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Cory Doctorow says he's selling a third audiobook via Kickstarter after refusing to consent to Amazon's DRM for Audible, which gets 90% of genre audiobook sales — Red Team Blues is my next novel, a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller; it's a major title for my publishers Tor Books …
Discussion:
@doctorow, @doctorow, @benoonbenoon, @sivavaid, @isislovecruft, @anatosaurus, @wrong_shon, @matthewstoller, @marietjeschaake, @amandapalmer, @ip_policy, @rondeibert, @swodinsky, @pomeranian99, @kdnyhan@social.esmarconf.org, @rcalo, @internetarchive, @mlsif, @stevesilberman and @ryanqnorth

A look at local news publishers' views on grants and government funding: one skeptic views tech company grants as “business-building projects”, not philanthropy — Publishers report revenue diversification, philanthropy and public funding key to sustainability
Discussion:
Washington Post, @robatkinsonitif, @viacristiano, @localnewsini and Local News Initiative

Sources: at News Media Alliance meetings in recent weeks, publishing executives discussed their content being used to train AI and how they might be compensated — Media executives want compensation for use of their content in ChatGPT, Bing and Bard — Bing With AI: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Why Search Is Changed Forever
Discussion:
@dinasrinivasan, @shashidigital, @jackmarshall, @cameronwilson, @jbenton, @lilianedwards, @niemanlab, @adamostrow, @jessicalessin and @asharma

Sources: Apple considers bidding for the streaming rights to a range of English soccer games, including showing Premier League games in the UK, following Amazon — Apple Inc. is considering bidding for the streaming rights to a range of English football games, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
9to5Mac and Macworld, more at Techmeme »

Memo: Spotify has spent less than 10% of its $100M Creator Equity Fund, announced in February 2022 to promote diversity in music after the Joe Rogan controversy — Spotify Technology SA's $100 million Creator Equity Fund, designed to promote diversity in music and podcasts following controversial comments …
Discussion:
@ashleyrcarman, @steph_guerrero, Digiday, @jbfromdc89, @bsindia, @karenattiah, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @business, @blackamazon, The Information, @flynnwaslike, @doctorjonpaul, @charlespulliam, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @andijarvis, @exavierpope, Engadget and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »

MoffettNathanson predicts less spending on streaming TV shows and movies in 2023, especially by Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, and NBCUniversal — The number of new, original scripted series may start to shrink this year or next after hitting a record high in 2022, analysts warn.
Discussion:
@sarafischer

A look at the exiled journalists and outlets from South Sudan, Eritrea, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mexico, Belarus, and Russia covering their countries — As press freedoms around the globe erode, journalists are building networks outside their home countries to continue reporting

Q&A with Center for Cooperative Media Research Director Sarah Stonbely residents' top needs from local news outlets, especially calendars of municipal meetings — Blairstown, Paterson, and Trenton are three very different communities in New Jersey, but when Sarah Stonbely …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @spj_tweets and @aliciak2010
Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
JAF Communications acquires DC-based Grid and plans to integrate the news site into The Messenger before launching the digital news media company in May 2023 — Inbox: New media startup the Messenger has acquired Grid News https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Press Gazette, @jayrosen_nyu, @clairehoworth, @froomkin, @om, @jbenton, @sarafischer, @kailijoy, @learmonth and @jbenton

Ubisoft unveils Ghostwriter, an internal AI tool saving its scriptwriters time by creating first drafts and more realistic non-player character interactions — Ubisoft Ghostwriter is described by the company as ‘an AI tool’ — Ubisoft, the publishers behind Assassin's Creed …
RELATED:
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Sources: the WGA proposes letting writers use AI to write scripts without sharing credit or residuals, after previously considering regulating AI use in writing
Sources: the WGA proposes letting writers use AI to write scripts without sharing credit or residuals, after previously considering regulating AI use in writing
Discussion:
The Verge, The Guardian, @techwontsaveus, @sandeepparikh, Los Angeles Times, @resnikoff, Gizmodo, Quartz, @tedhope, Deadline, Insider, ABC7, @filmupdates, @cadebrigade, @jsjdarling, @bensolohope and @louisathelast

Sources: Meta rehires veteran manager Nick Grudin, who left to join NFT startup Dapper Labs in August 2022, to oversee media company and creator relationships — Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg's effort to cut back on middle managers isn't stopping the company hiring more middle managers.
Discussion:
@sizpatel, @pkafka and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Newsmax and DirecTV announce an agreement to restore the conservative network to satellite TV, U-verse, and DirecTV Stream this week; terms were not disclosed — DirecTV's dispute with conservative network Newsmax — which turned bitter when the small channel enlisted support from Republican politicians …
Discussion:
@brianstelter, The Hollywood Reporter, Breitbart, TVNewser, @jbflint, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, @oliverdarcy, New York Daily News, Next TV, Ars Technica, MediaPost, PCMag UK, CBS News, CNBC, The Wrap, CNN, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Streamable, The Daily Beast, Deadline, IndieWire, The Hill and Cord Cutters News

Amazon introduces new Fire TVs and the cheaper TV lineup 2-Series, and says 200M+ Fire TV devices have been sold — Amazon announced today that it has sold a total of over 200 million Fire TV devices. That number is a combination of Fire TV streamers, third-party TVs that run Fire TV software …
Discussion:
About Amazon, Variety, Screen Rant, Insider, Engadget, Light Reading, The Streamable, PCMag UK, Media Play News and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »