Marketplace

As TikTok continues to seek a truce with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the general public is getting a rare look into the negotiations. Forbes has obtained a draft of TikTok’s CFIUS agreement, and if the details of that document are accurate, the pact would give the U.S. government unprecedented influence over TikTok’s data, policies, and operations.

Source: A leaked draft of TikTok’s U.S. government agreement shows unprecedented federal oversight – Tubefilter

The deal announced last month between TikTok and Warner Music Group (WMG) is arguably the clearest sign yet that the social media platform – which has built a base of 1 billion monthly active users in its seven years of existence – is maturing into a serious part of music’s cultural and business landscape.

Source: TikTok’s Warner deal shows it’s on course to become the MTV of the 21st Century – but to do so, it needs better relations with the entire music biz

Under the pro-rata streaming model, where scale is the only thing that matters, labels are incentivised to grow their market share by any means possible. The reality is that labels can see more upside by signing a viral hit to a singles deal, than spending years developing an artist who may or may not be successful.

Source: Misaligned incentives make the music business a zero-sum game

The Writers Guild of America issued a report on Thursday calling Netflix, Amazon and Disney the “new gatekeepers” of the media business, and calling for antitrust regulators to prevent consolidation in the streaming marketplace. The report argues that Netflix, Amazon and Disney have amassed collective market power that has driven down wages and limited viewer choice.

Source: WGA Report: Disney, Amazon, and Netflix Are the ‘New Gatekeepers’ of Media

A new report suggests that white noise podcast creation has exploded so much that Spotify has considered banning the content. White noise and ambient podcasts accounted for three million daily consumption hours as of January, according to one leaked document — all boosted by Spotify’s push for what it considers ‘talk’ content vs. music. Essentially, ‘talk content’ with no words has been raking in millions of listens.

Source: Spotify’s Algorithm Favored ‘White Noise’ Podcasts

Movie distributors headed to this year’s fall film festivals hoping to buy select star-studded indie films must be prepared to agree to new contract terms from SAG-AFTRA, the union’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said Tuesday.  If a film has received a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, any potential buyer must agree to the union’s proposed new deal. This includes a chunk of streaming revenue for actors.

Source: Distributors Shopping for Movies at Fall Festivals Must Agree to New SAG-AFTRA Contract Terms

Following its $1.1 million funding round last month, metaverse studio Karta has unveiled its entry into the world of Fortnite, partnering with IP owners from music, entertainment, and sports domains to create new takes on Fortnite maps and games. Karta says this venture opens up new revenue streams for rightsholders.

Source: After raising $1.1m, metaverse studio Karta launches Fortnite studio

The cost of the individual plan for Prime subscribers will rise from $8.99 per month to $9.99 per month. This falls in line with price hikes across other DSPs and what the Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl has suggested—more price hikes are on the horizon for music streaming services. The price of the Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan will also rise from $15.99 to $16.99 per month. Annual plans will also be seeing a subsequent $10 bump across both—$99 yearly for Prime and $169 for Family.

Source: Amazon Music Unlimited Raises Prices for Prime Subscribers

Both writers and actors know that the concerns and demands of entertainment professionals can appear superficial amid a cost-of-living-crisis. However, as creators and performers incomes stretch, this is also happening in streaming TV and music streaming. A failure to fix this will lead to an exit of talent during peak demand for professional entertainment content.

Source: Why streaming and AI disruption is unlikely to have a Hollywood ending

The study, conducted by FehrAdvice & Partners AG on behalf of the SWISS MEDIA publishers’ association with oversight by leading academics, assessed the value of journalistic content on the Google search engine in Switzerland and its impact on user behavior and satisfaction, concluding that the market share of Google searches that use media content results in an estimated revenue of about $440 million per year.

Source: The Value of News Content to Google is Way More Than You Think