The NYT aims to sell podcast subscriptions via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, requiring users to pay to access older episodes, starting Oct. for $6/mo. or $50/year (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Mediagazer: The NYT aims to sell podcast subscriptions via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, requiring users to pay to access older episodes, starting Oct. for $6/mo. or $50/year (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Top News:

Bloomberg:

TikTok says it plans to shut down TikTok Music on November 28 and will delete customer data; the app, originally called Resso, first launched in 2019— TikTok Music will go offline on Nov. 28 and customer data will be deleted, the music division said in a post on its website.
Discussion:

Ivan Mehta /
TechCrunch: ByteDance is shutting down TikTok Music globally

Coco Feng /
South China Morning Post: TikTok to close music-streaming business in November amid tough competition

Dan Whateley /
Business Insider: TikTok is abandoning its plan to take on Spotify in music streaming

Ed Carson /
@ibd_ecarson: TikTok obviously realized there is no money in people dancing on the interwebs.

Chris Stokel-Walker /
@stokel: Hands up if you ever heard of TikTok Music. No? Most people didn't. https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Rob Abelow /
@abelowrob: TikTok Music is dead. TikTok is shutting down the the potential Spotify killer worldwide. Instead, TikTok will focus on the ‘Add to Music App’ feature, which drives fans straight from discovery to consumption on their favorite streaming app.

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: TikTok Music is shutting down for good at the end of November

Tim Ingham /
Music Business Worldwide: TIKTOK TO SHUTTER MUSIC SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE TIKTOK MUSIC IN NOVEMBER

Axios:

The NYT aims to sell podcast subscriptions via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, requiring users to pay to access older episodes, starting Oct. for $6/mo. or $50/year— - “A big part of our strategy is building direct relationships with our customers,” said Ben Cotton, The Times' head of subscription growth.

Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg and @sarafischer

Discussion:

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: The New York Times to Launch Podcast Subscriptions on Spotify and Apple (Exclusive)

Ashley Carman /
Bloomberg: New York Times to Launch Podcast Subscription Plan for Shows Like ‘The Daily’

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: NEW: @nytimes to sell audio subscriptions through @ApplePodcasts & @Spotify —Similar to its deal w @AppleNews to sell @wirecutter & @TheAthletic subscriptions through that app —New $APPL & $SPOT subs will be counted towards NYT's overall sub # total https://www.axios.com/...

NBC News:

TikTok permanently removes accounts associated with the parent organizations of Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, citing “covert influence operations”— Social media rivals Meta and YouTube have announced similar suspensions of Russian state media accounts this month.

Discussion:
CNN, Engadget, Adweek, The Hill, @alenapopova and @beefeater_fella, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Olesya Dmitracova /
CNN: TikTok purges accounts tied to Russian media over ‘covert influence’ efforts ahead of US election

Lauren Irwin /
The Hill: TikTok removes accounts linked to Russian media groups for ‘engaging in covert influence operations’

Alena Popova /
@alenapopova: The Chinese-owned video hosting service TikTok has banned the accounts of Russia's state-owned propaganda outlets, Sputnik and RT International. The “No limits” partnership between China and Russia, in fact, has quite a few limits. https://www.kommersant.ru/... [image] @beefeater_fella: Who could have foreseen that China, which is one of Russia's main strategic (BRICS) partners, would follow suit by having TikTok delete RT and Sputnik's accounts but that's exactly what just happened on September 21, 2024. Sputnik reacted with fury by describing this as a [image]

New York Times:

How WhatsApp Channels, launched in late 2023, are driving traffic to digital news outlets, especially readers from outside the US, as social media traffic falls— An illustration of a man sitting on a green chair reading a newspaper called “World News” as he looks at his phone behind it.Jackson Gibbs

Discussion:
@mikeisaac, @hanaatameez

Discussion:

Rat King /
@mikeisaac: meta wants it to be much more than just a media thing — especially since they've shied away from courting publishers to the degree they did years ago — focusing on creators, organizations, etc etc but at least some publishers like the early numbers https://www.nytimes.com/...

Rat King /
@mikeisaac: for publishers, social referrals and google traffic have tanked over the past 18 months, and they're looking to other platforms for lifelines some are starting to find a glimmer of hope in a new channel — WhatsApp Channels w /@katie_robertson [image]

Hanaa' Tameez /
@hanaatameez: where....have i seen.....this story....before.... [image]

Variety:

Memo: Paramount unveils “phase two” of layoffs and says 90% of them will be complete after this round, following its August plan to cut 15% of its US workforce— Paramount Global unveiled a second wave of staff cuts Tuesday morning, part of a larger bid by the owner of CBS …

Discussion:
The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Advanced Television, Bloomberg, Next TV, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Dade Hayes /
TVNewsCheck: Paramount Initiates Next Round Of Layoffs

Hannah Miller /
Bloomberg: Paramount Cuts More Jobs as Part of Planned Reductions

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Paramount Starts New Round of U.S. Staff Reductions

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Paramount Initiates Next Round Of Layoffs In Ongoing Effort To Cut 15% Of U.S. Workforce

Press Gazette:

Reach CEO Jim Mullen says there is “too much power in the hands of platforms and their algorithms” and calls for regulation to make platforms pay for content— The chief executive of the UK's biggest commercial news publisher has called for big tech regulation so the platforms pay …

Discussion:
Liverpool Echo and HoldtheFrontPage

Discussion:

Maria Breslin /
Liverpool Echo: Why backing proud brands like the Liverpool Echo must be on the political agenda

The Verge:

Roku unveils the $100 Roku Ultra, which is 30% faster than its other streaming players and has Wi-Fi 6, HDMI 2.1, Dolby Atmos, the Voice Remote Pro, and more— One day after the Google TV Streamer hit stores, Roku is announcing its own latest streaming player.

