Mediagazer: An 87% majority of editorial and creative employees at video game outlet IGN vote to unionize with the NewsGuild-CWA; the group will consist of 80+ employees (Adam Chitwood/The Wrap)

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube says YouTube TV now has 8M+ subscribers, up from 5M+ in mid-2022, and that the YouTube Partner Program has 3M+ channels receiving ad revenue share — CEO Neal Mohan also says more than 3 million channels now receive ad-revenue share, touts 1 billion hours viewed on TV daily

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, The Desk, The Streamable, Axios, Business Insider, @benmullin, Neowin, The Information, Deadline, @youtube, @daveleebbg@threads.net, Media Play News, @pkafka@threads.net, @lucas_shaw@threads.net, @simondowens@threads.net, Digital Trends and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

YouTube says Shorts averages 70B+ daily views and the number of channels uploading Shorts rose 50% YoY — YouTube CEO Neal Mohan today shared what the video service is focusing on in 2024. At a high-level, it's AI, elevating creators, safety, and the “next frontier” of the living room and subscriptions.

Discussion: Observer, Next TV, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €3.7B, MAUs up 23% YoY to 602M, subscribers up 15% YoY to 236M, a €75M operating loss, and expects 618M MAUs in Q1 2024 — - Spotify posts second-largest gain ever for the quarter — Company has been cutting costs in drive to become profitable

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Spotify says Q4 ad-supported revenue grew 12% YoY to €501M, a quarterly high; CFO Paul Vogel expects the podcast segment to reach positive gross margin in 2024 — Spotify pulled in more than new listeners than it expected for the fourth quarter, as the streamer narrowed its net loss …

Discussion: Reuters, CMU, @xpangler, The Wrap and @xpangler

Adam Chitwood / The Wrap:

An 87% majority of editorial and creative employees at video game outlet IGN vote to unionize with the NewsGuild-CWA; the group will consist of 80+ employees — The newly formed IGN Creators Guild will consist of over 80 employees — A majority of editorial and creative employees at IGN …

Discussion: Variety, @sweetpotatoes and Kotaku

Liz Hoffman / Semafor:

Sources: Standard Industries, a roofing conglomerate that has invested in Puck and Pushkin, is in talks to acquire Graydon Carter's Air Mail for ~$50M — The Scoop — A billionaire roofing family is in talks to buy Air Mail, former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter's effort to drag glossy magazines into the online age.

Discussion: @nbj914, @jbarro and @bigmeaninternet

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Linda Wertheimer, an NPR “founding mother” who joined the outlet at its 1971 launch and directed and hosted All Things Considered, is retiring after 53 years — Linda Wertheimer, one of the “founding mothers” of National Public Radio, said today that she is retiring.

Discussion: VPM, @audieoffmic@threads.net, Current and @davidfolkenflik

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Substack is running a pilot program to help creators on the platform sell ads; a writer says Substack contracted an outside team to approach advertisers — Substack is experimenting with a new pilot program that helps creators on its platform find advertisers and coordinate ad buys, Axios has learned.

Washington Post:

The Atlantic cuts ties with prominent contributor Yascha Mounk after writer Celeste Marcus accused him of rape; Mounk calls the claims “categorically untrue” — The Atlantic magazine has cut ties with writer Yascha Mounk, one of its prominent contributors, after a woman accused him of rape …

Discussion: New York Post, @celestemarcus3, @moiradonegan, @esotericcd, @mskellymhayes, @brandyljensen, @davidklion, @juliaioffe, @moiradonegan, @annacbross, @roddreher, @willsommer, The Wrap and Mediaite

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Meta proposes standards to identify AI content that its industry peers could use, and plans to label AI images posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — The social network wants to promote standardized labels to help detect artificially created photo, video and audio material across its platforms.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Hill, The Wrap, Engadget, Bloomberg, Wired, CNN, @andymstone, @metanewsroom, The Guardian, Axios, NBC News, The Verge, Meta and @nickclegg, more at Techmeme »

Amy Or / Bloomberg:

Sources: Reddit had over $800M in revenue in 2023, up 20%+ YoY, and was not profitable for the full year; a source says Reddit was profitable in Q4 — - Social site posted over $800 million revenue last year — Reddit may reveal public IPO filing as soon as this month

Discussion: The Information, more at Techmeme »

Will Fischer / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with Javonte Anderson, editor of Capital B Gary, a Black-focused nonprofit news outlet, on working with locals, shaping coverage via user surveys, and more — “We want to meet the people where they're at, whether that's churches, neighborhood block clubs, salons, or barber shops.”