Top News:
Brian Hiatt / Rolling Stone:
A look at Udio, which was founded by four former DeepMind employees in December 2023 and launched a product on April 11 that generates songs from text prompts — Weeks after AI-music generator Suno went viral, a new rival, Udio, is here, backed by tech and music heavyweights.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's letter to shareholders: Prime Video now reaches 200M monthly viewers, and streaming TV advertising is growing quickly — Prime Video has a big audience, and now Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has put a new number on it: The premium video service has more than 200 million monthly viewers.
Discussion:
About Amazon, Alejandro L. on LinkedIn, Fortune, Deadline, Sebastiaan van Wijngaarden on LinkedIn, Beryl Tomay on LinkedIn, Josh White on LinkedIn, Observer, MarketWatch, Washington Post, The Wrap, Media Play News, The Streamable, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Jenny Strasburg / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Nicolai Tangen, Norway's sovereign-wealth fund manager and host of In Good Company, a podcast that has interviewed Elon Musk, Daniel Ek, and others — Top CEOs talk to Norway's sovereign-wealth fund manager. This week's guest was Elon Musk on the future of AI.
Discussion:
Fortune
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Amazon hires Krishan Bhatia, previously a senior NBCUniversal exec, as VP of global video advertising for Amazon Ads, leading global sales for video operations — As Amazon ramps up its efforts to woo ad dollars that once were earmarked for traditional TV, it is also luring ad executives …
Discussion:
Adweek, Brian Steinberg on LinkedIn, Ad Age and Next TV
Richard J. Tofel / Second Rough Draft:
Q&A with Evan Smith, Texas Tribune CEO from 2009 to 2022, on earned income in nonprofit journalism, sponsorship to fund news for marginalized people, and more — Events, sponsorship— and why one size doesn't fit all … RT: We agree on a lot of things about nonprofit journalism and the financing of journalism generally.
Discussion:
Andrew Ramsammy on LinkedIn
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount is shutting down Showtime's streaming service on April 30, after it integrated Showtime's programming into the top-tier Paramount+ plan in June 2023 — Sunset of premium TV service's standalone apps comes after its integration into Paramount+ With Showtime package
Discussion:
TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Deadline and The Verge
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
How “made for advertising” sites, which are criticized for their UX and dubious results for advertisers, get ~15% of automated ad spend or $10B/year, per ANA — Industry leaders want brands to shun ‘MFA’ websites. Others think more nuance is needed.
New York Times:
Uri Berliner's essay about NPR reignited criticism of the outlet on social media, especially by conservatives, and spurred vehement pushback from some staffers — An essay from an editor at the broadcaster has generated a firestorm of criticism about the network on social media, especially among conservatives.
Discussion:
The Verge, @anildash@threads.net, @jpederzane, @shannonpareil@threads.net, New York Magazine, @brianmannadk, @micah_loewinger@threads.net, @emilybellnyc@threads.net, @brianmannadk, @titonka, @shannonpareil@threads.net, Fox News, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @brianmannadk, @jbouie@threads.net, @jbouie@threads.net, @matt.bachand@threads.net, @greenloopstore@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @digiphile@threads.net, @jenniferschulzechi …, @dankennedy_nu@threads.net, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, The Hill, Media Nation, CNN, MediaPost, Mediaite, Inside Radio, New York Post, NPR, Newser, The Wrap and The Guardian
The Information:
Sources: TikTok is testing an AI feature that generates a virtual influencer and a script for a video ad based on prompts submitted by advertisers — TikTok touts itself as a platform where creators can stand out and build a following. But the company has begun discussing with advertisers …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Brandon Perlman on LinkedIn, The Verge and MSPoweruser, more at Techmeme »
Flipboard:
Flipboard makes 400 creators and 11,000 of their curated magazines visible in the fediverse and integrates fediverse notifications into the Flipboard app — Today Flipboard is taking two big steps toward opening its platform to the fediverse, making 400 creators and 11,000 …
Doja Daoud / Committee to Protect Journalists:
Q&A with Gaza journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on being held for 33 days in Israeli custody — Diaa Al-Kahlout, the veteran Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed …
Discussion:
@jfsteinfeld, @caseyrights, @gypsystrategy, Naomi Zeveloff on LinkedIn and Doja Daoud on LinkedIn
Variety:
Taylor Swift's music returns to TikTok, ahead of her next album due out on April 19, after UMG pulled her songs as part of an ongoing dispute with TikTok — As of Thursday morning, multiple Swift songs — including “You Belong With Me,” “Lover,” “Cardigan,” “Mirrorball,” “Fearless …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Financial Times, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, Wired, Fox News, The Information, Forbes, Deadline, New York Post, Billboard, Engadget, TechCrunch, Music Business Worldwide, CNN, The Verge, Reuters, Digital Music News, Pitchfork, Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, Music Ally and Mashable, more at Techmeme »
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