This May Be the “Moment” To Rewrite Copyright Law, Says US Copyright Office Boss
The U.S. Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter told Senate lawmakers that the Supreme Court’s decision in the major labels v. Cox case may require a rewrite of copyright law. The ruling sharply narrowed the scope of secondary liability for internet service providers, holding them accountable only when they design services to facilitate infringement or actively encourage it. Perlmutter suggested Congress could codify the doctrine of contributory infringement to restore incentives for ISPs to curb piracy. The music industry welcomes reform, while the tech sector warns of heightened legal exposure.
What Vinyl Boom? Gen Z Is Driving a Surge in CDs
Compact discs, long deemed obsolete, are experiencing a measurable resurgence driven by Gen Z listeners. Disc Makers reports CD revenue up 9% year‑to‑date, with April up 18% and May up 24% versus last year. Teens and college students favor CDs because...
YouTube Launches Matchmaking Program to Connect Creators with Advertisers for Upfront Sponsorship Deals on Upcoming Shows
YouTube introduced a matchmaking platform that links creators directly with advertisers for upfront sponsorships on upcoming shows, a departure from its usual post‑performance payment model. The initial rollout features more than two dozen series starring personalities such as Trevor Noah,...
The Grammys To Simulcast Across ABC, Hulu & Disney+
During Disney’s Upfront, the Recording Academy announced the 2027 Grammy Awards will be simulcast live on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 7, 2027. This marks the first time the ceremony will air on ABC...
Stingray Likes The Sound Of CTV (And Retail Too)
Stingray, known for music distribution across FAST channels, in‑auto and in‑store audio, is expanding its advertising portfolio into connected‑TV (CTV) and retail media. The company showcases its strategy in a video series filmed on its yacht, where CRO David Purdy...
This Is Lorelei Signs to Matador, Announces Tour
Indie rock project This Is Lorelei, led by Nate Amos, has officially signed to Matador Records, joining his other band Water From Your Eyes on the label. The deal coincides with the announcement of a sprawling summer‑fall tour that kicks...
How UEFA’s €1 Billion Sponsorship Boom Could Push European Football Further Apart
UEFA’s club competitions are set to generate more than €1 billion (≈$1.08 billion) in annual sponsorship revenue starting next season, driven by new high‑value deals with AB InBev, Pepsi and a prospective Nike partnership. The revamped commercial structure, managed by the UEFA‑UC3...
Free Bandcamp Alternative Subvert Launches with 22K Members
Subvert.fm, a cooperatively owned music marketplace, launched publicly with 22,742 artist and supporter members. The platform eliminates mandatory platform fees, letting creators keep 100% of sales after standard payment‑processor charges, and relies on optional fan contributions for sustainability. Governance is...
Subvert Launches as an Artist-Owned Alternative Co-Op to Streaming Services & Bandcamp
Subvert, an artist‑owned cooperative music marketplace, launched on May 12, 2026, positioning itself as an alternative to streaming services and Bandcamp. The platform charges zero percent platform fees, letting fans optionally tip 5‑20 percent to fund operations. At launch, more than 14,000 artists,...
What Is Multi-Dimensionality? In Music, It May Be Coming Back.
Multi-dimensionality—engaging with music beyond audio—has resurfaced as younger listeners seek tangible experiences. MIDiA’s survey shows Gen Z leads the vinyl comeback, often buying multiple versions for display and touch. K‑pop innovators are marrying physical merch with NFC‑enabled apps, offering liner...
The OS Wars Are A Defining Test Of OEM Power
The article argues that the smart‑TV operating‑system battle is reshaping television economics, as OEMs move from thin‑margin hardware sales to advertising‑driven revenue models. Control of the home screen, content discovery and ad inventory now determines who captures the value created...
How to Make It Big on Substack in 2026: The Creator’s Guide to Growth
Substack has transformed from a newsletter service into a multi‑format creator ecosystem, now boasting five million paid subscriptions and ranking among the top five news apps. New features include video monetization, livestreaming, and a micro‑blogging feed called Notes, intensifying competition...
