Category: media

It is estimated that the merger gives Disney control of 40% of all theatrical box office and puts it in a position to take on the digital streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple.  – The Guardian

Caryn James: “A nude scene! Abortion; birth control; prostitution! In the silent-movie era, Lois Weber’s films were shockingly ahead of their time – and also immensely popular. She wrote, directed, produced and sometimes starred in her films, and in 1916 was the highest paid studio director in the US, man or woman. She pioneered techniques including split screen and double exposure, for a time ran her own studio, and along with Alice Guy-Blach​é was one of the two women who contributed the most to cinema at its start. But she died alone, broke and nearly forgotten in 1939. What happened?” – BBC

Just since the beginning of this year, Spotify has bought podcast producer-distributor Gimlet Media for $230 million and a $100 million startup called Luminary is developing a paid-subscription-only lineup of 40 new podcasts. As one exec said, “The capitalists are here!” Yet, asks Boris Kachka, “What distinguishes a boom from a blip — the beginning of a golden age from a spike of irrational exuberance?” – New York Magazine

Adam Sternbergh: “When you first heard about podcasts, do you remember how excited you weren’t? Do you recall the first person who said, ‘Did you know you can now download audio files of people talking?’ … They’ve spent a decade in a state of perpetual arrival, [but] they’re here. What’s more, these humble chunks of audio have emerged as the most significant and exciting cultural innovation of the new century.” – New York Magazine

Apple didn’t need stars before, but it needs them now. Although the company was the first publicly traded American firm to be valued above $1 trillion, its most recent earnings report showed flat profits and falling revenue. So the plan now is not only to sell devices, but to fill them with content. That has led the company into the alien territory of Hollywood, where local customs can clash with Silicon Valley folkways. – The New York Times

The company deems a community unsuitable for Today In if it cannot find a single day in a month with at least five news items available to share. But the social media giant said it has found that 40% of Americans live in places where there are not enough local news stories to support it. – The Guardian

It survived bankruptcy, the threat of closing and the death of its charismatic founder. In 2014, it became a nonprofit. And now, after 30 years, with more than 132,000 titles — many on VHS, laser disc and DVD — it is as much a cultural warehouse as anything else. – New York Times

More people are creating than ever before, and they’re using the tools that Article 13 will punish to do so. When people have fewer places to share their content or to make money from their content, that’s not helping creators or the “creators industry.” Sure, it might help a very small number of old gatekeeper companies — record labels, book publishers, movie studios — be in a position to demand more money from internet companies, but thinking that those old gatekeepers represent the “creators industry” is ludicrously out of touch. – TechDirt