Top News:
Jeff Benson / Decrypt:
An NFT combining Edward Snowden's image and pages of a court ruling on surveillance sold for $5.45M in Ethereum; proceeds go to Freedom of the Press Foundation — An NFT artwork created by Edward Snowden has sold for $5.4 million in Ethereum. — “Stay Free” portrays the NSA whistleblower …
Discussion:
@snowden, @snowden, Engadget, @trevortimm, @kimdotcom, @haydenzadams, Freedom of the Press …, Gizmodo, @freedomofpress and The Verge
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Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
AP will soon begin auctioning off NFT-backed digital art files based on iconic photos and event coverage; Time magazine is exploring more blockchain integration — The New York Times, Time, and the AP have racked up six-figure sales of digital assets that could be a future revenue stream—or the next bubble to burst.
Discussion:
Decrypt, @miriamelder, @joshsternberg, @miriamelder, @mlcalderone and @charlottetklein
The New York Times Company:
NYT's Choire Sicha is stepping down as Styles editor to become a senior editor working on expanding the paper's newsletter portfolio — After a great run leading the Styles section, Choire is taking on a new challenge to help expand our newsletter portfolio. Read more in this note from Dean Baquet, Joe Kahn and Sam Sifton.
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
In a letter to artists, Apple says it pays a penny per stream, roughly double Spotify, which pays an average of about one-third to half a penny per stream — Streaming services open up about artist payouts, seeking to win credibility and subscribers — Apple Music told artists it pays …
Discussion:
Variety, @tedgioia, @joeyquits, @claudiusboller, @rationalwalk, @firstcom_music, @artsjournalnews, Lefsetz Letter, ScreenRant, @lanceulanoff, @riegerreport, @ethanwsj, Gizmodo, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Rolling Stone, Engadget, Insider, The Wrap, The Verge, AppleInsider and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
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Jem Aswad / Variety:
Looking at payment per stream metrics for music streaming services can be misleading when considering artist pay, as many factors determine streaming royalties — Early Friday, Apple Music sent a carefully worded letter to artists, music labels and publishers that briefly explained …
Discussion:
9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Firefox and major Chromium browsers like Edge, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi are not joining FLoC, Google's proposed ad technology to replace third-party cookies — Brave, Vivaldi, Edge, and Mozilla are all out — Google is going it alone with its proposed advertising technology to replace third-party cookies.
Discussion:
Digiday, @techjournalist, @backlon, @backlon, @martinsfp, Dozen Worthy Reads, @swodinsky, @samhulick, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and @katekayereports, more at Techmeme »
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Crypto-focused media startup The Block says it has bought out all non-employee shareholders as it wants “to be disentangled” from VCs to cover them without bias — The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media startup, tells Axios that it has bought out its non-employee shareholders …
Discussion:
@danprimack, @dogetoshi, @alex, @mayazi, @bobbyong, @cmsholdings, @jameswester, @matt_odell, @tanayamac, @dj and @ryan_browne_
Michael Grothaus / Fast Company:
Simon & Schuster says it won't distribute the book written by one of the police officers who shot Breonna Taylor; Post Hill Press says it will still publish it — Publishing giant Simon & Schuster has announced it will not distribute the book written by one of the police officers …
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Reuters is introducing a paywall: after registration and a free preview period, subscriptions will cost $34.99/month; it also plans to launch newsletters — Reuters will begin charging for access to its website as it tries to capture a slice of the digital subscription business.
Discussion:
@nytimes, Nieman Lab, Reuters News Agency, @josephfcox, @felixsalmon, @rasmus_kleis, @birdyword, American Press Institute, @jackmurphyrgr, @joannachiu, @mathewi, @gilmerhealthlaw, Reuters, @esotericcd, @janecoaston, @dlind, @pwnallthethings, @esotericcd, @inteldoge, @justiceputnam, @fbihop, @gitagovinda, @vinncent, @_will_brown, @jessebenn, @cenkuygur, @wagatwe, @ryanatrbm, @film_girl, @dnvolz, @alex, @film_girl, @karlbode, @rafat, @kitoconnell, @doubleeph, @genepark, @jamesrbuk, @fawfulfan, @mmasnick, @samir_madani, @stephennellis, @ourobororoboruo, @selenalarson, @mradamtaylor, @owillis, @jenwunder, @jeffjarvis, @alexweprin, @realbengilbert, The Wrap, The Verge, New York Post, MediaPost, Mediaite, Variety and The Hill
Katherine Maher / Diff:
Katherine Maher, Wikimedia Foundation's executive director, writes a letter of thanks to the community as she steps down after about five years in the job — It has been my life's joy and pleasure to be a part of this movement with you for the past seven years.
Discussion:
@wikimedia, @krmaher and @tarakiyee
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
LA Times is launching a daily podcast, The Times, starting May 3, joining a slew of other outlets; it is also adding subscriber-only feeds to some podcasts — When the Los Angeles Times debuts “The Times: Daily News from the L.A. Times” next month, the newspaper publisher will be far …
Discussion:
@steakscience, @niemanlab, @gustavoarellano and Hot Pod News
Annie Linskey / Washington Post:
White House is offering a weekly “virtual” slot in the briefing room to regional reporters and has begun monthly briefings for regional outlets — President Biden's White House is launching a new strategy of focusing more on local and specialty media, offering a weekly “virtual” …
Discussion:
@jenmolina46, @paigehill46, @annielinskey, @seanspicer and The Hill
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