Fox Sports Conjures a Winning World Cup Game
Fox Sports has partnered with the agency Special US to launch a high‑profile advertising campaign ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The spot features a roster of American and global sports icons—including Tom Brady, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, former U.S. coach Bruce Arena and hockey...
FOX Sports and Sesame Workshop Announce Dynamic Collaboration Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026
Fox Sports, the English‑language home of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, announced a partnership with Sesame Workshop to feature Sesame Street characters in its tournament coverage. Starting June 11, the collaboration will insert segments such as “The Count Down” and...
How a Colorado Springs Food Critic Built a Sustainable One-Man Media Business
When the Colorado Springs Independent folded in 2023, food critic Matthew Schniper turned the loss into a solo venture, launching the Substack newsletter Side Dish with Schniper. By focusing on a small pool of annual sponsors rather than mass advertising,...
The Subscription Strategy Behind One of Britain’s Fastest-Growing Local News Startups
Mill Media launched Manchester Mill in 2020 with a subscription model that charges readers for a handful of high‑quality, long‑form local stories. By offering data‑driven COVID briefings and deep investigative pieces, the newsletter attracted 4,000 email subscribers in four months and...
Sony Buys Recognition
Sony Music has taken over the Hipgnosis music‑catalog portfolio previously owned by Blackstone, adding a sizable block of publishing rights to its already extensive assets. The move underscores a broader industry trend toward consolidation, as independents like Primary Wave and...
Arena Group Revenue Plummets as Traffic Declines
The Arena Group posted a steep Q1 revenue decline, dropping 37% to $20 million as traffic fell. Digital advertising revenue nearly halved to $11.3 million, while print ad sales modestly rose 26% to $260 k. Gross margin contracted to 34.8% and adjusted EBITDA...
How the Shuffle Crypto Trend Is Shaping Streaming, Sponsorship, and Entertainment Coverage
The Shuffle crypto platform has become a touchstone for how streaming services, sponsorship models, and entertainment coverage are evolving. Ad‑supported tiers on major streamers now attract fintech, crypto and esports brands, while writers’ rooms embed Web3 plotlines to keep shows...
TikTok’s Business Strategy: THEFT
TikTok is reportedly deploying AI‑driven bot accounts that scrape and repurpose creator videos without attribution, while the platform’s creator rewards program has been sharply reduced. The shift coincides with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison gaining a controlling stake in TikTok USA...
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test: Season Four Ratings
Fox’s reality series *Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test* returned for a fourth season featuring 18 celebrities, many paired as spouses or family members, undergoing grueling military‑style training in Morocco. The show’s Nielsen ratings have slipped compared with season three, which...
FOX, NBC, Get Two of Ex-ESPN Games at Center of NFL Media Rights Talks
The NFL is adding four national broadcast windows this season by moving games previously earmarked for ESPN and its streaming partner to FOX and NBC. FOX will air a Week 10 International Series game from Munich as part of a rare...
Crime Scene Kitchen: Season Three Ratings
Crime Scene Kitchen’s third season aired on Fox with a mystery‑baking format, pitting six family duos and six friend duos against each other to recreate a vanished dessert for a $100,000 prize. Hosted by Joel McHale and judged by Curtis Stone...
“Enduring Power of Great Music” On Display as Sony Gobbles up the Former Hipgnosis Business in $4 Billion Deal
Sony Music Publishing has completed a deal to acquire the entire music‑rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group, the Blackstone‑owned successor to Hipgnosis. The transaction covers more than 45,000 songs by artists such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey and is estimated...
Senior Distribution Manager - UK + International // UNCLE (London)
UNCLE, a global street‑advertising agency, is hiring a Senior Distribution Manager in London to lead its UK team and coordinate poster distribution for international campaigns outside the United States. The role oversees partner liaison, supplier payments, posting schedules and rate‑card...
