Top News:

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, @eldsjal, @thetranscript_, 9to5Mac, LightShed Partners, @richlightshed, @gaurib_, @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
RELATED:
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, @matthewkeyslive, NBC News, Front Office Sports, Yahoo Finance, Pocket-lint, Sports Media Watch, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, @by_nathanbrown, @jbflint, @benmillermke, Deadline, @jbflint 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:
@brosandprose.bsky.social, @brosandprose.bsky.social, 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 …
Discussion:
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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 »

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