Mediagazer: Sources: some independent record labels are pushing back on Apple's plans to pay more for spatial audio tracks, saying it benefits larger record companies (Anna Nicolaou/Financial Times)

12:30 AM ET, February 2, 2024

Top News:

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

The Messenger's flop was the result of Jimmy Finkelstein's blindness to bad ideas, like its traffic-chasing strategy, not a consequence of economic headwinds — The flaws in the site's strategy were highly predictable (and repeatedly predicted). But Jimmy Finkelstein's muddled nostalgia …

Discussion: Axios, @snigdhasur, @froomkin, Newser, @jayrosen_nyu, @jordannovet, @jragazzo, @scottnover, @ryangrim, @nohodge, @theakglassman, The Daily Beast, Variety, The Wrap and Deadline

The Daily Beast:

Ex-employees of The Messenger file a class-action lawsuit against the shuttered outlet, alleging that it failed to give them proper notice ahead of their firing — The class-action lawsuit comes just a day after The Messenger closed up shop for good, firing its hundreds of staff without offering them severance.

Discussion: The Hill, The Wrap, Axios, Politico, Deadline, @benmullin, Hollywood Reporter, @juliareinstein, @willsommer, @ellefs0n and @juliareinstein

Jordan Hoffman / New York Magazine:

A Messenger journalist describes his time working for the outlet, where the expensive offices were empty and reporters were instructed to chase trending topics — A text time-stamped 1:19 a.m. early Wednesday read, “I think it's over, man.” It was a Los Angeles-based colleague at The Messenger.

Discussion: Observer, @ishaantharoor, @carolynmichelle, @bgrueskin, @asilbwrites, @jakeswearingen, @mattzeitlin, Defector, Slate, @caroletarrant, @zzzzaaaacccchhh, Semafor, The Wrap, New York Post and Columbia Journalism Review

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

UMG begins pulling its artists' music from TikTok after negotiations failed; videos featuring UMG-owned songs will be muted, and users can pick a new soundtrack — - Publisher behind Drake and Taylor Swift pushes for better pay — Videos featuring Universal Music-owned songs will be muted

Kevin T. Dugan / New York Magazine:

Interviews with shareholders and current and ex-employees suggest that SI's publisher Arena missed the licensing payment by choice, not because it lacked money — At about 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 25, the board of the media conglomerate the Arena Group met after the company had blown up its license to publish Sports Illustrated.

Discussion: @jayshams and @leomschwartz

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
Sources: an Arena executive ordered SI to remove a transgender boxing story from a print issue; SI says the story was no longer newsy and will be posted online

Discussion: @davidgross_man, @cityreads, Awful Announcing, @benjstrauss, @jmkliegman and MediaPost

Salvador Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal:

Meta reports Q4 revenue up 25% YoY to $40.1B, with ad revenue of $38.7B, ad impressions delivered across its Family of Apps up 21%, and average ad price up 2% — Company posts biggest quarterly revenue gains in two years — Facebook parent Meta Platforms posted its fourth consecutive quarter …

Discussion: Meta Investor Relations, The Information, TVNewsCheck, @alexeheath, @alexeheath, @kantrowitz, MacStories, Variety, @alexeheath, @alecmacgillis, Search Engine Land, The Wrap and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

Sources: some independent record labels are pushing back on Apple's plans to pay more for spatial audio tracks, saying it benefits larger record companies — Groups behind Adele and Phoebe Bridgers among those against songs recorded in higher-quality audio receiving more money

Chris Willman / Variety:

Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times journalist known for his investigative reporting on the music industry, died in January at age 71 — Chuck Philips, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist renowned for his reporting on dark corners of the music industry, died in January at age 71.

Discussion: The Wrap, @hearinladotcom, @khal, The Daily Beast and Media Moves

Jim Edwards / Press Gazette:

Google plans to limit news publishers to tracking users across five of their own websites under its Privacy Sandbox, which is set to replace third-party cookies — Details have emerged of how Google's Privacy Sandbox could strengthen its online monopoly. — Google plans to limit the sharing …

Discussion: @pressgazette, Paweł Nowacki on LinkedIn, The Drum, Poynter and The Register, more at Techmeme »

Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter:

Highlights from Netflix's press event: a push for live programming, no planned theatrical releases, licensing content from others won't impact originals, more — A greater push for live programming, no theatrical releases and much more from content chief Bela Bajaria.

Discussion: @tsoh_investing, @reecekelleyg, @thr, @ryansatin, @meltzersaidwhat, Deadline, Deadline, Variety, The Playlist and POST Wrestling

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

Memo: The Wall Street Journal EIC Emma Tucker restructures its DC bureau, shutters the DC-based Business and US-China teams, and lays off “a number” of staffers — Note from WSJ EIC Emma Tucker to Journal staff about today's layoffs changes to the paper's DC bureau. The business team and Washington-based China team are both shuttering. [image]

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, @jhweissmann, @rhcm123, Talking Biz News, @katie_robertson, @bgrueskin, @corbinbolies, @azambelich, @samro, @theamarareport, @theamarareport, @katie_robertson, @katie_robertson, @kaivanshroff, @feliciasonmez and @bgrueskin

Richard Nieva / Forbes:

YouTube says YouTube Premium and Music have a combined 100M subscribers; CEO Neal Mohan says subscriptions have become a “meaningful part” of YouTube's business — YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told Forbes the subscription services are now a “meaningful part” of the business.

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, The Verge, @sarthakgh, Variety, Tubefilter, Music Business Worldwide, Rob Bolton on LinkedIn, @petergyang, Engadget, @joshuaogundu, 9to5Google, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Music Ally, TechCrunch and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »

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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple Q1: revenue of Services, which includes Apple TV+ and Apple Music, rose 11% YoY to a record $23.1B, and installed base crossed 2.2B active devices

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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
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Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
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As Amazon becomes the latest streamer to push an ad-supported tier, TV writers react with frustration to the move away from the original promise of streaming

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Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Politico redesigns its Europe, German, and French websites to have simpler homepages than the UK and US versions, to improve readability for AI web crawlers

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at press freedoms in Guatemala, as pro-press freedom and anti-corruption activist Bernardo Arévalo becomes the country's new president

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Christina Couch / Nieman Lab:
How some small media outlets are trying to prevent reporter burnout by adopting work models that reduce workloads and prioritize time outside the office

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Wall Street Journal:
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