The race to understand the thrilling, dangerous world of language AI— www.technologyreview.com
BigScience collab working on more ethical LLM (large language model — a deep-learning algorithm trained on enormous amounts of text data).
MLB launches into NFT space — www.cnbc.com
Candy Digital will release an exclusive Lou Gehrig NFT during the 4th of July weekend. It will honor Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech on July 4, 1939, when the ironman New York Yankees first baseman retired after contracting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that impacts the nervous system.
‘A lot of history’: IOC creates NFT versions of past Olympic pins for Summer Games in Tokyo — www.usatoday.com
Because of COVID restrictions, fans can’t trade pins at this Summer Olympics in Tokyo, so IOC plans to creates NFT versions of past Olympic pins. You can buy, trade, or earn them by playing the Olympic video game. #NFTs
$112.5M Emerald Embedded Stone Up for NFT Auction
Collectors who hold the tokens will be part owners of the 250 lb. emerald, which entitles them to membership at a private social club and attendance at an annual gathering featuring access to the stone.
Sotheby’s to auction world’s first known NFT (from 2014), compares work to Picasso
Club Necaxa’s NFT ownership stake auction queried by Mexican federation — www.sportspromedia.com
Governing body says any transfer of ownership would still require league approval.
Handpainted by Grammy Award-winning rapper Rick Ross, production duo Cool & Dre, and abstract artist and superstar luxury car designer Rich B. Caliente to customize a 2021 Porsche 911 Carrerra, the world’s first-ever automotive art NFT.
Iconic ‘Doge’ meme to be auctioned as NFT — www.nbcnews.com
Music NFT market update
MT @cheriehu42 I made a 40-page slide deck about music NFTs because…… why not. All based on my own research, including: pricing/sales trends (~$70M in sales in the last 75 days), top artists/genres/platforms/protocols, emerging use cases, + more! please share 🙂
Lil Dicky Song Is First-Ever Music Publishing NFT
The highest bidder for a new #NFT will get a cut of all future mechanical, public performance & sync royalties for Lil Dicky’s 2015 hit “Save Dat Money.” Will generate income every time the song is streamed, sold, broadcast or licensed, paid quarterly in Ethereum.
NFTs Are Crashing (or are they?) — gizmodo.com
NFT value fell 90% and the number of NFT wallets fell 70%.
Three parallel futures for social audio
MT @cheriehu42 there’s a lot of debate now about who is going to “win” social audio, without asking a more fundamental question: what is social audio even good for? I wrote 4K words with my answer to this question — and why the music & podcast industries should care. #socialaudio
Use Cases for Music & Crypto — twitter.com
MT @JackSpallone This past month I tweeted a use case for music + crypto everyday. This is the mega thread of all them.
El Salvador looks to become the world’s first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender
www.cnbc.com
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele plans to introduce legislation that will make it the world’s first sovereign nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
Square considering making a hardware wallet for #bitcoin
Technology
U.S. Treasury calls for stricter cryptocurrency compliance with IRS, says they pose tax evasion risk
ICYMI The Treasury Department announced that it will require any transfer worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the IRS. #cryptocurrency
Amazon sued by DC Attorney General in antitrust suit over pricing
“Amazon’s policies governing third-party sellers prohibit them from offering products at lower prices on rival platforms, which has led to artificially high prices for consumers and let the company build monopoly power.” #Amazon
Amid post-cookie confusion, Amazon plans to launch an identifier of its own
digiday.com
Amazon is hoping to use the identity vacuum Google has opened with its deprecation of the third-party cookie to suck up more business for its own DSP.
Jeff Bezos Will Fly Aboard Blue Origin’s First Human Trip to Space
www.nytimes.com
Mr. Bezos and his brother, Mark, will be on board when his rocket company launches its first human spaceflight next month, shortly after he steps down as chief executive of Amazon.
Twitch ‘disappointed’ with music publishing industry as it’s hit with 1,000 copyright infringement claims
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com
YouTube Says It Paid $4 Billion To Music Industry During Past 12 Months — www.forbes.com
A few months after the Swedish audio streaming company’s CEO Daniel Ek announced Spotify paid $5 billion to the music industry in 2020, rival YouTube’s global head of music Lyor Cohen today said the platform put more than $4 billion in the pockets of artists, songwriters, and rights-holders.
