

“The eBike market is crowded and chaotic, and a content piece like this is one way to stand out. We wanted to have a little fun and to take advantage of our status as outsiders in the cycling industry to make some humorous content that could only come from Serial 1. At the same time, many of our mainstream customers are not cyclists and don’t understand that riding a bike isn’t all about suffering. eBikes are the best way to be active, have fun, and explore your world on two wheels.”  

It’s not the first time Serial 1 has had a bit of fun in front of the camera.

A few weeks ago the brand created a one-off e-bike that looked strikingly similar to the BMX bike from a certain hit Steven Spielberg classic. The beautiful e-bike creation was auctioned off for charity, but not before Serial 1 had the chance to film an epic video with it.

(Again, we’re talking less than 90 seconds here. Worth it.)

It may not be conventional, but it’s working.


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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

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Ariana Grande rushed by red carpet intruder at premiere of Wicked: For Good

Video footage has shown the moment singer and actress Ariana Grande was accosted by a fan at a film premiere.

Ms Grande was in Singapore for the debut of Wicked: For Good when the incident unfolded on Thursday.

The video captured the moment the fan scaled the barricade and pushed past photographers towards Ms Grande.

Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

He then threw his arms around her, before co-star Cynthia Erivo intervened and security swoops in to stop him.

The man, now identified as Johnson Wen, 26, is reportedly a notorious red carpet crasher.

Wen, who has since been charged with being a public nuisance, goes by the nickname Pyjama Man, and gloated as he shared footage of the intrusion online.

“Dear Ariana Grande, Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You,” he wrote on Instagram.

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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS
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Pic: tacotrvck_vb/X/via REUTERS

In video stories posted to the site beforehand, he was seen at the Universal Studios venue, revealing his intentions.

In one, he said: “I feel like I’m in a dream, that’s my best friend, Ariana Grande, and I’m gonna meet her. I’ve been dreaming about that.”

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The Australian has ambushed several performers on stage, according to reports, including Katy Perry and The Chainsmokers at concerts in Sydney, and The Weeknd in Melbourne.

It has been reported that Wen intends to plead guilty and that he could face a fine of more than £1,000.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good
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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the London premiere for Wicked: For Good

Ms Grande took a moment to gather herself in the aftermath of the intrusion, visibly shocked by the incident.

She didn’t address the incident on her own Instagram, but shared some photos with the caption “thank you, Singapore”, adding “we love you”.

The singer battled post-traumatic stress disorder after her 2017 concert in Manchester was bombed, leaving 22 people dead.

She told Vogue in 2018: “It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss. But, yeah, it’s a real thing.

“I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well. Time is the biggest thing.

“I feel like I shouldn’t even be talking about my own experience – like I shouldn’t even say anything. I don’t think I’ll ever know how to talk about it and not cry.”

In the same interview she also addressed her own anxiety, saying she has “always” had it.

Ms Grande plays Galinda Upland in Wicked: For Good, the character who becomes Glinda the Good Witch. Ms Erivo plays Elphaba, the character who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The film is released in UK cinemas on 21 November.

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can’t tell the difference, says report

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A third of daily music uploads are AI-generated and 97% of people can't tell the difference, says report

Do you care if the music you’re listening to is artificially generated?

That question – once the realm of science fiction – is becoming increasingly urgent.

An AI-generated country track, Walk My Walk, is currently sitting at number one on the US Billboard chart of digital sales and a new report by streaming platform Deezer has revealed the sheer scale of AI production in the music industry.

Deezer’s AI-detection system found that around 50,000 fully AI-generated tracks are now uploaded every day, accounting for 34% of all daily uploads.

File pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

The true number is most likely higher, as Deezer’s AI-detection system does not catch every AI-generated track. Nor does this figure include partially AI-generated tracks.

In January 2025, Deezer’s system identified 10% of uploaded tracks as fully AI-generated.

Since then, the proportion of AI tracks – made using written prompts such as “country, 1990s style, male singer” – has more than tripled, leading the platform’s chief executive, Alexis Lanternier, to say that AI music is “flooding music streaming”.

More on Artificial Intelligence

‘Siphoning money from royalty pool’

What’s more, when Deezer surveyed 9,000 people in eight countries – the US, Canada, Brazil, UK, France, Netherlands, Germany and Japan – and asked them to detect whether three tracks were real or AI, 97% could not tell the difference.

That’s despite the fact that the motivation behind the surge of AI music is not in the least bit creative, according to Deezer. The company says that roughly 70% of fully AI-generated tracks are what it calls “fraudulent” – that is, designed purely to make money.

“The common denominator is the ambition to boost streams on specific tracks in order to siphon money from the royalty pool,” a Deezer spokesperson told Sky News.

“With AI-generated content, you can easily create massive amounts of tracks that can be used for this purpose.”

File pic: Reuters
Image:
File pic: Reuters


The tracks themselves are not actually fraudulent, Deezer says, but the behaviour around them is. Someone will upload an AI track then use an automated system – a bot – to listen to a song over and over again to make royalties from it.

Even though the total number of streams for each individual track is very low – Deezer estimates that together they account for 0.5% of all streams – the work needed to make an AI track is so tiny that the rewards justify the effort.

Are fully-AI tracks being removed?

Deezer is investing in AI-detection software and has filed two patents for systems that spot AI music. But it is not taking down the tracks it marks as fully-AI.

Instead it removes them from algorithmic recommendations and editorial playlists, a measure designed to stop the tracks getting streams and therefore generating royalties, and marks the tracks as “AI-generated content”.

“If people want to listen to an AI-generated track however, they can and we are not stopping them from doing so – we just want to make sure they are making a conscious decision,” the Deezer spokesperson says.

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Concerns about artists’ livelihoods

Deezer’s survey found that more than half (52%) of respondents felt uncomfortable with not being able to tell the difference between AI and human-made music.

“The survey results clearly show that people care about music and want to know if they’re listening to AI or human-made tracks or not,” said the company’s boss Alexis Lanternier.

“There’s also no doubt that there are concerns about how AI-generated music will affect the livelihood of artists.”

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Musicians protests AI copyright plans

Earlier this year, more than 1,000 musicians – including Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn and Kate Bush – released a silent album to protest plans by the UK government to let artificial intelligence companies use copyright-protected work without permission.

A recent study commissioned by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers suggested that generative AI music could be worth £146bn a year in 2028 and account for around 60% of music libraries’ revenues.

By this metric, the authors concluded, 25% of creators’ revenues are at risk by 2028, a sum of £3.5bn.

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn’t ‘basis for defamation claim’

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BBC apologises to Donald Trump over editing of Panorama but says there isn't 'basis for defamation claim'

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a speech in a Panorama programme in 2024.

The corporation said it was an “error of judgement” and the programme will “not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms”.

But it added that it “strongly” disagrees that there is “a basis for a defamation claim”.

It emerged earlier, Donald Trump’s legal team said the US president had not yet filed a lawsuit against the BBC over the
broadcaster’s editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol building.

The legal team sent a letter over the weekend threatening to sue the media giant for $1bn and issuing three demands:

• Issue a “full and fair retraction” of the Panorama programme
• Apologise immediately
• “Appropriately compensate” the US president

On Sunday evening, two of the BBC’s top figures, including the director-general, resigned amid the edit and concerns about impartiality.

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In a statement, the corporation said: “Lawyers for the BBC have written to President Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday.

“BBC Chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the Corporation are sorry for the edit of the President’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the programme.

“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ on any BBC platforms.

“While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

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