More than most people, Jonathan Taplin has seen firsthand how the rise of digital behemoths like Google and Facebook has irrevocably transformed the life of artists and musicians. A former tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band and a movie producer for Martin Scorsese, Taplin has become an expert in digital media, and has observed how the original decentralized vision of the internet in the 1990s has morphed into an industry controlled by monopolistic companies that wield inordinate influence over the future of music, film, television, book publishing, and journalism. This concentration of power has decimated those industries—newspaper and music revenues have plummeted 70% since 2001, while Google’s YouTube pays for only 11% of the total streaming-audio revenues received by artists though it controls 60% of the streaming-audio business, according to Taplin. Taplin, who now spends his time focused on the challenges that new methods of distribution present to creative types, sits on California’s Broadband Task Force and is the director emeritus of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab. He just came out with a new book, Move Fast and Break Things whose subtitle sums up his thesis with a punch to the gut of Silicon Valley’s self-righteous posture: “How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture And Undermined Democracy.” This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Fast Company: Reading your bio, I was struck by the fact that you co-produced one of my... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2017-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
The online virtual reality experience that almost every tech giant today wishes to commercially exploit may not catch onIn the 1992 sci-fi dystopia Snow Crash, the author Neal Stephenson imagined a bleak 21st century where the collapse of the global economy had seen governments fall and their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-07 19:11:48 UTC ]
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A few years ago, I found myself a bit tipsy at the National Book Award ceremony. It was my first—and so far, only—time there. The experience felt grand; it was a red-carpeted “benefit dinner” on Wall Street. People wore tuxedos and gowns. I couldn’t look around the room without seeing a writer I... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-12-20 12:00:00 UTC ]
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It ultimately took an extraordinary set of circumstances to clear the way for the reunion, but after three years of hemming and hawing (and the headlines-grabbing ouster of Les Moonves), CBS and Viacom have at long last agreed to a merger. The deal will bring together the CBS, Showtime, MTV,... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-08-13 20:58:29 UTC ]
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Welcome to the latest edition of Ad Age Publisher’s Brief, our roundup of news from the world of content producers across digital and print. Got a tip? Send it our way. Joining us late? Here’s the previous edition. Food for thought: Back in April, The New York Times announced that it would be... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-11 19:24:56 UTC ]
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Jordan Belfort, the real life "Wolf of Wall Street", is in court following a row over royalties from his latest book, Way of the Wolf. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2018-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year, Thomas Frank—who skyrocketed to fame by trying to define what was the matter with Kansas—published a book called Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People. Scolding the Democratic Party for its closeness to financial elites, Frank’s book offered an explanation... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2017-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It would be understandable if Snap Inc. is feeling a little jittery as it closes the book on its first quarter as a public company today. The owner of the Snapchat messaging and media app has to show strong ad sales and a growing user base when it makes its report after the close of business.... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than most people, Jonathan Taplin has seen firsthand how the rise of digital behemoths like Google and Facebook has irrevocably transformed the life of artists and musicians. A former tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band and a movie producer for Martin Scorsese, Taplin has become an... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2017-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shares of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. were down Monday as investors didn’t appear thrilled by the proposed mega-merger announced over the weekend. In response to the $84.5-billion deal, Moody’s Investor Service said Monday it had placed AT&T’s credit rating on review for a possible... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Many digital media businesses chase readers on the largest scale possible, all the better to attract advertisers that want to spread their messages widely. But big reach comes at a cost -- in quality, in resources -- that isn't always justified by the ad rates online.Unfortunately the niche game... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 10 most intriguing numbers from digital marketing over the last week include new data on the explosion of legal marijuana marketing as well as stats that show how online video continues to grow. 1. In today's Adweek magazine, we report how several notable publishers told us that Facebook... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After Michael Lewis’s much-buzzed about 60 Minutes appearance at the beginning of the month, "Flash Boys," the author’s exploration of high-speed trading on Wall Street, was the most-talked about book on social media in April. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Movie tie-ins for '12 Years a Slave,' 'Philomena,' 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and other films give their namesake books — including one from 1853 — a second life. The memoir "12 Years A Slave" was published in 1853, a year after Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IFC's upcoming The Spoils of Bablyon, a comedy miniseries that spoofs serious miniseries, is based on a book that seems to be sold out in Hudson News stores around the country. The problem with keeping the book in stock, though, is that there were never any printed copies. Eric Jonrosh (and the... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With the global economy still struggling to get on a solid footing in 2010, the worlds largest publishers had a mixed performance in the year, although the majority of companies managed to post sales gains in the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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