Mediagazer: Spotify launches an in-app Merch Hub that provides merch recommendations based on users' listening habits; merch is sold on artists' stores powered by Shopify (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)

Ken Meyer / Mediaite:

NBC News plans to host the GOP's third 2024 presidential primary debate on November 8, partnering with Salem Radio Network and the Republican Jewish Coalition — NBC News announced that they will host the Republican National Committee's third presidential primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center …

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Spotify launches an in-app Merch Hub that provides merch recommendations based on users' listening habits; merch is sold on artists' stores powered by Shopify — Spotify is launching a dedicated in-app Merch Hub that provides personalized merch recommendations based on your listening habits, the company announced on Monday.

Discussion: Spotify, Music Ally, CMU and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Sources detail Netflix's deepening gaming push: more games based on its shows, including Squid Game and Wednesday, discussions about a GTA game, and more — Streamer to put greater emphasis on developing games based on its popular programming, including ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Wednesday,’ ‘Black Mirror’

Discussion: The Verge, Game Developer, David Kaye on LinkedIn, TechCrunch, @deeketweak, @jtoonkel, Sarah Krouse on LinkedIn, Screen Rant, Engadget, IGN, What's on Netflix, ComingSoon.net, The Streamable and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Daily Wire debuts Bentkey, a $99/year streaming app for kids, on Disney's 100th anniversary; in 2022, the outlet planned to invest $100M+ over three years — The Daily Wire, a conservative media brand known for its popular podcast “The Ben Shapiro show,” has debuted …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline, The Guardian and @sarafischer

Morgan Sung / TechCrunch:

Twitch launches Stories, expiring after 48 hours, for Partners and Affiliates who have streamed at least once for 45 minutes or longer in the last 30 days — Ahead of TwitchCon Las Vegas, Twitch is launching stories for streamers to connect with their audience even when they aren't live.

Discussion: blog.twitch.tv, Engadget and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Italy plans to cut the compulsory license fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from €90 to €70 per year in the 2024 budget — Italy will reduce the compulsory licence fee that helps finance public TV and radio broadcaster RAI from 90 to 70 euros ($73.70) …

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Some influencers and CEOs are building their brands on LinkedIn, which is easier due to less creator competition, a committed user base, and a safer feel than X — Once purely a jobs board, users say the platform is now more valuable than rivals — Marketer Zain Kahn says he earns …

Discussion: The Verge, The Information, Econsultancy, @nick_kapur and MIT Technology Review, more at Techmeme »

Mikey O'Connell / The Hollywood Reporter:

Q&A with Rachel Maddow on reducing on-air time, covering Donald Trump's indictments, cord cutting, Elon Musk's X, her podcasts, the Hollywood strikes, and more — The MSNBC host on her lack of boundaries, Elon Musk's destruction of Twitter and the cultural whiplash of working in Hollywood …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

YouTube adds Spotlight Moments, an AI-powered ad tool meant to help brands identify the most popular YouTube videos related to a cultural moment like the Oscars — YouTube is putting Google AI to use for advertisers, the company announced this morning with the introduction of a new advertising package called “Spotlight Moments.”

Discussion: MediaPost, @kvnbbg, Search Engine Land, The Keyword and Digital Content Next, more at Techmeme »

Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:

After relaxing ad rules in January 2023, X begins aggressively pitching political advertisers; AdImpact: ~$1.2B will be spent digitally for the 2024 US election — Musk's volatile leadership of the social-media platform has pushed down its prices—which might give it an edge

Discussion: @wraithfodder, @mgalascio and Inside Radio

Max Tani / Semafor:

Sources: pre-publication, veteran WSJ staff raised concerns about an October 8 story that Iran “helped plan” Hamas' attacks; the piece had no Washington bylines — The News — The Wall Street Journal overrode some objections inside its own Washington bureau to publish an explosive …

Discussion: @chamath, @bgrueskin, @jacobkornbluh, @nkulw, @oneunderscore__, @gbrew24, @nktpnd, @heerjeet, @pqpolitics, @kenklippenstein, Forbes, @joshuafoust@appdot.net, Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, Digital Journal and Mediaite

Nicole Sperling / New York Times:

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour grossed an estimated $95M to $97M on its opening weekend in the US and Canada across 3,855 theaters, a big boost to the industry — The movie made an estimated $95 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, giving a big boost to theaters suffering from strike-related delays.

Discussion: Shaw Media Local, Reuters, Deadline, Variety, @kerrymflynn, @seangraf, The Atlantic, SlashFilm, Insider, Pitchfork, Consequence, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Boxoffice, Digital Music News and Billboard