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Joni Mitchell pulls her music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young, saying “irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives” — “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives,” Mitchell wrote on her official website Friday.
Discussion:
Joni Mitchell, Variety, @thedavidcrosby, New York Times, New York Post, The Wrap, The Guardian, @brianstelter, UPI, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, NME, Stereogum, @frankconniff, UPROXX, @farhip, @adriennelaw, The Daily Beast, @stevesmithffx, @louispeitzman, Top Celebrity News …, @rollingstone, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, @ericboehlert, The Hollywood Reporter and @shannonrwatts
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Internal messages detail Spotify's lax health content policy; the company told staff multiple Joe Rogan podcast episodes “didn't meet the threshold for removal” — Leaked messages reveal the company has reviewed every Rogan episode and none ‘meet the threshold for removal’
Discussion:
Deadline, @reckless, @reckless, @natjarv, @reckless, @ericgeller, @mattdpearce, @datadrivenmd, @mickpuck, @dylanreeve, @evoterra, @mmasnick, The A.V. Club, @caseynewton, @themadstone, @robaeprice, @joshsternberg, @kimzetter, @caseynewton, @subjectburst, @doctorkarl, @ashleyrcarman and Los Angeles Times, more at Techmeme »


A look at Neil Young's history of feuding with corporations and big institutions, from MTV to Spotify, and his digital music startup Pono that shut down in 2017 — When Neil Young announced he was pulling his entire discography from music streaming giant Spotify over the platform's alliance …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, @latimes, The Verge, Engadget, Ars Technica, @liledit, @rverrier and Music Ally


Stephen Hayes, The Weekly Standard's former EIC who broke ties with Fox to protest Tucker Carlson's January 6 special, joins NBC News — Stephen Hayes, the conservative political analyst who raised eyebrows in November when he took to The New York Times to announce his breaking ties …


YouTuber Hank Green compares TikTok's creator fund, which pays creators less as more creators join, unfavorably to YouTube, which pays 55% of ad revenue — In 2020, TikTok established a creator fund that distributes $200 million annually to creators based in the U.S.
Discussion:
Platformer, @caseynewton, @martinsfp, @theblakeguidry, @yoda, @mvzelenks, @shiraovide, @carnage4life, @hankgreen, NBC News, TechCrunch and Engadget, more at Techmeme »


Some experts say David Leonhardt, author of the influential NYT newsletter “The Morning” underestimates and underplays COVID-19's risks by cherry-picking data — THE NIGHTLY READS ‘THE MORNING’ — With 5 million readers, David Leonhardt, the author of The New York Times …
Discussion:
New Republic, @froomkin, @alexanderrusso, @lpdonovan, @demfromct, @rameshponnuru, @michaelkruse, @dankennedy_nu, @thrasherxy, @jayrosen_nyu, @garettjones, @abbydphillip, @alexanderrusso, @alexthomp, @froomkin, @jbarro, @michaelbd, @joannekenen, @eggerdc, @coreypein, @awinston, @jlcroner, @joannekenen, @joannekenen, @zackstanton, @whstancil, @yeselson, @mikiebarb, @evanmcmurry, @mdaware, @conorpwilliams, @joannekenen and @zackstanton


Hearst Newspapers claims 300K digital-only subscribers, up 50% YoY, of which 140K are the San Francisco Chronicle's, as it plans a shared product and data hub — Heart's newspapers represent a sort of counterpoint to the perception that the industry is all about financial distress and contraction.
Discussion:
@risj_oxford, @medici1, @timafranklin, @timothyorourke, @poynter, @caseyseiler and American Press Institute


The Salt Lake Tribune tells staffers to hire and expense services to scrub their personal info from the internet, after threats followed a pandemic editorial — The Salt Lake Tribune alerted police to threats that the newspaper received after publishing a Jan. 15 editorial that ripped state leaders …
Discussion:
@dabeard, @nickparkerstet, @deborahblum and @oliverdarcy


A US judge refuses to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by a Georgian chess master against Netflix over a mention of her in an episode of The Queen's Gambit — A judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Georgian chess master who alleged that she was defamed in an episode of the Netflix series “The Queen's Gambit.”
Discussion:
New York Post, @jenshahade, Engadget, The Guardian, SlashFilm, The A.V. Club, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap


Shopify denies copyright infringement claims from publishers and says court is the wrong venue to force changes in copyright laws that shield tech companies — E-commerce company says it isn't liable for copyright infringement by sellers; has responded to takedown requests


Netflix's results suggest streaming television is going to make entertainment companies less money than cable did because it demands high capital investment — Share price collapse points to worries over the streaming business model — The corporate narrative on Netflix has always been high drama.


Google suspends Dan Bongino's website from monetizing with ads for “persistently” breaching guidelines about COVID-19 pandemic and election misinformation — ‘DEMONSTRABLY FALSE’ — Fox News host Dan Bongino's website has been temporarily suspended from monetizing with Google ads over …
Discussion:
NBC News, @checkmyadshq, Engadget, @mhbergen and Mashable


Apple had 785M paying subs globally across all services in Q1, up 27% YoY; Cook says Apple doesn't make “purely financial decisions” about Apple TV+ content — And CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that it isn't necessarily looking for a financial payback on that investment.
Discussion:
The Streamable, @stevesi, MediaPost and @xpangler
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Services revenue for Apple, which includes Apple TV+, Apple Music, the App Store, and iCloud, brought in $19.5B in Q1, up from $15.8B a year ago
Discussion:
Light Reading, SlashFilm, Billboard, Apple, The Register, Music Ally and Apple Inc., more at Techmeme »