By banning the platform, the government risks prioritizing alleged national security interests at the expense of its antitrust agenda. Meta and Google, fighting lawsuits from competition enforcers seeking to break up the companies, stand to gain the most if TikTok is banned. Users likely would flock to the only viable alternatives in Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Source: Biden’s TikTok Dilemma: Go After China or Pursue Social Media Antitrust Claims
For Apple and Amazon, the move is not exactly a benevolent bid to help out beleaguered movie theaters; it’s a way to promote their respective streaming services. Ideally, the more attention that a movie gets on the big screen, the more people will want to see what else is available online — and sign up for (or keep paying) monthly subscriptions to AppleTV+ or Prime Video.
Since the last time the U.S. government considered banning TikTok in 2020, the app has evolved from a social platform supporting content creators to an entertainment powerhouse. A ban now would threaten not the livelihoods of TikTok’s biggest stars and thousands of small businesses, it could deal a massive blow to the entertainment industry, forcing movie studios, record labels, casting directors, Hollywood agents, and actors to radically shift the way they do business.
Most audiobooks are narrated renditions of already-published print or ebooks, but the category’s success has led to increased experimentation, with “audiobook originals” or “audio first” productions gaining traction — and fans. But defining what makes an audiobook an “original” is not easy. Audible co-opted the term early on to describe any title that was its “exclusive,” regardless of whether it had a print life as well.
In a video posted to the app, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said that the number of users in the US works out to “almost half of the US coming to TikTok.” TikTok also said it has spent $1.5 billion over the last two years in setting up TikTok US Data Security and in building a comprehensive framework to protect American users’ data.
The video game live streaming platform, in a blog post on Monday, said the decision to let go of “over 400 people… was incredibly difficult and one we did not make without considerable thought.” Twitch has been intertwined with the music industry in recent years. Twitch has existing partnerships with independent label agencies like Merlin and with major record labels like Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, as well as with music publishers.
Source: Twitch cuts over 400 roles amid widespread layoffs at parent company Amazon
While 2021 saw an 18.5% growth, largely due to an increase in streaming numbers as the world waited at home for the pandemic to lift, a growth in global streaming numbers powered the past year’s lift, which showed total trade revenues for year at $26.2 billion. Subscription audio streaming revenues increased by 10.3% to $12.7 billion, and there were 589 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2022, according to the report.
Source: Global Music Revenue Growth Slowed in 2022, But Still Rose 9% to $26.2 Billion
Blockbuster, once the number one place to get a movie to watch, is now done to just one location that just won’t die. Now it seems like DISH may be up to something with Blockbuster once again. Recently DISH, the parent company behind Blockbuster, updated the Blockbuster website with a new message that just says “we are working on rewinding your movie.”
Source: Blockbuster’s Website is Returning From The Dead | Cord Cutters News
The drop in NFT trading volumes from $74 million to $36 million, as reported by DappRadar, shows how much the market was affected by the bank’s collapse. This decline in trading volume was accompanied by a 27.9% drop in daily NFT sales count between March 9 and March 11. The decrease in NFT trading volumes and sales counts is a cause for concern, as it indicates a lack of confidence in the market.
Source: NFT Trading Volumes Plunge After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
Following a spectacular year of growth in 2021, global recorded music revenue growth slowed significantly in 2022 due to the combined impact of global economic headwinds and growth slowdown in mature streaming markets. Context, though, is everything – not many industries can deliver solid growth while the global economy is in turmoil, ad markets are falling and many emerging tech sectors are in crisis.