Facebook buys studio behind Roblox-like Crayta gaming platform — techcrunch.com
Netflix is planning to get into gaming — www.axios.com
A source familiar with Netflix’s plans tells Axios to “think of it as a smaller Apple Arcade.” #gaming
A virtual Gucci bag sold for more than $ 4,000, beating its physical value, and it’s not even an NFT — www.entrepreneur.com
This article is in a section called “Curiosities” — good call! A virtual Gucci purse sold for >$4K — more than its physical price, is not an NFT, and cannot be used outside of the video game platform it was purchased on.
What Instagram really learned from hiding like counts — www.platformer.news
HT @TheTiltNews Instagram tested removing likes from public view. 2 years later, Facebook & Instagram made a decision — they’ll leave the decision up to users on both platforms. You can switch them off for your feed or on a per-post basis.
Pinterest Shares the Results From the First Stage of Its Creator Fund, Welcomes Applicants for Next Phase
Spotify wants to make the yearly Wrapped experience more than a once a year thing — www.theverge.com
Spotify Only You will give users personalized shareable playlists and data insights based on their music listening habits. A new feature called Blend will let two friends automatically merge their musical tastes into a playlist.
WhatsApp reverses course, now won’t limit functionality if you don’t accept its new privacy policy — www.theverge.com
Facebook Gaming Introduces Monetization For Video-On-Demand Creators — www.tubefilter.com
HT @TheTiltNews
Twitter, Opendorse Team Up to Enable Student-Athletes to Monetize Video Content — www.adweek.com
Twitter teamed up with sports technology company Opendorse on a way for student-athletes to monetize video content in anticipation of upcoming legislation that will allow those student-athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness.
Twitter launches 1st subscription service
Twitter Blue designed for power users willing to pay monthly fee for exclusive features. $3.50-$4.50 launching in Canada and Australia 1st. Can undo tweet for 30 seconds, dedicated customer support #Twitter
Twitter starts rolling out Birdwatch fact checks inside tweets — techcrunch.com
MT @michellemanafy Twitter is looking to crowdsource its way out of misinformation woes with its new product Birdwatch, which taps a network of engaged tweeters to add notes to misleading tweets.
Twitter Tests Full-Screen Ads In Fleets
Publishing & Media
Twitter to launch local weather news service — what news services are next?
Thought this was a non-story (except for possible competition for Byron Allen), but then saw industry peeps like @mathewi say “Twitter getting into the news business could be interesting. Starting with something non-controversial like weather makes sense, but what other Twitter news services might be coming?” In the article, it says, “It’s the largest collective of writers and experts we’ve launched with.” Sounds like we should watch this space.
Facebook to launch Bulletin, its Substack clone, late June
You can’t write for it. Only people FB is recruiting — and paying — for 2-year deals. It will live outside Facebook in part to evade Apple and Google’s 30% fees. Facebook doesn’t want politics in its Substack (the stuff everyone reads/loves/hates on Substack).
Authors to earn royalties on secondhand books for first time
RT @ThadMcIlroy UK-only at this point.
Audio Publishers Association’s Sales Survey
RT @LWShanley Lots of great audiobook stats here from APA — daily audiobook consumption up 71% since 2017; mystery/thriller/suspense still #1 @BISG @publishingtrend
APA Says Audiobook Sales Rose 12% in 2020 — www.publishersweekly.com
The Audio Publishers Association’s annual review of the audiobook market found another year of double-digit sales increases as well as a profound shift in listening habits. #LoveAudiobooks
The First Decentralized Writing Platform That Pays Writers Is Here
HT @TheTiltNews How do writers get on the creator-revenue platform http://Mirror.xyz? They have to win one of the 10 spots in the weekly $WRITE RACE. Each winner is awarded one $WRITE token to redeem for a publication on the Mirror.
‘An organic, social-media phenomenon’: TikTok is driving a surge in demand for young-adult fiction novels — www.marketwatch.com
HT @BISG Those in the book publishing biz have heard about #BookTokalready, but did you know that YA is up 70% for the yr to date thru April compared to the previous yr, according to the NPD Group?
Virtual NYC Curator Collections — Saraciea Fennell, Founder & CEO, The Bronx is Reading
Book Metadata Accessibility Workshop
RT @BISG What is accessibility metadata? Why is it important? How can you design workflows to deliver such metadata? Join @rallyfora11y and BISG’s workflow committee on June 15th at 1 PM ET to learn more. #accessibility #metadata #publishing #a11y
Book Marketing: 10 headline copywriting tips to increase conversions
RT @miralsattar Applies to promoting non-fiction books too! @jmoserr: “I’ve written 100s of landing page headlines in the last 4 years. Here are 10 headline copywriting tips to increase conversions:”
The “Do’s” Of Planning A Book Launch
MT @miralsattar Great tips on how to plan a #booklaunch over on the @BookBaby blog #bookmarketing
How This Ice Cream Shop Is Encouraging Kids to Read This Summer — katiecouric.com
HT @UrbanMuseWriter Based in Portland, Oregon, Salt & Straw is more than your average ice cream shop — they’re an ice cream community.
