In the wake of a massive stock slide triggered by a subscriber dip during the first quarter, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, head of global film Scott Stuber and head of global television Bela Bajaria have launched a charm offensive, stressing to top creators and agents that they will continue to spend aggressively to make and market movies and shows.
Source: Netflix Has a Message for Hollywood: We’re Still Spending Money
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are going into business with Audible, the Amazon-owned audio storytelling platform. The deal comes after the Obamas’ exclusive podcast pact with Spotify, originally inked in 2019, came to an end. Spotify says it declined to renew the deal; according to sources, the Obamas wanted their podcast programming to be distributed as widely as possible and not exclusive to Spotify.
Source: Obamas’ Higher Ground Inks First-Look Deal With Audible After Ending Spotify Pact
Consolidation and the accelerating push into advertising are rapidly turning the power structure behind streaming into something more resembling traditional television, or the monopolistic tech sector, than some radical new business model. One example: New requirements being implemented by Roku and other major connected platform players for free, ad-supported streaming service (FAST) partners.
Source: Video Insider: Are Independent FASTs Already Headed For The Endangered Species Watch List?
This past week’s NFT sales across 18 different blockchains saw approximately $184,417,851 in sales, but that’s 17.33% lower than the $223,085,710 recorded the week prior. $151 million of the NFTs sold this past week stemmed from the Ethereum blockchain network but ETH-based NFT sales slipped over 18% this week. Monthly ETH-based NFT sales are down 76.38%.
Subscription streaming video is cooling down from torrid growth rates seen in 2020 and ’21 — fueled by pandemic lockdowns — but is still experiencing healthy expansion in the U.S., one of the segment’s most mature markets. In 2022, SVOD services in the United States will generate revenue of $25.32 billion, up 13% from last year, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022–2026 report, released Monday.
Source: U.S. Subscription VOD Revenue Growth Slowing to 13% in 2022, Hitting $25 Billion: PwC Report
A new report from Kantar Research claims that more than one million UK subscribers have cancelled their music streaming services in Q1 2022. The report also finds a notable decline in the number of younger individuals with music streaming subscriptions across the country. Unsurprisingly, many cite a need to save money as the driving force behind their cancellation.
Source: Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music Lose 1+ Million Music Subscribers
Goldman Sachs just released the most bullish music industry report imaginable. But how believable are the numbers? Perhaps the industry in 2030 will be even bigger, buoyed by assets and innovations we can’t even conceptualize today. But the reality is there are simply too many unknowns in play, especially across such a substantial timeframe and in such a fast-moving industry.
According to an announcement published today (June 16), the partnership “aims to facilitate music licensing and compliance within the global app marketplace.” Songclip claims to be the world’s only patented music clip company. The deal with the NMPA comes just three days after Songclip announced a multi-year global strategic partnership with Universal Music Group.
This is unquestionably a boom area for the business and every week brings some new NFT launch that has generated some seriously eye-bursting sums of money (while creating what is claimed to be the world’s first NFT music label) or stands as a serious strategy statement linked to Web3 in general and NFTs in particular. Yet there is a duplicity cracking open at the very centre of the music NFT gold rush that risks soiling the entire enterprise.
Just two years ago, many were calling this the “Golden age of Streaming,” as billions of dollars were poured into content development creating a steady stream of binge-worthy series. But today’s fight for subscribers, or the “streaming wars” as some are calling them, is the beginning of a shift in Hollywood that will change the landscape of who makes content and how it gets distributed.
Source: Netflix’s setbacks are the canary in the coal mine for streamers