Top News:
Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Spotify closes up 13% after announcing new features and 2030 guidance, forecasting a compound annual growth rate in the mid-teens and gross margins of 35%-40% — Spotify shares jumped 13% on Thursday after the music streaming platform laid out guidance for 2030 and reached an artificial intelligence deal …
Discussion:
MediaNama, Spotify, Andres Guadamuz on LinkedIn, Miles Lennon on LinkedIn, Martin Husovec on LinkedIn, Financial Times, Tech Times, @carnage4life@mas.to, Dexerto, CNET, TechCrunch, The Next Web, Digital Music News, Baller Alert, Rolling Stone, Sherwood News, Digital Trends, Barrett Media, RTÉ, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones Newswires, Blockonomi, Reuters, Spotify, Music Ally, Billboard, The Verge and Variety, more at Techmeme »
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Jem Aswad / Variety:
Spotify and UMG plan to let Premium users create AI covers and remixes using music from participating UMG artists as a paid add-on, without giving a launch date — Spotify and Universal Music Group have announced a major recorded-music and music-publishing licensing agreements …
Discussion:
Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Universal Music Group N.V., Music Business Worldwide, Music Week, The Tab, Mumbrella, SFGATE, Crypto Briefing, The Boston Globe, The Mac Observer, Mediaweek, BMI, Decrypt, The Guardian, The Deep View, RGM, WeRSM, Thurrott, The A.V. Club, Spotify, @angelluiscolon.com and Consequence, more at Techmeme »
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Spotify Labs launches Studio, a NotebookLM-like desktop app to generate private, AI-powered podcasts, in research preview across 20+ markets — One of the common features for companies to build in the age of AI is to connect services like email, calendar, documents, and notes to create a daily brief in text or audio format.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, Android Authority, Podnews, Business Standard, @alexpaknadel.bsky.social, @ktompkinsii.bsky.social, Digital Trends, Spotify, Android Police, How-To Geek, Implicator.ai, 9to5Google, The Verge, TechRadar, DataverseNO and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Spotify partners with Live Nation to launch Reserved, a new feature that sets aside tickets for the most dedicated fans, starting with Premium users in the US — The streaming service will use streams and shares to determine an artist's most dedicated fans and set aside pairs of tickets …
Discussion:
Stephen Chilton on LinkedIn, Digital Music News, TODAY.com, Digital Trends, Dexerto, Consequence, @carnage4life.bsky.social, Tom's Guide, NBC News, How-To Geek, iPhone in Canada, KTFT, Hypebot, NBC Bay Area, CNET, Music Business Worldwide, Deadline, The Tab, TechRadar, Mashable, @paleofuture.bsky.social, Bloomberg, Spotify, Billboard and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Spotify says it has 1M+ subscriptions to Audiobook+, which is on track for $100M in ARR, and unveils an ElevenLabs-powered audiobook self-publishing tool
Discussion:
The Indian Express, The Hollywood Reporter, WeRSM, Billboard, Benzinga, 9to5Mac, Spotify and Digital Music News
Kierra Frazier / CBS News:
After 11 years and over 1,800 episodes, Stephen Colbert hosted The Late Show's finale, which ran 17 minutes longer than usual, ending the 33-year franchise — Add CBS News on Google — Stephen Colbert said goodbye to “The Late Show” Thursday night in the franchise's finale after a 33-year run …
Discussion:
YouTube, Associated Press, HuffPost, Mediaite, Straight Arrow, @danprimack, Forbes, El País, CNN, HELLO!, New York Post, @barackobama.bsky.social, Deadline, @benstiller, @jonnymicro, Bloomberg, WXIA-TV, @newsblast17, @spenceralthouse, @amyklobuchar, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, LateNighter, The Wrap, RTÉ, @redsteeze, Yahoo Entertainment, Reuters, Reality Tea, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @katiecouric@threads.com, @hillaryclinton@threads.com, @benandjerrys@threads.com, @catsonacouch@threads.com, WBIR-TV, Deseret News, The Gateway Pundit, Suggest, Cele|bitchy and Fox News
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Felix Gillette / Bloomberg:
As Stephen Colbert hosts the last episode of The Late Show, analysts attribute the ratings collapse of late-night talk shows to the rise of YouTube and podcasts
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost, The Wrap, YouTube, CinemaBlend, Slate, New York Times, Reality Tea, Deadline, @chrislhayes.bsky.social, @petersagal.bsky.social, Deadline, LaineyGossip, New York Post, NBC News, Dan Sullivan on LinkedIn, People, Fortune, USA Today, Zeteo, Hollywood Life, @steveberkowitz.bsky.social, Variety, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter, Just Jared, @opposablethumbs.bsky.social, CNN, New Republic, ME, Los Angeles Times, The Independent, Mediaite, The A.V. Club, Rolling Stone, Associated Press, LateNighter and Cord Cutters News
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Imax is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies as potential buyers — High-end movie screen company's search for a buyer comes as premium theatrical experiences are growing faster than overall box office — IMAX is exploring a sale and has approached entertainment companies …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Barron's Online, PetaPixel, Screen, The A.V. Club, CNBC, Reuters, The Wrap, @mgsiegler.com, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, Forbes, ScreenRant and Benzinga
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Source: Penske Media is in talks to acquire Vox Media's unsold brands, including Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, Popsugar, and The Dodo, in an all-or-nothing deal — Penske Media is in line to acquire the brands left over from Vox Media's breakup, including Eater, The Verge, SB Nation, Popsugar …
Discussion:
Vox Media, @markstenberg3, @markstenberg3, @adweek, @markstenberg3, @markstenberg3, Awful Announcing, @ncrabbithole.com, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, The Business of Fashion, Business Insider, The Daily Wire, @ampressman@journa.host, @harrymccracken.com, Adweek, Capital Brief, New York Times, Business Insider and Variety
Matthew Jordan / The Conversation:
A look at the history of US radio and how it grew with the idea that media should serve the public interest, as CBS Radio News goes silent on Friday night — When CBS Radio News goes silent on May 22, 2026, Americans will lose access to news programming they've tuned into from their living rooms …
Discussion:
@wizardkitten.bsky.social, @pluribus-unum.co, @pluribus-unum.co, CBS News, RTDNA, @TheConversationUS … and Radio World
Globe and Mail:
Canada's CRTC formalizes rules requiring streamers to contribute 15% of Canadian revenue to support domestic programming, up from a 5% baseline set in 2024 — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has formalized new rules for streamers that will force …
Benoit Berthelot / Bloomberg:
Critterz, a feature-length AI cartoon, missed its planned 2026 Cannes Film Festival debut after OpenAI discontinued its Sora video generation tool in March — Critterz, a feature-length cartoon intended to showcase how OpenAI's video-generation capabilities could revolutionize filmmaking …
Discussion:
The Next Web and Wired
Christiana Sciaudone / A Media Operator:
Q&A with Hearst's Tim O'Rourke, VP for editorial innovation and AI strategy, on how Hearst's DevHub team of about 12 people collaborates with local newsrooms — We spoke with Hearst's Tim O'Rourke, vice president, editorial innovation and AI strategy, in charge of DevHub …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
ElevenLabs, which aims to build an all-in-one AI voice app, licensed 200K human-voiced audiobooks from major publishers, available in ElevenReader for $11/mo. — ElevenLabs is taking on Spotify and Audible in a looming battle over becoming the go-to platform for audiobooks — Welcome back to Soundbite.
Discussion:
The Wrap
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