Spotify, Netflix, India, Coachella, and a Severed Pig Head
Spotify fires Daylist's Creator, Netflix & WWE, India's Streaming Surge, Coachella's Slump, that Severed Pig Head...and more!
Spotify’s Daylist: A Viral Hit with a Bitter Backstory
Spotify’s Daylist has surged in popularity, thanks to a catchy Instagram Story template that’s got everyone sharing their personalized playlist titles.
The feature, which dishes out whimsically named playlists like “warrior 5th wave emo thursday mornings” or “90s rave late rainforest nights,” has seen a staggering 20,000% spike in searches. It’s the digital equivalent of a horoscope for your ears, changing titles faster than a chameleon on a disco ball.
But here’s the kicker: the mastermind behind this, Glenn McDonald, the ‘data alchemist’ was unceremoniously shown the door during Spotify’s December layoffs. That’s right, the brains behind the operation, the curator of your musical moods, is now out of the picture.
Spotify, in its infinite wisdom, decided that being ‘relentlessly resourceful’ meant cutting loose the very person who gave Gen Z their beloved hyper-personalized playlists.
So, as you listen to your “pissed off before-coffee metal morning” or whatever niche vibe the Daylist serves you, spare a thought for the unsung hero who once orchestrated the soundtrack to your day, only to become a casualty in the corporate game of musical chairs.
India’s Streaming Scene: #2 With a Bullet
There’s a new player in town, and it’s not just Bollywood beats. India, the land of spice, is now the world’s 2nd largest streaming market.
Who knew? With a whopping 891 billion streams and counting, it’s like every person in India has been hitting ‘play’ non-stop. And with an 81% growth in streaming compared to last year, they’re not just listening to music; they’re practically inhaling it.
Indian music fans aren’t just streaming; they’re splurging. They’re spending 72% more money and dedicating 15% more time to music than last year. They’re even shelling out cash for premium services. 7% more music lovers are opening their wallets wider this year.
Now, let’s talk about taste. India might have a 25.5% streaming match rate, suggesting they’re into their own groove, but don’t be fooled. Nearly 90% of users are listening to artists from beyond their borders. Millennials and Gen Z are leading the charge, proving that the youth are indeed the future, at least when it comes to playlist diversity.
Netflix Bets Big on Live “Sports”
Why did Netflix hand WWE $5 Billion?
It was more simple than I thought, which spares you from my mind-numbing ideas about synergy and expanding their audience.
From Business Insider:
Now [live sports are] here, in what appears to be the biggest licensing deal Netflix has ever made. What changed? One word: Ads. When Netflix used to insist that it didn’t see value in live sports, it would point out that the biggest reason programmers pay for live sports is because live sports are huge draws for advertisers. And Netflix wasn’t in the advertising business.
But that changed in the spring of 2022 when Netflix announced that it had lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade. And, after insisting for years that it wasn’t going to have advertising, the company was going to launch an ad-supported version of its service.
Duh! Now it makes much more sense.
And save your tears, Netflix bounced back in a big way — reporting 13 million new subscribers in Q4.
MrBeast’s Experiment on X: The Results
Last week, I wrote about MrBeast testing the waters of X with his video, “$1 vs $100,000,000 Car,” which had already gained significant traction on YouTube. On X, the post (not the video) has attracted 166.4 million views, but the platform doesn’t publicly disclose actual watch counts.
MrBeast revealed his earnings from X: $263,655 for over 156 million impressions.
However, this figure comes with a HUGE caveat.
X promoted MrBeast’s video as an ad, but it wasn’t labeled as such. The video included a pre-roll ad from Shopify, a company MrBeast has previously partnered with. MrBeast branded a mountain in Antarctica with a Shopify flag last year.
Yeah, I don’t get it either…
X explained that posts with pre-roll ads aren’t labeled as ads because the post itself isn’t an ad. This practice has been ongoing for some time. The digital advertising watchdog, Check My Ads, flagged this issue last fall and filed a complaint with the FTC. X’s program, “Amplify,” allows advertisers to choose video categories for their ads, raising concerns about potential misuse. As Check My Ads noted in a follow-up post this week, if Shopify, a frequent business partner of MrBeast, can pay to boost his video, just think what political bad actors could do this year as the election heats up. But instead of dwelling on how horrifying that might be for democracy, let’s focus on the bright side.
MrBeast’s experiment has highlighted how the platform’s ad revenue system is flawed. Many creators from various niches have voiced their frustration at not earning as much as high-profile users like MrBeast.
X Premium, the platform’s subscription service, promises creators a chance to monetize their content — pay Elon a monthly fee and you’ll gain exclusive access to his ad network. But this perpetuates a false narrative of internet success and exploits creators’ efforts for the platform’s gain.
From Garbage Day:
Musk’s X Premium scam relies on conning the last remaining people on the web who still believe the false promise of the 2010s internet: Anyone can be a creator! Your hobby could be your job! Everyone will have a voice! Don’t build your own audience, though. Instead, live like a parasite on a big platform, grinding out low-effort content to make its empty feed look more interesting to new users. It was never real, it’s not real now, and certainly isn’t real now on X. And it shouldn’t be surprising that the only people who are willing to pay Musk for the privilege of being his gig worker are people without the skills, taste, or ethics to post elsewhere. And, of course, when MrBeast, someone who doesn’t need to X, posts there, the whole “facade,” as he put it, instantly falls apart.
