Top News:
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: WBD forecasts 2023 adjusted EBITDA down by $300M-$500M to $10.5B-$11B, citing strikes, and $1.7B+ in Q3 2023 free cash flow due to Barbie and strikes — “The company now expects to exceed $1.7 billion in free cash flow for the third quarter of 2023, in part due to the strong performance …
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Wall Street analysts say the Disney-Charter dispute could be a tipping point for cable TV and adds uncertainty to the industry even if it's resolved quickly — Wall Street analysts debate whether the standoff between the studio and the cable giant is “the end of the end,” …
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company, Reuters, Axios, Sports Business Journal, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, WVXU, Deadline, Stratechery, @philmeyer, MediaPost, CBS News, Fox News, Variety and Variety
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
NPR President and CEO John Lansing, who has led the organization since 2019, plans to retire at the end of 2023; NPR plans a national search for his successor — - U.S. Economy Adds 187,000 Jobs In August, Entertainment Employment Continues To Decline Amid Strikes
Discussion:
NPR, NPR, @benmullin, @hollyedgell, Current, The Desk, CNN, The Wrap, RADIO ONLINE and Inside Radio
Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:
Elon Musk threatens to file a defamation lawsuit against the ADL for “falsely accusing” X and him of antisemitism and blames the ADL for X's falling US ad sales — In the newest uproar you might have missed, Elon Musk says X, formerly Twitter, will file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League.
Discussion:
@elonmusk, Los Angeles Times, @anandypaul, @elonmusk, The Daily Beast, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, CNBC, @jgreenblattadl, Axios, CNN, Breitbart, Vanity Fair, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @markloundy@threads.net, @marcuswoitas@threads.net, KNSD-TV, The Forward, Rolling Stone, Quartz, @dkiesow@threads.net, @sethcotlar, @corybe@threads.net, @stuarth2o@threads.net, @ezraklein@threads.net, Techdirt, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, Ars Technica, @baccellij@threads.net, @bascule@mas.to, The Verge, New York Post, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @jh_swanson, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, The Wrap, Mediaite, @seldo@alpaca.gold, The Times of Israel, CBS News, Deadline, Boing Boing, The Hill, Reason, @andrewpaul.bsky.social, MIT Technology Review, The Guardian, Insider, The Information, Forbes and Bloomberg
Miles Klee / Rolling Stone:
Sean “Diddy” Combs returns the music publishing rights from his label Bad Boy Records to artists, including the Notorious B.I.G.'s estate, Mase, and Faith Evans — In an “unprecedented” move, the estate of Notorious B.I.G. is among those to reclaim songs from the iconic label's catalog
Discussion:
Music Ally, REVOLT, The Fader, Forbes, New York Post, @phil_lewis_, Variety, Billboard, Deadline, Variety, Next TV, The Wrap and Digital Music News
Wall Street Journal:
How Spotify's $1B+ bet on podcasts has not paid off: most shows aren't profitable and the company has considered an ad revenue-sharing model akin to YouTube's — The prospect of podcast riches led to aggressive investments in celebrity deals and original programming for what appeared a sky's-the-limit media frontier
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Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Email: Spotify raises the listener threshold for creators in Ambassador Ads from 100 to 1,000 over 60 days, and plans to cut ad support for white noise podcasts
Discussion:
The Podcast Host, CMU, @bartona104, @ashleyrcarman, Digital Music News, Insider, Engadget, The Verge, Podnews and Music Ally
Jem Aswad / Variety:
WMG launches a joint venture with 10K Projects, a record label founded by the son of UMG CEO Lucian Grainge; 10K will be a standalone label in WMG's ecosystem — After weeks of rumors, it's official: Elliot Grainge's 10K Projects, home to releases by Trippie Redd, Ice Spice, Iann Dior and more …
Discussion:
Billboard, Music Ally, Music Business Worldwide, Warner Music Group, Financial Times and @warnermusic
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
OANN and one of its on-air personalities, Chanel Rion, settle a defamation suit by a Dominion Voting executive over false claims he helped rig the 2020 election — - Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison For Role In January 6th Conspiracy
Discussion:
Insider, The Daily Beast and CNN
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Allen Media Group's Local Now streaming service adds Washington Post Television, which offers breaking news, interviews, and in-depth reporting, to its lineup — Newspaper started channel in May — Allen Media Group said its Local Now digital platform had added Washington Post Television to its channel lineup.
Discussion:
Washington Post and TVNewsCheck
Hartley Charlton / MacRumors:
Apple acquires Sweden-based BIS Records, founded in 1973, and plans to fold the classical music label into Apple Music Classical and Apple's A&R label Platoon — Apple will acquire the major Swedish classical music record label BIS Records, intending to fold it into Apple Music Classical and Platoon.
Discussion:
Billboard, bis.se, Music Ally, TechCrunch, @bis_records, Gramophone, 9to5Mac and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
eMarketer expects US podcast ad spending to hit $2.2B in 2023, up from $1.7B in 2022, or ~10% of radio; Edison: 80%+ of Americans listen to radio weekly — The rise of podcasts has not fully cannibalised other forms of entertainment — The audience for podcasts is younger …
Discussion:
Inside Radio
André Beganski / Decrypt:
Story Protocol, a blockchain-based IP ownership network that aims to address creatives' concerns over AI, raised over $54M led by Andreessen Horowitz — Andreessen Horowitz invested in a startup that uses blockchain tech to address problems heightened by artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
Variety, The Block, @technology, Business Wire, Bloomberg and @timbray@cosocial.ca, more at Techmeme »
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