Top News:
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
The US Senate passes the TikTok divestment bill by a margin of 79-18; the legislation now heads to President Biden, who has committed to sign it into law — A bill that would force China-based company Bytedance to sell TikTok — or else face a US ban of the platform …
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Casey Newton / Platformer:
Legal scholars discuss how the TikTok divestment bill could survive a First Amendment challenge and why the US will likely rely on a national security argument — The First Amendment is a major obstacle, scholars say — but it isn't insurmountable — On Tuesday, the Senate voted overwhelmingly …
Discussion:
Neowin, @kevintgates@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, CNBC, Financial Times, Variety, @digiphile, New York Post and Euractiv, more at Techmeme »
Seb Joseph / Digiday:
For the third time, Google delays the deprecation of third-party cookies in Chrome, pushing back its plans to early 2025, after the UK CMA expressed concerns — Google is delaying the end of third-party cookies in its Chrome browser — again. In other unsurprising developments, water remains wet.
Discussion:
The Privacy Sandbox, Mumbrella, Adweek, AdExchanger, The Information, Kimeko McCoy on LinkedIn, Achim Schlosser on LinkedIn, Alysa Hutnik on LinkedIn, Rudi Shumpert on LinkedIn, Jochen Schlosser on LinkedIn, Ad Age, Andrew Gilbert on LinkedIn, Anthony Katsur on LinkedIn and Bloomberg, 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, SIDE-LINE, CNN, Music Business Worldwide and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify Q1: revenue up 20% YoY to €3.6B, MAUs up 19% to 615M, vs. 617.9M est., subscribers up 14% to 239M, and a €168M operating income; SPOT closes up 11.41% — - Subscribers to paid Spotify tiers jumped 14% to 239 million — Swedish audio-streaming company posted record operating profit
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Fortune, Spotify, @eldsjal, @mukund, @xpangler, @spotifynews, Billboard, @thetranscript_, @lucas_shaw, Digital Music News, CNBC, Billboard, Fast Company, The Wrap, Music Business Worldwide, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Agence France-Presse, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Music Ally and Reuters
Amy Graff / SFGATE:
KQED, a Bay Area NPR and PBS affiliate, is initiating buyouts, and may have layoffs or a hiring freeze; in 2023, revenue hit $90.4M and expenses $100.9M — KQED is initiating staff buyouts, an effort to reduce costs in the face of a budget deficit, SFGATE has learned.
Discussion:
CalMatters and Current
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
NYT's David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro discuss The Interview, a new franchise launching on April 27 that will appear in the Magazine and in podcast form — A new franchise that will appear in the Magazine and in podcast form, ‘The Interview’ will see hosts David Marchese and Lulu speak with newsmaking guests.
Discussion:
New York Times, Priya Mathew on LinkedIn and The New York Times Company
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 …
Isabela Raygoza / Billboard:
RIAA: Latin music revenue in the US grew 16% YoY to $1.4B in 2023, with total streaming revenue up 17% to $1.3B and paid subscription revenue up 21% to $915M — Latin music revenues in the United States continue to hit an all-time high, exceeding the $1 billion mark for a second year in a row …
Discussion:
Digital Music News, RADIO ONLINE, Music Business Worldwide, RIAA and Variety
Erin Doherty / Axios:
iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment plan to launch the Women's Sports Audio Network, the “first-ever” audio platform solely for women's sports — - The Women's Sports Audio Network, which will be free, is set to include podcasts, sports reports and feature athletes' stories on and off the field.
Discussion:
RADIO ONLINE, Barrett Media, Inside Radio, Radio & Television … and The Desk
Rolling Stone:
Ex-AMI CEO David Pecker testifies about agreeing to be Trump's “eyes and ears” and how the National Enquirer used Michael Cohen's prompts to bash Trump rivals — David Pecker testified about his efforts to help Trump win the White House, including by publishing bogus stories about rivals like Ted Cruz
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, Financial Times, The Hill, Newser, CBS News, NPR, HuffPost, Forbes, Reuters, @tomjchicago, The Guardian, Axios, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, @lawofruby, @lawofruby, @realjuddlegum@threads.net, New York Post, Deadline, @littlemissmarxist@threads.net, @rachelvindman@threads.net, @lawofruby, @tristansnell@threads.net, The Wrap, CNN, Associated Press and Washington Post
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:
@jeffjarvis, @pucknews, @coryweinberg, @eriqgardner and The Hill
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