Tuesday, November 1, 2022

It's November! Lachlan Murdoch is mum on a potential Fox-News Corp. merger, Elon Musk announces Twitter Blue plans, "CNN This Morning" launches, The Cut's new abortion tracker, Amazon makes a big music play, and more. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Spotify's Press War on Apple

CNN Photo Illustration/Jason Davis/Getty Images

Spotify is looking to give Apple a good bruising in the press.

The music streamer is taking its grievances with the Silicon Valley Goliath public, openly lashing out at the company over a dispute that centers on the 30% App Store fee Apple charges for in-app digital services transactions.

"We are talking about this because it is reflective of Apple's anti-competitive practices across the board," Harry Clarke, associate general counsel and Spotify's lead competition lawyer, told me in an interview Tuesday.

Here's the backstory: Spotify simply refuses to fork over the whopping 30% cut of its business to Apple. That means that the company cannot sell audiobooks, a business it is trying to break into, inside its iOS app. Spotify, instead, came up with three workarounds, which it believed were consistent with Apple's policies. But, they were all ultimately rejected after undergoing reviews for the App Store, forcing the company to essentially abandon offering its customers an avenue for audiobook purchases in its iOS app.

The effect is clear to would-be book buyers. iOS users who scroll through Spotify's audiobooks library and tap on a selection are greeted with a message: "Want to listen? You can't buy audiobooks in the app. We know it's not ideal." (Apple, of course, also sells audiobooks via its pre-installed Apple Books.)

While Spotify has no real recourse to compel Apple to accept its app featuring its audiobooks workaround, it is using the skirmish to assail Apple in the media and focus attention on the company's 30% in-app tax, which has long been criticized by the streamer and others. In recent days, Spotify has issued a blistering press release and participated in a lengthy story about the matter with The New York Times.

"We think it is critical that users, policymakers, and competition authorities really understand what is happening," Clarke explained to me when I asked about why Spotify is creating so much noise around the issue. "Because we have found that once they do understand what is happening, there is almost unanimous agreement that it is unfair."

Clarke said it is important for the company to raise the issue in the press because Spotify users might not understand why the audiobooks experience in the iOS app is so cumbersome. "One of the challenges of Apple's rules is that they effectively put a gag order on us to talk about this in the app," Clarke said, adding that many users "aren't aware" of the back-and-forth the company has had with Apple.

Apple, for its part, is not directly addressing Spotify's PR campaign against it. The company referred me to a general statement about the dispute, in which it said that it had "no issue with reader apps adding audiobook content," but that Spotify's workaround its in-app purchase rules broke its rules.

Spotify's public war on Apple is part of a larger trend lately, with other Big Tech companies taking aim at the iPhone maker. Mark Zuckerberg recently took a shot at Apple's iMessage security features, arguing that his WhatsApp is more secure. And Google has been hammering Apple for refusing to play ball with Android on texting.

And it's unlikely these types of pressure campaigns will fizzle out anytime soon. Spotify told me that it plans to continue to publicly pressure Apple on the matter. "We are going to continue to amplify this issue," Clarke said, "to help people understand the negative impact Apple's policies are having."

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

Media Pay Scales Revealed: Pay transparency has arrived in a big way for the media industry. That's because, thanks to a new law, employers in New York City, where much of the national media is concentrated, now must disclose salary ranges for positions in job postings. The transparency will surely help media employees more effectively negotiate salaries, given they will now have hard data on what various positions at different companies pay.

Some examples: On Tuesday, a job posting for a media editor at The NYT listed a base salary as ranging from $134,000-$185,000. At MSNBC, a listing for a segment producer on "Morning Joe" offered a salary range of $85,000-$110,000. The WSJ noted some employers, like Amazon, "have dozens of jobs with maximum pay of more than $200,000, according to listings."

🔎 Zooming in: The move will also certainly have ripple effects across the media landscape beyond NYC, and a similar law is set to take effect in California in January. That's perhaps why, as NYT's Katie Robertson tweeted, so many on Tuesday were "peeking at their company's job boards."

