Marketplace

The site has spent more than a decade building an in-house agency for digital superstars, drawing ad sales, sponsorships and other revenue. The YouTube team works closely with popular video makers at the forefront of the so-called creator economy, which includes millions of podcasters, newsletter writers and videogame streamers who are drawing ever larger amounts of money.

Source: How YouTube Makes Sure Its Hitmakers Don’t Stumble

“New York Times Audio” will offer listeners an accessible and authoritative way to understand the world, the company said today. It will draw from Times podcasts and Times articles, plus third-party sources, such as New York magazine and Rolling Stone, audio formats from the Times newsroom and more.

Source: Publishing Insider: Audio Boom Continues For Publishers, ‘NYT’ Tests New App

Matthew Loeb, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, said early Wednesday that unless an agreement is reached, 60,000 union members will begin a nationwide strike against the major studios on Oct. 18 at 12:01 a.m. Such a work stoppage would be catastrophic, halting production across the U.S.

Source: IATSE Sets Strike Date for 60,000 Film and Television Workers, Ratcheting Pressure on Studios

The company isn’t offering many details about the upcoming project just yet, beyond simply saying that it will involve creating a place where its fans can buy, collect and trade NFTs across its portfolio. It also notes this platform will encourage “peer-to-peer engagement and facilitate innovative ways for users to unlock new experiences,” which signals there’s a social element to the new experience that goes beyond just the marketplace aspects.

Source: ViacomCBS gets into NFTs via a partnership with NFT startup Recur

Bored Ape Yacht Club has been a big winner of this year’s NFT market explosion, with hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of trading volume in a matter of months. Now the creators aim to expand into other media endeavors with the help of a veteran music industry executive.

Source: Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Makers Eye Expansion Into Film, TV and Music – Decrypt

The new programs will launch throughout the month of October, with the first being “Spotify: Discover This,” which arrives on October 14. This podcast will include insights on “music, podcasting, cultural moments, and trends,” and will feature a mix of music, artist interviews and other “surprises,” the company says.

Walmart’s newly launched Netflix hub — arriving ahead of the holiday-shopping season — carries a variety of toys, apparel, games, books and other products tied to shows and movies including “The Witcher,” “Stranger Things,” “Cocomelon,” “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” “Cobra Kai,” “Queer Eye,” “Nailed It!”, “Ada Twist, Scientist” and “Over the Moon.”

Source: Netflix Sets Up Shop With Walmart to Sell Merch for ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Witcher’ and More

Facebook is expanding its investment in audio initiatives with the launch of a new “Audio” destination in its mobile app in the U.S., where users will be able to discover in one place all the audio formats Facebook now hosts, including podcasts, Live Audio Rooms and short-form audio.

Source: Facebook launches an ‘Audio’ hub in the US for podcasts, live audio and short-form clips

Individual IATSE locals have gone on strike before, but, with so many locals participating, this would be the largest such action in the private sector since the 74,000-person strike at General Motors in 2007. It would shut down film and television production nationwide.

Source: Opinion | The Film Industry Wants to Keep the Status Quo? Then Shut It Down.

Universal chair Donna Langley says that the film industry is continuing to dodge and weave what the COVID-19 pandemic throws at it, but that the “new normal,” whatever it ends up being, would have happened even without a virus shutting down movie theaters across the globe.

Source: Universal Chair: Expect Box Office to Be “Down By 20 Percent” of Pre-COVID Grosses For Awhile