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☆ My wife and I collected 24 years' worth of clutter. Now, our hobby is throwing away a bag of trash every night, and it's changed our marriage.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Noah Berlatsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"But do we really need eight reserve bottles of dish soap?" "It's dish soap," she pointed out. "You always need dish soap." After 24 years of marriage, we have found a hobby to renew our bond and a new journey to embark on together. But for now, we are united in our mission, and by the bittersweet realization that we never need to buy dish soap again.

Persons: Overstuffed, it's, David Byrne, It's, decluttering Organizations: Service Locations: There's

☆ Opinion: Bosses are striking back at workers who use mouse jigglers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Opinion Jeff Yang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Especially the last bit: Corporate America is obsessed with ensuring their employees are staying productive when they’re working remotely, away from the gimlet eyes of management. It’s easy to imagine the types of pretend productivity gadgets these employees might have used: “mouse jigglers,” gizmos with a questionable name that make random, small motions of a mouse or touchpad. And Wells Fargo’s crackdown on these gadgets is just the latest attempt by big business to rein in perceived slacking by remote employees. That perceptual gap reflects a vast and growing mutual distrust between workers and employers in America. They’re how workers are battling back against boardroom Big Brother, in a technological arms race that’s only getting wilder as devices get more sophisticated.

Persons: Jeff Yang, Bruce ”, “, Jeff Yang CNN, Wells, They’re, they’re, wilder, I’ve Organizations: CNN, Bloomberg, Business, Intuit, Microsoft Locations: Asian America, America, New York , Connecticut, Delaware

☆ Dolly Parton Covers Billy Joel, and 8 More New Songs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jon Pareles | Lindsay Zoladz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Now that she’s released the deluxe edition — in honor of her 78th birthday, on Friday! — Dolly Parton’s already sprawling double album “Rockstar” runs nearly three hours long and clocks in at an indefatigably rockin’ 39 tracks. “I know the game, you’ll forget my name,” she sings, with a slight ache in her voice. “And I won’t be here in another year, if I don’t stay on the charts.” Given that “Rockstar” became the highest-charting album of Parton’s career just a few months ago, that fate seems, blessedly, unlikely. LINDSAY ZOLADZ

Persons: she’s, Dolly Parton’s, Billy Joel’s, ”, Parton, Rockstar ”, LINDSAY ZOLADZ Organizations: Rockstar

☆ Spotify's former podcast boss calls out the company for setting 'money on fire' with costly celeb deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify 'lit money on fire' with celeb podcasting deals, says the former boss of its podcast studio. Lydia Polgreen, formerly managing director of Gimlet Media, criticized Spotify's decision to cancel two hit podcasts. AdvertisementSpotify "lit money on fire" with celebrity podcast deals, says a former exec at Spotify's podcast studio Gimlet Media. Lydia Polgreen, a New York Times columnist and former managing director of Gimlet Media, criticized the company's decision to cancel its "Heavyweight" and "Stolen" podcasts. Lydia Polgreen used to be managing director of Spotfiy's podcast studio, Gimlet Media.

Persons: Lydia Polgreen, Spotify's, —, Sean Mathis, Bloomberg's Ashley Carman, Daniel Ek, Kim Kardashian, Emma Chamberlain, Barack, Michelle Obama, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Duke, Duchess of Sussex Organizations: Spotify, Gimlet Media, Service, New York Times

☆ Spotify ditches popular podcasts 'Heavyweight' and 'Stolen' as CEO doubles down on cost-cutting
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Spotify is cutting two big podcasts, "Heavyweight" and "Stolen," Bloomberg reported. The podcasts in question, "Heavyweight" and "Stolen," will be canceled after completing their current seasons, the report said. Given the cancellations, the streaming giant's viral Spotify Wrapped campaign might soon be overshadowed by a new mantra: "Spotify Scrapped." "Heavyweight" was listed as one of The New York Times' top podcasts of the year and "Stolen" won a Pulitzer Prize and Peabody Award. The news of the podcasts' axing comes as Spotify made its third round of layoffs this year.

