CBS-46 ATLANTA — Rapper and actor Common's music is always inspiring and knowledgeable, and now with Election Day drawing near, he's using his talents to get Georgians to the polls early.

The GRAMMY award-winning artist is one of the most respected names in hip-hop; often noted for his positive energy and activism. And with early voting coming to a close on October 30, Common is in Atlanta for next four days discussing civic engagement.

"There's nothing like changing people by being with them," says Common. "I think it shows that you care at an even higher level." [MORE]

HYPEPOTAMUS — With many businesses and organizations continuing to suffer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, non-profits were probably hit the hardest due to their inability to raise funds through traditional methods.

Most non-profit organizations typically receive the bulk of their funds through in-person events such as galas and athletic events (such as 5k runs). And with the absence of these events, they must figure out alternative methods, which is where Atlanta-based online fundraising platform Softgiving steps in. [MORE]

DEADLINE — GameMaster, an e-sports reality competition series featuring The Big Bang Theory’s Wil Wheaton, is set to kick off production in Georgia.

Production on the show, not be to confused with the classic British Channel 4 format that starred Patrick Moore, was delayed by eight months as a result of the COVID-19 production shutdown.

The show, which is set to air on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch, will start pre-production in Atlanta on November 9 with full production beginning in January 2021.

Wheaton, who played a fictionalized version of himself on the CBS sitcom, will play the commissioner and host of the nine-part series. It will feature gameplay on 24 major video games with 12 amateur esports contestants from across the U.S. Someone will go home each week, and the last two standing will battle it out at the live finale to grab the $100K cash prize and claim the title. [MORE]

ESPN — ESL and DreamHack, two of the biggest event organizers in esports, announced Wednesday that they will merge after a five-year period that saw the two companies share ownership in Modern Times Group but operate independently. The new company will be known as ESL Gaming, with Modern Times Group as its majority shareholder.

DreamHack will continue to be the name of the festival series that spans across Europe and North America, but will be operated now by the joint leadership group. That leadership group will be led by ESL co-CEOs Ralf Reichert and Craig Levine, with DreamHack CEO Marcus Lindmark staying on to operate the large-scale festivals he has been the top executive for since October 2014. [MORE]

ESPORTS INSIDER — MTG-owned tournament organisers DreamHack and ESL have merged organisations under one corporation.

While operations for both companies will now operate under ESL Gaming, DreamHack and ESL will remain as independent brands.

The new company structure is effective immediately, with Craig Levine and Ralf Reichert leading ESL Gaming as Co-CEOs. The merger is said to allow DreamHack and ESL to “push forward new innovations to serve fans and communities” in “every region around the world.” [MORE}

THE ESPORTS OBSERVER — Global tournament organizers ESL and DreamHack will merge their operations into a single entity under the name ESL Gaming. The new structure will be led by Co-CEOs Craig Levine and Ralf Reichert. DreamHack President and CEO Marcus Lindmark will take the role of president, DreamHack SVP, project and event operations.

While the companies and their leadership structures have merged, the brands will continue to operate as they have – DreamHack festivals will remain under the DreamHack name, as will ESL competitions. [MORE]

ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE, “It’s Complicated” — State and local officials who had been urging people to complete the census, have gotten a reprieve. A federal judge ruled late Sept. 24 that the count could continue through the end of October instead of wrapping up Sept. 30.

The one-month extension will provide a little breathing room, but does not wholly eliminate the urgency. Among other things, data the bureau collects in Georgia will help determine how much money the federal government allocates to projects in the Peach State during the next 10 years. [MORE]

CBS-46 ATLANTA — Efforts to register voters got a big push as volunteers flooded metro Atlanta for National Voter Registration Day.

"What we want you to do is tell five people to come register to vote,” said volunteer Michael Pennyman, he was one dozens, working to register voters.

“I go out to the people and explain what we’re really doing and what voter registration is all about,” added Pennyman.[MORE]

ESPORTS INSIDER — San Francisco-based Golden Guardians, an affiliate team of the Golden State Warriors, has announced its partnership with Softgiving.

To celebrate the launch of the partnership, Golden Guardians will host a charity stream on September 12th for Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles.

Throughout the course of the partnership, Golden Guardians and Softgiving will host several charity stream events and raise money for a variety of charities during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and National Video Games Week. [MORE]

REUTERS — DreamHack postponed the remaining 2020 live events until next year due to ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus, the tournament organizer announced Monday.

“The goal for all of us at DreamHack is to provide great experiences at our events, which thrive by bringing communities together for these shared and beloved festival weekends all around the globe,” DreamHack co-CEO Marcus Lindmark said. “We have never had to postpone events like this before -- but these are extraordinary times, and the safety of our attendees and staff has never been more important than now.” [MORE]

FORBES — Virtual concerts are finally getting more interactive.

Four months into the pivot to the lion’s share of live music being delivered largely via live streams, a host of shows, charity events and even festivals are cropping up in with varying levels of interaction that herald deeper engagement for both fans and brands.

The evolution is both promising and necessary. While a virtual show will never replace the communal sway and sweat of an in-venue experience, fans fatigued by mediocre one-way music delivery need more immersion, and artists need ways to earn more money for themselves and the causes they support.

… The weekend also saw some success stories. Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa staged two benefit shows—a July 9 concert that launched new experiential platform Genius Live and a July 11 show in conjunction with esports team the Pittsburgh Knights (he’s a longtime strategic partner) staged on the Knights YouTube channel and Twitch. [MORE]

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION — Wiz Khalifa is teaming with the Pittsburgh Knights esports team and the Atlanta-based charity fundraising platform Softgiving for a livestream July 11.

The “Wiz and Friends Charity Livestream” will benefit Rise Above the Disorder, which provides mental health services to people of color. [MORE]