The PlayStation Earnings Report Has some Uncomfortable Bombshells
Sony’s PlayStation division posted its latest earnings, revealing a mix of solid software performance but softer hardware sales. The report flagged slower growth in subscription revenue and rising development costs tied to next‑generation titles. Analysts noted that the margins contracted...
Prime Video Orders "Fourth Wing" To Series
Prime Video announced a straight‑to‑series order for the fantasy novel "Fourth Wing," adapting the New York Times bestseller for exclusive release on its platform. Meredith Averill, known for "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Locke & Key," will serve as showrunner...
TV Shocker: Broadcast Is Growing Again — and the Numbers Prove It
Broadcast television is seeing a modest rebound, with the four major networks ordering 57 scripted originals this season, up from 49 last year. While still far below the 92 series produced in 2019, the increase includes seven more half‑hour comedies...
EXCLUSIVE: ‘TODAY’ IN CRISIS MODE AS GMA CLOSES IN — STAFFERS PUSHING FOR HODA KOTB RETURN
NBC’s *Today* is under pressure as *Good Morning America* narrowed the ratings gap, trailing by only 72,000 viewers for the week of April 20. ABC’s morning show also posted gains in total viewers and the key Adults 25‑54 demographic, the only network...
TikTok Announces New Ad-Free Subscription for UK Users
TikTok is launching a paid ad‑free tier in the United Kingdom, priced at £3.99 per month (about $5.07). The service will be available to users aged 18 and older over the next few months and promises not to use subscriber...
Live Music Industry News Roundup
THE·TEAM, formerly Wasserman, bolstered its leadership with hires from WME, HIDDEN, and AEG. Ticketmaster announced a global reduction of about 350 positions, roughly 8% of its staff, focusing on engineering and product teams. The Black Music Action Coalition, backed by...
Claude + YouTube = Dollar$: Video Automation Machine
The post outlines a repeatable workflow that pairs Anthropic’s Claude with GPT‑5.5 to produce faceless YouTube channels at scale. By moving an idea through script, voice, visuals, and cross‑platform distribution (Shorts, TikTok, Telegram), creators can generate a week’s worth of...
Apollo Funds to Acquire Emerald and Questex, Combine Companies
Apollo’s private‑equity funds have agreed to acquire Emerald Holding in an all‑cash deal valuing the company at roughly $1.5 billion, with shareholders receiving $5.03 per share, a 42.1% premium. The transaction also brings Questex into the fold, though its purchase price...
The Rise of the Market-Aware Revenue Organization
Media companies are moving from reactive, siloed reporting to market‑aware revenue organizations that fuse internal performance data with real‑time advertiser spend signals. By tracking where budgets shift—especially toward high‑growth formats like CTV and OTT—sales and ops teams can anticipate demand...
Box Office Report: Devil Wears Prada, Michael Hit Milestones
Box office data this weekend shows the sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 pulling $433 million worldwide on a $100 million budget, eclipsing the 2006 original by $107 million and ranking as the fifth‑highest‑grossing film of 2026. At the same time, Antoine Fuqua’s...
What Do 50 Newly Agented Authors Have in Common?
QueryTracker examined the latest fifty success stories from authors who recently secured literary agents and uncovered nine recurring characteristics among them. The analysis revealed a clear seasonal pattern, with twelve stories in March, sixteen in February, fourteen in January, ten...
Creator Marketing 101: Building a Creator Marketing Strategy
The creator economy, valued at $250 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $480 billion by 2027, prompting brands to adopt creator marketing as a core channel. Unlike traditional influencer campaigns, creator marketing emphasizes expertise, authenticity, and flexible partnership models such as...
The Unlikely Local Media Giant You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Schneps Media, a privately‑held New York‑based publisher, now operates dozens of hyperlocal newspapers, websites, newsletters and event brands across the five boroughs, Long Island, Philadelphia, the Hamptons and Palm Beach. It still prints roughly 600,000 copies each week while running...