Persons: Daniel Ek, —, Ek, Mason Morfit, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Organizations: Bloomberg, Analysts, Service, Spotify, The New York Times, Peabody, Spotify's Gimlet, Financial Times Locations: Stockholm

☆ Spotify to Cut 1,500 Jobs After Spending Spree
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Adam Satariano | More About Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Spotify said on Monday that it would cut nearly a fifth of its work force, at least the third round of layoffs this year, as it has struggled to become consistently profitable after spending aggressively to expand beyond music streaming into areas such as podcasting. “Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive,” Mr. Ek said. “Despite our efforts to reduce costs this past year, our cost structure for where we need to be is still too big,” Mr. Ek added. Despite being the largest music streaming platform, Spotify has long struggled to be profitable because of the terms of licensing deals it has with record labels and music publishers. It struck expensive deals with well-known figures such as former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, as well as Prince Harry and wife, Meghan.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Mr, Ek, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Prince Harry, Meghan Organizations: Spotify

☆ Spotify plans to split with its longtime ad agency as it looks beyond music streaming for growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify is quietly looking for a new ad agency to handle its media planning and buying as it takes steps to broaden its business beyond music and podcasts and push further into performance marketing. The audio streaming company is planning to part with its global agency of record since 2017 , ad holding company IPG Mediabrands' UM, according to two knowledgeable sources. Spotify shared a statement saying: "Today, UM is Spotify's agency of record. In October, Spotify posted an operating profit, its first since 2021, as user and advertising growth along with price hikes boosted results. Spotify has since pivoted away from heavy spending on podcasts and made some of its shows available on other platforms to spur audience growth.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Publicis, Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama, Dawn Ostroff Organizations: Spotify, UM, Business Locations: North America

☆ Spotify’s $1 Billion Podcast Bet Turns Into a Serial Drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Anne Steele | Sarah Krouse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/media/spotify-podcast-gimlet-harry-meghan-kardashian-59866a5d

Persons: Dow Jones, harry, meghan, kardashian

☆ Can These Three Much-Loved Musicals Ever Be Truly Revived?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jesse Green | More About Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Like the movie, it was a blast, even if its satire, coming from all directions, seemed to have no target. (Much of what it pokes fun at are the conventions of musicals themselves.) Last year at Stratford, “The Rocky Horror Show” suffered from a similar problem — but recent Stratford productions of “Chicago,” “The Music Man” and “Guys and Dolls” (all directed and choreographed by Donna Feore) did not. (We’ll have a chance to find out with the arrival of a completely different “Spamalot” revival on Broadway this fall.) Maybe comedy needs to skip a few generations until minds that know nothing of migratory coconuts can test its enduring worth.

Persons: ”, Donna Feore, Lezlie Wade, Jesse Robb, “ Spamalot ” Organizations: “ Locations: Stratford, “, “ Chicago

☆ Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Great ‘Indiana Jones’ Adventure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Talk Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Great ‘Indiana Jones’ AdventureThere’s a photo of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, taken at an Emmys afterparty in 2019, that captures, better than any other contemporary celebrity photo I’ve seen, the enduring allure and glamour of Hollywood success. Phoebe Waller-Bridge with Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd. Christ, I don’t know the answer. Now people could be like, “I’ve got a show,” but you don’t know where it’s going to go out, you don’t know how many people are going to see it. Whereas before you’re like, no one cares, no one’s watching, no one’s going to give you anything, but you’re going to do it anyway, now you’re like, they’re going to give you everything!