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/CNN

CNN's Morning Buzz: The network's new marquee morning show, "CNN This Morning," got off the ground on Tuesday. The program, helmed by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins, balanced light morning banter with a selection of serious news stories and interviews. The intro graphics notably played off CNN's worldwide strength, with bureaus in various countries listed inside the "CNN This Morning" logo. And the images on the set worked to appeal to viewers across the US, with one sweeping graphic showing the country from coast-to-coast. Deadline's Ted Johnson has more here.

► WaPo's Jeremy Barr on Tuesday published a profile on Collins, who he wrote has seen a "meteoric rise" in media. The story features quotes from Licht, Jeff Zucker, Maggie Haberman, and others.

Murdoch Mum on Merger: Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch declined to take questions on Tuesday about its talks to reunite with News Corp., another arm of the Murdoch media empire. "The Special Committee has not made any determination at this time, and there can be no certainty that the company will engage in such a transaction," Murdoch said on Fox's earnings call. But Murdoch underscored the importance of scale to investors, pointing out, "Our peers are getting bigger." THR's Alex Weprin has more here.

► Regarding the actual earnings: Fox "rode a surge in political ad spending and continued growth in streaming in its fiscal first quarter, posting financial results above Wall Street analysts' expectations," Deadline's Dade Haye summarized.

First in Reliable: WaPo on Wednesday will announce the launch of "The 7," a new podcast based off of its flagship newsletter that aims to give listeners a quick rundown of the news in under seven minutes. For the project, the paper has hired Jeffery Pierre, from NPR, and Taylor White, who has worked for Gimlet, Gilded Audio and WUNC.

First in Reliable: The New Republic has launched "The Ticker," a new destination for "fast, smart analysis of the day's hottest and biggest—and sometimes its most overlooked—stories." To help with the project, the mag has hired Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani as deputy editor for breaking news. Check out The Ticker here ahead of its official Wednesday announcement.

IN THE INDUSTRY

Jake Tapper will host a town hall with Mike Pence on Wednesday, November 16. It will feature a live studio audience. (CNN)
Anderson Cooper had a candid discussion with Amanda Petrusich about grief. (New Yorker)
CVC Capital Partners is "looking to partner with Group Black on its bid to buy BDG Media," Sara Fischer reports. (Axios)
Insider is "rolling out a major newsroom reorganization, removing much of its paywall in a strategic shift away from a subscription model," Max Tani reports. (Semafor)
Jeff Zucker is in talks "to lead a $1 billion sports investment fund for RedBird Capital Partner's Gerry Cardinale," Tatiana Siegel scooped. (The Ankler)
Stephanie Ruhle hosted a Halloween trick-or-treat block party in NYC on Monday for Harlem DREAM students. The event was even attended by Mayor Eric Adams who handed out treats. (MSNBC)
Thomson Reuters beat expectations with its Q3 earnings. (Yahoo!)
Sony Pictures saw its profits fall in Q3. (Variety)

THE MIDTERMS

First in Reliable: The Cut on Wednesday will publish a follow-up to the outlet's big package on where and how to find an abortion in post-Roe America, with a new tracker focused on where candidates stand on the issue: "To cut through that obfuscation and make Republican midterm candidates' records on abortion clear to voters, the Cut asked 79 competitive Senate, House, and gubernatorial candidates how they would use their power to regulate abortion if elected." The special will publish at this link.

► PopSugar, another Vox Media property, published a big special on Tuesday called "50 States, 50 Abortions."

From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The final stretch: With just one week to go until the crucial midterm elections, candidates are making their closing arguments to voters, millions of whom have already begun casting their ballots. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette captured the stakes with the front page banner "BATTLE FOR SENATE CONTROL TIGHTENS." Here's a look at what's making local headlines as voters make their final decisions in key swing states:

CANVASSING THE COVERAGE

In Florida, local outlets including WPLG in Miami covered President Biden's visit, focusing on his health care message to the state's seniors.
The Arizona Republic led its front page digging into Mark Finchem: "How secretary of state hopeful was involved in Capitol riots."
The Miami Herald topped its front page with the story "3 ex-Proud Boys hired as Miami-Dade poll workers."
The Las Vegas Review-Journal tackled the question: "What could a Nevada governor do to restrict abortion access?"