The Englishman trying to save American bookstores from Amazon
James Daunt on B&N #Bookstores
Harry Potter Flagship Store Opens in NYC
How Lin-Manuel Miranda and Friends Made an Old Bookstore New — www.nytimes.com
The century-old Drama Book Shop in Manhattan struggled for years. Then “Hamilton” happened.
NYC’s Books of Wonder Closing Uptown Store, Looking for New Space
Maryland Library E-book Bill Becomes Law
www.publishersweekly.com
The new law requires any publisher offering to license an electronic literary product to consumers to also offer to license the content to public libraries on reasonable terms.
The Old Mid-Manhattan Library Gets a Sharp New Renovation — www.curbed.com
Now fully renovated and renamed the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library.
How Wattpad is establishing itself as an entertainment powerhouse (by listening to young women)
RT @glecharles At a glance, @wattpad might be dismissed as the worst kind of “data-driven” publishing, but dig beneath the surface and you’ll find a data-informed operation that respects its audience, and constantly iterates to improve how they serve them.
Authors who help authors — The Empowered Author — theempoweredauthor.com
There are many authors who generously offer their advice to other authors, here are @samatlounge’s favorites.
Book Vending Machines Are the Best Vending Machines
Why We Need Diverse Books Is No Longer Using the Term #OwnVoices— diversebooks.org
MT @EditorsOfColor “Moving forward, WNDB will use specific descriptions that authors use for themselves and their characters whenever possible (for example, ‘Korean American author,’ or ‘autistic protagonist’). “ @diversebooks #OwnVoices
Melanin in YA Fundraiser
MT @melanin_ya We would absolutely love to make our $25k goal by Juneteenth. We’re only $5k away!!!!! Will you help us spread the word to readers, writers, and allies about Melanin in YA? Friends & allies, Melanin in YA is asking for your support to cover the time, start-up costs & resources needed to expand the newly registered Melanin in YA LLC (trademark, operational costs, production, etc). Please share & thank you so much. #MelanininYA
The Book Biz Must #StandUpForAAPI — www.publishersweekly.com
Author and reluctant activist Suzanne Park says that the time to stop anti-Asian hate is now.
This Is The Exact Number Of Minutes You Need To Read For Better Brain Health — www.mindbodygreen.com
When was the last time you cracked open a book? A neuroscientist says reading for 15 minutes every day can enhance your brain health.
Behind the painstaking process of creating Chinese computer fonts — www.technologyreview.com
More than 40 years ago, designers drew and edited thousands of characters by hand to make it possible to type and print in Chinese. #fonts
ABA Issues Ransomware Alert
Bookwire Launches in the U.S.
Professional Bookseller Certification Program’s Inventory Management Module
Africa Publishing Innovation Fund Seeks 2022 Proposals
publishingperspectives.com
The Africa Publishing Innovation Fund in its new cycle is looking to stimulate ‘a diversified book sector and its many satellite industries.’
Six Tips for an Outstanding Literary Journal Submission
HT @miralsattar
Media industry braces for post-pandemic reality
While traditional media giants focus on getting bigger to compete with tech giants, tech giants are eyeing an even bigger fish: gaming.
Roughly 120 Hearst staffers opt for buyouts, sources say — nypost.com
The voluntary buyout offers Hearst Magazines extended to 600 employees in its sales, marketing and ad side has resulted in close to 120 staffers.
Outside launches membership model — www.axios.com
Outside, the media company home to dozens of outdoor enthusiast brands, is launching Outside+, an annual membership. #magazines
How to identify new audience growth opportunities
The Daily Star, The Times and Sunday Times, The Economist and The South China Morning Post have all created strategies to discover and attract younger and more diverse readers. Few news outlets have seen digital growth in the last decade like The Economist. Instagram has been a place of huge growth.
Tech Publishing Giant IDG Sold, Again: This Time For $1.3 Billion
International Data Group, which began life as a newsletter about the computer industry in 1964, has agreed to be sold for $1.3 billion.
