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Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Spotify launches Renegades: Born in the USA, an exclusive, eight-episode podcast with Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen as co-hosts — Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are making a podcast. — Spotify on Monday announced the launch of “Renegades: Born in the USA,” …
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Chris Welch / The Verge:
Spotify says it will launch a subscription later this year called HiFi that will offer “CD-quality, lossless audio”; Spotify currently tops out at 320kbps audio — Your turn, Apple Music — Spotify is going hi-fi. Well, “HiFi.” It's taken longer than competitors like Tidal …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify says it will launch in 80+ new markets in the coming days, expanding from 93 markets, making the service available to 1B potential new users — Spotify unveiled plans to launch in 85 new markets over the next few days, areas that represent more than 1 billion potential new listeners, according the company.
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@eldsjal, TechCrunch, Ad Age, Bloomberg, CNET, @kerrymflynn, @lucas_shaw, @dbricej and @lucas_shaw, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify says it will test paid podcast subscriptions in the US this spring through a new feature in Anchor
Spotify says it will test paid podcast subscriptions in the US this spring through a new feature in Anchor
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Spotify debuts features for creators like polls and Q&A tools to make podcasts interactive, partners with WordPress to turn text into podcasts using Anchor
Spotify debuts features for creators like polls and Q&A tools to make podcasts interactive, partners with WordPress to turn text into podcasts using Anchor
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Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @chrismessina and @amartino, more at Techmeme »
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC, sticking to “both sides-ism”, still let GOP leaders spread the “Big Lie” that Trump won the election with little or no pushback — (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.
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Alex Barker / Financial Times:
Microsoft says it will work with Europe's four largest news publishing lobbying groups to “mandate payments” for content used by “gatekeepers” — Seattle-based company aligns with press industry and exploits rivals' difficulties — Microsoft has joined forces …
Los Angeles Times:
Investigation finds non-profit HFPA, which runs Golden Globes, makes substantial payments to members, as questions persist about its ethics and legitimacy — It appeared to be a moment of triumph in the long, tumultuous story of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google tells ad partners that it will lift its ban on all political ads starting Wednesday, after banning them following the Capitol riot — Google informed its advertising partners Monday that its platforms will resume accepting all political ads starting Wednesday, after banning them following …
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The New York Times Company:
NYT: Maggie Haberman will take on a new beat and join Washington bureau's investigative/enterprise team and still track the post-Trump scene with Politics desk — Elisabeth Bumiller, Dick Stevenson and Patrick Healy share Maggie's new role, which will span investigative/enterprise in Washington and Politics.
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@brianstelter, @timothynoah1, @ericliptonnyt, @sollenbergerrc, @juliehdavis, @jswatz, @dylanbyers and @froomkin
Elaine Low / Variety:
Discovery reports Q4: revenue of $2.9B, beating estimates, and Discovery+ has 11M subscribers after launching in January — The company reported earnings of 76 cents per share and revenue of $2.889 billion, vs. Street projections for per-share earnings of 72 cents on revenue of $2.83 billion.
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The Wrap, Discovery Communications, The Streamable, MediaPost, The Wrap, The Streamable and New York Post
Rachel Abrams / New York Times:
Ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, Congressional Democrats ask cable and tech companies how they combatted misinformation from Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax — Before a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked cable companies what they did to combat …
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Politico, @rachelabramsny, Gregg Jarrett, @oliverdarcy, CNBC, Reason, New York Post, @hshaban, @mattgaetz, @brucefenton, The Daily Caller, The Hill, @dylanbyers, @pkafka, @brendancarrfcc, @cernovich and @ggreenwald
Brendan Brady / ANTENNA:
Analysis: The Office drove 3.9x sign-ups to Peacock vs average December weekend; Netflix churn rate was not impacted as <1% of Netflix subs signed-up to Peacock — After finding a second life as a cultural phenomenon on Netflix, The Office returned home to NBCU's Peacock on January 1, 2021.
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The Streamable, Observer and @ballmatthew
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Defector, the employee-owned site that began after a staff walkout at Deadspin, is doing surprisingly well and is financially self-sustaining six months in — Mahatma Gandhi didn't actually say “Be the change you want to see in the world,” but if he had, he probably wouldn't have been thinking …