Simon Owens
@simonowens.bsky.social
đ€ 2187
đ„ 585
đ 3392
Media industry journalist who runs a newsletter and podcast. You can reach me at
[email protected]
Looks like companies are using bogus copyright complaints to get unflattering stories removed from the Google search index.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/parasit...
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Press Gazette exposé of parasite SEO firm removed from Google results
Press Gazette reporting on parasite SEO company Clickout Media removed from Google search results after anonymous complaint.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/parasite-seo-clickout-media-google/
39 minutes ago
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Simon Owens
FROVO
about 21 hours ago
ME: if seven and eleven are odd numbers then they should be called sodd and elodd CASHIER: um ok hereâs your slurpee thanks for shopping at Sodd-Elodd
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reposted by
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weeder
about 21 hours ago
Referring to my nephew as a relative newcomer
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I wholeheartedly endorse this piece. It annoys the hell out of me that there's an entire cottage industry of business "journalism" that consists of taking some outlandish claim made by a tech CEO -- often in a tweet or offhand comment -- and then crafting an entire skepticism-free article around it
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"CEO Said A Thing!" Journalism
"CEO said a thing!" journalism involves parroting the claims of a business leader or executive with absolutely no context, correction, or challenge whatsoever, no matter how elaborate the delusion.
https://karlbode.com/ceo-said-a-thing-journalism/
about 21 hours ago
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Yes, this annoys the hell out of me.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 22 hours ago
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Netflix continues to steer clear of huge sports broadcasting deals, instead trying to "eventize" one-off games in leagues like the NFL and MLB. The problem is that advertisers are pretty lukewarm on paying premium rates rates for these games. As one ad executive told Puck, "for Netflix, this is an e
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Netflix at the Bat
The streaming giant invested in a lightweight MLB package to see whether it could fully eventize the industryâs most tonnage-friendly sport. So far, the juryâs out.
https://puck.news/was-the-mlb-on-netflix-experiment-a-success/
about 22 hours ago
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Bluesky as a tech product continues to suck ass. Probably a bad thing that a huge portion of the political Left has sequestered itself on an app that actively hinders their ability to communicate.
about 22 hours ago
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We're going to see more and more interesting partnerships like this between independent creators and traditional media companies. Creators will always be attracted to the imprimatur and reach of a media outlet, and the legacy media will need to carve out many more of these hybrid roles if they want
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The New Hybrid Journalist: Independent Operators, Big Media Reach
While some journalists have stretched their entrepreneurial wings as they pursue an independent lane and others remain entrenched in traditional newsrooms, this hybrid model provides a way for reporte...
https://www.thewrap.com/media-platforms/journalism/joanna-stern-nbc-scott-macfarlane-pablo-torre-new-independent-model/
about 22 hours ago
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An AI-generated spoof of the reality TV show Love Island has generated over 10 million views on TikTok. Some are claiming this as proof that AI can replace traditional television, but I found the videos to be incredibly boring and barely coherent. My guess is they don't appeal to anyone other than
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Millions Are Hooked On This Show Where Sexy Fruits Cheat
The TikTok dating show has over 10 million views for each of its episodes.
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/fruit-love-island-tiktok-ai-dating-show-45219f6a
about 23 hours ago
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Rich couples are increasingly hiring publicists to help get their weddings featured on Vogue's website. In a world where everyone can become an Instagram micro celebrity, they view Vogue as one of the last gatekeepers of taste. Meanwhile, wedding content has become one of the most popular verticals
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âLook, Mommy Was in Vogueâ
Why a Vogue wedding is more coveted than ever.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-a-vogue-wedding-is-more-coveted-than-ever.html
about 23 hours ago
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Trumpâs attempts to goose the market with Truth Social posts are becoming less and less effective. This morning he announced that a peace deal with Iran is imminent and oil prices didnât even budge. The Dow bumped slightly, but still well below where it was a week ago the last time he tried to annou
about 24 hours ago
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It's now becoming a pretty regular occurrence for random internet commenters to accuse writers of using AI -- even in cases when they definitely aren't. A whole bunch of people are confident they know AI when they see it, but what they're really doing is labeling any sort of formal writing as ob
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The People Getting Falsely Accused of Using AI to Write
Clean, precise prose is now a liability, and non-native English speakers and autistic writers are often paying the price.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-people-getting-falsely-accused-of-using-ai-to-write.html
4 days ago
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This type of deal would actually make some strategic sense. I've been pointing out for well over a year that the line between cable news and video podcasts is actually quite thin, and I think these outlets should be doing more to identify and elevate young talent that's already growing an audience
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Versant Pursues a Deal for Vox Mediaâs Podcast Business
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/business/media/versant-vox-medias-podcasts.html
4 days ago
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Who's taking bets on whether Trump makes some announcement between now and when the markets close to try to boost the Dow?