The current unrest on X serves as a stark reminder of the platform’s challenges and the broader conversation about platform ethics.
More on the Death of Pitchfork
I felt alone on an island last week with my indifference about Pitchfork’s demise. It’s no surprise music critics or those with personal ties would clutch their pearls, but I appreciate the growing number of balanced and unemotional observations on Pitchfork’s demise.
This is not a harbinger of what’s to come, this is the last gasp of a dead paradigm.
In other words, record reviews are history.
Cultural relevance? How do you achieve it?
Via word of mouth.
Which means it’s out of control. In other words, the usual suspects, the tastemakers, the gatekeepers, they’ve lost all power.
As for Pitchfork… They say there’s not enough money in advertising. But if the site were so desirable it could be subscription-based. But it’s not desirable.
But one thing is for sure, record review sites are not coming back, are not going to grow, because word of mouth from a trusted friend is much more powerful. You know where they’re coming from. And there’s no anointed critic who most people can agree on, they’re all faceless.
Music criticism is dead. If it comes back, it will look different.
We need to make it easier for the consumer. At the same time we’re telling them this music deserves respect, because it’s quality work.
We’ve got to stop lamenting the passage of the past and invest in the future.
Texas metal band apologizes for severed pig head, is criticized for apologizing
Martyrdom was playing a show in Houston when the pig head flew, and patrons and witnesses reported it on social media.
The band took responsibility for the stunt:
“We are incredibly sorry to anyone we offended with our actions and gimmicks on stage. We are a black metal band, and as part of it, we try to add a little bit of imagery and shock value to our set. Unfortunately, our act has gotten carried away and way out of hand, offending many and even harming some."
When the band went on Instagram to remind everyone of its upcoming gig in Austin, some fans wanted to pick a fight about the apology.
"Bending over for cancel culture. How very black metal of you guys," one Instagram follower wrote.
The band asked if the follower had a "neckbeard," adding that they "must have nothing important or significant going on in your life if you keep coming back on our page and commenting."
I don’t have much to add here, but it may be my favorite headline of the year, and it’s only January.
Coachella’s Slowest Ticket Sales in 10 Years
For years, snatching up a Coachella weekend pass was like panning for gold: part patience, part savvy, and part dumb luck. Despite steep ticket prices, fans waited for hours in virtual ticket queues, only to learn they had missed their chance at a wristband. From 2014 to 2022, tickets sold out in a window ranging from just 40 minutes in 2015 to slightly more than 4 hours in 2022.
In 2023, sales cooled slightly. That year, tickets for Coachella’s first weekend — the more coveted of the two — took days, not hours, to sell.
And as of Thursday, tickets for the first weekend are still available at the second of the three price tiers, meaning plenty of passes remain.
One plausible explanation for the slowdown is the festival’s 2024 lineup. The bill, featuring headliners Doja Cat, Tyler, the Creator, Lana Del Rey, and No Doubt, has left many fans underwhelmed.
Coachella will be held in Indio, California from Friday, Apr. 12, to Sunday, Apr. 21.
THE NEWS DESK
Media, Music, & Entertainment
MrBeast is reportedly closing a “nearly $100 million” deal with Amazon Studios after just one week of pitching a TV show concept to streaming services. Read More → puck
Netflix added a whopping 13 million subscribers last quarter, blowing past Wall Street’s expectations of 9 million. Read More → thr
The NFL is so happy with the results of the game aired exclusively on Peacock that it’s already exploring more streaming deals. Read More → thr
Apple confirmed it’ll increase royalty payouts on Apple Music by 10% to artists who make their tracks available in spatial audio — even if people don’t listen to those versions. Read More → theverge
Fashion & E-Commerce
Nu Metal is the hottest thing in fashion. How did that happen? And damn it, GQ, Deftones aren’t Nu Metal! Read More → gq
Shein and Temu keep prices low partly through a tax loophole that allows the fast-fashion platforms to send packages to the US tax-free. But also slave labor! Read More → insider
Spotify is signaling what in-app payments (for Euro users) would look like if the EU’s Digital Markets Act forces Apple to drop or lower its App Store fees. Read More → theverge
Tech, Web3, & AI
Microsoft is the second company in history to hit a market cap of $3 trillion — a milestone achieved by its recent investments in AI. Read More → Bloomberg
Russian hackers successfully breached Microsoft, accessing the email accounts of some senior leaders, cybersecurity, and legal team members. Read More → Axios
Google is rolling out an AI tool that helps customers generate ads for Search. Read More → the information
Instagram is introducing a new late-night feature that warns teens when scrolling that they should be sleeping. Read More → tech crunch
Creator Economy
TikTok may bump up its video runtimes to a max of 30 minutes, encroaching on YouTube’s territory. Read More → tubefilter
Rumble saw its value increase by $502 million, a 36% jump in its stock, after signing a deal with Barstool Sports. Read More → bloomberg
ByteDance’s Lemon8 found surprise momentum in the US after seeing signups surge 160% late last year. Read More → insider
BeReal, in a death spiral, is recruiting brands and celebs to jumpstart popularity. Read More → TechCrunch