Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: the value of Spotify's deal with Joe Rogan, which covers three and a half years, was at least $200M, twice the $100M that reports suggested at the time — The deal that brought his podcast to Spotify is said to be worth over $200 million, more than was previously known.
Discussion:
insideradio.com, MediaPost, Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, @rjcc, Webb Chatham Report, AppleInsider, Music Ally, @maxkennerly, @bowl_of_worcel, @mcclure111, Complete Music Update, 9to5Mac, @hotlinejosh, @sanasaeed, Barrett Media, Newser, @helenzaltzman, @ericboehlert, @awilkinson, The Fix, @daviddtss, @eoinhiggins_, @danrodricks, @ianmorris78, @zoecello, @gartenberg, @nicktheandersen, @nicktheandersen, @edmundlee, @rjcc, @rjcc, @internetryan, @robertwrighter, @hayesbrown, @marklgoldberg, @jljacobson, @rschooley, @mikeisaac, @katierosman, The Verge, Input, GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT, Forbes, The Wrap, TechSpot, Engadget, Insider, OutKick, Variety, Cracked Bowl, Protocol, PCMag UK and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
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Insider:
Sources detail the tumult inside Spotify's podcast division, which is yet to release any shows from marquee deals with Ava DuVernay and others after over a year — - Spotify inked deals with Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele, and more but many of them have released no podcasts.
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
Q&A with Dean Baquet on star journalists, the rise of off-the-cuff opinionating in journalism, not caring about the “unnuanced voices on Twitter”, and more — Ahead of his expected retirement, the Times' executive editor reflects on his newsroom's unprecedented growth …
Discussion:
@parkermolloy, @carolynryan, @jkosseff, @therealhoarse, @emran_feroz, @jeffjarvis and @michaelluo
Knight Foundation:
In December 2021, 33% of Americans said they pay a “great deal” of attention to national news, down from 54% in November 2020 — Fewer Americans are paying attention to national news now than at any time since early 2018. In December 2021, a third of Americans (33%) said they pay …
Discussion:
@iohnsands and @marklittlenews
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Condé Nast says it now has 360M monthly average readers and turned a profit in 2021 for the first time in years; source: it recorded ~$2B in revenue last year — Publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker generated nearly $2 billion in revenue last year
Bloomberg:
Len Blavatnik's Access Industries agrees to a $4.3B recapitalization of DAZN, clearing the streamer's debt, and subscribes to another $250M in new shares — Len Blavatnik has agreed a $4.3 billion recapitalization of DAZN, as the billionaire doubles down on his loss-making sports entertainment company …
Discussion:
Financial Times and Reuters
Hadeel Ibrahim / CBC News:
Postmedia, Canada's largest newspaper company, buys BNI, which publishes three daily newspapers and six weeklies in New Brunswick — Brunswick News Inc. is being sold for $7.5M in cash and $8.6M in variable voting shares of Postmedia — Brunswick News Inc., which publishes three daily newspapers …
Discussion:
Postmedia, @trapdinawrpool, @nadineyousif_, @bransfieldrob, @dred_tory, @alau2 and @craigsilverman
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify's acquisitions of Podsights and Chartable prepare it to compete better with YouTube, offering programmatic ads and robust analytics to creators — Why the company went on a shopping spree — This story originally ran in Hot Pod, The Verge's preeminent audio industry newsletter.
Discussion:
@ccm_ryan, @ashleyrcarman, @bradocapital, @spotifynews, XDA Developers and Chartable
Joseph P. Fried / New York Times:
Martin Tolchin, a former New York Times reporter and the founding publisher and editor of The Hill, dies at 93 — He covered Congress in the 1970s and '80s before heading up a successful Capitol Hill newspaper. — Martin Tolchin, a former reporter for The New York Times who covered Congress …
Discussion:
@kenvogel, @rickberke, @jenseniorny and @harrispolitico
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Universal Music Group partners with NFT marketplace Curio to develop and sell NFT collectibles for its record labels and artists starting in March — Universal Music Group has struck a partnership with NFT platform Curio to develop non-fungible token (NFT) collections for its record labels and artists, the companies said on Thursday.
Discussion:
TechSpot, @reutersshowbiz, PR Newswire, The Block, Billboard, Music Business Worldwide and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Brian Stelter will host a daily version of his Reliable Sources show for CNN+, the subscription streaming service to launch this spring — CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter will host a daily version of Reliable Sources for CNN+, the upcoming subscription service set to debut this spring.
Discussion:
@marceelias, @greta, OutKick, CNN, Fox News and Barrett Media
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Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Roku reports Q4 revenue of $865.3M, vs. $894M est., up 33% YoY, 60.1M active accounts, up 17% YoY, and 19.5B streaming hours, up 15% YoY; stock drops 24%+ — - Roku's revenue growth slowed to a rate that was lower than analysts had expected. — The company said during the quarter …
Discussion:
AdExchanger, Insider, Roku, Tech Stock Daily Newsletter, Digiday, @adweek, @jordannovet, @richlightshed and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »
Diane Bartz / Reuters:
Digital Content Next, representing publishers including NYT, News Corp, AP, and more, urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to back two bills to rein in Big Tech — A group representing publishers such as News Corp and National Public Radio wrote to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Discussion:
New York Post, AppleInsider, @jeffjarvis, @wexler, @appfairness, @the_iap, @dcnorg, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and MacDailyNews
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