Mediagazer: Spotify expands Podcast Subscriptions globally with 20 price points from $0.50 to $150 and will let creators download subscribers' contact info (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Rupert Murdoch accuses Google and Facebook of trying to silence conservative voices and cites a lawsuit claiming they colluded on digital ad market manipulation — Rupert Murdoch renewed his attacks on Google and Facebook during News Corp's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday …

Discussion: The Guardian, Newser, Axios, Vanity Fair, Insider, @martysilkhack, @thetowncrier, Press Gazette, @jonkudelka, New York Post, @mrkrudd, Bloomberg, Mumbrella, The Hill, Mediaite and The Wrap

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify expands real-time lyrics to all users globally in partnership with Musixmatch, after initially launching in 26 markets — After years of ignoring consumer demand for in-app lyrics, particularly in the U.S., Spotify announced today it will make a new Lyrics feature available to all global users …

Discussion: Spotify, CNET, Variety, Fast Company, @eldsjal, Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends, XDA Developers, The Verge, 9to5Mac, @spotifynews and @richlightshed, more at Techmeme »

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Axios Local expands to 11 new cities for a total of 25, with plans for 25 more cities in 2022; CFO says it is on pace to earn $5M in revenue by year end — Axios Local is going bicoastal. The city-based network of free, local newsletters announced Thursday morning that it is expanding to 11 new locations …

Discussion: @jonathanvswan, @djtweets, @russcontreras, @markstenberg3, @jimvandehei, @ssavitsky, @adweek and @adamwren

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Spotify expands Podcast Subscriptions globally with 20 price points from $0.50 to $150 and will let creators download subscribers' contact info — Just a few months after launching support for podcast subscriptions to U.S. creators, Spotify today is making the service available to creators in global markets.

Discussion: Fast Company, RAIN News, Podcast Movement, Variety, What's New in Publishing, Music Ally and XDA Developers

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Hulu launches Shop Hulu, a site selling limited-edition collections of clothes and lifestyle products related to its content library — This summer, Netflix launched its own shopping site that allowed fans to purchase apparel, accessories and other lifestyle products from their favorite shows, like “Stranger Things.”

The Marshall Project:

The Marshall Project is launching a newsroom in Cleveland in 2022, which will collaborate with local outlets and is partially funded by a Gund Foundation grant — New support from the Gund Foundation to drive expansion of local investigative reporting — The Marshall Project …

Discussion: Scene and Heard, @danmoulthrop, @schwartzapfel, @marshallproj, @geraldinesealey, @racheldissell and @davidfolkenflik

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

As well-written obituaries of prominent figures attract large online readership, outlets are bolstering their pre-written obituaries, including 1,850 at NYT — When Rush Limbaugh died this year, the mainstream media he had so long railed against gave him the kind of immaculately choreographed send-off …

Discussion: Editor and Publisher, @risenc, @katierosman, @john_p_carvalho, @richardjustice, @davidmaraniss, @ashkan, @ktumulty, @alexvadukul, @raju, @dlippman, @dlippman, @ironicsans, @oknox, @paulschwartzman and @amyargetsinger

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Russian tech exec Aleksej Gubarev drops his defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed over its publication of Steele dossier — A Russian internet entrepreneur has dropped a four-year legal battle against BuzzFeed over its publication of the so-called Steele dossier, a politically charged compendium …

Discussion: emptywheel, @emptywheel, @joshgerstein and TK News

Agence France-Presse:

Google will begin paying Agence France-Presse for content in Europe as part of a five-year partnership, the first with a news agency under a 2019 EU directive — Under the agreement with Google, AFP will also offer fact-checking training on several continents (AFP/Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD)

Discussion: Reuters and @risj_oxford

Peter White / Deadline:

Bad Robot launches a podcast division, to be led by former Audible and Spotify exec Christina Choi, and strikes a multiyear first-look deal with Spotify — JJ Abrams' Bad Robot is moving into the audio space. — The production company is launching its own podcast division …

Discussion: @baekdal, Spotify, Engadget and Los Angeles Times

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Fourthwall, an all-in-one creator commerce service that provides tools to set up merch stores, membership programs, tipping, and more, raises $17M — Let's say you're a YouTube star — honestly, it's not impossible, given that now, some estimate that over 20,000 YouTubers have at least 1 million subscribers.

Discussion: Fast Company, Fourthwall and @fourthwallhq

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig steps down; Ted Verity will become Mail Newspapers editor overseeing Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and You magazine — Daily Mail editor Geordie Greig is leaving his role this week, with the Mail on Sunday's Ted Verity stepping up to take charge of a new seven-day operation.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Guardian, Spectator, @domponsford, @johayeslibdem, @brexit_sham, @jolyonmaugham, @hautepop, @warrenmorgan, @andrew_adonis, @brokenbottleboy, @pressgazette, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, Vanity Fair and The Independent