Top News:
Mia Sato / The Verge:
The RIAA files two copyright-infringement cases against the AI music services Suno and Udio; Udio was used to create the viral song BBL Drizzy — A group of record labels including the big three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Engadget, The Register, @johnpstrohm, @maximumadhd, @komaniecki_r, @jess_miers, @robertfreundlaw, @tb_num, @emilylazar_sm, @ednewtonrex, @abelowrob, @future_of_music, @kerrymuzzey, @rahll, Bloomberg, @mitch_glazier, @riaa, @human_artistry, @riaa, @riaa, @rachelmetz, @rachelmetz, @human_artistry, @dada_drummer, @patrickmoorhead, @justinebateman, @dada_drummer, @riaa, @mattbelloni, @rachelmetz, Fast Company, CNN, Quartz, Reuters, @carnage4life, The Wrap, @reckless1280@threads.net, @jason_koebler, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News, Wired, Consequence, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn, Variety, Music Ally, Ars Technica, @lucas_shaw, 404 Media, CMU, @riaa, @andybaio@xoxo.zone, Music Technology Policy, @miasato.2@threads.net and @carnage4life, more at Techmeme »
Dan Primack / Axios:
Filing: Vivek Ramaswamy's BuzzFeed stake grew to 8.9%; sources: Ramaswamy recently met Jonah Peretti and wants Patrick Bet-David and two others on the board — - Ramaswamy has continued to increase his stake, this morning disclosing that it's risen to 8.9%.
Discussion:
New York Post, Business Insider, Fox Business, @theclubmember04, @claytravis and @danprimack
RELATED:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: BuzzFeed is struggling to sell Hot Ones owner First We Feast, which is profitable and has ~$30M revenue per year; interested parties balk at $70M price — - Several parties are interested but balk at $70 million price — Proceeds of about $50 million would help company pay off debt
New York Times:
Sources: UK police saw Will Lewis as an impediment to their phone hacking investigation; plaintiffs say Lewis gave the “green light” to delete News Corp. emails — Will Lewis, now the publisher of the Washington Post, was in full crisis mode in 2011.
Discussion:
@harrymccracken@mastodon …, @lizzieohreally, @edmundlee and @jo_becker
RELATED:
Washington Post:
WaPo and The News Movement, in which Will Lewis holds a stake, agreed in recent months to pursue brand partnerships; TNM made two major pitches involving WaPo
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Politico, @obrien_kat@mastodon.world, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @davidbeard@threads.net, @farhip, @farhip, @ianshapira, @dastonerl, @davidrlurie, @zackstanton, Diane Ravitch's blog, Financial Times, @noahshachtman@threads.net, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, @lpolgreen@threads.net and Media Nation
Todd Spangler / Variety:
MTV appears to have fully pulled down MTV News website, scrubbing two decades' worth of content from its archives; Paramount Global shut down MTV News in 2023 — Some two decades' worth of content published on MTVNews.com is no longer available after MTV appears to have fully pulled down the site.
Discussion:
@patrickhosken, @stephentotilo, @kashana.bsky.social, @lakewitchhouse.bsky.social, @jaytingle.bsky.social, @sam_piroton, @smi.bsky.social, @greene.haus, @brendonkleen14, @kevdgrussing, @film_girl, @jemaswad, @tirhakahlove, @annetdonahue, @meelztv, @jhoffman, @crystalbell, @lymoula, @hiattb and @mirrorman.bsky.social
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Prices of ad-free Paramount+ With Showtime plan will rise by $1 to $12.99/month, and of Paramount+ Essential plan with ads by $2 to $7.99, starting August 20 — As Paramount Global looks to push its streaming business into the black, it's hiking the prices for most Paramount+ plans later this summer.
Discussion:
The Verge, The Desk, Gizmodo, CNBC, Comic Book, Fox Business, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Adweek, TVLine, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Engadget, ComingSoon.net, IndieWire, Deadline, BGR and Quartz
Dave Collins / Associated Press:
A US bankruptcy court trustee discloses plans to shut down Infowars and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5B in lawsuit judgments that Alex Jones owes — A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is planning to shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars media platform and liquidate …
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite, New Republic and @rpsagainsttrump
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Sony Pictures Networks India names Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO — Sony Pictures Networks India has named Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO. — He'll replace N.P. Singh …
Discussion:
Variety and WORLD SCREEN
New York Times:
Interviews with ~12 media executives, such as Brian Roberts, John Malone, Barry Diller, and Ted Sarandos, about the future of streaming, bundling, ads, and more — Who will survive? Die? Thrive? And how? We talked to nearly a dozen top media executives and asked them to predict what lies ahead.
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
CNN is in charge of every aspect of Thursday's Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years; rival channels will leave CNN's on-air watermark untouched — One network is in charge of every aspect of the Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years. Tens of millions of viewers are expected to be watching.
RELATED:
Makena Kelly / Wired:
Some TikTok creators are hosting their own town halls with third-party candidates like RFK Jr., bypassing mainstream media and often platforming conspiracies — TikTok creators are hosting their own town halls with third-party candidates, bypassing mainstream media and platforming conspiracies.
Discussion:
@kellymakena
Bloomberg:
Sources: Netflix has discussed creating free versions of its service in some markets, namely in Europe and Asia, but is not considering a free plan in the US — While Netflix is the biggest streaming service in Hollywood, it is barely in the top 10 for advertisers.
Discussion:
Comic Book, UPROXX, The Streamable, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn and BGR
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