4 days ago
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A single journalist is generating upwards of 20% of Fortune's traffic by using AI to speed up his publishing process. He basically feeds press releases, his off-the-cuff analysis, and other notes into the AI, which then spits out a rough draft he can polish.
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An AI Upheaval Is Coming for Media. This Journalist Is Already All In.
AI-assisted stories accounted for nearly 20% of Fortuneâs web traffic in the second half of 2025. Most are written by Nick Lichtenberg.
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/an-ai-upheaval-is-coming-for-media-this-journalist-is-already-all-in-3511d951
4 days ago
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One of the biggest post-mortem conclusions Democrats reached after the 2024 election was that Kamala Harris didn't devote enough time sitting down with friendly creators, so we can definitely expect every 2028 candidate to be all over the podcast and TikTok circuit. A lo
thehill.com/homenews/cam...
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5792552-democrats-using-creators-reach-voters/
4 days ago
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The Daily Mail is hiring creators on a contract basis to produce content exclusively for its owned channels. This strikes me as a smarter approach than trying to monetize creatorsâ personal platforms, since it creates a clearer, more straightforward symbiotic relationship: creators receive a guarant
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Inside The Daily Mailâs creator-led content playbook
Inside the structure, strategy, and metrics of the Daily Mail's creator-led content push and how it may be inticing to advertisers.
https://digiday.com/media/inside-the-daily-mails-creator-led-content-playbook/
4 days ago
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Tech companies keep buying up media companies in an effort to lower their user acquisition costs. For instance, Hubspot recently acquired Starter Story, the outlet that's published thousands of case studies detailing how entrepreneurs built their businesses.
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Plaid buys This Week in Fintech
It's first media buy comes as Plaid seeks to extend customer relationships.
https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2026/03/25/plaid-media-this-week-in-fintech
4 days ago
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Many record deals are still centered around album releases, but artists also have to publish a lot of non-album content on a consistent basis to maintain their momentum. In many cases, this means releasing songs that don't count toward their album contracts, which require exclusivity.
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Album-Centric Record Deals Come Under Growing Scrutiny
In a world of TikTok-driven singles, album-centric music deals are somehow hanging on.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-03-26/album-centric-record-deals-are-facing-growing-scrutiny
4 days ago
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I think this is something we're going to see more and more of in the coming years -- TV networks and Hollywood studios will stop using YouTube to merely distribute clips and instead start leveraging it as a distribution channel for new shows. Right now, Jeopardy is streamed on Hulu and Peacock, and
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âJeopardy!â Launches Spinoff On YouTube
Ken Jennings is hosting Jeopardy! YouTube Edition, which will debut on the Google-owned service on March 31.
https://deadline.com/2026/03/jeopardy-spinoff-youtube-1236766283/
4 days ago
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I packaged 97 of my media entrepreneur case studies into an ebook spanning 558 pages and over 200,000 words. I'm pretty confident there isn't another book on the market that's packed with this many insights for how to build a successful content business. You can download the ebook over here:
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The Next Media Moguls: 97 of the most successful media entrepreneurs reveal their secrets
I interviewed 97 of the world's most successful media entrepreneurs, and they walked me through, step by step, how they built their businesses. This books contains over 200,000 words and 558 pages wor...
https://simonowens.gumroad.com/l/nextmediamoguls
4 days ago
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The free speech guy tried to sue companies for not advertising on his nazi website and lost
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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We should!
add a skeleton here at some point
5 days ago
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I'm on a live Zoom call RIGHT NOW. Come join me:
simonowens.substack.com/p/join-me-fo...
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Join me for a live Zoom call on Thursday
Hello paid subscribers!
https://simonowens.substack.com/p/join-me-for-a-live-zoom-call-on-thursday
5 days ago
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The largest college athletic departments arenât just hiring social media editors â theyâre erecting entire media outlets that are capable of everything from podcasts to longform, streaming-quality documentaries. The goal isnât just to drive interest toward a schoolâs games, but also to monetize thos
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College Athletic Departments Are Becoming Media Companies
In the next phase of the college sports content industrial complex, schools are running multimedia departments as standalone operations.
https://frontofficesports.com/college-sports-content-studios-lsu-clemson/
6 days ago
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I find the witch hunt for AI-generated content a bit misguided at this point. Just because a tool flags something as AI-generated doesnât mean it was written entirely by AIâmore often, people are using these tools to polish and refine their drafts.
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How AI Is Creeping Into The New York Times
Artificial intelligence seems to be turning up, undisclosed, in the opinion pages of major news publications.