Persons: Phoebe Waller, Indiana, “, Waller, Indiana Jones, James Bond, ”, ’, I’ve, I’m, Harrison Ford, “ Indiana Jones, ” Jonathan Olley, —, I’ll, We’re, you’ve, it’s, “ I’ve, ” Waller, ” Luke Varley, he’s, Josh Cole, Phoebe, they’d, I’d, what’s, David Marchese, Emma Chamberlain, Walter Mosley Organizations: Indiana Jones, Amazon Studios, Lucasfilm, “, BBC, YouTube, Cal Newport Locations: British, Waller, “, America

☆ A new report on the top 451 podcasts in the US shows the power of true crime. Here were 4 other key takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pew Research Center analyzed 451 top-ranked podcasts in the US. When it comes to top-ranked shows, the adoption of video is split down the middle. A new study from Pew Research Center, released on Thursday, found that just over half (51%) of the top-ranked podcasts in the US have a video component. Half of top-ranked podcasts have a video component51% of the podcasts Pew analyzed release a video version, almost always on YouTube — 97% of podcasts with a video component publish it there. Roughly half of top-ranked podcasts seek audience supportAround half of top-ranked podcasts (47%) ask their audiences to support them by offering options like subscriptions, donations, or merch.

Persons: Galen Stocking, Pew, Joe Rogan, Stocking, Emma Chamberlain, Alex Cooper Organizations: Pew Research Center, YouTube, Edison Research, Apple, Spotify Locations: Gimlet

☆ True crime dominates among top-ranked podcasts. Here are 4 other takeaways from new Pew research, from video's rise to the state of exclusivity.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Persons: Galen Stocking, Pew, Joe Rogan, Stocking, Emma Chamberlain, Alex Cooper Organizations: Pew Research Center, YouTube, Edison Research, Apple, Spotify Locations: Gimlet

☆ Spotify to Lay Off 200 Employees in Podcast Strategy Shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Spotify, the audio streaming platform, said on Monday that it planned to lay off about 200 people, including workers at the popular podcast studios Gimlet Media and Parcast. The 2 percent cut to the company’s work force is part of a “strategic realignment” of the podcast division, Sahar Elhabashi, the head of podcasts at Spotify, said in a memo to Spotify employees on Monday. Since early 2019, the number of podcast shows on Spotify has grown to more than five million from about 200,000, Ms. Elhabashi said in a revised version of the memo that Spotify posted on its website. That period was a boom era for the podcasting industry, with media companies making large investments to expand their offerings. This flurry of spending has cooled in the last year, with companies cutting podcast jobs and curbing budgets.

Persons: Sahar Elhabashi, Elhabashi Organizations: Spotify, Gimlet Media Locations: Stockholm

☆ Spotify to lay off 200 workers in podcast division
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 5 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it would cut 200 jobs from its podcast unit in its second round of layoffs, as the company restructures the business after years of heavy investment. Spotify had spent aggressively to build up its podcast business in recent years, hoping the higher engagement levels offered by the format will bring in more advertisers. In response, Spotify cut 6% of its workforce earlier in 2023 and announced the departure of Dawn Ostroff, who helped shape its podcast business and guided it through controversies such as the backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19. Sahar Elhabashi, who heads the podcast business, said on Monday that the company has "made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment." Spotify also said it will merge its Parcast and Gimlet studios into a single Spotify Studios division, which will produce Spotify originals.

Persons: Dawn Ostroff, Joe Rogan's, Sahar Elhabashi, Elhabashi, Tiyashi Datta, Vinay Dwivedi, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: Spotify Technology SA, Spotify, Spotify Studios, Thomson Locations: Sweden, Bengaluru

☆ Highly successful people use this soft skill, says 'CEO whisperer' Jerry Colonna—avoiding it 'is a prescription' for 'failure'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Highly successful people possess a skill that helps them grow personally and professionally, says leadership coach Jerry Colonna: They excel at adapting to change. Colonna was even dubbed the "CEO whisperer" by Gimlet's "StartUp" podcast in 2015. "You have to meet each individual team member where they are, not drag them to where you are," he added. "Take a deep breath, take stock of the situation, and discuss it candidly" with your boss instead, Brassey and De Smet wrote. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do's and don'ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.

