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Advanced Television:
Report: AI-generated music uploads account for <1% of total streams; AI-adoption is strongest in functional and low-stakes settings such as background music — The music industry has long been defined by an extreme winner-takes-all dynamic. A small number of tracks, artists …
Discussion:
OC&C Strategy Consultants
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
The Richmond Free Press, a 34-year-old Black-owned weekly, shuts down due to falling ad revenue as the Black press suffers from the dispersion of its readership — The Richmond Free Press cited declining advertising in announcing the end of its three-decade run in Virginia's capital city.
Discussion:
Richmond Free Press
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
An interview with Chloe Rushmere, head of content for magazine and newspaper subscription app Readly, on future plans as Readly integrates with France's Cafeyn — “All you can read” magazine and newspaper app Readly's merger with a French equivalent is set to enhance its mobile app and support the business to increase investment.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA signs an agreement with Netflix covering The Pete Davidson Show as a podcast, after talks about whether it should be treated as a TV show or a podcast — Netflix has described its recently released “The Pete Davidson Show” as a “video podcast” — and now SAG-AFTRA has signed …
Discussion:
Barrett Media, Podnews, The Wrap, Deadline, The Atlantic, @theatlantic.com, Vulture and Motley Fool
Edith Hancock / Wall Street Journal:
The EU approves UMG's $775M acquisition of Downtown Music, a deal UMG expects to complete in the coming weeks after announcing it in December 2024 — The companies offered to sell Downtown's Curve royalty in an effort to win Brussels's blessing — The European Union approved Universal …
Discussion:
Billboard, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, Music Business Worldwide and Bloomberg
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The MPA urges ByteDance to curb its AI video model Seedance 2.0, saying the model engages in unauthorized use of US copyrighted material “on a massive scale” — The Motion Picture Association on Thursday denounced the newest AI video generator, Seedance 2.0 …
Discussion:
The Guardian, TVBEurope, Dexerto, Shelly Palmer, Motion Picture Association, The Information, Screen, Phandroid, Digit, The Wrap, PYMNTS.com, Tech in Asia, Deadline, Implicator.ai, Forbes, Android Headlines, The Verge and Reuters
Antonio Zappulla / Thomson Reuters Foundation:
The Thomson Reuters Foundation says its news brand, Context, will be “phased down”, some staffers will lose jobs, and the site will remain up as an archive — Over the past year, the world has fundamentally changed. — We are experiencing the most profound geopolitical shift in 50 years …
Bloomberg:
Meta and Snap report minimal impact from Australia's teen social media ban as it affects a small number of users who aren't high-value targets for advertisers — Move to restrict teens more likely to damage reputation than sales … Tech Across the Globe
Discussion:
WSVN-TV
New York Times:
Casey Wasserman will remain chair of the LA Olympics committee after a review of his ties to Epstein and Maxwell; multiple entertainers have left his agency — Casey Wasserman exchanged flirtatious messages over 20 years ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein.
Brendon Kleen / Awful Announcing:
Memo: The Banner in Maryland plans to expand sports staff to cover Washington, DC, teams, hiring beat reporters to cover the Nationals and Commanders, and more — Credit: Baltimore Banner; Washington Commanders; Washington Nationals — The Baltimore Banner is hoping it can fill …
Discussion:
The Banner and Sports Media Watch
Axios:
US DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater leaves, in a move seen as a win for big business over some of MAGA's populist voices; she was overseeing a Live Nation case — Gail Slater on Thursday said she is leaving the Justice Department, where she led the antitrust division.
Discussion:
Reason, Newcomer, Hypebot, The Guardian, CNN, Politico, @chuckgrassley, Digital Music News, Variety, @gailaslater, BIG by Matt Stoller, The National Pulse, @verge, @adamwren, Fox Business, @chrispavlovski, @stacyfmitchell, @sportsfanorg, @paulsteidler, @laurenshirsch, The Irish Times, @gigibsohn, @maxmmillerat, @douglaslfarrar, @ddayen, @jbsdc, Breitbart, New York Post, PitchBook, The Gateway Pundit, @karlbode.com, The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Caller, Sportico, CBS News, American Prospect, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, UPI, Raw Story, The Verge, The Information, NBC News, New York Times, The Hill, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Daily Caller, CNBC, The A.V. Club, Semafor, Deadline and Global Competition Review, more at Techmeme »
Ali Abunimah / The Electronic Intifada:
Current and ex-CPJ staffers say the nonprofit scrapped its Global Impunity Index in 2025 because Israel would have been ranked near the top or first, for years — Earlier this month, Omar Shakir stepped down from a senior role at Human Rights Watch after the group's suppression …
Discussion:
Canary, @intifada.bsky.social and Committee to Protect …
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