The declining need for commoditized content
Welcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If you fit into the latter camp and want to subscribe, then you can click on this handy little button: Let’s jump into it… The declining need for commoditized contentNeha-Tamara Patel, an executive at British GQ, spoke to Press Gazette about why the magazine has significantly reduced its content output:
Now that the big tech platforms are sending a lot less traffic, publishers are slowly getting off the hamster wheel that required them to pump out large volumes of low-quality content. Instead, they're becoming more focused on serving their core audiences. How the Hollywood studios are responding to YouTube’s dominanceI’ve written recently about why YouTube is out-competing nearly every major Hollywood studio when it comes to TV viewership time. CNBC published a follow-up piece about how each studio is responding to this dominance; some view it as only a competitor, while others are starting to strategize on how to better leverage its massive reach:
Media conglomerates don’t even value their own IPWhile some media conglomerates are trying to figure out how to post more of their videos on free channels, others are wiping out their content archives completely:
These companies keep trying to engage in bigger and bigger mergers, justifying it with the claim that they need more IP to reach profitability. But they don't even properly use the IP they already have. How the Daily Upside grew to over 1 million subscribersOne of the best insights Patrick Trousdale had when growing his finance newsletter The Daily Upside was that he didn’t need to go it alone. With his deep background in the finance industry, he knew he could create a high quality editorial product, and he also knew he’d have a much easier time growing it if he teamed up with an outlet that had an already-existing audience. That’s how he ended up partnering with The Motley Fool, a venerable media brand that was looking to diversify its portfolio. After the Motley Fool started promoting The Daily Upside to its email list, the latter was able to quickly scale up its operations and revenue. Today, it has over 1 million email subscribers and employs an entire editorial team. In a recent interview, Patrick walked through all his growth strategies, including:
You can find the interview over here. Substack wants to play nice with the mainstream mediaSubstack's co-founder thinks traditional media outlets should experiment more with using Substack to reach new audiences:
Renting distribution vs owning distributionCJR published a fascinating Q&A with the founders of Meidas Touch, a left-leaning media company that’s now generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views every month. This quote really jumped out at me:
How influential is the Vogue brand?Puck wrote about the third-annual Vogue World, an event that’s mainly attended by members of “the Vogue 100—the private club that costs at least $100,000 a year to join.” It seems clear that the magazine is testing the limits of how much money people will pay to merely be associated with its brand:
I’m looking for more media entrepreneurs to feature on my newsletter and podcastOne of the things I really pride myself on is that I don’t just focus this newsletter on covering the handful of mainstream media companies that every other industry outlet features. Instead, I go the extra mile to find and interview media entrepreneurs who have been quietly killing it behind the scenes. In most cases, the operators I feature have completely bootstrapped their outlets. In that vein, I’m looking for even more entrepreneurs to feature. Specifically, I’m looking for people succeeding in these areas:
Interested in speaking to me? You can find my contact info over here. (please don’t simply hit reply to this newsletter because that’ll go to a different email address. ) Want a daily dose of media industry news?I only send this newsletter out twice a week, but I curate industry news on a daily basis. Follow me on one of these social platforms if you want your daily fix: You're currently a free subscriber to Simon Owens's Media Newsletter. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
How Jared Newman built Cord Cutter Weekly, a TV streaming newsletter with 32,000 subscribers
Thursday, June 27, 2024
A spinoff newsletter that gives tech advice has also grown to 1200 paying members. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
The PR industry is developing a spam problem
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
For many journalists, inbox triage has become nearly impossible. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
An ode to the platform era of news distribution
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
PLUS: Buzzfeed's humiliations will continue until morale improves. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
We learned the wrong lessons from the "pivot to video"
Friday, June 21, 2024
PLUS: The advertisers are coming for Substack ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How legacy media outlets can collaborate with the Creator Economy
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Creators are generating revenue that in the pre-internet age would have gone to newspapers, magazines, and TV networks. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
Google cuts ties with Entrust in Chrome over trust issues [Mon Jul 1 2024]
Monday, July 1, 2024
Hi The Register Subscriber | Log in The Register {* Daily Headlines *} 1 July 2024 chrome Google cuts ties with Entrust in Chrome over trust issues Move comes weeks after Mozilla blasted certificate
Okinawans vs U.S. military
Monday, July 1, 2024
And guess, who wins? what happened last week in Asia, Africa and the Americas Hey, this is Sham, your very own news curator. It's the first Monday of the month again, and here's your sneak peek
Can Anything Stop the Democratic National Convention From Being a Biden Coronation?
Sunday, June 30, 2024
“The Democratic Party is more invested in trying to maintain control than it is in trying to win an election in November,” said one DNC member. Most Read From Prison, Imran Khan Says Top Pakistani
Monday Briefing: French far right appears to triumph
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Also, Iran's election heads to a runoff and Japanese researchers help robots smile View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition July 1, 2024 Author Headshot By Daniel E.
GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Catch up on the top tech stories from this past week. Here are the headlines that people have been reading on GeekWire. ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: BOT or NOT? This special series explores
Guest Newsletter: Five Books
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Five Books features in-depth author interviews recommending five books on a theme Guest Newsletter: Five Books By Sylvia Bishop • 30 Jun 2024 View in browser View in browser Five Books features in-
🍿 1989 Was the Year of the Blockbuster
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Plus: Marvel's return to Comic-Con is its last chance to save the MCU. Inverse Daily Retro-style image of a man in a fedora hat with a patterned background, framed by an oval border and repeated
10 Things That Delighted Us: From Irish Self-Tanners to Socks-On Sandals
Sunday, June 30, 2024
The most useful, thoughtful, and just plain fun things we uncovered this week. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may
Inside the only child stigma
Sunday, June 30, 2024
A new way to get more from the newsroom and support Vox's journalism. As you're a Vox Recommends reader, we thought you'd be excited to hear about The Highlight magazine. This members-only
LEVER WEEKLY: Which Democrat Could Replace Biden?
Sunday, June 30, 2024
The high court greenlit corruption and kneecapped the government, while Biden blundered on stage, and other news from The Lever this week. LEVER WEEKLY: Which Democrat Could Replace Biden? By The Lever