Discussion:

Steven Cohen /
Business Insider: The new Roku Ultra promises faster performance. Here's how to buy the latest version of our favorite streaming device.

Henry T. Casey /
CNN: The Roku Ultra 2024 makes one of our favorite streamers even better

Jacob Krol /
TechRadar: Roku's new Ultra streamer is its fastest one yet, and the first to support all HDR formats

Anna Washenko /
Engadget: Roku says its new Ultra streaming box is 30 percent faster

Ryan Epps /
Tom's Guide: Roku Ultra (2024) just announced with 30% faster performance — watch out, Google TV Streamer

John Finn /
Streaming Better: Roku Ultra (2024) Is Roku's Most Powerful Player, And You Can Buy It Right Now

Phil Nickinson /
Digital Trends: Roku OS 14 is for the kids, and the voice control users

Ben Patterson /
TechHive: Roku's refreshed Ultra streamer gets a welcome speed boost

Faisal Rasool /
How-To Geek: The New Roku Ultra Has Arrived

Phil Nickinson /
Digital Trends: A newer, faster Roku Ultra rolls out for 2024

Sean P. Aune /
The Nerdy: Roku Ultra receives major upgrades for 2024

Max Buondonno /
The Shortcut: The new Roku Ultra takes a jab at Google TV Streamer with faster chip and new remote

Ben Schoon /
9to5Google: Roku Ultra (2024) takes on Google TV Streamer with a backlit remote and more

Raymond McCain /
Cord Cutters News: Roku Announces a New Roku Ultra 2024

The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount's Pluto TV and M6+ strike a partnership that includes content channels and ad sales in France; French TV company M6 launched the AVOD platform in May— The strategic commercial and editorial partnership is designed to “scale and expand their free streaming and digital businesses in France.”

Discussion:
Advanced Television, Variety, TVNewsCheck, WORLD SCREEN, TVBEurope and Deadline

Discussion:

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: Pluto TV Pacts With M6+

Matthew Corrigan /
TVBEurope: Pluto TV and M6+ team up with strategic alliance in France

TechCrunch:

WP Engine sends a cease-and-desist letter to Automattic to “retract false, harmful, and disparaging statements”, after Matt Mullenweg called it a “cancer”— WordPress hosting service WP Engine on Monday sent a cease-and-desist letter to Automattic …

Discussion:

Matt Mullenweg /
@photomatt: Heard a rumor @wpengine is trying to remove the news feed from wp-admin dashboards so people don't see my post about them, can anyone confirm or deny?

Matt Mullenweg /
@photomatt: @wpengine “I wanted to let you know that WP Engine is modifying the WordPress dashboard's news widget to strip out any negative comments about them. We had a couple of users where the website broke because of that.”

Justin Ferriman /
@justinferriman: @wpengine In the days leading up to Mr. Mullenweg's September 20th keynote address at the WordCamp US Convention, Automattic suddenly began demanding that WP Engine pay Automattic large sums of money, and if it didn't, Automattic would wage a war against WP Engine. Yikes. 😬

Andrey Savchenko /
@rarst: my cynical read is that A8c business model of taking investor money to “partner with WordPress” is drying up. blackmail to “license” a trademark is really scratching on the bottom of a barrel for last shreds of its value.

Matt Paulson /
@mattpaulsonsd: Matt Mullenweg is effing with the wrong company. WordaPress is open source software anyone can use and implement, managed by a non profit foundation. Matt is just crabby that someone else figured out how to make more money off WordPress than he did.

Jacob Wolf /
@jacobwolf: I'm sort of on WP Engine's side in this argument... Like Vercel, they certainly take advantage of developers' lack of know how (same could be said for many SaaS apps). But they've also contributed a ton to open source and making WordPress better — ACF, WPGraphQL, etc.

Tom Wentworth /
@twentworth12: All of this over WP Engine turning off a setting? Weird.

Jason Cohen /
@asmartbear: This is the entire cease and desist letter sent to Matt Mullenweg and the board of Automattic (but not the foundation, as Matt erroneously claimed earlier today). Very sad for the community that we have to screenshot and share the truth, but the misinformation has to stop.

