Mediagazer: Spotify Q1: revenue up 14% YoY to €3B, net loss down 17% YoY to €225M, ad revenue up 17% YoY to €329M, MAUs up 22% YoY to 515M, and subscribers up 15% to 210M (Anne Steele/Wall Street Journal)

6:05 PM ET, April 25, 2023

Top News:

Jack Shafer / Politico:

Tucker Carlson's ouster, like Glenn Beck's and Bill O'Reilly's before him, shows that no one at Fox News is irreplaceable since Fox itself is the star — No one is irreplaceable at the network. It was designed that way. — If you're wondering did Tucker Carlson jump …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, CNN, @erikwemple, The Week, Financial Times, The Atlantic, @neilchenoweth, SPLICETODAY.com, @eugene_scott, @glcarlstrom, Poynter, @michaelkruse and Insider

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were products of the Trump era with their indignation and outrage, and their ousters indicate a pulling back from coverage excesses — The two hosts took very different approaches, but the decisions by Fox News and CNN to shed the stars marks at least a temporary shift …

Discussion: Mediaite, Mashable, @msignorile, The Wrap, CNN, @jeffjarvis, @oliverdarcy, @sherylnyt and New York Post

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
Sources: the decision to fire Tucker Carlson came straight from Rupert Murdoch and is related to former Carlson producer Abby Grossberg's discrimination lawsuit

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Fox News says the network and Tucker Carlson “have agreed to part ways”, and that Carlson's last program was on Friday, April 21

Discussion: @sarafischer, Washington Post, @oliverdarcy, @therecount, Vanity Fair, @brianstelter, Wall Street Journal, @rt_com, @brianstelter, New York Times, Semafor, @bonchieredstate, @dylanbyers, @goangelo, @atrupar, Fox News, @brianstelter, New York Times, @mimms, @andrewfeinberg, @megynkelly, @harrymccracken, @mattyglesias, @brianstelter, Newsweek, @henryrodgersdc, @pkafka, Vox, @bgrueskin, @keitholbermann, @claireatki, Media Matters for America, Axios, The Wrap, @erikwemple, @projectlincoln, @morganisawizard, CBS News, @nikkimcr, @oneunderscore__, New York Times, The Atlantic, @brianstelter, Culture News, New York Magazine, NPR, CNN, Newser, @nidhi, @business, The Hollywood Reporter, @latimes, @rvawonk, @erikwemple, @bad_takes, @srl, @maddowblog, @rashidatlaib, @catturd2, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @mollyjongfast, @mehdirhasan, @cwarzel, @yashar, @davidfolkenflik, @brianstelter, Politico, CNN, @jbflint, Mother Jones, Media Voices, @daveweigel, Forbes, @michaelehayden, Insider, @mlcalderone, @ndrew_lawrence, @owillis, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @garbageape, @charliekirk11, @oneunderscore__, @jordanbpeterson, @mehdirhasan, @alfranken, @justinbaragona, @oneunderscore__, @brianstelter, @therickwilson, @jason_pontin, @rottenindenmark, @andylevy, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @bgrueskin, @rvawonk, @taylorlorenz, @profjeffjarviss, @junlper, @mattgertz, @semaforben, @edmundlee, @murderxbryan, @tedlieu, @darth, @carlbeijer, @kbandersen, @mikedrucker, @kasparov63, @mediaite, @ktbenner, @nemanjayvr, @thefootballnick, @aidnmclaughlin, New Republic, @semaforben, @kendallybrown, @sethmoulton, @tomaxwell, @scottnover, @themaxburns, @muldowney, @jeffjarvis, @timinhonolulu, @danprimack, @businessinsider, @jeremymbarr, @davidhogg111, @oliverdarcy, @brendonleslie, @catturd2, @teroterotero, @cwarzel, @ajs, @colinyovng, @jeremymbarr, @decodingfoxnews, @decodingfoxnews, @mariashriver, @dougjballoon, @jeffjarvis, @deggans, @fmanjoo, @cmclymer, @colbyhall, @askdrruth, @johnjharwood, @petersterne, @matthewkeyslive, @mgsiegler, @fmanjoo, @carnage4life, @tomcoates, @fmanjoo, @davewiner, @danprimack, @tomcoates, @normative, @lucas_shaw, @arusbridger, @ninaburleigh, @lucas_shaw, @brianstelter, @danprimack, @brianstelter, @hamiltonnolan, @mk7j21, @petersterne, @sherman4949, @lanceulanoff, @eriqgardner, @sherman4949, @robbystarbuck, @brianstelter, @gaberivera, NBC News, Variety, The Guardian, @dell@journa.host, @danhon@dan.mastohon.com, Mediaite, Forbes, Forbes, Press Gazette, The Desk, New York Magazine, Associated Press, IndieWire, @bkahn@mstdn.science, Bloomberg, The Wrap and @antonioserrata@masto.ai

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Source: Tucker Carlson was in the midst of negotiating the renewal of his Fox News contract through 2029 and told people last week he expected it to be renewed

