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Sources: Disney explores a membership program akin to Amazon Prime, bundling streaming, theme parks, and merchandise, and adding a commerce feature to Disney+ — Entertainment giant looks to package streaming, parks and merchandise offerings together; aims to add commerce feature to Disney+
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US music publishers settle on 15.35% for mechanical streaming rates in 2023-2027, avoiding costly legal fights with Amazon, Apple, Google, Pandora, and Spotify — The announcement comes as a surprise, as the NMPA has been saying for months that it would push for a 20% rate for the forthcoming period.


Media Insight Project's May-June 2022 survey: ~71% of younger Americans get news daily from social media and 32% enjoy following the news, down from 53% in 2015 — Young people are following the news but aren't too happy with what they're seeing. Broadly speaking, that's the conclusion …


Sources: in a staff Q&A, CEO Mike Reed said Gannett laid off 3% of its US workforce in August 2022, or ~400 people; he and the CFO defended Reed's compensation — The round of layoffs, which started Aug. 12, followed a dismal second quarter. — Gannett CEO Mike Reed told staff …


Sources: Netflix seeks to charge brands a ~$65 CPM on its ad-supported tier, more than most other streaming services, and cap every brand's annual spend at $20M — Streaming giant aims for Nov. 1 launch of ad-supported tier, ad buyers say — Netflix Inc. NFLX 1.32%▲ …


Memo: on top of cutting ~20% of its staff, Snap cancels its original shows, in-app games, and Zenly and Voisey apps; the layoffs could save $500M annually — Snapchat's original shows, in-app games, and camera drone are no more — Snap is laying off around 20 percent of its more than 6,400 employees …
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Snap Newsroom, Variety, CNBC, CNN, The Register, PR Daily, @obrien, @alexeheath, @gergelyorosz, @kyurieff, MediaPost, @xpangler, TechCrunch, @lucas_shaw, Los Angeles Times, @sarafischer, @sarafischer, IndieWire, Tubefilter, Observer, New York Times, Ad Age, Billboard, The Hill, Associated Press, CNET, Forbes, TechCrunch, Deadline, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and Axios


An investigation details extensive efforts by Erdoğan's regime in Turkey to shape the nation's news, dictated by the 1,500-strong Directorate of Communications — From an office tower in Ankara, Turkish officials shape the nation's news, media insiders say - always to President Tayyip Erdogan's advantage.
Discussion:
@sinanciddi, @reuters, @reuters and @specialreports


BuzzFeed is licensing its name to retail airport stores; two opened in LaGuardia Airport in June 2022, selling beverages, snacks, magazines, and souvenirs — Exit Content Preview — BuzzFeed, Inc. is entertaining airport travelers not just via its own smartphones but also IRL with new retail stores.
Discussion:
@davezatz, @abeaujon, @delia_cai, @adrianhon and @kerrymflynn


Reddit acquires contextual advertising company Spiketrap to improve its ad quality scoring and boost prediction models for auto-bidding — Reddit's acquisition spree is continuing this morning with news that the company is bringing the audience contextualization company Spiketrap's technology in-house.
Discussion:
Reddit Upvoted


An interview with Medium CEO Tony Stubblebine: writers with subscribers should be paid more and thinking “Medium was going to shine” in journalism was a mistake — Sometimes as a reporter you write a piece that is critical of a company and the company decides not to talk to you again for a long while, or ever again.
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @oneunderscore__, @bcmerchant, @waxy, @mariaramirezny and @martinsfp


The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act is a dangerous link tax bill and a bizarre attempt to circumvent antitrust, copyright, and common carrier laws — Look, I'm a small journalism outfit. A very small one. So, in theory, a law that effectively lets me demand free cash from Google …
Discussion:
@robinberjon, @daphnehk, @mmasnick, @blakereid, @newsalliance, @halsinger, @georgeprof, @mattdpearce, @pt, MediaPost and News/Media Alliance


India's antitrust watchdog says Sony and Zee's merger requires further investigation; sources say the findings will delay regulatory approval of the deal — A merger between the Indian unit of Japan's Sony (6758.T) and Zee Entertainment (ZEE.NS) to create a $10 billion TV enterprise …
Discussion:
@reutersbiz, @adityakalra, Digital TV Europe, @adityakalra and @adityakalra