Katie Keith /
@katiekeithbarn2: I'd love to read @automattic or @photomatt's response to this well-written letter so that we can see both sides to the story. So far, I haven't seen ANY legally valid claims against WP Engine - just nonsense about moral obligations, non-trademarked terms, post revisions, etc. r/Wordpress: Get the Reddit app — Scan this QR code to download the app now — Or check it out in the app stores

WP Engine /
@wpengine: Today WP Engine sent what is called a “cease and desist” letter to Automattic demanding that Automattic and its CEO Matt Mullenweg stop making and retract false, harmful and disparaging statements against WP Engine. In response to misinformation he has disseminated about the

RELATED:

TechCrunch:
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg: WP Engine is a “cancer to WordPress” and profits off the confusion between the WordPress project and WP Engine's paid services

Discussion:
Sherwood News, WordPress News, Search Engine Journal, @varunkrish, @michaelbishop.me and Matt Mullenweg

Discussion:

Matt Mullenweg /
WordPress News: WP Engine is not WordPress

Roger Montti /
Search Engine Journal: WordPress Co-Founder Mullenweg Sparks Backlash

Varun Krishnan /
@varunkrish: Why is @photomatt suddenly worked up? Saw this and his recent tweets against WP Engine. What's happening ? https://wordpress.org/...

Michael Bishop /
@michaelbishop.me: lol. lmaof even [embedded post]

Reuters:

Source: Meta plans to launch the voices of Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, John Cena, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key for its Meta AI chatbot at Connect this week— Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O) is planning to announce this week that it has secured deals with actors including Judi Dench …

Discussion:
MEDIANAMA and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

CNBC:

Warner Bros. Discovery partners with Google to add its “caption AI” tool built on Vertex AI to Max to automatically generate captions for unscripted programming— Warner Bros. Discovery is partnering with Google to integrate the internet giant's AI technology …

Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @dfwsam.bsky.social, Google Cloud and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Warner Bros. Discovery Inks AI Deal With Google For Captions on Programming @dfwsam.bsky.social: This makes me reconsider my subscription to your services. — You may want to do so too. [embedded post] Google Cloud: Warner Bros. Discovery Deploys AI-Powered Captioning Solution Built Using Google Cloud AI

Thomas Kurian /
The Keyword: Customers are putting Gemini to work

TechCrunch:

TikTok rolls out its redesigned Subscription feature, which lets creators offer three tiers, to eligible creators in select regions, including the UK and the US— TikTok announced on Monday that its redesigned “Subscription” monetization offering is rolling out to eligible creators in select regions …

Discussion:
TikTok, TVNewsCheck, Music Ally, Mashable, @wildtiktokss, @liahaberman, @zachbussey, @tiktokcomms, MediaPost, ZDNET and Fast Company

Discussion:
TikTok: Subscription Expansion: Enabling More Creators to Enhance Relationships With Their Communities

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: TikTok subscriptions add messages, perks and exclusive content

Elena Cavender /
Mashable: TikTok brings its paid subscriptions to more creators @wildtiktokss: subscriptions are now available on my page! they're only $1 subscribers will get daily exclusive posts and other memes/shitposts. I will also do giveaways and frequent shoutouts to the main feed for subscribers and talk about life i will also follow back all subs and feel free [image]

Lia Haberman /
@liahaberman: TikTok announced its updated “Subscription” feature is rolling out to more eligible creators in select markets Creators will be able offer followers exclusive access to premium perks, unique experiences, and a members-only community for a monthly fee https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ... [image]

Zach Bussey /
@zachbussey: TikTok is expanding Subscriptions with new features. - Open to All eligible Creators, not just LIVE. - Three Tiers New Perks: - Private Comm Channels - Exclusive Content - Unique Stickers + Evolving Badges - Custom Perks (Discord Role, Shoutouts) #StreamerNews #TOSgg [image] @tiktokcomms: Our newly expanded Subscription feature launches today in select regions, with more to come. The redesigned feature will enable more creators to offer their followers exclusive perks, unique experiences, and access to a members-only community. Read more: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/ ... [image]

Cesar Cadenas /
ZDNET: TikTok rolls out expanded Subscription packages letting fans unlock exclusive content

Jessica Bursztynsky /
Fast Company: TikTok expands its subscription feature for creators

The Verge:

Spotify rolls out its AI Playlist feature in beta to Premium subscribers in the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand, after launching in the UK and Australia— Spotify is expanding an AI feature that creates customized playlists from your text descriptions to additional English-speaking regions.

Discussion:
TechCrunch, Spotify, MobileSyrup, Engadget, @spotifynews, Mashable, iPhone in Canada Blog and MSPoweruser, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Lauren Forristal /
TechCrunch: Spotify's AI playlist feature rolls out to the U.S. and more markets Spotify: AI Playlist Is Rolling Out in Beta in the US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand—Get Started With These Pro Tips

Jonathan Lamont /
MobileSyrup: Spotify expands AI Playlist beta feature to Canada @spotifynews: Turn your most creative ideas into playlists. Meet AI Playlist, rolling out in beta for Premium users in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand starting today. https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ...

Elena Cavender /
Mashable: Spotify wants to make you an AI Playlist for every occasion

Steve Vegvari /
iPhone in Canada Blog: Spotify AI Playlists Arrive in Canada as Part of Beta Rollout

Rafly Gilang /