Saudi Entertainment Authority Inaugurates AlHisn Big Time Studios in Riyadh

AlHisn Big Time Studios feature seven studio buildings covering an area of 10,500 square meters. (SPA)
AlHisn Big Time Studios feature seven studio buildings covering an area of 10,500 square meters. (SPA)
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Saudi Entertainment Authority Inaugurates AlHisn Big Time Studios in Riyadh

AlHisn Big Time Studios feature seven studio buildings covering an area of 10,500 square meters. (SPA)
AlHisn Big Time Studios feature seven studio buildings covering an area of 10,500 square meters. (SPA)

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Advisor Turki bin Abdulmohsen Al Al-Sheikh inaugurated on Monday AlHisn Big Time Studios, west of Riyadh, the largest and most modern studios for film and television production in the Middle East. The studios will help boost film and television production in the region.

AlHisn Big Time Studios, built in just 120 days, feature seven studio buildings covering an area of 10,500 square meters; the total project area measures 300,000 square meters. It also features a production village, with carpentry and metalworking workshops, as well as costume design facilities.

Additional amenities include luxurious suites for VIPs, offices for film production, and fully equipped editing rooms, all creating an ideal work environment that helps increase production efficiency.

The studios aim to streamline and accelerate production processes by concentrating the needs of film and television production in one location, saving time, effort, and costs, while supporting the production sector in the region on par with global standards.

The facility will provide a strategic opportunity for the financial and banking sector to support production companies. It will pave the way for a significant leap in film and television production at both local and regional levels.



Ed Sheeran Beats Copyright Appeal over ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Song

Singer Ed Sheeran performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Center in New York, US, June 6, 2023. (Reuters)
Singer Ed Sheeran performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Center in New York, US, June 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Ed Sheeran Beats Copyright Appeal over ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Song

Singer Ed Sheeran performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Center in New York, US, June 6, 2023. (Reuters)
Singer Ed Sheeran performs on NBC's "Today" show at Rockefeller Center in New York, US, June 6, 2023. (Reuters)

Ed Sheeran, his record label Warner Music and music publisher Sony Music Publishing persuaded a US appeals court on Friday to uphold a decision that his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not illegally copy Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On."

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a lower-court judge's dismissal of a lawsuit from Structured Asset Sales, which owns rights to the Gaye song that previously belonged to co-writer Ed Townsend.

Structured Asset Sales' owner - investment banker David Pullman - said the company was reviewing all of its options after the decision.

A lawyer and spokespeople for Sheeran and the other defendants did not immediately respond to similar requests.

In May 2023, Sheeran defeated a separate copyright lawsuit by Townsend's heirs, who own a separate share of his interest in "Let's Get It On," in a closely watched jury trial.

SAS sued Sheeran in 2018. US District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed its case following the verdict in the heirs' case.

Stanton found that the musical elements Sheeran allegedly copied were too common to merit copyright protection.

The appeals court agreed, saying that protecting the elements could stifle creativity, and that Sheeran's and Gaye's songs were not similar enough for Sheeran's to have infringed on SAS' copyright.

It also rejected the argument that Stanton should have reviewed Gaye's actual recording, which according to Pullman included key elements that Sheeran copied, rather than focus on the song's sheet music deposited with the US Copyright Office.

SAS has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on its rights in Gaye's recording. That case is currently on hold.