TechCrunch Newsletters - TikTok’s tune troubles

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch AM logo

By Alex Wilhelm

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Good morning, friends, and welcome to TechCrunch AM for Wednesday, January 3. It’s big tech earnings season, though the news there hasn’t been stellar thus far. But worry not, below we have new venture funds, the latest from fintech, Google’s cloud storage momentum, and more. Heck, even TikTok makes an appearance!

Alex

TechCrunch Top 3

  1. Universal Music Group to pull its music from TikTok: After failing to come to an agreement on royalties, Universal intends to remove its massive music catalog from popular social video service TikTok. Universal wants more money, but TikTok doesn’t want to pay more. Universal says TikTok is only worth 1% of its revenue so it can afford to walk away for a bit. Can TikTok make it without Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande?
  2. Giant Ventures raises $250M: One part of the post-2021 venture pullback that we don’t talk about enough is how much less money VCs are raising than they used to. So it’s worth noting when a fund lands a $250 million fund, especially when its prior fund was $100 million. In this case, the firm in question is Giant Ventures, a U.K.-based VC that invests on both sides of the pond.
  3. Layoffs at Wattpad: Popular online writing service Wattpad has laid people off yet again. This time, it’s about 30 people, or 15% of its staff — the same proportion of its headcount that it cut last year. Consider this another data point that monetizing online writing remains very, very hard to do.
TechCrunch Top 3 image

Image Credits: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP / Getty Images

Don't miss these

Fintech layoffs: It’s bleak to keep writing about them, but there are more layoffs to report. This time, the cuts stem from the world of big-cap fintech. Both PayPal and Block are cutting staff, with the former looking to reduce its headcount by 9% this year in a combination of cuts and closed open roles.

Block is singing a similar tune, with 1,000 people getting laid off, or about 10% of its total team. The layoffs “add to a sense of malaise in the fintech and broader tech sector, which has seen tens of thousands of workers let go in the past few weeks,” writes Kyle Wiggers. Yep, it’s not just you. Tech layoffs really are getting worse.

India updates: Accel is in advanced talks to lead a $15 million to $20 million funding round into Newme, a company that some are comparing to China’s Shein. Given that Shein is considering an IPO in the U.S., it’s not a shock that hyper-cheap e-commerce is getting more venture attention. Newme just closed a seed round to boot!

In less exciting news for some Indian startups, the country’s central bank issued new, strict curbs on Paytm’s Payments Bank. Since that’s the bank that fintech giant Paytm uses, this is a big deal. Starting February 29, Paytm Payments Bank will be able to do less than it does currently. This is not the first time Paytm has been in trouble, and it is in the soup this time around due to what the Reserve Bank of India calls non-compliance and supervisory concerns.

People like cloud storage: Alphabet told investors in its quarterly results call that its storage solution, Google One, is nearing 100 million customers. I am one of them, though it’s cheap enough that I honestly could not tell you how much space I have or what I pay for it. Why the disclosure? Google wants you to know that it’s more than just a search giant and it is, in fact, the No. 3 cloud infra player. Its basket of subscription products, including Google One, YouTube Premium and Music, and other services, has crossed the $15 billion annual run rate mark.

Musk pay deal unfair, judge rules: Elon Musk got an unwelcome ruling in the state of Delaware after a shareholder suit over his compensation package from Tesla. Apparently, the compensation was viewed by some as too much for a part-time CEO. Musk is mad about it, and is airing his gripes on X.

Does the UK think it’s the EU? The EU gets away with its regulatory strictures and fines because it is a large, wealthy market. The UK, which left the EU a while back, is also putting pressure on tech giants from TikTok to Bing and Google. The issue is that while the EU has a population of around 450 million, the UK is home to only 67 million folks. Think of it as a bit smaller and poorer market than two Californias stitched together. How much clout the UK can come to wield over how search and social media products work today is not clear, but it’s no EU.

Don't miss these image

Image Credits: CFOTO/Future Publishing / Getty Images

Before you go

Talking with the founders of theSkimm: Rebecca Szkutak recently sat down with Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, the co-founders and co-CEOs of the Skimm, a well-known email newsletter company that targets millennial women. If you want to learn more about digital media and reaching the modern consumer, this is one for you.

