VARIETY — In the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Jason Isbell tweeted, “If Biden wins Georgia I’m gonna make a charity covers album of my favorite Georgia songs — R.E.M., Gladys Knight, Vic Chesnutt, Allmans, Cat Power, Precious Bryant, Now It’s Overhead, etc… And damn is that gonna be fun.” He subsequently confirmed that he hadn’t just been blowing electoral smoke but was really in the studio, working on giving voters in the swing state — and Peach State allies — their due reward.

The result, a charity album called “Georgia Blue,” comes out digitally with Oct. 15, with a Record Store Day vinyl edition imminently to be announced. The 13-song set spreads the love with a number of guest lead or co-lead vocalists and featured instrumentalists, including Brandi Carlile, Julien Baker, Béla Fleck, Chris Thile, John Paul White, Brittney Spencer, Adia Victoria, Steve Gorman, Peter Levin and prominent members of his band the 400 Unit, Amanda Shires and Sadler Vaden.

Proceeds are earmarked for three organizations: Black Voters Matter, Fair Fight and Georgia Stand-Up. [MORE]

ESPORTS INSIDER — Turnkey esports provider Skillshot Media announced plans to create an esports gaming hub at Uptown Atlanta, a 47-acre mixed-use community being redeveloped by Rubenstein Partners.

Per a release, Skillshot will relocate its Alpharetta office and production studios to Uptown and partner with Rubenstein to establish Atlanta’s ‘new go-to destination’ for esports events. Skillshot’s new space will also provide classroom and training space for local students.

HyperX was named the official peripheral partner of Skillshot at Uptown. As part of the collaboration, HyperX will outfit Skillshot with a range of products, including headsets, keyboards, mice and microphones.

Skillshot will collaborate with Rubenstein to utilise a 35,000-square-foot office atrium to become ‘Atlanta’s premier venue for esports events’. The atrium will be outfitted to host approximately 300-400 gamers for in-person events and feature a ‘massive’ LED screen with new digital infrastructure to support live streaming. [MORE]

NPR, 90.1FM WABE — In the realm of film and TV, Georgia’s industry has never been stronger. Productions are booming throughout the state, with 49 films and TV shows currently in the making. Now, the University of Georgia will keep the tide high by connecting students to the industry with a new MFA program in Film, Television, and Digital Media, through the University’s Grady College. Students will even live on-site in production studios as part of the curriculum.

Dr. Jeff Springston, the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Grady College joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes along with Frank Patterson from Trilith Studios, formerly Pinewood, and Kyle Hamlin, a UGA student pursuing the new MFA. They discussed what the program will entail and how it will enrich students aspiring to have careers in Georgia’s robust media industry.

The MFA, in development for three years, started its first courses last year in August. “The very first cohort is actually finishing their summer films this summer, and then once they’re done they’re actually going to move out for the second year, which is right at Trilith Studios,” said Springston. “So we’re all very excited about them getting really right in the cusp of, frankly, where a lot of the action is in the film and television industry these days.”

This year, ten students will be living and learning at Trilith studios. [MORE]

THE VERGE — The Olympics is currently hosting its first-ever virtual sporting event series, the Olympic Virtual Series, where competitors can play in virtual versions of five different physical sports: motorsport, cycling, baseball, sailing, and rowing. The cycling competition, for example, takes place in Zwift, which lets you pair your bike and a bike trainer with your computer, phone, or tablet. The motorsport competition takes place entirely inside Gran Turismo Sport.

You might notice that none of those are games you might typically associate with esports, such as Overwatch, which has previously hosted World Cup-style tournaments where players represented their countries. At least for now, though, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is intentionally choosing to host competitions in virtual versions of physical sports.

“I think it’s fair to say that we remain a sport-based and sport-focused organization,” the IOC’s sport director, Kit McConnell, told The Verge in an interview. “We’re looking to keep the Olympic Virtual Series focused around sport titles.”

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SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL — The Olympic Virtual Series, a gaming showcase for the e-versions of five physical sports including baseball and sailing, is at its core an attempt for the International Olympic Committee to reach a younger audience. But the series, which kicked off earlier this month and runs through Olympic Day on June 23, is also the first real indicator that virtual physical sports — and, perhaps, non-physical esports — may have a formal place in the Olympic Games by LA28.

“The real opportunity around an Olympic Virtual Series for this year came actually with the postponement of Tokyo,” said IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, who noted that lockdown-related spikes in gaming activity were a major driver of the IOC’s urgency. “We saw massive increases in the number of people playing NBA 2K, FIFA 21 and the emerging titles as well. Reflecting that growth, and reflecting the opportunity that the postponement of Tokyo gave us to actually do something before Tokyo when we had that window created … we felt there was a real convergence and a unique opportunity to bring those elements together. So we seized it rather quickly.”