The Nonprofit News Playbook that Starts with Major Donors, Not Memberships
Brookline.News launched as a nonprofit newsroom in the affluent Boston suburb, securing a $100,000 major‑gift pledge before publishing its first story. With a $400,000 annual budget, three full‑time staff and over 1,000 donors, it aims to fill the local news...
This Former Disney Exec's Podcast Company Generates 100 Million Monthly Downloads
Former Disney executive Joshua Weinstein launched Sonoro in 2020 as a media‑company‑as‑a‑service focused on Latino audiences. By building production hubs in Mexico and treating podcasts as low‑cost IP experiments, the firm now generates over 100 million monthly downloads and video views....
Atlanta Dream Partners with Victory+ to Stream All Locally Broadcast Games for Free
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory+, a free ad‑supported streaming platform, to broadcast every locally televised game live and on‑demand. The service complements the team’s existing deal with Atlanta News First, giving fans the option to watch via connected...
Weekend Box Office: 'Mortal Kombat II' Opens, At Least Domestically, Like A Breakout Sequel
Warner Bros. and New Line’s Mortal Kombat II opened with a $40 million domestic weekend, finishing second behind The Devil Wears Prada 2. The debut nearly doubles the original’s $23.3 million opening and matches its total $42.33 million gross, marking a breakout sequel performance. Competing...
How to Buy Podcast Ads: A 2026 Playbook
Podcast advertising has moved from experimental to a core media category, with global ad revenue reaching $4.02 billion in 2024 and U.S. spend at $2.57 billion. The playbook outlines how B2B marketers can treat podcast buys with the same rigor as paid...
Another Day, Another Gaming Price Hike
Nintendo announced a price increase for its newly launched Switch 2 handheld, adding roughly $20 to the base model. The move follows widespread criticism that the console’s original price was already high, despite strong sell‑through rates. Nintendo’s decision signals confidence...
Cardinals-Padres Series TV Arrangements Annoy MLB Fans
During a four‑game series at Petco Park, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres were broadcast on four different platforms: ESPN, Apple TV+, a Fox regional channel, and each team’s local RSN. The staggered start times—ranging from 1:10 p.m. to...
Friday Box Office: Devil (Who Wears Prada) and Michael Jackson Top Billie Ellish, Sheep Detectives
The domestic box office is rebounding, with the weekend projected to reach $161 million – an 88% increase over the same weekend last year. Paramount’s Billie Eilish 3‑D concert film earned $4.5 million on Friday and is on track for an $8 million opening...
Box Office: 'Mortal Kombat II' Nabs $17M Friday Despite Good Reviews
Warner Bros. and New Line’s *Mortal Kombat II* opened with a $17 million Friday, positioning it for a projected $42.5 million opening weekend. Despite a mixed critical reception, the film earned a 65% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with scores briefly climbing to...
‘Blindspot’ Leaving Netflix US After Just One Year
Blindspot, the NBC crime drama, entered Netflix US on June 7, 2025 and will depart exactly one year later on June 7, 2026. During its tenure the series logged 349.3 million viewing hours, equivalent to about 23.5 million views, and spent 29 days in Netflix’s Top 10...
Hulu No Longer Moving Forward With New YA Series “Foster Dade”
Hulu has officially passed on the youth‑adult mystery pilot “Foster Dade,” which was based on Nash Jenkins’ debut novel and developed by Greg Berlanti’s team at Warner Bros. Television. The series, set between 2008 and the present, tackled themes of privilege,...
How to Sell Feet Pics Online: A Practical Guide for New Creators
The guide walks new creators through the practical steps of selling feet pictures on dedicated marketplaces, focusing on FeetFinder as the primary launch platform. It outlines realistic earnings—$50‑$300 in the first month and up to $2,000 after six months—while stressing...