Before you go image

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

View this email online in your browser

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Unsubscribe

© 2024 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Older messages

Instagram Threads gains traction

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

TechCrunch Newsletter TechCrunch PM Logo By Christine Hall Tuesday, January 30, 2024 Good afternoon, and welcome back to TechCrunch PM. Today we get into who's on top in the app stores, more

Building AI guardrails should be part of the process

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

TechCrunch+ Newsletter TechCrunch+ logo TechCrunch+ Roundup logo By Karyne Levy Tuesday, January 30, 2024 Image Credits: Feodora Chiosea / Getty Images As companies start relying more on AI-powered

OpenAI wants to build family-friendly GPTs

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

TechCrunch Newsletter TechCrunch AM logo By Alex Wilhelm Tuesday, January 30, 2024 Good morning, and welcome to TechCrunch AM for January 30, 2024. Today we're talking about a nine-figure AI round,

Expect big things from Apple’s iOS 18

Monday, January 29, 2024

TechCrunch Newsletter TechCrunch PM Logo By Christine Hall Monday, January 29, 2024 Good afternoon, and welcome to TechCrunch PM. In today's news, we hope Apple's iOS 18 doesn't disappoint

TechCrunch Space - Saying goodbye to the little helicopter that could

Monday, January 29, 2024

TechCrunch Newsletter TechCrunch Space logo By Aria Alamalhodaei Monday, January 29, 2024 Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Last week, NASA held its annual day of remembrance to commemorate

You Might Also Like

Overcoming Perfectionism: How to Break Free from the Enemy of Progress

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Discover how perfectionism hinders progress and learn practical strategies to overcome the fear of imperfection, boost productivity, and achieve your goals without getting stuck in the pursuit of

🖤 Laravel Black Friday Deals!

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

The biggest deals of the year Laravel Black Friday Deals View in browser Laravel News Editor Note: We are sending this outside the regular Sunday newsletter schedule because some of these specials end

BetterDev #271 - Memory: The Forgotten History and Why did Windows 95 setup use three operating systems?

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Better Dev #271 Nov 26, 2024 Hi all, Welcome to thanksgiving issue of BetterDev. Hope everyone had a safe and warm thanksgiving. It's getting so cold these days. If you are in warzone such as

Mapped | Unemployment Rate By U.S. State in 2024 💼

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

As of October 2024, DC and Nevada tied for the highest unemployment rate in the US at 5.7%. Which states saw the lowest rates? View Online | Subscribe | Download Our App FINAL CHANCE - ENDS TONIGHT!

🔊 7 DIY Tips for Soundproofing a Room — Why I Switched to Xfce for Linux Mint

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Also: Home Theater Sound Terms Explained, and More! How-To Geek Logo November 26, 2024 Did You Know The shiny layer of a CD doesn't contain the data; the plastic polycarbonate layer does. The shiny

JSK Daily for Nov 26, 2024

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

JSK Daily for Nov 26, 2024 View this email in your browser A community curated daily e-mail of JavaScript news JavaScript Certification Black Friday Offer – Up to 54% Off! Certificates.dev, the trusted

NumPy, Loop Targets, Vector Animation, and More

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

NumPy Practical Examples: Useful Techniques #657 – NOVEMBER 26, 2024 VIEW IN BROWSER The PyCoder's Weekly Logo NumPy Practical Examples: Useful Techniques In this tutorial, you'll learn how to

Your Games Quarterly newsletter has arrived

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

What's new for games in Google Play and Android Email not displaying correctly? View it online November 2024 The First Developer Preview of Android 16 The First Developer Preview of Android 16

Daily Coding Problem: Problem #1620 [Hard]

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Daily Coding Problem Good morning! Here's your coding interview problem for today. This problem was asked by Dropbox. Sudoku is a puzzle where you're given a partially-filled 9 by 9 grid with

Final Hours: Help Save "The Art of Data" From Falling Short 🙏

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Will Visual Capitalist end up revealing the secrets behind data storytelling? There are 12 hours left to change the fate of "The Art of Data". View Online | Subscribe | Download Our App Help