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, The Week, The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, The Hill, Columbia Journalism Review, The Wrap, @palmerreport, The Daily Beast, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @davidjollyfl, @repmtg, @calltoactivism, @brianstelter and @Npars01@mstdn.social

Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Source: Tucker Carlson's Fox News exit was “a firing” and he's “totally surprised”; sources: the newsroom is in “shock” and found out when the news broke online

Discussion: @phil_lewis_, Semafor, The Wrap, @jimrosicafl, @chrislhayes, @ishaantharoor, @annmlipton, @hillibusterr, @nickreeves9876, @francis_scarr, @mjfree, @thor_benson, Newser, Insider, Mediaite, Forbes, @nycsouthpaw, @tedlieu and @semafor

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nate Silver tells FiveThirtyEight employees that he expects to leave Disney when his contract is up “soon” as layoffs hit the data journalism outlet — ABC News is expected to retain the FiveThirtyEight brand, with plans to streamline the data-driven site.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's advertising revenue declined for the third consecutive quarter, by 2.6% YoY to $6.69B in Q1 2023, slightly beating analyst estimates of $6.6B — Ad sales at YouTube declined 2.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2023, to $6.69 billion. Analysts expected it to come in at $6.6 billion, per FactSet.

Discussion: Alphabet Inc., The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Lindsay Isaac / CNN:

In court documents, Prince Harry's legal team alleges Prince William settled phone hacking claims with News Group Newspapers for a “very large sum” — Buckingham Palace and Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers reached a secret agreement over historical phone hacking claims …

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, The Guardian, @binvestigates, SheKnows and Reuters

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Prince Harry's lawyers say the royal family had an agreement not to pursue claims against News Group Newspapers until the conclusion of phone hacking litigation — Prince Harry is newly pursuing News Group Newspapers over claims of unlawful information gathering.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Financial Times, The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Robb Report, Hacked Off, @independent, Reuters, @janinegibson, Semafor, @msmwatchdog2013, The Guardian and Deadline

Lee Haye-ah / Yonhap News Agency:

Netflix plans to invest $2.5B in South Korea for Korean TV series, movies, and scripted shows over the next four years — Netflix said Monday it will invest US$2.5 billion in South Korea over the next four years to produce Korean TV series, movies and scripted shows.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, Variety, The Verge, The Streamable, Observer, The Wrap, Gizmodo, Semafor, The A.V. Club, @richardlnewby, TechCrunch, Broadband TV News, Fortune, Insider, Financial Times, CNN, Al Jazeera, Reuters and Reuters

Alex Thompson / Axios:

After President Biden's reelection campaign announcement, the Republican National Committee posts an attack ad featuring AI-generated images, including of Biden — - The video features AI-created images appearing to show Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris celebrating at an Election Day party …

Discussion: MediaPost, The Hill, The Verge, Gizmodo, Mother Jones, Ars Technica, Forbes, @yoda, Engadget, New York Post and Semafor, more at Techmeme »

Desiree Ibekwe / New York Times:

Crooked Media is set to launch Pod Save the UK, its first international production, on May 4, with hosts Coco Khan, a journalist, and Nish Kumar, a comedian — The company behind “Pod Save America” is starting a British version of the popular liberal show. — Reporting from London

Discussion: @bartleby_era, @lukeisamazing, @francesweetman, @metricalfoot, @imbadatlife and @reducedlisten

Chloe Xiang / VICE:

A look at AI Hub, a Discord community dedicated to AI music that released an entire album featuring original songs using AI-generated vocals from famous artists — On Saturday, they released an entire album using an AI-generated copy of Travis Scott's voice, and labels are trying to kill it.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Verge, @dadabots and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Martine Paris / Forbes:
Pop star Grimes tells fans to create AI-generated music using her voice, saying she will split 50% royalties, the same deal as “with any artist I collab with”

Discussion: @grimezsz, TechCrunch, @nic__carter, @grady_booch, @lucalush, @kelly_mckernan, Music Ally, @thechosenberg, @philthatremains, @frantzfries, @reocragun, @nickfloats and The Verge

Wall Street Journal:

Overwhelmed by streaming services and their content, some US viewers are turning to Pluto TV, Tubi, and other free offerings that show classic TV shows with ads — Free streaming services Pluto TV, Tubi, Xumo Play and others show classic TV shows with ads, easing decisions for those overwhelmed with options

Discussion: @bysarahkrouse, @jasoncolavito, @jtoonkel, @tednesi, @mulvihill79 and @mattzeitlin

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Thierry Breton says EU Digital Services Act content rules will apply to Apple, Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, and 12 others from August 2023 — Five Alphabet (GOOGL.O) subsidiaries, two Meta Platforms (META.O) units, two Microsoft (MSFT.O) businesses, Twitter and Alibaba's …

Discussion: The Guardian and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

An interview with Danny Groom, the editor of Mail Online in the UK, on expanding royal coverage to royal families around the world, including Monaco and Morocco — Mail Online boss Danny Groom said the royal growth has “huge editorial and commercial possibilities”.

Discussion: @pressgazette and @hayley_barlow