Jottings of note:
Spotify dives deeper in video with new Netflix deal
Spotify announces today a new agreement and content sharing deal with Netflix. The audio (and video) streamer will showcase selected video podcasts on Netflix. This potentially puts Spotify’s mostly-audio brand recognition into the largest video streaming service, which addresses a total audience of about 300 million viewers. To start this alliance, Spotify will choose a curated selection of sports, culture, lifestyle, and (of course) true crime podcasts. The company predicts this agreement will increase in volume over time. Spotify got into the video business in September 2016 (RAIN HERE).
Taylor Swift brings out the album equivalency numbers
The Life of a Showgirl, the recently released album from an aspiring singer-songwriter named Taylor Swift, has entered the market with a bit of momentum. The album is #1 on all charts, of course, and all of its twelve songs nestling into the Hot 100 singles chart. But le’s talk about vinyl. Vinyl sales stand at 1.3 million according to NPR research. For context, consider that total U.S. vinyl sales this year add up to 30 million. So, Taylor Swift has grabbed nearly 4.5% of that total … so far. Postulating an average price of a vinyl album ($29.99) NPR flexes its brain with several thought experiments … like, how many Big Macs you could buy with that total revenue. It’s 6.6 billion. Or, 77 Rolls Royce Phantoms. And more fun extrapolations. See it all HERE.
“I Want My…”
It’s a Money for Nothing moment in the UK, as MTV plans to discontinue its music TV channels — a tectonic evolutionary moment for the world’s first 24-hour music broadcaster on television. The network has been operating in the UK for nearly 40 years, according to the BBC. he following stations — MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live — will all stop broadcasting after December 31. YouTube and social media generally are identified as the most disruptive agents in this fall of a legacy giant. MTV made its U.S. launch in 1981, and migrated to Europe in 1987. The UK started its MTV channel in 1997. MTV VJ Simone Angel observed: “”MTV Europe was really the forerunner to the internet. We were the most widespread TV channel in the world at that point. We had between 100 and 150 million viewers.” MTV is a part of Paramount Media Networks. Unofficial news speculates that more MTC closures are coming around the world, with four countries specifically mentioned: Australia, Poland, France, and Brazil. Paramount hopes to save $500M.
October 14, 2025
