Top News:


Five ex-Pitchfork journalists launch online subscription music outlet Hearing Things, aiming to capture Pitchfork's independent spirit, starting at $70 per year — After the popular publication was folded into GQ, a group of them is striking out on its own. One of the first orders of business: doing away with album scores.


Spotify is paying hundreds of millions for audiobooks annually; US audiobook users average five more hours on the app in the 60 days after starting a book — - Without Spotify, the audiobook industry in the U.S. grew 14% in unit sales between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, according to Bookstat.
Discussion:
Spotify, Publishers Weekly, Neowin, The Bookseller, Digital Music News and Thurrott


The NYT sends a cease-and-desist letter to AI startup Perplexity to stop using its content; Perplexity says it is “interested in working with every” publisher — Publisher demands that Perplexity stop accessing its content. Startup isn't interested “in being anyone's antagonist,” CEO says.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Fortune, Engadget, Reuters, TechCrunch, The Information, The Verge, @scottadamssays, Seeking Alpha, @rustybrick, @glenngabe, @brianstelter, PCMag and @lutherlowe, more at Techmeme »


Tina Brown, who became synonymous with Manhattan media in the 1980s and 1990s, launches Fresh Hell, a weekly Substack diary newsletter in “notebook form” — Tina Brown's decision to join Substack is a coup for the newsletter company, which considers prestigious names to be magnets …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Fresh Hell, @mediaevan and @jtes


Internal memo: the BBC plans to cut 155 BBC News jobs, including closing Asian Network News and the HARDtalk program, to save £24M, or 4% of BBC News' budget — Broadcaster hopes move will save £24mn from budget, according to internal memo sent to staff
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Guardian, @stephensackur, Press Gazette, Advanced Television, Telegraph, Daily Star, Deadline, @dougalshaw, @j_bloodworth, @winterdakhan, @mazzucatom, @mrpmharrison, @ericlatiff, @timothy_stanley, @joannenadler, @doylech, @lucy_pawle, @mathewhulbert, @pankajpachauri, @oflynnsocial, @carmenkamanlau, @goldenmatonga, @john_foremancbe, @aflemingbrown, @soniasodha, @helenclarknz, Prolific North, @gideonrachman, @piersmorgan, @kimghattas, @mikehughes_, @bill_emmott, Clean Feed, @raymondsnoddy, @tmchivers, @robburl, @thusi_kumar, @nickbryantny, @stephensackur, @amitbasu71, @martp132, @peterboghossian and @afneil


Taliban-run media stops showing images of living beings in some Afghan provinces to comply with morality laws, sparking press freedom concerns — Taliban run-media have stopped showing images of living beings in some Afghan provinces to comply with morality laws, an official confirmed Tuesday.
Discussion:
Telegraph, @natiqmalikzada, @visegrad24, Times of India, LBC, The Independent, Global Village Space, @qaisalamdar, Daily Mail, WION, Amu TV, Outlook India, Boing Boing and PetaPixel


WBD plans to launch Max in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand on November 19, with pricing details to be announced — Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand also among new countries where you'll be able to see “Dune: Prophecy”
Discussion:
The Desk, Deadline, Broadband TV News, Media Play News, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Bloomberg, Reuters, WORLD SCREEN and Advanced Television


Condé Nast reaches a tentative deal with The New Yorker union, ending a strike threat at the mag's annual festival; the union plans a final vote in a few weeks — The company's human resources department announced a tentative deal on Monday, a little over a week after the labor group threatened a work stoppage.
Discussion:
NewsGuild of New York, Crooked Media and The Nation


The Athletic names Fubo as its first streaming partner in a multi-year deal to integrate Fubo initially into live game blogs and then into newsletters and more — The partnership will see Fubo integrated throughout The Athletic's website — The New York Times sports publisher …


UK tech journalist Steve O'Hear, who worked for TechCrunch for over a decade before leaving to work in tech in 2021, and had muscular dystrophy, died at age 49 — Former TechCrunch reporter Steve O'Hear has died after a short illness, his team announced today
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @mgsiegler, Cordelia Meacher on LinkedIn, @shonaghosh, Martin Sfp Bryant on LinkedIn, @mattwichrowski, Sam Shead on LinkedIn, @jamesliamcook, @yoda, @lynseybarber, @hkanji, Danvers Baillieu on LinkedIn, @amyrlewin, @richleighpr, @sarahdrinkwater, @megancaywood, @techcrunch, @mikebutcher, @riptari, @jimmym, @emilyjnicolle, @slh, Freya Pratty on LinkedIn, @matthewclifford, James Cook on LinkedIn, Ron Miller on LinkedIn, @tomwarren, @simonbalmain, @vojtech and Talking Biz News


Amazon expands its suite of AI-powered ad tools to let US advertisers use generative AI to make audio ads, available now in beta, and unveils AI creative studio — The tech giant announced new products at its annual ad conference — Soon, you'll hear more audio ads on Amazon's properties that were created with generative AI.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, MediaPost, NewscastStudio, About Amazon and Mumbrella, more at Techmeme »


YouTube rolls out new features: granular playback speed controls, an improved miniplayer on iOS and Android, updated playlists, a sleep timer, and more — YouTube is making official a number of updates that it's been testing in recent months, like the new miniplayer and several design updates.
Discussion:
The Streamable, YouTube Official Blog, The Wrap, Engadget, Gizmodo, Neowin, TechCrunch, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Trends, 9to5Google and Deadline, more at Techmeme »


Spotify starts rolling out music videos in beta for Premium subscribers in 85 additional markets, after introducing the feature in 12 markets earlier in 2024 — Music streaming company Spotify said today that it is testing music videos for premium users in 85 additional markets.
Discussion:
Spotify, John Lustyan on LinkedIn, Thurrott, Benzinga, Neowin, Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News and The Verge, more at Techmeme »