Top News:
The Daily Beast:
NY Post announces cost-cutting measures, including laying off staff, cutting freelance budgets, and freezing hiring; sources: over a dozen have been laid off — Employees were informed Wednesday of plans to freeze all new hiring, cut and even eliminate most freelance budgets, and lay off some staff.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @wlabovitz, @lalpert1, @joereubens, @maxwelltani, @noahshachtman, @lalpert1, @oliverdarcy, @harrysiegel and @claireatki
Dave McNary / Variety:
Cineworld joins AMC Theatres in refusing to show Universal Pictures films after NBCUniversal CEO's promise to open titles simultaneously on PVOD and in theaters — Cineworld, owner of the Regal Entertainment exhibition chain, is joining AMC Theatres in refusing to play any Universal Pictures films …
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Thom Geier / The Wrap:
Universal says Trolls World Tour on-demand release has netted ~5M downloads; source: it's made $77M in revenue from the 80% it retains from digital rental fees
Discussion:
The Verge, Variety, Wall Street Journal, CortaCable, Business Insider, The Streamable, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @zeitchikwapo, @mortuaryreport, @bookishplinko, @scrawfish, MediaPost, @scott_tobias, @witneyseibold, @wsj, @frankpallotta, @edmundlee, @awallenstein, @mjsamps, @davidlsims, @cinematicbanter and @dkthomp
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Tucker Carlson hyped a YouTube video of two doctors who incorrectly downplayed the COVID-19 threat, and the Fox host also slammed YouTube for removing the video — (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.
Discussion:
NBC News, VICE, @jason_koebler, @jeremymbarr, @jason_koebler, @jason_koebler, @knightlat, @brianstelter, @jeremymbarr and Mediaite
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian says it had 821,000 readers making monthly contributions at the end of March, up 23% YoY; digital app subscriptions grew by 39% YoY to 265,000 — The Guardian's reader revenues have grown at record rates since the coronavirus crisis began and one of the UK's biggest regional dailies follows …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @pzfahad, @kathviner, @janebsinger, @grahamruthven, @johnharris1969, @jonathanwatts and HoldtheFrontPage
Sam Stanton / Sacramento Bee:
Probation officials allege Matthew Keys violated the conditions of his supervised release from prison by deleting Comstock magazine's YouTube videos and account — Sacramento journalist Matthew Keys first came to notoriety because of his mastery of computers.
Discussion:
@nickmiller510, @bendreyfuss and @jowens510
Max Willens / Digiday:
As Facebook ad rates nosedive, publishers are using them to drive subscribers; Condé Nast says 50% of its new subscriptions are from paid efforts — Over the past seven weeks, many publishers have welcomed a coronavirus bump in subscribers as news consumption rises.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify beats with Q1 revenue of €1.8B and net income of €1M, with MAUs up 31% YoY to 286M, premium users up 31% to 130M, and ad-supported MAUs up 32% to 163M — The coronavirus may be decimating some corners of the economy, but the impact on the digital music …
Discussion:
Spotify, Los Angeles Times, Variety, @ncsh, @philipmorton, @thr, @ingridlunden, Ad Age, The Wrap, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
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Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Spotify says TV and game console usage is up by 50% due to the pandemic, with increased consumption of wellness podcasts and searches for terms like “chill”
Discussion:
@brianstelter and TechCrunch
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify-owned Anchor introduces a feature that will allow creators to turn their video chats and virtual hangouts into podcast-ready audio
Discussion:
Anchor, @rfaughnder, @ivan_brussels, Input, @rverrier, MediaPost, Mobile Marketer, Nieman Lab, @leimer, Engadget, NewsLab, Engadget and The Verge
Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
The US Supreme Court has upheld the right to freely share the official annotated law code of Georgia despite the state's claim to own the copyright of the code — The state of Georgia licensed the official copy of state law to LexisNexis. — A narrowly divided US Supreme Court on Monday upheld …
Discussion:
Slate, New York Times and Bloomberg Law
GOV.UK:
UK government announces it will use the £400,000 Community Radio Fund to provide a lifeline for community radio stations hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic — £400,000 redirected to provide emergency support to hard-hit community stations. Funds to be made available to successful applicants within weeks.
Discussion:
@stevebakerhw, @chrism4chester, @reevesian and RadioToday
Andy Baio / Waxy.org:
Roc Nation files copyright claim over deepfake YouTube videos that use AI to impersonate Jay-Z's voice, raising new copyright and fair use questions — On Friday, I linked to several videos by Vocal Synthesis, a new YouTube channel dedicated to audio deepfakes — AI-generated speech …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Verge, @waxpancake, @gregghoush, Input, @glassbottommeg, @mantzarlis, @henryajder, @hollyherndon, @grady_booch, Reclaim The Net, Techdirt, Plagiarism Today and Music Ally
Patrick Brzeski / Hollywood Reporter:
Head of China's Film Bureau says cinemas are expected to reopen in early June; Chinese officials estimate lost box office revenue at $4.2B in total so far — Movie theaters in China, the world's second-biggest film market, have been closed since late January, weeks before they shut down in North America.
Discussion:
Variety, @tprcinema, @lucas_shaw, @bicaraboxoffice, /Film, The Playlist and IndieWire
Doug Sword / Roll Call:
Some House Democrats still want to change pension rules to help McClatchy, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Newspapers of New England, but critics are skeptical — Proposal would allow more newspapers to benefit from pension relief, though critics say industry problems were evident long before COVID-19
Discussion:
@dkiesow, @rollcall and @nielslesniewski
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
BBC announces pay and hiring cuts as it predicts £125M lower income this year as revenue from its commercial arm dips and people stop paying the license fee — Boss Tony Hall says licence fee and commercial revenues are being hit by Covid-19 pandemic
Discussion:
@jimwaterson
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap:
Amazon renews its NFL deal for 3 more seasons, with Amazon and Twitch getting exclusive global rights to one late-season Saturday game each season — Amazon will stream “Thursday Night Football” for three more seasons and get an additional game all to itself in a new deal with the NFL.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Variety, CNBC, @pkafka, @carlquintanilla, @awfulannouncing, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @darrenrovell, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @claireatki, @latimesent, Axios, The Streamable and Hollywood Reporter
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