Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Temu became Meta's top advertiser by revenue in 2023 by spending nearly $2B on ads, and became one of Google's top five advertisers by spending in 2023 — The e-commerce platform spent nearly $2 billion at Meta and was a top advertiser at Google — Meta Platforms' top advertiser …
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New York Times:
Analysis: Temu and Shein are spending heavily on Facebook, X, and YouTube ads in the US; Temu placed ~1.4M ads globally on Google services in the past year — Temu, Shein, and streaming and gaming apps looking to break into the U.S. market are spending huge sums to get their wares in front of American consumers.
Reuters:
Spotify plans to raise its prices in France due to a new tax law that adds a 1.2% tax on streaming companies' revenue to help finance local music creation — Swedish streaming service Spotify (SPOT.N) on Thursday said it would increase its prices in France due to a new tax, which it argued would fail to accomplish its intended goal.
Discussion:
Spotify, Billboard, RAIN News, Engadget, CMU, Digital Music News, TechCrunch, Music Business Worldwide and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Alter / TIME:
A profile of WSJ's Evan Gershkovich, with interviews with his family, friends, and US officials, as negotiations to free him from Russia have not made progress — Growing up in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and '70s, Mikhail Gershkovich and Ella Milman learned to be careful.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, @jsibo, @maxseddon, @jaketapper, @natalieandrews and @charlottealter
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
FT executive Alexandra Calinikos says FT Ventures plans to make £30M in initial deployments, investing £500K to £5M in “information, intelligence, media” firms — FT becomes strategic investor in growing media companies. — FT Ventures, the recently-announced venture arm …
Discussion:
@pressgazette and Talking Biz News
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery plans to overhaul its TruTV cable network with a new nightly block of sports programming, including a show focused on betting — The media company intends to create a new nightly sports block for TruTV, the reality-series cable network that has largely been left …
Discussion:
The Streamable, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, TVLine, USA Today, Bloomberg, Barrett Media, Deadline, @tim_bays, The Hollywood Reporter and @alexweprin
Reuters:
Russian news outlet RusNews says its reporter Roman Ivanov was sentenced to seven years in prison for articles about alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine — A reporter for an independent Russian news outlet was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday for articles he wrote …
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, @globalfreemedia and Committee to Protect …
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A joint report by CPJ and Amnesty International finds that Mexico's journalist protection program fails to adequately evaluate risks faced by journalists — Become a Supporter — Contact Us — CPJ is a 501(c)3 non-profit. — Our EIN is 13-3081500. — Committee to Protect Journalists
Discussion:
Amnesty International
Jem Aswad / Variety:
In a letter to members, the National Music Publishers Association says it doesn't expect to renew its TikTok license when the deal expires on April 30 — The standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok took another turn on Wednesday when the trade group National Music Publishers Association sent …
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, CMU, Billboard, Music Ally, Digital Journal, Digital Music News, CBS News, The Information and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Condé Nast reports flat revenue gains YoY in 2023; in a memo, Condé Nast CEO says consumer revenue grew 7% YoY and expects operating costs to remain the same — - Lynch said moving to a place where the company is consistently breaking even has helped it invest in growth areas, particular in digital.
Discussion:
MediaPost and @mediaevan
Bill Bradley / Adweek:
Disney sells out of ad inventory for the 2024 Oscars; a source says Disney was seeking $1.7M to $2.2M for 30-second ads, similar to its 2022 pricing — The ceremony will have a broad range of sponsors across 17 categories
Discussion:
The Wrap, MediaPost and The Hollywood Reporter
Ben Markus / Colorado Public Radio:
Colorado Public Radio lays off 15, primarily in audio and podcast production, and spares the newsroom of cuts; staff grew from 48 in FY 2006 to 214 in FY 2022 — Colorado Public Radio laid off 15 employees this week, the largest cut to the public broadcaster's payroll in at least a quarter of a century.
Discussion:
Radio Ink, The Squeeze, Current, @alexscoville, @cprmarkus, @coreyhutchins, Inside Radio and @oddryhepburn@threads.net
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