Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: the value of Spotify's deal with Joe Rogan, which covers three and a half years, was at least $200M, twice the $100M that reports suggested at the time — The deal that brought his podcast to Spotify is said to be worth over $200 million, more than was previously known.
Discussion:
Billboard, insideradio.com, Hollywood Reporter, Webb Chatham Report, @rjcc, 9to5Mac, The Fix, Music Ally, Complete Music Update, Newser, @internetryan, @daviddtss, @maxkennerly, @bowl_of_worcel, @robertwrighter, @zoecello, @rjcc, @mcclure111, @katierosman, @hotlinejosh, @sanasaeed, @mikeisaac, @gartenberg, Barrett Media, @nicktheandersen, @eoinhiggins_, @rjcc, @hayesbrown, @edmundlee, @danrodricks, @ericboehlert, @ianmorris78, @jljacobson, @awilkinson, @marklgoldberg, @nicktheandersen, @rschooley, The Verge, Input, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, Forbes, The Wrap, TechSpot, Engadget, Insider, OutKick, Variety, Protocol, Cracked Bowl and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify's acquisitions of Podsights and Chartable prepare it to compete better with YouTube, offering programmatic ads and robust analytics to creators — Why the company went on a shopping spree — This story originally ran in Hot Pod, The Verge's preeminent audio industry newsletter.
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Condé Nast says it now has 360M monthly average readers and turned a profit in 2021 for the first time in years; source: it recorded ~$2B in revenue last year — Publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker generated nearly $2 billion in revenue last year
Knight Foundation:
In December 2021, 33% of Americans said they pay a “great deal” of attention to national news, down from 54% in November 2020 — Fewer Americans are paying attention to national news now than at any time since early 2018. In December 2021, a third of Americans (33%) said they pay …
Discussion:
@iohnsands and @marklittlenews
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Brian Stelter will host a daily version of his Reliable Sources show for CNN+, the subscription streaming service to launch this spring — CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter will host a daily version of Reliable Sources for CNN+, the upcoming subscription service set to debut this spring.
Discussion:
@marceelias, @greta, OutKick, CNN, Fox News and Barrett Media
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CNN+ will air a six-part documentary on the Murdochs, based on an NYT Magazine article and co-produced by CNN, NYT, and Left/Right, in the weeks to come — The Murdochs, the media-mogul family that controls Fox News Channel, are about to be the subject of a new documentary series that will be distributed by one of their main rivals.
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, TVNewser and Barrett Media
Eric Benjamin Seufert / Mobile Dev Memo:
An in-depth look at Privacy Sandbox for Android: a two-year transition with ad industry input, a marked change from Apple's ATT, which had little external input — plans to bring a Privacy Sandbox effort to Android. Google's — original Privacy Sandbox
Discussion:
The Register, @thomasbcn, @deantak, ScreenRant, @swodinsky, @eric_seufert, TechSpot, communicateonline.me and The Keyword
Hadeel Ibrahim / CBC News:
Postmedia, Canada's largest newspaper company, buys BNI, which publishes three daily newspapers and six weeklies in New Brunswick — Brunswick News Inc. is being sold for $7.5M in cash and $8.6M in variable voting shares of Postmedia — Brunswick News Inc., which publishes three daily newspapers …
Discussion:
Postmedia and @craigsilverman
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Universal Music Group partners with NFT marketplace Curio to develop and sell NFT collectibles for its record labels and artists starting in March — Universal Music Group has struck a partnership with NFT platform Curio to develop non-fungible token (NFT) collections for its record labels and artists, the companies said on Thursday.
Discussion:
The Block, PR Newswire, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Len Blavatnik's Access Industries agrees to a $4.3B recapitalization of DAZN, clearing the streamer's debt, and subscribes to another $250M in new shares — Len Blavatnik has agreed a $4.3 billion recapitalization of DAZN, as the billionaire doubles down on his loss-making sports entertainment company …
Diane Bartz / Reuters:
Digital Content Next, representing publishers including NYT, News Corp, AP, and more, urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to back two bills to rein in Big Tech — A group representing publishers such as News Corp and National Public Radio wrote to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
AppleInsider, New York Post, @the_iap, @jeffjarvis, @wexler, @appfairness, @dcnorg, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and MacDailyNews
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
Many outlets today are poorly differentiated ideologically and seem to be replicating the NYT opinion section, lacking the contrarian takes Slate was known for — We've lost a lot as every publication has become the same — Katie Robertson of the New York Times recently wrote …
Discussion:
@whyvert, @willoremus, @razibkhan, @cleoabram, @sullydish, @mattyglesias, @germanrlopez, @dylanmatt, @jakeswearingen, @jamessurowiecki, @ddayen, @mattyglesias, @adamweinstein, @jillfilipovic, @revkin, @jbarro, @dlind, @leadergrev, @dlind, @elainejgodfrey, @susanematthews, @b_fung, @tomgara, @caseynewton, @katie_robertson and @aaron_renn