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/how-ai-creeping-new-york-times/686528/
6 days ago
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I don't see how it's not noted in every single article about Elon's robotaxi claims that he's not even close to launching a car that can drive fully autonomously. In my mind, the business press is complicit in helping inflate Tesla's share price.
add a skeleton here at some point
6 days ago
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I don't think anyone would argue with the notion that the NFL is the world's most popular entertainment franchise. What I do wonder though if it's creating a massive bubble that will inevitably pop. Not only is it spreading its games out across a wide range of streaming apps -- forcing its fans into
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Is Goodell Overplaying His Hand?
The NFL wants more money from its broadcast and streaming partners and hasnât been shy about its desire to rip up its current, and still-young, contract to get it. On the media side, there are quiet b...
https://puck.news/march-madness-and-nfl-media-rights-network-pushback-emerges/
6 days ago
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There are several large creators who hardly bother to create their own shortform vertical video because they know there's an entire army of "clippers" who will do a better job of chopping up their longform videos and distributing them. Yes, those clippers get to monetize content that they didn't who
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'Elite clippers' are earning big paychecks by helping podcasters and livestreamers stay in your social feed
A new class of all-star "clipping" creators, who repost video clips for a fee, are getting paid on retainer.
https://www.businessinsider.com/clipping-creators-arrived-discord-money-earning-big-2026-3
6 days ago
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When you know the economy is about to tank and need to cash out as fast as possible.
6 days ago
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A newsletter that summarizes the day's political news has over 200,000 free subscribers and generates $227,000 a year on a pay-what-you-can model.
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đŽ WTF Just Happened Today?
Matt Kiser shares how a 100-day writing challenge became a 9-year, $227k/year media business â with no ads or paywall.
https://www.creatorspotlight.com/p/matt-kiser
6 days ago
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Here's the biggest problem with Bari Weiss's attempts to shift CBS News' coverage to the right: the main reason Fox News is so successful is because it has a virtual monopoly on rightwing TV viewers. Sure, it has networks like OANN and Newsmax nipping at its heals, but they never achieved the sort o
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Weissâ Ratings Wipeout
Six months into Bari Weissâ overhaul of CBS News, new ratings data obtained by Status shows its flagship programs are shedding viewers at an alarming rate, collapsing to historic lows and accelerating...
https://www.status.news/p/cbs-news-ratings-decline-bari-weiss
6 days ago
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It's becoming more and more common for even small creators to come across AI-generated avatars of themselves hawking products. In some cases, the companies behind the products are completely legitimate and aren't even aware that their ads contain AI fakes, since they hired outside marketing firms to
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'It's Personality Theft': How Creators Are Fighting Back Against AI Deepfakes
As artificial intelligence becomes more accessible, creators are finding replicas of themselves promoting companies they've never even heard of.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-deepfakes-creators-fight-back-1235535955/
6 days ago
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TikTok realized that the existing microdrama studios aren't going to publish natively to its platform without a way to generate meaningful revenue, so now it's trying to seed this sort of content itself. It's worth noting that the major tech platforms don't have a good track record when it comes to
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TikTok is casting actors to make its own micro dramas as it jumps headfirst into the hot format
TikTok has begun casting actors for its own mini-drama series. It also filed a trademark for "TikTok Drama."
https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-casting-actors-short-dramas-microdramas-2026-3
6 days ago
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Is there any better way to signal to the world that you're not a serious company than blowing up a $1 billion with the world's largest media conglomerate three months after you signed it? How eager will companies be to partner with OpenAI going forward?
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...
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The Sora-Disney Collapse: What Does It Mean?
Three Hollywood Reporter editors debate the biggest tech news this year.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/sora-disney-openai-deal-collapse-1236546434/
6 days ago
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PROJECT HAIL MARY is very corny but also very good. You feel like youâre watching something that was genetically engineered in a lab to make a bajillion dollars at the box office.
6 days ago
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I'm hosting a live Zoom call on Thursday! I did one of these last week and some amazing median entrepreneurs showed up.
simonowens.substack.com/p/join-me-fo...
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Join me for a live Zoom call on Thursday
Hello paid subscribers!
https://simonowens.substack.com/p/join-me-for-a-live-zoom-call-on-thursday
7 days ago
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Why would you start a fight with someone who takes steroids for a living?
www.tmz.com/2026/03/23/r...
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'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Did Not Instigate Fight With Neighbor: Sources
"Reacher" star Alan Ritchson did not instigate the fight with his neighbor in Tennessee, and was pushed off his bike twice by the man before the video-recorded beatdown, according to sources close to ...
https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/23/reacher-star-alan-ritchson-tennessee-altercation/
7 days ago
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Well, if Prince Bone Saw is pushing for war, who am I to argue?
