Mediagazer: Libro.fm, an audiobook retailer and listening app for local bookshops, launches internationally; the company has partnered with over 2,200 independent bookshops (Lauren Forristal/TechCrunch)

2:30 AM ET, July 27, 2023

Top News:

Despite not being in SAG-AFTRA, many influencers are passing up deals to promote movies and TV shows to avoid online criticism and being barred from the guild — Despite not being in the actors' union, many content creators are passing up deals to promote films or TV shows …

Discussion: Ad Age, more at Techmeme »

The Hollywood Reporter:
With striking actors not doing press, sources say multiple streaming services are discussing potentially moving certain undated fully shot series to early 2024

Discussion: Screen Rant

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK-listed online retailer THG agrees to acquire London business newspaper City AM, which was put up for sale this month; all City AM employees will join THG — THG owns online retail brands including Cult Beauty and Myprotein. — Online beauty and nutrition group THG …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Sky News, City A.M., The Guardian, The Guardian, @pressgazette and London Evening Standard

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Netflix is reworking its tech deal with Microsoft for its ad tier to reduce the revenue guarantee and has discussed selling ads through other partners — Streamer asks for patience as it tries to jump-start $6.99 a month ad tier — Netflix is restructuring its advertising partnership …

more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

A group of booksellers, publishers, and authors sue to stop a new Texas law that is taking effect in September and requires stores to rate books' sexual content — With a book-rating law set to take effect in September, a group of booksellers, along with publishers and authors, filed suit to argue that it is unconstitutional.

Discussion: New York Daily News, @JaneRLaForge@mstdn.social, Publishing Perspectives, @lailalalami.bsky.social, The Hill, Publishers Weekly and The San Diego Union-Tribune

Ken Klippenstein / The Intercept:

Netflix lists a $300K to $900K-a-year ML product manager job that points to its plans to use AI to “create great content”, as actors strike for AI protections — Rob Delaney said, “My melodious voice? My broad shoulders and dancer's undulating buttocks? I decide how those are used!"

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Libro.fm, an audiobook retailer and listening app for local bookshops, launches internationally; the company has partnered with over 2,200 independent bookshops — Libro.fm, the audiobook retailer and listening app for local bookshops, launched internationally on Wednesday to give …

Discussion: @librofm, Publishing Perspectives, @librofm and @bookishcrick

Paige Williams / New Yorker:

How Oklahoma's McCurtain Gazette investigated the local sheriff and obtained a recording of officials talking about killing reporters and lynching Black people — In Southeast Oklahoma, a father-son reporting duo's series on the county sheriff led to an explosive revelation.

Srishti Jaswal / Rest of World:

Political parties in India court big and small social media influencers ahead of 2024 elections, offering to pay for political messages that have no disclosures — As the campaign for the 2024 elections in India goes digital, social media influencers have become a powerful tool to try and shape voter behavior.

Discussion: The Drum, The Hollywood Reporter and Sydney Morning Herald

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Verizon partners with YouTube to offer some new and upgrading wireless and home internet customers free access to the NFL Sunday Ticket — Verizon and YouTube are calling a new customer-acquisition play aimed a gridiron fans. … Terms of the agreement between Verizon and YouTube …

Discussion: Verizon, The Desk, TechCrunch, Light Reading, Front Office Sports, Tubefilter, Awful Announcing, Media Play News, The Streamable, 9to5Google, CNET, The Verge, Deadline and Cord Cutters News

Financial Times:

Sources: Linda Yaccarino pitched her vision for Twitter/X to talent agencies in LA and met with Disney, in a bid to bring stars and influencers to the platform — Social media app's new chief meets with agents at leading talent agencies amid controversy over rebranding to ‘X’

Discussion: @apocalypticanow.bsky.social, The Wrap and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Sources: music rights company BMI is again exploring options including a sale; BMI switched to a for-profit model in 2022 after failing to sell itself in 2021 — Broadcast Music Inc (BMI), the music rights company representing top songwriters such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Rihanna …

Discussion: Inside Radio, @iatalkspace, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard and Digital Music News

Aisyah Llewellyn / Al Jazeera:

Indonesia restricts X.com, which now redirects to twitter.com after Twitter rebranding to X, as the domain had been previously used by porn and gambling sites — Medan, Indonesia - Elon Musk's aspirations for X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, have hit a stumbling block …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, NBC News, @ryanschultz@mastodon.social, @Rasta@mstdn.ca, Insider, Engadget, Newslit Daily, Insider, Gizmodo, UPROXX and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

Google says 2B+ logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts, up from 1.5B+ in June 2022, and YouTube is reaching 150M people on their TVs in the US — Google said today that more than 2 billion logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts, giving it an edge over competitors like TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Discussion: @efeng, CNBC and The Verge

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube's ad revenue increased 4.4% YoY to $7.67B in Q2, above expectations of $7.43B and a reversal after three consecutive quarters of declines

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More News:

Emine Sinmaz / The Guardian:
A UK jury finds Kevin Spacey not guilty of nine charges of sexual assault alleged to have been committed between 2004 and 2013

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
The BBC invested £128.5M into TV and radio content under its Creative Diversity Commitment, hitting its £100M three-year goal with one year to spare

Discussion: @blackamazon, The Desk, WORLD SCREEN, BBC and Deadline

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Documents detail the struggles of Amazon's Clubhouse rival Amp, launched in March 2022 with a year-end target of 1M+ MAUs; a source says MAUs sit at 700K today

Discussion: The Information

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Documents show that authorities sought evidence of alleged criminal unauthorized computer access when searching journalist Timothy Burke's home on May 8, 2023

Discussion: @bubbaprog, @matthewkeyslive and @matthewkeyslive

Newley Purnell / Wall Street Journal:
Meta hasn't labeled propaganda accounts of state-backed media from Russia and other authoritarian governments on Threads, unlike on Facebook and Instagram

Discussion: Variety and @newley, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

The Hollywood Reporter:
A majority of around 5,000 TV commercial production workers, organized by a group called Stand With Production, signs cards seeking to join the IATSE union

Discussion: @moreperfectus, @moreperfectus, Deadline and The Wrap

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Marquee Sports Network, a Chicago Cubs and Sinclair joint venture, launches a streaming app with live Cubs games and more in the Chicago area, for $19.99/month

Discussion: Front Office Sports, The Desk, The Streamable, Awful Announcing, The Streamable, Marquee Sports Network, Barrett Media and Cord Cutters News

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teases ways the company could integrate additional AI into its products, including summarizing podcasts and generating audio ads

Discussion: RAIN News and Music Ally

Matias Grez / CNN:
The BBC apologizes for a reporter's “inappropriate” question at the Women's World Cup opener; the reporter asked Morocco's captain if the team had gay players

Discussion: @_shireenahmed_, @georgegalloway, @qatarifc, @daniellewarby, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, Sydney Morning Herald, PinkNews, The Messenger, NBC News, @Beeks@mstdn.party, The Guardian, New York Post, Fox News, Awful Announcing and Newser

Wall Street Journal:
Emails: Twitter/X offers discounts on new video ads in the US and UK and warns advertisers they will lose verified status unless they reach spending thresholds

Discussion: Engadget, The Overspill, The Wrap, Observer, The Register, Slate, Insider, The Verge, @hypervisible.bsky.social, Fortune, @martinsfp, Insider Intelligence, WFLA-TV, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, New York Post and The Drum, more at Techmeme »

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered making a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

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