Top News:
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q1 revenue up 20% YoY to €3.6B, MAUs up 19% YoY to 615M, below 617.9M est., subscribers up 14% YoY to 239M, and a €168M operating income — - Subscribers to paid Spotify tiers jumped 14% to 239 million — Swedish audio-streaming company posted record operating profit
Discussion:
Spotify, Billboard, Fast Company, Reuters, Digital Music News, The Wrap, CNBC, Variety, @xpangler, @mukund, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Agence France-Presse, Music Business Worldwide, The Hollywood Reporter, @eldsjal, @spotifynews, @thetranscript_, Music Ally and @lucas_shaw, more at Techmeme »
Chris Morris / Fortune:
Taylor Swift's new album smashed streaming records; Spotify says it had 300M+ streams on launch day and became 2024's most-streamed album within just 12 hours — Never bet against Swifties. — Taylor Swift's loyal fan base not only sent the singer's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department …
Discussion:
Spotify, CNN, SIDE-LINE, Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News
Jennifer Schuessler / New York Times:
PEN America cancels its 2024 literary awards ceremony, set for April 29, after months of protests over the organization's response to the war in Gaza — The event had been set for April 29, but weeks of escalating criticism of the organization's response to the war had led nearly half of the prize nominees to withdraw.
Discussion:
Why Evolution Is True, Deadline, The Bookseller, The Daily Beast, CBS News, PEN America, Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly
Adam B. Vary / Variety:
The Blair Witch Project cast requests retroactive residuals and “meaningful consultation” on future projects, after Lionsgate and Blumhouse announced a reboot — The directors and producers of the groundbreaking 1999 horror film release a separate statement in support …
Discussion:
Joshua Leonard, @themythtraveler, IGN, The Guardian, The Independent, The Independent, ComingSoon.net, Deadline, @asap17, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, Vulture, The Hollywood Reporter, @rickbur1n, New York Times, Joshua Leonard, @mothrasattorney, @nash076, @drewmcweeny, @discussingfilm, Vanity Fair, Inverse, The Wrap, Screen Rant, Joshua Leonard, Joshua Leonard, @newbyrichard3, People and SlashFilm
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Puck hires veteran journalist and TV commentator John Heilemann as its chief political columnist and partner, as the outlet expands its presence in Washington — - The company, which will host its first event for the White House Correspondents' Dinner this week, has built out a broader slate …
Discussion:
The Hill, @coryweinberg, @eriqgardner, @jeffjarvis and @pucknews
Elle Griffin / The Elysian:
Penguin vs. DOJ transcripts: top publishing houses spend most of their money on book advances for big celebrities like Britney Spears and franchise authors — In 2022, Penguin Random House wanted to buy Simon & Schuster. The two publishing houses made up 37 percent and 11 percent of the market share …
Discussion:
@weirdwriter@tweesecake.social, @jmsdnns@mastodon.social, @robinwigg and Mark Carrigan
Kate Lyons / The Guardian:
Australia's ABC South Asia correspondent Avani Dias says India refused her a standard visa renewal, after issuing a takedown notice to YouTube for her stories — Despite eventual visa backflip by authorities, ABC's south-Asia correspondent Avani Dias left after being made to ‘feel so uncomfortable’
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, ABC, @avanidias, Sydney Morning Herald, Hindustan Times, Daily Mail, The Independent, @opindia_com, @free_thinker, @adityamenon22, @ptrmadurai, @baxiabhishek, @emilyzfeng, @behlihyi, Deccan Herald, The Indian Express, @derekobrienmp, @avanidias, @parthpunter, @cathedavison, @johnreedwrites, The New Indian Express and The Wire
Financial Times:
WPP-owned agency Ogilvy forms a unit specializing in health influencers to help pharmaceutical companies offer personalized content and combat misinformation — WPP-owned advertising agency seeks to tap trend for seeking medical information on social media
Discussion:
Ad Age, @wi_john and @dineshgovender
Kristen Hare / Poynter:
In its first open call for funding, Press Forward announces support, over two years, of $100,000 each for 100+ newsrooms focused on underserved audiences — It includes $100,000 each in general operating support for more than 100 newsrooms — We now know the focus for the first open call …
Discussion:
Press Forward, @travisfain, @frankwords, @mattdpearce, @kristenhare and Radio & Television …
New York Times:
The American Sunlight Project, led by ex-US DHS exec Nina Jankowicz, launches to fight a “campaign by conservatives” to undermine disinformation researchers — The group intends to fight what its leader, Nina Jankowicz, and others have described as a coordinated campaign …
Discussion:
The Hill, @heidireports, @makkhorn@c.im and @researchbuzz@researchbuzz …
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
Four top editors from Texas, California, and Canada talk about the challenges of running a metro newspaper in the digital era, keeping readers engaged, and more — “People will pay you to make their lives easier, even when it comes to telling them which burrito to eat.”
Discussion:
Media Voices
Tariq Panja / New York Times:
Sources: FIFA is close to giving Apple the global rights for its 2025 World Cup-style soccer competition in the US, likely for ~25% of FIFA's first $4B estimate — The agreement would give the tech company worldwide rights for a monthlong World Cup-style competition between top teams set to take place next year.
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