7 days ago
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I'm attending the Semafor World Economy Summit in April. Let me know if you're around and want to meet up.
7 days ago
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One of the most notable things about the success of this AI-generated novel is it came from an author who didnât have much of a personal brand â which means it had to be at least halfway decent to generate sales and a traditional book contract. For years, it was commonly-accepted knowledge that AI c
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A.I. Is Writing Fiction. Publishers Are Unprepared.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/books/ai-fiction-shy-girl.html
8 days ago
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I have no idea if this is a good business move but it sounds like it would be a lot of fun â both for the attendees and also the Atlantic staff.
www.adweek.com/media/atlant...
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The Atlantic Hits the Seas With New Cruise Ship Partnership
The deal will boost both ad revenue and subscriptions, which grew by 300,000 in the last year
https://www.adweek.com/media/atlantic-cruise-ship-seabourn-partnership-subscriptions/
8 days ago
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I agree with those who think itâs weird CNN forced its longtime hosts to revamp their studios to look like podcast sets. If the network really wants to embrace a podcast aesthetic, then it should just license already-existing podcasts. Or it should launch brand new podcasts that publish online. What
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CNNâs Open Mic Night
The new set for Anderson Cooperâs AC360 has all the trappings of a 1950s radio show, with retro mics and paper maps. While C.E.O. Mark Thompson may be overseeing a makeover that skews creator-relatabl...
https://puck.news/why-cnns-creator-era-rebrand-is-backfiring/
8 days ago
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Out of all the digital media darlings to receive huge VC investments in the 2010s, Vox Media was certainly the most well-managed. It made a smart decision to acquire New York magazine, pioneered a new kind of explainer video, and leaned hard into podcasts right before that medium really took off.
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Exclusive: Vox Media tried to sell its podcasts, and itself
The company now says its podcast network is not for sale.
https://www.semafor.com/article/03/22/2026/vox-media-tried-to-sell-its-podcasts-and-itself
8 days ago
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ICE was already the most hated agency in the US. Now millions of Americans are going to be watching its agents standing around doing nothing as they wait in long lines at airports. Brilliant!
8 days ago
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This is just further evidence that the TV news broadcast and video podcast worlds are merging into one. Not only are TV veterans constant flocking to the video podcast world, but we're also seeing deal flow in the other direction -- Pat McAfee's show licensed to ESPN, Crooked Media's clips appearing
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Former CBS News Correspondent Scott MacFarlane Says Heâs Joining MeidasTouch Network
The former CBS News correspondent will serve as chief Washington correspondent.
https://deadline.com/2026/03/scott-macfarlane-cbs-news-meidas-touch-1236762908/
8 days ago
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"LinkedIn just launched Top Voices 360°: A premium tier of creators who get brand sponsorships, co-branded posts, event appearances, and presumably a better table in the cafeteria ... ... I do have one small question for the platform that built its brand on professional community': why does a compa
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Grammarly Lawsuit, Roblox Ad Policy & LinkedIn 360
What Grammarly's class action lawsuit, Roblox's new brand deal rules, and LinkedIn's Top Voices 360 tier mean for creators and marketers in 2026.
https://insidethecreator.beehiiv.com/p/platforms-behaving-badly
8 days ago
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Itâs hard to even articulate how depressing it is that a senile pedophile is doing everything in his power to wreck the economy. Even if a Democrat takes the White House in 2028, theyâre going to spend their entire first term trying to dig us out of this hole.
8 days ago
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Goalhanger is easily one of the most successful independent media companies to launch in the last decade. What's particularly notable is how effectively it's copied its playbook across multiple new podcasts and niches. It recently reached 250,000 paid subscribers -- a milestone hardly any digital-on
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Goalhanger on making subscriber revenue growth look as easy as tap ins
In an exclusive interview, The Media Leader unpicks the business strategy behind Goalhanger's success and reveals what makes it unique.
https://uk.themedialeader.com/goalhanger-on-making-subscriber-revenue-growth-look-as-easy-as-tap-ins/
8 days ago
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Until recently, talent agencies and influencer agencies largely operated in separate lanes. But as creators increasingly break into traditional Hollywood, those boundaries are starting to blurâsetting the stage for awkward competition over clients.
digiday.com/media/joint-...
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Joint signings highlight growing convergence between creator and Hollywood agencies
What a spate of joint signings tells about agencies diversifying talent and owning media in the creator economy.
https://digiday.com/media/joint-signings-highlight-growing-convergence-between-creator-and-hollywood-agencies/
8 days ago
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