Publishers are placing more of their content behind hard paywalls
Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media newsletter. You can subscribe by clicking on this handy little button:
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Why most podcasters will benefit from the platform wars
Lots of podcasters worry that Spotify is killing the open podcast ecosystem, but I think it's triggered a platform war that will benefit all podcasts, big and small. [link]
Inside the podcast push of TikTok group Sway LA, who've launched 4 shows in Apple's top 100 as they aim to shock fans and detractors
It makes sense that TikTok teens are investing in podcasts. It's a way to go much deeper with their fandoms than a 60-second video will allow. [link]
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Creator-Owned Streaming Service Nebula Hits 100,000 Monthly Paying Subscribers
This is pretty cool. 100 YouTubers teamed up and launched a streaming service that already has 100,000 paying subscribers. That's more than Quibi had when it announced its closure. [link]
THE COMPLICATED LEGACY OF 'MAN REPELLER'
A good profile of a site that started out as a one-person blog and grew into an incredibly influential force within the fashion industry. [link]
Verizon Media Group keeps pouring resources into commerce
Digital publishers have long been frustrated that the advertising industry has focused so much on ad clicks. The rise of ecommerce on news sites is an indication that they finally gave in and started leveraging this focus to their advantage. [link]
Work with me one-on-one
Organizations regularly hire me to help them with their content, audience development, and monetization strategies. Check out my full list of services over here. [link]
How This YouTuber Amassed 328k Followers In Less Than A Year
A good case study for why persistence matters when you're trying to build an online following. [link]
Publishers are placing more of their content behind hard paywalls
Publishers are abandoning metered paywalls and instead are selectively deciding which content is most likely to convert subscribers and then placing it behind a hard paywall. [link]
Why Matthew Yglesias Left Vox
I don't think it's a coincidence that a lot of OG bloggers (Yglesias, Greenwald, Sullivan) are flocking to Substack. A big reason they moved to larger institutions is because they needed them to monetize their content. Substack frees them from that need. [link]
The World Is Watching More Anime—and Streaming Services Are Buying
It's interesting to see how the pandemic is continuing to shape content production and consumption habits. At the beginning of it I predicted a huge boost in animated projects. [link]
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