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THE WASHINGTON POST —We don’t have video games in the Olympics quite yet, but we’re getting closer.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Thursday that it was organizing a slate of five esports events to be staged ahead of the Summer Games this year in Tokyo. The Olympic Virtual Series (OVS) will feature competitions in auto racing, baseball, cycling, rowing and sailing.

Auto racing is not an Olympic sport, but then again, neither are any esports. However, a “road map” produced by an IOC panel in February of recommendations for the next several years included sections on growing digital engagement and on encouraging the development of virtual sports. It appears the IOC is intent on doing just that, but it will start with something of a toe-dip into the virtual waters.

“The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. “It encourages sports participation and promotes the Olympic values, with a special focus on youth.”

According to the IOC, each OVS event is being run via coordination between a given sport’s IOC-recognized international federation and a corresponding gaming publisher. In the case of auto racing, contestants will play Gran Turismo, as agreed upon by manufacturer and Sony subsidiary Polyphony Digital and the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

The World Baseball Softball Confederation and Konami Digital Entertainment are teaming up to offer eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, and the International Cycling Union (UCI) is working with Zwift Inc. to use its popular program, Zwift. [MORE]

DEXERTO — The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have finally decided to embrace esports, somewhat, with their first licensed event for “non-physical virtual sports” starting May 13.

After years of back and forth as to whether the IOC would ever include esports in their event, the Olympic Virtual Series appears to be the start of that very thing happening.

The team behind the sporting spectacle have partnered with sporting federations and game publishers to bring five “non-physical virtual sports” together as part of the event.

Konami’s eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, online cycling platform Zwift, international rowing federation World Rowing, sailing race simulator Virtual Regatta, and racing gaming Gran Turismo have all been tapped for the event.

The Olympic Virtual Series starts on May 13 and runs until June 23, serving as a precursor to the Olympic Games Tokyo to “mobilise virtual sport, esports and gaming enthusiasts all around the world.” It’s being produced by DreamHack Sports Games, who focus on turning traditional sports leagues and tournaments into esports. [MORE]

THE ESPORTS OBSERVER — Gaming festival operator DreamHack has announced a new event that aims to combine its traditional collective gaming event with a unique online experience. Dubbed DreamHack Online, the event will include the livestreams, game previews, cosplay competitions, and esports competitions that a traditional DreamHack offers while also providing the framework for a new narrative-driven gaming experience.

Together with Super Crowd Entertainment, Dreamhack will offer a browser-based, multiplayer experience that will be integrated into the digital festival. According to a release, attendees will also have access to an interactive experience which features DreamHack partners.

The week-long event will run from July 24-31.

ESPORTS INSIDER — Esports organiser and production company ESL Gaming has announced a new mobile esports ecosystem covering North America, Europe/MENA, and Asia-Pacific.

ESL Mobile’s inaugural 2021 Spring Season kicks off on April 12th with a $650,000 (£475,069) prize pool. The Fall Season will be held later this year. [MORE]

OZ MAGAZINE — Virtual production software developer Zero Density and Peach Maria Productions has joined in a strategic partnership. The agreement will make Peach Maria Productions — producers of the upcoming reality competition series, GAMEMASTER, with host Wil Wheaton — the largest Reality Engine virtual production operation in the world by the end of 2021.

With a 10,000 square foot, purpose-built virtual production sound stage, the new studio will include 13 computing engines, 12 cameras, and real-time rendering. Accompanying support space will include audio and video editing bays, broadcast studios and offices. Peach Maria will oversee the space, including booking it for third party productions beginning in the fall of 2021. [MORE]

THE ESPORTS OBSERVER — The NHL has tapped DreamHack Sports Games to operate live and online esports competitions and events for its NHL Gaming World Championship brand in a multi-year deal. In addition to operating events and livestream coverage, DreamHack Sports Games will collaborate with the NHL to approach new sponsors.

NHL Gaming has historically focused on established NHL sponsors, but VP of Business Development and Innovation Chris Golier told The Esports Observer that one advantage of working with DreamHack Sports Games is the ability to access new sponsors, particularly those endemic to the esports industry. [MORE]

NPR “Morning Edition” — Deborah Scott has been working as a grassroots organizer in Georgia for nearly four decades. NPR's Noel King talks to Scott about how she began, and how her work has helped to galvanize voters.

This week, two Democrats from Georgia were sworn into the U.S. Senate, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. For decades, Georgia was a reliably Republican state. So what happened? Organizers say it took a years-long campaign that was not aimed at flipping the party that controlled the state, but aimed at building a new and better Georgia regardless of party.

Deborah Scott is one of the organizers. She moved to Georgia as a teenager to attend Clark Atlanta University. She was from Ohio. And she was astonished to realize that in the late 1980s, the KKK would still show up to civil rights marches. [LISTEN HIERE]