Digital

Jul
04
2021
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By Troy Warren
Instagram to Lean Into Video Amid “Stiff Competition” With TikTok, YouTube

Instagram to Lean Into Video Amid “Stiff Competition” With TikTok, YouTube

Digital, Technology
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT "We’re no longer a photo-sharing app or a square photo-sharing app,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said about the upcoming changes. Instagram will begin showing users full-screen videos in their feeds in response to “stiff competition” with TikTok and YouTube, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said on Wednesday. “Let’s be honest: There’s some really serious competition right now. TikTok is huge, YouTube is even bigger and there’s lots of other upstarts as well. And so people are looking to Instagram to be entertained. There’s stiff competition, and there’s more to do,” Mosseri said in a video. “We have…
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Jul
03
2021
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By Troy Warren
TikTok Extends Maximum Video Length to 3 Minutes

TikTok Extends Maximum Video Length to 3 Minutes

Digital, Technology
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT Creators were previously limited to 60-second uploads. TikTok creators will soon get to upload videos up to three minutes — a marked increase from the current one-minute limit that forces creators to speed through recipes or split up storytimes into multiple parts. “Creators are already well-versed in weaving multi-part stories together on TikTok (we all know the phrase, ‘like and follow for part 3’) but we often hear from creators that they’d love just a little more time to bring their cooking demos, elaborate beauty tutorials, educational lesson plans, and comedic sketches…
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Jul
02
2021
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By Troy Warren
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Hire Rebecca Sananes as Head of Audio for Podcast Studio

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Hire Rebecca Sananes as Head of Audio for Podcast Studio

Digital, Technology, , ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT The 'Pivot' producer will join Archewell Audio in August. Archewell Audio, the podcast company from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, named Rebecca Sananes as head of audio on Friday. Sananes has served as the lead producer for Vox Media and New York magazine’s Pivot podcast, hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. She will join Archewell Audio in August and lead the company’s creative partnership with Spotify from Los Angeles, reporting to Ben Browning (Promising Young Woman, Passengers), Archewell’s head of content. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex inked a multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify last December through Archewell Audio. The company released a standalone…
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Jul
01
2021
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By Troy Warren
Creators Weigh Options as Apple, Spotify Roll Out Subscription Podcast Offerings

Creators Weigh Options as Apple, Spotify Roll Out Subscription Podcast Offerings

Digital, Technology, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT To diversify revenue for podcast producers — which have been leaning on a booming ad market — the tech giants are offering new tools to build a monthly subscriber base. Amid a gold rush for advertising in podcasts — total ad revenue is expected to exceed $1.3 billion this year and, by 2023, that figure jumps to $2 billion — Spotify and Apple are both rolling out new creator tools in an emerging area: subscriptions. In April, Spotify staked a claim by unveiling its service through Anchor, the podcast platform it acquired in 2019, allowing creators to set a monthly…
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Jul
01
2021
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By Troy Warren
Team Trump back in the game with new social media app called GETTR

Team Trump back in the game with new social media app called GETTR

Digital, Politics,
By ArLuther Lee, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Troy Warren for CNT Donald Trump’s political team is betting on another big social media venture only a month after shutting down the former president’s highly-touted blog that failed to resonate with his audience. This time Trump appears to be competing directly with the heavyweight social media platforms that banned him after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol after his team launched a new app called GETTR, which went live on the Google and Apple app stores in mid-June, according to a report by Politico. The app has already been downloaded more than a…
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Jun
30
2021
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By Troy Warren
BuzzFeed and Vice Media’s Next Pivot: “Last Resort” Efforts to Go Public

BuzzFeed and Vice Media’s Next Pivot: “Last Resort” Efforts to Go Public

Digital, Technology, ,
BY ALEX WEPRIN, J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT As private funding sources run thin, a group of digital media companies are finding a "surprising lifeline" in blank-check companies raising cash for IPOs and acquisitions. During the venture capital-funded digital media boom of the 2010s, startup founders often voiced world-conquering ambitions. In 2014, Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith bragged: “We won’t be the next CNN or ESPN or MTV. We’ll be 10 times that size.” A year later, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti informed staff that they were building “a global, cross-platform network for news and entertainment, … something that has never existed before.”…
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Jun
29
2021
By Troy Warren
Gaming and Tech Veterans Join Scopely Board of Directors

Gaming and Tech Veterans Join Scopely Board of Directors

Digital, Technology, , ,
BY TRILBY BERESFORD | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT Former Activision Blizzard president Coddy Johnson and tech adviser Marcie Vu will work toward achieving growth goals for the Culver City-based mobile games company. Former Activision Blizzard president Coddy Johnson and veteran tech company advisor Marcie Vu have joined Scopely’s board of directors. Both Johnson and Vu will help achieve growth goals for the Culver City-based mobile games company, which is led by CEO Walter Driver and known for word game Scrabble Go, strategy game Star Trek Fleet Command, dice game Yatzee With Buddies, and numerous others. Johnson’s experience includes driving over $8 billion in annual…
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Jun
27
2021
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By Troy Warren
Snap Strikes Licensing Deal With Universal Music Group to Bring Entire Catalogue to Snapchat

Snap Strikes Licensing Deal With Universal Music Group to Bring Entire Catalogue to Snapchat

Digital, Technology, ,
BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT Snapchat users will now be able to access music from major artists and use them via the Sounds tool and on AR Lenses. Snap inked a multi-year licensing deal with Universal Music Group on Thursday that will bring the label’s entire recorded catalogue to Snapchat. Snapchat users will now be able to access music from major artists and use them via the Sounds tool, which allows users to add music clips to their Snaps or on their Stories, on augmented reality lenses and in curated playlists. UMG and Snap will also partner to release more…
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Jun
25
2021
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By Troy Warren
BuzzFeed Going Public, Valued At $1.5B In SPAC Merger

BuzzFeed Going Public, Valued At $1.5B In SPAC Merger

Business, Digital,
BY ALEX WEPRIN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT The digital media company, merging with a blank check firm named after the headquarters of Marvel's Avengers, plans to use the fresh cash to acquire Complex Networks. Digital media giant BuzzFeed is merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and going public in a bid to roll up and consolidate some of the digital media industry. The deal will value the company at $1.5 billion. The company says that it has agreed to merge with 890 5th Avenue Partners, a SPAC which raised $250 million in an IPO earlier this year. 890 5th…
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Jun
24
2021
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By Troy Warren
McAfee antivirus software creator dead in Spanish prison

McAfee antivirus software creator dead in Spanish prison

Digital, In The News, Technology,
By ARITZ PARRA, RENATA BRITO and BARRY HATTON, Associated Press Troy Warren for CNT MADRID — John McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus software, has been found dead in his cell in a jail near Barcelona, a government official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Hours earlier, a Spanish court issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the 75-year-old tycoon's extradition to the United States to face tax-related criminal charges. Security personnel at the Brians 2 penitentiary near the northeastern Spanish city tried to revive him, but the jail’s medical team finally certified his death, a statement from the regional…
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