Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify reports Q2 revenue rose 23% YoY to €2.9B as its net loss widened to €125M; MAUs were up 19% YoY to 433M and Premium users reached 188M, up 14% YoY — Spotify turned in strong numbers for the second quarter, beating expectations for total and paid subscriber adds and reporting 23% revenue growth.
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Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Spotify says it has “decided to stop further production of Car Thing units” and will take a €31M charge, citing demand and supply chain issues — Spotify's push to complement its music streaming with a big move into podcasting and related content appears to be paying off …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @chrismessina, 9to5Mac, The Verge, @ashleyrcarman, @ashleyrcarman and @ashleyrcarman, more at Techmeme »
The Hollywood Reporter:
Daniel Ek says Spotify plans to reduce the pace of hiring by 25% as “things could get worse”; Spotify's stock rises 10%+ — As the music streaming giant's stock jumps, CEO Daniel Ek addresses macro-economic challenges, saying “only the prepared survive, and we're preparing as if things could get worse.”
Discussion:
Spotify, The Verge and Business Wire, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
Some Republican candidates are barring traditional media from events and ignoring debate requests as midterm elections approach, favoring rightwing outlets — GOP politicians are increasingly shirking sit-down interviews, barring journalists from 2022 events, and skipping debates …
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Emma Roth / The Verge:
TikTok plans to give “selected researchers” access to its platform and moderation system, helping them “assess content and trends or conducts tests” — The move comes hours after a report reveals TikTok's efforts to distance itself from China
Discussion:
TikTok and Axios, more at Techmeme »
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Chris Stokel-Walker / Gizmodo:
Internal TikTok PR documents suggest responses to difficult questions, including downplaying AI, links to ByteDance, and “the China association”
Internal TikTok PR documents suggest responses to difficult questions, including downplaying AI, links to ByteDance, and “the China association”
Discussion:
TechCrunch, New York Post, Newslit Daily, @annalecta, @alexhern, @stokel, @stokel and @iblametom, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Hulu will accept political issue ads, after Democrats complained over rejecting ads on guns and abortions, matching the policies of Disney's cable networks — Disney on Wednesday confirmed to Axios that it would allow political issue ads — in addition to candidate ads — on Hulu's streaming service …
Jon Harris / Buffalo News:
The Buffalo News names Sheila Rayam as executive editor, the first Black journalist and second woman to hold the position in the paper's 142-year history — Longtime journalist Sheila Rayam has been named executive editor of The Buffalo News, the first Black journalist and the second woman …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @sulliview and @joespectorny
Taylor Lorenz / Taylor Lorenz's Newsletter:
Nostalgia for the “old”, chronological Instagram makes sense but belies changing norms around online sharing, communication, privacy, and engaging content — It isn't just the platform that has changed, we have too. — Over the past few days there's been a movement to “Make Instagram Instagram again.”
Discussion:
@theurbanjuror, @rossreports, @boopfashionista, @rrroooiiirrr, @_zeets, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz and @taylorlorenz, more at Techmeme »
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Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Source: Meta begins forming an advisory board with top entertainment executives, managers, and publicists; the board will not advise on product changes
Source: Meta begins forming an advisory board with top entertainment executives, managers, and publicists; the board will not advise on product changes
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz, @edwardbarsamian, @taylorlorenz, @drewharwell, @arainert, @jessespector, @taylorlorenz, Music Ally and PAPER
Martin Brunt / Sky News:
UK courts will allow broadcast news channels into criminal trials for the first time but coverage will be restricted to the judge handing down a sentence — Coverage will be restricted to the judge handing down a sentence and explaining the reasons for it, with a time delay to avoid broadcasting any violent or abusive reaction.
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Sun, A Lawyer Writes and GOV.UK
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source and memo: Vox Media lays off 39, or less than 2% of its total staff, including some editorial roles, and will slow hiring, amid economic uncertainty — Vox Media is laying off 39 people, less than 2% of its total staff of more than 2000, in an effort to get ahead of economic uncertainty …
Discussion:
@oliverdarcy, @sarafischer and @oliverdarcy
The New York Times Company:
John Keefe, a senior data and visuals editor at CNN, joins The New York Times as its editor of weather data to focus on extreme weather coverage — John Keefe joins The Times as editor of weather data. Read more in this note from assistant managing editor Matthew Ericson.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @jkeefe, @emilywithrow, @jeffjarvis, @danieldrepper and @kleinmatic
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Source: the BBC is reviewing retaining talent who make public service radio programs and podcasts by transferring them to its for-profit commercial division — Bosses may transfer popular podcasters to BBC's commercial arm after loss of big names including Emily Maitlis and John Sopel
Discussion:
@jimwaterson
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube's Q2 ad revenue grew 4.8% YoY to $7.34B, below expectations of a 7% YoY increase to $7.49B and marking YouTube's slowest ad growth in over two years — YouTube still banks a huge bucket of ad bucks — hitting $7.34 billion in the second quarter — but the video giant's growth …
Discussion:
Music Ally, Digital TV Europe, @digitalshields and MediaPost
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Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:
Alphabet's $69.69B revenue marks its slowest sales growth since Q2 2020, missing estimates by almost $190M, as macroeconomic pressures mount on the ad market
Alphabet's $69.69B revenue marks its slowest sales growth since Q2 2020, missing estimates by almost $190M, as macroeconomic pressures mount on the ad market
Discussion:
Protocol, @jowens510, @lexnfx, The Guardian and The Great Reset Diary 2022, more at Techmeme »