Meredith, Bloomberg To Deliver Content In Overseas Markets
Meredith has formed a content syndication partnership with Asian media firm BurdaLuxury to provide articles to Asian readers. Bloomberg will launch Bloomberg Linea, news brand for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Meredith Offers Magazine-Branded Purses on QVC
Group Nine Media’s DTC Ad Solution Has Generated 7 Figures So Far
Daily News spinoff stirs anxiety after Alden takeover — nypost.com
The New York Daily News has been told it was spun off into a separate subsidiary, unlike other Tribune-owned newspapers. #newspapers
Union turmoil erupts at Daily News owner as Alden Global Capital pushes buyouts
Tribune Publishing is asking all of its full-time editorial staffers to consider voluntary buyouts at all nine major metro dailies in the chain.
New York Times May Seek The Athletic To Hit Subscriber, Portfolio Goals
Rolling up The Athletic would help bring the New York Times closer to its target of 10 million digital subscribers by 2025.
The Hamptons Are Getting a New Player in the Media Wars: Grazia Gazette
Who said newspapers were dead?
Facebook’s use of ad data triggers antitrust probes in UK and EU — techcrunch.com
Facebook under new scrutiny by UK and EU for its use of data from advertising customers & the folks who use its single-sign-on tool, looking at whether it uses this data as an unfair lever against competitors in markets such as classified ads.
Nine Entertainment has signed content-supply deals with Google and Facebook under Australia’s news bargaining code — www.reuters.com
Australian broadcaster and publisher Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd signed multi-year content-supply deals with Google and Facebook.
Resources & Opportunities
BIPOC Mentorship Program — Transatlantic Agency
RT @LatinxinPub Apply today! @TransLitAgency is starting a BIPOC Mentorship program for any BIPOC folks interested in learning more about becoming a literary agent & starting a career in publishing! Applications open TODAY and the program launches in the fall!
Free Virtual 4th Annual Bronx Book Festival — www.crowdcast.io
The Bronx is Reading presents the 4th annual Bronx Book Festival! Join the literary revolution and tune in to our programming June 12th & June 13th!
Free — Freelance Journalism Empowerment Conference — journalismassembly.com
MT @freelancesoc Just a [day] to go until @ejcnet’s Freelance Journalism Empowerment Conference. Sessions: on:Pitching, Cross-border journalism, Storytelling trends & social media, Solutions journalism, Data & mobile journalism. It’s 8–10 June #FJAssembly
NYPL Story Line
MT @nypl Want to hear a story? Dial 917-ASK-NYPL (917–275–6975) and select option 6# for Story Line, our new dial-a-story service!
DVdebut Resources Sign-Up
RT @_DiverseVoices marginalized book creators, if you just debuted or will soon in the future, please sign up for our resources! you’ll get a Debut Survival Kit and access to exclusive panels/workshops, all focused on the debut experience. and it’s FREE! closes July 8!
Free Virtual Global Media Forum on Disruption and Innovation 6/14
WomenInMusic — What are NFTs?
MT @womeninmusicorg What’s an NFT and why does it matter? We’re discussing!
#HIREBLACK to Match Black Women With Mentors at Top Companies in Celebration of Juneteenth — blackbusinessguide.com
HT @blackque247
#GETREADYSET | Join America’s Student Support Network — www.getreadyset.org
RT @ariannahuff Excited to announce the launch of READY SET, a national tutor, mentor and service recruitment campaign designed to meet the needs of American students who have suffered learning setbacks from the pandemic. Join us and register at http://getreadyset.org
BetaBagels008: Free virtual morning briefing re: The NYC Internet of Things Strategy — us02web.zoom.us
HT @nycmedialab
NYC Media Lab Job Opening
RT @nycmedialab #JobOpening NYC Media Lab is seeking a Community & Project Lead who will oversee 2 core work streams of the AI & Journalism initiative: 1) Develop a digital platform & newsletter; 2) Launch and manage an AI & Journalism innovation challenge. Apply now!
Free Machines + Media 2021: Facing the Future 6/9
NY State Emergency Rental Assistance Program
RT @nycshotslots If you meet these requirements, you qualify for emergency rent relief. The program covers 12 months of back rent, 3 additional months of rent, and utility debt. Applications opened yesterday. New Yorkers, spread the word!
Anheuser-Busch to give away free beer when the U.S. hits Biden’s July 4 vaccination goal — www.nytimes.com
The company said it would “buy America’s next round” once 70 percent of U.S. adults had received at least one dose of a vaccine.