Top News:
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Sources: the new Spotify-UMG deal reduces, but does not fully ameliorate, the payment cuts from Spotify music-audiobooks bundling deal from last year — Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, and Spotify, the world's largest paid streaming service, announced on Sunday new …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, Agence France-Presse, Digital Music News, Reuters, The Japan Times, Bloomberg and Consequence
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Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:
Spotify and UMG announce a new multiyear deal, establishing a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group in the US and other countries — It's official: as MBW reported earlier, Spotify and Universal Music Group have inked a new multi-year licensing agreement.
Discussion:
UMG, Fortune, Music Week, Music Ally, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Lucy Clarke-Billings / BBC:
Dark Horse Comics cancels Neil Gaiman's upcoming work after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him — A publisher of Neil Gaiman's graphic novels and comic books has cancelled his upcoming work after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.
Discussion:
@darkhorsecomics, Deadline, NME, @conversecomics, WFAA-TV, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Oregonian, AV Club, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, @darkhorse.com, Screen Rant and Gizmodo
Reuters:
Trump denies talks with Oracle about a TikTok deal, saying “I have spoken to many people about TikTok” and he expects a decision in the next 30 days — ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Jan 25 (Reuters) - (This Jan. 25 story has been refiled to add the missing words ‘some of’ in paragraph 9)
Discussion:
Associated Press, Music Business Worldwide, CNBC, NPR, Forbes, Engadget, @bobbyallyn, @danprimack, TechCrunch, Digital Music News, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, Fortune, @turnernovak, @bobbyallyn.bsky.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Information, Reuters, The Verge and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Despite assurances, advertisers worry Meta's tools may not prevent ads from appearing near offensive content as the new content moderation approach takes effect — Social-media giant's loosening of speech restrictions is unsettling advertisers, who say a decade of efforts to protect their reputations is at risk
Leo Lewis / Financial Times:
Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV's chair and TV head resign after criticism over their handling of a sexual misconduct investigation into an ex-entertainment star — Japanese media company has not gone far enough to resolve governance issues, shareholders say — The chair and head of television …
Discussion:
Deadline, Associated Press, @mrjeffu, @mrjeffu, Reuters, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, DNyuz and Kyodo News+
Ben Smith / Semafor:
The Guardian says fundraising last week rose 250% YoY to $4M; Substack says the week of Jan. 13 was its biggest ever for new paid subs and app DAUs are spiking — In today's edition: The future of the LA Times.
Tim Adams / The Guardian:
A profile of and an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Donald Trump's second term, Mark Zuckerberg removing fact-checking, threats to women, and more — Christiane Amanpour has spent four decades as a celebrated journalist and war reporter. With disinformation rampaging through the media …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ian Wylie / Index on Censorship:
An interview with Kyaw Min Swe, a newspaper editor from Myanmar who faced torture and imprisonment under the military junta before escaping to Germany in June — Index travels to Germany to meet exiled newspaper editor Kyaw Min Swe, who faced torture and imprisonment at the hands of the military junta
Discussion:
New York Times and Global Voices
Kate Wright / The Conversation:
The VOA and its journalists remain vulnerable despite measures introduced after an intense wave of politicization during the waning months of Trump's first term — With President Donald Trump installed for a second term, one big item on the new administration's agenda appears to be rearranging …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @uk.theconversation.com, @patriziac.bsky.social and @kaedotcom.bsky.social
Reuters:
Court filing: Indian digital news firms, including NDTV, Network18, and Hindustan Times, join a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, first filed by ANI in 2024 — Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets like the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times …
Discussion:
Daily Sabah, @adityakalra and @orderwithchaos@mastodon …, more at Techmeme »
Rest of World:
Major Chinese social media apps have mastered the “shoppertainment” experience, blending social media with shopping, that Western competitors struggle to match — Addictive algorithms fuse social networking with shopping and entertainment. — In the days leading …
Discussion:
@anup.bsky.social and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
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Tom Bowman / NPR:
Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth wins Senate confirmation to become Donald Trump's defense secretary, after Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote — Pete Hegseth overcame allegations of sexual assault, public drunkenness and questions of financial mismanagement at two veterans' groups …
Discussion:
Democrats, Politico, New York Times, @donmoyn.bsky.social, CNN, @mkraju, @mikenellis, @senwarren, The Atlantic, Digby's Hullabaloo, New York Post, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, PBS NewsHour, Al Jazeera, @ChrisBoese@newsie.social, The Defense Post, Semafor, @mrhoyle.bsky.social, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, Stars & Stripes, Telegraph, Politico, U.S. Department of Defense, Financial Times, Military.com, The Guardian, Axios, Reuters, Associated Press, MSNBC, BBC, Military Times, @rainwater14.bsky.social, DefenseScoop, The Hill, Washington Post, @mollyjongfast.bsky.social, Associated Press, @repjasmine.bsky.social, Bloomberg, Variety, Roll Call, Scripps News, The 19th, Business Insider, The Wrap, New York Post, @indivisibleteam …, USA Today, Rolling Stone, @pattonoswalt.bsky.social, Deadline, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, @joshuajfriedman.com, @chrislhayes.bsky.social, IJR and CBS News
