Spotify has once again drawn the ire of the music industry. The National Music Publishers' Association has called on the Federal Trade Commission to examine the streaming service's addition of audiobook content into all of its paid subscription plans. According to the group's FTC complaint, Spotify's recent actions are part of "a scheme to increase profits by deceiving consumers and cheating the music royalty system." This requires some backstory. In November 2023, Spotify announced that it would include 15 hours of audiobook content as part of all its Premium subscription plans. A few months later, the company unveiled a new audiobook-only subscription, offering the same number of listening hours for $10 a month. The publishers' organization claims that Spotify's recent price increases are based on offering that extra audiobook content, and that paying customers are automatically being charged for a service they didn't choose and can't opt out of without switching to the free, ad-supported listening experience. And the additional revenue from the higher Premium subscription costs may not go to the music composers. According to the FTC complaint, Spotify will pay about $150 million less in music royalties over the first year of these new bundled Premium plans. The NMPA letter goes so far as to call the new audiobook-only plan "a sham" that "exists solely to allow Spotify to claim that audiobook content is a significantly and independently valuable aspect of its 'bundled'... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-06-12 23:52:55 UTC ]
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Apple plans to integrate recently acquired magazine app Texture into Apple News and debut its own premium subscription offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is part of a broader push by the iPhone maker to generate more revenue from online content and services.The... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2018-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple on Wednesday promoted a company veteran to oversee Apple Music and said the service had hit 48 million subscribers. Oliver Schusser is now vice president of Apple Music and international content. A 14-year Apple employee, Schusser previously led launches of Apple services like the iTunes... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2018-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In-depth political coverage gives news publishers a chance to monetize small but valuable audiences. The post News publishers see subscription dollars in local politics appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Uncertainty about subscriptions, frustration about Apple News and Facebook, and confusion about video are some of the biggest issues on publishers' minds. The post ‘You can’t just pivot into a subscription’: Overheard at the Digiday Publishing Summit appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most survey respondents (70 percent) said they have evidence that readers’ willingness to pay for content has increased in the past year. The post European publishers look to digital subscriptions to reduce platform dependency appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than a quarter of the roughly 15,000 ebooks available in Czech are on the newly launched Bookport subscription platform, with more titles coming. The post Czech Publisher Grada Opens Bookport, an Ebook Subscription Platform appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The idea of subscriptions in Facebook's Instant Articles has been bandied about for quite some time, and an official test is finally underway. Head of news partnerships Campbell Brown, head of news product Alex Hardiman and product manager Sameera Salari announced in a Facebook Media blog post... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2017-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last March, publishing platform Medium introduced its Partner Program, a Netflix-style subscription model that gave members exclusive pieces of writing, access to features before anyone else, an offline reading list and an ad-free experience. The pro... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2017-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alphabet's Google is developing new tools designed to boost subscriptions for news publishers. It follows a similar olive branch from Facebook to an industry that has seen the digital behemoths take over the online advertising market.Google's latest foray arrives on three fronts. The first is a... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Credit: Illustration by Tam Nguyen/Ad AgeFacebook's plan to let publishers sell subscriptions on its platform is renewing some of its media partners' optimism about their future together.Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook, confirmed at an industry event this week that the... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2017-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook’s Instagram is copying Snapchat’s features left and right, and the moves are paying off with publishers. The post Publishers are switching affections from Snapchat to Instagram appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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O'Reilly Media will begin offering subscription access to ebooks on its Shop.reilly retail site, rather than offering direct sales of downloadable ebooks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The social network has resisted subscriptions on its app, but has evolved its stance as publishers grow more vocal about needing more financial support. The post Facebook’s working with publishers on paid subscriptions appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week's top stories covered Facebook’s moves to benefit content creators, publishers’ distributed media endeavors and more. The post Best of the week: Publishers press Facebook to drive paid subscriptions appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers say that Facebook can save Instant Articles by improving subscription products, letting pubs have more control over their inventory and sharing more user data. The post Publishers say Facebook can save Instant Articles with better data, subscription tools appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“We want a return to democracy, to serve the readers. We want to fight against corruption,” said Edwy Plenel, co-founder of independent French online publisher Mediapart. The post How French publisher Mediapart has used political tumult to drive subscriptions appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2017-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Previewing the audiobook track at the FutureBook conference, we look at sales statistics and predictions from Michele Cobb at the Audio Publishers Association. The post Golden Headsets: Audiobooks’ Growth Is Music to Publishers’ Ears appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a bid to play its part in “opening the industry up” and improving diversity in publishing, Newbury-based independent Holland House has launched a new project to help aspiring publishing employees gain experience in the trade. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The gig: Jody Gerson is the chair and chief executive of Universal Music Publishing Group, representing songwriters such as Demi Lovato and Big Sean. UMPG is part of Santa Monica-headquartered Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company. Early days: Gerson, 54, grew up in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Several western journalists have accused Algoritm Publishing House in Russia, a firm that specializes in political titles on Putin, of plagiarism. The post Russia’s Algoritm Publishing House Accused of Piracy appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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