THE INFO WARS

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Matt Gertz outlines "how Fox News is supporting the right's Paul Pelosi conspiracy theory." (MMFA)
In an interview with Ari Melber, Bill Maher hits back at Fox News for selectively highlighting the monologues that fit the right-wing outlet's political agenda. "They ignore, like, the 75% of my show which is critical of the things that they would believe." (Mediaite)
RT, largely taken off the air in the US, has found an audience on right-wing Rumble, spreading propaganda about the Ukraine war. (NYT)
Truth Social is "a vibrant right-wing ecosystem increasingly brimming with activity," Stuart A. Thompson and Matthew Goldstein write, noting that its success comes even as it faces "one business calamity after the next." (NYT)

THE VALLEY

CNN Photo Illustration/Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Feeling Blue: After facing criticism for his plan to charge Twitter users $19.99/month to get or keep a verified account, Elon Musk unveiled a counteroffer Tuesday. The billionaire said he now planned to charge $8/month for Twitter's subscription service, Twitter Blue, allowing anyone to receive a coveted blue check to verify their account, along with a few other perks, such as fewer ads. The apparent price reduction for the service came after widespread criticism of the $19.99/month plan that news orgs previously saw plans for.

► Musk seems to believe that verification badges function as more of a status symbol to elites rather than an important service to help the millions of users sift through the daily mayhem and determine what information is authentic. But regardless of the current situation, the blue check will no longer even serve as a status symbol under Musk's current plan. Instead, it will only convey to users who is willing to pay for the checkmark and who isn't.

► LAT's Matt Pearce aptly summarized the state of play: "Twitter is the ad-dependent print newspaper bought out by private equity that now needs to service its debt, and the first order of business is to sell off the real estate, lay off staff, hike subscription costs and hope the core customer base doesn't notice everything is worse."

TOO MANY TABS

Will media outlets pay for their journalists to be verified. Steven Perlberg asked 14 newsrooms. (Insider)
Musk changed his Twitter bio to read, "Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator." (Twitter)
Ad giant Interpublic Group advised its big name household brand clients to "pause" ad spending on Twitter. (Variety)
👋 Celebrities are starting to leave Twitter after Musk's takeover. Here's a running list, including Shonda Rimes and Brian Koppelman. (NBC)
Twitter plans to end its ad-free articles from hundreds of publishers for its paid subscribers of its Twitter Blue service. (WSJ)
In other tech news: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, an outspoken critic of TikTok, says the US government should ban the app. (Axios)
Instagram is making its web interface better. (The Verge)
Justin Pope asks: "Is Wall Street overly negative on Meta stock?" (Motley Fool)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Amazon's Music Play: Amazon is dramatically changing the way users experience music on Prime. The e-commerce giant on Tuesday said that its music library will balloon, being boosted from 2 million tracks to 100 million. "But there's a catch," Variety's Todd Spangler wrote. "With the expanded song library, Prime members listening on Amazon Music will mostly be limited to shuffle-play mode, based on artist, album or playlist, whereas previously the 2 million songs were available to stream on-demand." More from Spangler here.

OFF STAGE

Lucas Shaw takes a look at Paramount+, "the fastest-growing streaming service in the US." (Bloomberg)
Julia Alexandra writes about "Netflix's Seinfeld strategy." (Puck)
Through a new service called Primetime Channels, YouTube is selling subscriptions to streamers, such as Starz and Paramount+. (Deadline)
Migos group member Takeoff died at 28 after being shot. (CNN)
Julie Powell, the food writer and bestselling author, has died at 49. (CNN)
The "bulk of the [Harvey Weinstein] case" could be completed by Thanksgiving, the disgraced filmmaker's attorney said. (Deadline)
Taylor Swift has announced "The Eras Tour." (CNN)
"From Scratch" was the top series on Netflix between October 24 and 30. (Variety)
Starz has renewed "Dangerous Liaisons" ahead of its November 6 premiere. (THR)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino. Have feedback? Send Oliver an email here. We will be back in your inbox tomorrow.