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4:35 AM ET, January 31, 2024

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Universal Music Group plans to cease licensing content to TikTok after their agreement expires on January 31, saying they failed to reach new licensing terms  —  UMG said that its agreement with TikTok is set to expire on Jan. 31.  “The companies have not agreed to terms for a new agreement …
RELATED:
John Seabrook / New Yorker:
A profile of UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, who helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming and now hopes to do the same with generative AI  —  Lucian Grainge, the chairman of UMG, has helped record labels rake in billions of dollars from streaming.  Can he do the same with generative artificial intelligence?
RELATED:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet CEO says its digital subscription services, including YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, are on a $15B annual revenue run rate, up fivefold since 2019  —  Alphabet's suite of digital subscription services — including YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV and Google One cloud storage …
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Byron Allen makes a ~$30B offer, including debt and equity, to buy all of Paramount; sources: Allen plans to sell the Paramount film studio and keep Paramount+  —  - The media mogul offering to pay a 50% premium for voting stock  — Allen already has interest from investors for assets
The New York Times Company:
The New York Times introduces a new format to its byline pages, called enhanced bios, highlighting journalists' expertise and ethics, how they operate, and more  —  The New York Times is introducing a new format to its byline pages.  —  Our journalists are what set The New York Times apart.
RELATED:
Emilia David / The Verge:
The NYT starts hiring for a team that will explore the use of generative AI in the newsroom “to help with reporting and how the Times is presented to readers”
Mark Caro / Local News Initiative:
Q&A with Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy, the authors of the new book What Works in Community News, on local news, nonprofit outlets putting up paywalls, and more  —  Veteran journalists Clegg, Kennedy spotlight local news outlets that chart path forward  —  Ellen Clegg and Dan Kennedy brought …
Discussion: Media Nation
Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
Bookstat: the US audiobook market grew 14% YoY in Q4 2023, excluding Spotify; with Spotify, it grew 28% YoY; Spotify had an 11% market share, behind Audible  —  There are early signs that Spotify's addition of audiobooks to its streaming service is helping drive audiobook consumption — already a growing market.
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
A profile of Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya, who was tasked to lead PRH after the US DOJ won its fight to stop the $2B+ Simon & Schuster acquisition  —  As chief executive of Penguin Random House, Nihar Malaviya runs a global company and the largest book publisher in the United States …
 
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 More News: 
Bloomberg:
French media conglomerate Vivendi formally proposes splitting into four separately traded companies, including one for the film and TV studio Canal+
Discussion: Reuters
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Talent agency WME partners with tech startup Vermillio to protect WME clients from thefts of their likeness and IP by using AI technology to track images
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The Los Angeles Times Interim Executive Editor Terry Tang names Hector Becerra as the paper's managing editor; Becerra joined The Times in 1999
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Daily Iowan, the University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, purchases two weekly local newspapers, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist
 Earlier Picks: 
Matthew Kish / Oregonian:
The Oregonian plans to appeal a court order to not publish info from docs that a lawyer accidentally sent it, saying prior restraint goes against 1A
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Memo: TechCrunch plans to wind down TC+, its paid subscription product launched in 2019 as ExtraCrunch, and lays off ~8 employees, amid media industry-wide cuts
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
WPP plans to spend £250M on AI development in 2024 and make similar investments in the future, as part of an overhaul of its operations to meet client demands
The Information:
Sources: TikTok plans to open studios in several cities, including LA, where creators can livestream and sell products, a strategy that worked for Douyin
 

 
From Techmeme:

Gavin Anderegg / anderegg.ca:
Bluesky is working to become fully decentralized but it could take years amid financial concerns as it makes money only by selling domains for usernames

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300B as part of a recent buyback offer, one of its highest valuations ever

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: T-Mobile's network was among the systems hacked by the China-linked Salt Typhoon group, and some foreign telecommunications firms were also compromised
 
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