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Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 675M, subscribers up 11% YoY to 263M, and €1.14B in 2024 net income, vs. a €532M loss in 2023 — Price increases, cost discipline help audio-streaming giant pivot from heavy spending on growth to sustained profits
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, Spotify, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Variety, Reuters, Fast Company, Billboard, The Wrap, Axios, CNBC, @sarafischer, @adrianweckler, Music Ally, RTÉ, Seeking Alpha, The Independent, Business Standard, Deadline, The Verge, @gaurib_, @eldsjal, @thetranscript_, 9to5Mac, LightShed Partners, @richlightshed, @thetranscript_, Telecompaper, Irish Independent, Music Business Worldwide, @spotifynews and Spotify Technology S.A., more at Techmeme »

Fox Corp reports Q2 revenue up 20% YoY to $5.08B, vs. $4.82B est., ad revenue up 21% to $2.4B, driven by political ads, sports, and news, and a $388M net income — The company posted earnings per share of 81 cents and revenue of $5.08 billion in its fiscal second quarter, which ended December 31.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Variety, Reuters, @tvgrimreaper, @noahziegler, @jbflint, @jbflint, Investing.com, Fox Corporation, WORLD SCREEN and Associated Press
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Sean Burch / The Wrap:
Fox plans to launch a subscription-based streaming service by year-end that will be priced “relatively low” and target those who don't pay for traditional TV
Fox plans to launch a subscription-based streaming service by year-end that will be priced “relatively low” and target those who don't pay for traditional TV
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, Reuters, Australian Financial Review, Awful Announcing, Sportico, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, Yahoo Finance, Front Office Sports, Pocket-lint, Sports Media Watch, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, @by_nathanbrown, @jbflint, @benmillermke, @jbflint, Deadline and Media Play News
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: the Los Angeles Times is offering a voluntary buyout program to all employees who have worked at the paper for at least two years — In an email to staff shared with me, the LA Times says it's offering voluntary buyouts to all staff who have been there for more than two years. [image]
Discussion:
Deadline, Poynter, @1amorey, @nicksologist, @tatecurtis, @davidfolkenflik, @karyncaplan, @blowryontv, @bymeg, @byalexhalverson, @cmarinucci, @alexckaufman, @hearinladotcom, @dilanesper, @jonfranks, @genepark, @charlesornstein, @esotouric, @lainaminute, @kateoharewrites, @mirandacgreen, @sahrasulaiman, @saba_h and The Wrap

TED head Chris Anderson announces his intention to step down after 25 years and hand over TED to whoever presents the best idea for its future — In an exclusive interview with WIRED, the British entrepreneur shares why it's time to move on from TED. — For 25 years, Chris Anderson …
Discussion:
TED Conferences, @tedchris, @tedtalks, TED Blog, @johnmsweeney and @stevenlevy

Publics reports FY 2024 net revenue of €13.97B, representing 5.8% organic growth vs. its 5.5% guidance, and expects organic growth of 4% to 5% in 2025 — Publicis (PUBP.PA), the world's largest advertising group by market capitalization, announced on Tuesday it expects organic growth …
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Wall Street Journal, AdNews News, MediaPost, PRWeek, Bloomberg, Adweek, RTTNews, Adweek, Financial Times, More About Advertising, GlobeNewswire News Room, Ad Age, @publicisgroupe and The Drum

Nielsen: the 67th annual Grammys drew 15.4 viewers, down 9% YoY and ending a three-year growth streak; the show aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ — The awards show drew 15.4 million people this year, down from nearly 17 million last year. — Viewership for the Grammys slipped …
Discussion:
Adweek, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, GoldDerby and @lucas_shaw

The Sun launches The Sun Club, a £1.99-per-month paywall for access to some premium online content, including columnists like Jeremy Clarkson, and other perks — The Sun has launched a limited paywall charging £1.99 per month for access to some premium online content.
Discussion:
The Guardian and The Sun

The NMPA plans to issue 2,500 takedown notices to Spotify for podcast episodes that allegedly contain “unlicensed musical works” from 19 NMPA member publishers — The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) announced on Tuesday (Feb. 4) that it would issue takedown notices …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Variety, Music Week, MusicRow.com and Music Business Worldwide

An interview with Axios CEO Jim VandeHei on Donald Trump, why the media ecosystem favors the right, being optimistic about the future, Elon Musk, and more — Jim VandeHei, co-founder of Politico and later Axios, has spent decades at the forefront of political journalism.
Discussion:
@aidnmclaughlin and @johnlcorbett.bsky.social

In a letter to CBS Monday, Sony says it is taking over worldwide distribution of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! on February 10; CBS plans a restraining order — In a letter to CBS Monday, Sony said it has assumed those duties for shows scheduled to start airing the week of Feb. 10.

WBD names long-time executives Ryan Gould and Robert Voltaggio as co-presidents of US advertising sales, succeeding Jon Steinlauf effective immediately — Ryan Gould and Robert Voltaggio, two senior sales executives who have worked at the media conglomerate for more than a decade …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Ad Age, Media Play News, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Toronto-based programmatic ad startup StackAdapt raised $235M led by Teachers' Venture Growth, after raising $300M from Summit Partners in 2022 — While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC.
Discussion:
Axios and Globe and Mail, more at Techmeme »