☆ VideoAmp Hires Its First CMO as Ad-Measurement Race Heats Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

VideoAmp is part of a group of media-measurement upstarts aiming to challenge longtime standard-bearer Nielsen. VideoAmp Inc. hired media executive Jenny Wall to be its first chief marketing officer as it looks to further establish its position in the contentious media measurement space. Ms. Wall had been CMO of Paramount Global ’s Nickelodeon and previously held marketing roles at Hulu, Netflix Inc. and Gimlet Media, a podcasting company owned by Spotify Technology S. A.

Apart from the forecast of half a billion users, Spotify also expects premium subscribers to reach 207 million in the current quarter and revenue of 3.1 billion euros ($3.35 billion). Analysts were expecting 202 million subscribers and revenue of 3.05 billion euros. Spotify last year laid out plans to get 1 billion users by 2030 and to reach $100 billion revenue annually. "Spotify will double down on things that worked well and stop doing the things that don't work," he said. In 2023, the company expects revenue to begin to grow faster than operating expenses, which have jumped due to headcount growth and higher advertising costs.

☆ TikTok is quietly testing a podcast feature that allows users to listen to audio in the background
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTok is testing a new "Podcasts" feature that allows users to listen to audio in the background. TikTok is testing a new "Podcasts" feature that allows users to continue to listen to a video's audio even while the app is in the background. Ordinarily, moving away from a TikTok video pauses it outright. One in three respondents said YouTube was their preferred podcast app, followed by Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Spotify has since borrowed tactics from TikTok, including testing a TikTok-like feed for discovering audio on its app.

☆ 22 Unique Valentine’s Gifts for Men Who Have Everything
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +12 min

From the cocktail gadget that will level-up his drinks to the ultimate undershirts, these are presents you can purchase with confidence—no gift receipt required. This edition has a wood cabinet with metal plaques, die-cast metal houses and hotels, gold-foil stamping and money-holding drawers. Buy Side’s favorite automatic cocktail maker works with pre-measured pods and his favorite spirits to dispense cocktails at the push of a button. For more great gadget ideas, check out our roundup of the top gifts for your favorite techie. Even better, the jean material “came ready-to-wear with no awkward break-in period, plus a custom liner.”—Additional reporting by Leslie Yazel

☆ 13 Unique Gifts for Men Who Have Everything
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

From the cocktail gadget that will level-up his drinks to the ultimate undershirts, these are presents you can purchase with confidence—no gift receipt required. While both the V-neck and crew come in black, white and gray, she prefers the beige shade because it doesn’t show under a white shirt. For utilitarian typesLike the little black dress of menswear, this casual blazer made of knit cotton will take him from the office to date night. “Top Chef” finalist and Washington, D.C.-based chef and restaurateur Spike Mendelsohn is a fan of the contraption. Even better, the jean material “came ready-to-wear with no awkward break-in period, plus a custom liner.”

☆ Best of: fiecare zi e o mică sărbătoare! Lista localurilor din Chișinău care se specializează pe crearea cocktailurilor
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-09 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +2 min

AICI puteți vedea alte poziții cu cocktailuri! Mitropolit Dosoftei 89# ESCOBARPrintre băuturile speciale de la ESCOBAR puteți găsi următoarele:# Ultimate;# Japanese Yuzu;# EscoBasil;# Honey Suckle;# Tony Stark Pepper. Celelalte băuturi le puteți găsi AICI! Celelalte cocktailuri le puteți vedea AICI! M. Eminescu 50# MojoPrintre cocktailurile localului se regăsesc următoarele:# REED;# FORESTER;Iar AICI puteți vedea alte cocktailuri pe care le oferă localul!

Persons: Dosoftei, ESCOBAR, Tony Stark Pepper ., Ramos Gin, . Cantemir, Berry, G . Bănulescu, M . Eminescu, REED, Tănase Organizations: New Delhi Sour, Café, Gold, Garden Locations: Chișinău, Chișinăului, Marlène, and, New Delhi, București

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