Meta’s enormous bet on virtual reality ended last week, with the company reportedly laying off roughly 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division — about 10% of the unit’s staff — and shutting down several VR game studios, according to The Wall Street Journal. It’s a huge reversal for a company that, just four years ago, staked its entire identity on the concept. Few are going to miss it.
Finance
BeatStars acquires ‘ethical’ generative music startup Lemonaide AI
Billed as setting “a new global standard for how artificial intelligence and music creators coexist”, the deal will see the Lemonaide team fully join BeatStars as they strive to build “the world’s first ethical, creator-owned AI music ecosystem”. The firms previously struck a strategic alliance in 2023 as they sought “to establish a precedent for ethical AI business models in the music industry”.
Source: BeatStars acquires ‘ethical’ generative music startup Lemonaide AI
Netflix Tops 325 Million Subs, Plans to Boost Content Spending 10% to $20 Billion in 2026
In addition to higher spending on originals, in 2026 Netflix plans to expand its lineup of licensed titles. Starting this month, Netflix customers will be able to watch new release live-action films under its new U.S. licensing partnership with Universal Studios. Netflix also disclosed ad revenue for the first time: In 2025, the company’s third year selling advertising, ad revenue came in at more than $1.5 billion, up more than 2.5-fold over 2024.
Source: Netflix Tops 325 Million Subscribers, Plans to Boost Content Spending 10% to $20 Billion in 2026
How Vox is using Patreon to grow reader revenue and interaction
Explainer journalism brand Vox is using creator platform Patreon to help build a “two-way relationship” with its audience. US-based Vox expanded its existing paid memberships onto Patreon in November, providing subscribers with additional video content, ad-free video and podcast libraries, livestreams and chats with Vox journalists, and unlimited access to the main Vox website.
Source: How Vox is using Patreon to grow reader revenue and interaction
Indie Financing Platform Pipeline Launches With $200M Raised
London-based Pipeline officially set sail (and disclosed its sizable war chest) today. Having operated in stealth for the past year or so, the self-described “flexible financing platform for the music and creative industries” was co-founded by former Francisco Partners tech investor Sofia Anglada, Jamie Rahamim (Aleph Capital Partners’ MD), and Matt Spetzler (who spent about two decades with Francisco until late 2024).
Source: Indie Financing Platform Pipeline Launches With $200M Raised
Google Funds AI Training for Artists as Hollywood Debates the Tech’s Role
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, said it is investing $2 million in the Sundance Institute to train more than 100,000 artists in foundational AI skills, arriving as creators and technologists push for clearer, enforceable rules governing how artificial intelligence is trained and used across the entertainment industry.
Source: Google Funds AI Training for Artists as Hollywood Debates the Tech’s Role – Decrypt
Global news industry revenue level in 2025 as publishers diversify beyond print
Global news media revenue was steady overall in 2025 according to a new estimate published by WAN-IFRA, with ‘other’ revenues growing. The report stated: “Considering the continuing structural decline of traditional revenue sources on the print side, it is clear that news publishers are innovating and investing on the digital side of the business, and increasingly in diversification.”
Source: Global news industry revenue level in 2025 as publishers diversify beyond print
Cloudflare acquires AI data marketplace Human Native
Cloudflare is acquiring artificial intelligence data marketplace Human Native, the company said Thursday, as it expands its push to develop transactions between AI developers and content creators. “Content creators deserve full control over their work, whether they want to write for humans or optimize for AI,” Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said in a release announcing the news.
Source: Cloudflare acquires AI data marketplace Human Native
Wikimedia announces new AI partnerships with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Perplexity
As part of its 25th birthday celebration, the Wikimedia Foundation announced a series of new partnerships with AI tech companies that are now customers of its commercial product, Wikimedia Enterprise. Developed by the foundation, Wikimedia Enterprise allows large-scale reuse and distribution of Wikipedia content, as well as content from other Wikimedia projects.
The Future of Music Catalog Deals: Trends Shaping Opportunities for Buyers and Sellers
There are many more buyers in the marketplace today and they bring a wide range of approaches. Some are highly disciplined, while others are focused on acquiring deals to build portfolios of assets that are not correlated to the financial markets. Some buyers concentrate on legacy-only catalogs, others target newer songwriter catalogs with go-forward songwriting arrangements attached.