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But while the company's profile in the industry has stayed constant and swaggering, behind the curtain, its business has been increasingly troubled, 10 insiders told Business Insider. Creator economy professionals mingled beneath glowing jellyfish and coral light fixtures inside Jellysmack's creator lounge during VidCon 2023. "As a startup in the ever-evolving creator economy, we are constantly testing and adapting our business model," the Jellysmack spokesperson told BI in a statement. Advertisement"The world was falling apart with the pandemic, but early Jellysmack felt like a dream," the second former staffer told BI. BI viewed two Jellysmack contracts and an email exchange between Jellysmack and one of its creator clients to verify the practice.

Persons: —, SoftBank, lanyards, Jellymack, Jellysmack, YouTubers, Brad Mondo, Meta, Michael Philippe, Jellysmack cofounders Swann Maizil, Robin Sabban, Nathan Guetta, Condé Nast, Youri Hazanov, Sean Atkins, hasn't, Snapchat —, Amanda Perelli, JellyFi, deprioritize, that's, it's, Ollie Forsyth, They've Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, influencers, BI, YouTube, Disney, Comcast, Keli, Big Tech, cryptocurrency, MTV, HBO, Copyright Capital, SoftBank, Productions, OKA Media, Network Media LLC, Crime, Star, Spotify, Crime Network Locations: VidCon, SoftBank

☆ Early Facebook investor Accel raises $650 million fund to back European and Israeli startups
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

AccelVenture capital firm Accel said Tuesday it's raised $650 million for its eighth fund targeted at investing in European and Israeli early-stage startups, in a sign the venture capital market may be showing signs of a recovery. "The environment has dramatically changed since then," Nelis told CNBC. Climate-focused VC firm World Fund closed a 300 million euro fund in March. "We're lucky that with DeepMind here in London and with Fair [Facebook AI Research] in Paris, there's at least two big centers that have great AI expertise," Nelis told CNBC. "My expectation is Europe is going to generate some really interesting AI application companies," Nelis told CNBC.

Persons: Harry Nelis, Sonali de Rycker, Andrei Brasoveanu, Luca Bocchio, Philippe Botteri, it's, Nelis, UiPath, Russia's, Wise, Magnus Grimeland, Grimeland, there's, Victor Riparbelli, Synthesia, Riparbelli Organizations: Accel, Accel Venture, Spotify, CNBC, Skype, U.S, Nvidia Locations: Europe, Israel, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, New York, U.S, London, Paris, Synthesia

☆ OpenAI chief Sam Altman just showed he has what Tim Cook really wants — but Apple still has one big advantage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewAfter OpenAI unveiled its latest ChatGPT iteration, one tech executive is probably super jealous: Apple's Tim Cook. as you do with Apple's assistant. The comparisons to the female voice assistant from the movie "Her" were so obvious even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted about it. OpenAI clearly has made a voice assistant chatbot that is way more advanced than Siri currently is, and Tim Cook must be sweating a little. But Apple still has a big advantage whenever it updates Siri with an AI makeover: It's already the voice assistant on your iPhone — and that's huge.

Persons: —, OpenAI, Tim Cook, Siri, Alexa, Mira Murati, It's, Sam Altman, Apple's Siri, it's, Amazon's, chatbot Organizations: Service, Business, Apple, New York Times, Spotify Locations: ChatGPT

☆ Kendrick Lamar and Drake Battled Toe to Toe. The Winner Is Old School Hip-Hop. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Laurence Ralph | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar is about more than whatever personal beefs these two men have with each other. What sets this rap battle apart from previous high-profile hip-hop feuds is its magnitude and implications for popular music. If Drake, who has become the face of rap’s mainstream pop faction, has lost this battle, that setback is not his alone. Mr. Lamar’s ability to write layered and intricate lyrics has long been lauded. Mr. Lamar’s apparent decision to remove copyright protections for “Not Like Us” has also enabled a wide dissemination of the track, allowing content creators to monetize posts featuring the song.

Persons: Drake, Kendrick Lamar, ”, Lil Baby, Lamar’s Organizations: Spotify

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Listen to and follow ‘Hard Fork’Kevin reports on his monthlong experiment cultivating relationships with 18 companions generated by artificial intelligence. Then, Casey has a conversation with Turing, one of Kevin’s chatbot buddies, who has an interest in stoic philosophy and has one of the sexiest voices we’ve ever heard. And finally, we talk to Nomi’s founder and chief executive, Alex Cardinell, about the business behind A.I. Guests:Turing, Kevin’s A.I. Alex Cardinell, chief executive and founder of Nomi.

Persons: Kevin, Casey, Turing, Kevin’s, we’ve, Alex Cardinell, —, Kevin’s A.I Organizations: Apple, Spotify, Nomi

☆ Sports gambling is taking a cue from Wall Street, and it could be a problem for sportsbooks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at how a sports bettor trying to hedge a $1.7 million payout shows the gambling world is taking a page out of Wall Street's book . The big storySports gambling goes Wall StreetiStock; Rebecca Zisser/BIHow would you like to turn $100 into $1.7 million in a little over a year? Thanks to a secondary market for gambling tickets, Shelton could sell his ticket to another bettor. And not unlike Wall Street's feelings about retail traders, Shelton is the type of gambler sportsbooks love. Unlike mom-and-pop gamblers who often bet on a whim, so-called sharps' systematic approach to gambling can pose a problem for sportsbooks.

Persons: —, Rebecca Zisser, Wayne Shelton, Shelton, Matthew Fox, Anthony Edwards, Joshua Gateley, sportsbooks, Shelton's longshot, Goldman Sachs, Sam Bankman, Fried, Puck, SBF, Justin Sullivan, Getty Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Jack Dorsey, he'd, Mike Solana, Dorsey, Bluesky, Demis, Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman, they'd, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Sports, MLB, NFL, NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder, Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Western Conference, ESPN, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Getty, Detention, MDC, Bloomberg, Bay Area, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Warner Brothers, Justice League, Big, Honda Locations: China, Russia, Brooklyn's, Young, New York City, New York, Bay, London

☆ Opinion | This Is a Very Weird Moment in the History of Drug Laws
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Drug policy feels very unsettled right now. The war on drugs was a failure. But so far, the war on the war on drugs hasn’t entirely been a success, either. But then there was a surge in overdoses and public backlash over open-air drug use. And last month, Oregon’s governor signed a law restoring criminal penalties for drug possession, ending that short-lived experiment.

Persons: —, Oregon’s, “, Ezra Klein Organizations: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Locations: Oregon

☆ YouTube's plan to compete with Spotify and Apple in podcasting, according to 2 insiders
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

YouTube is leaning on its music app to rival competitors like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. As video podcasts boom on YouTube, the platform is leaning on its ability to offer both video and audio to draw in listeners. "With YouTube Music, we've expanded a user's choice for how to consume podcasts on YouTube," Sweet said. "Audiences can pivot to an audio-first experience with the ability to background and download podcasts on the go, and these experiences sync up." Podcasts are found in the YouTube Music app on the home and Explore tabs.

Persons: —, we've, Sweet, We're Organizations: YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Service, Business

☆ Whoops! I just (accidentally) screwed Jeff Bezos out of $130.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I wanted to subscribe to The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, for $12 every 4 weeks. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . And I definitely wasn't trying to get one over on The Washington Post. But that's just what happened: I tried to pay the Post, owned by the second-richest man in the world, $156 a year. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, —, Jeff Bezos's Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington, Verizon, Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, Business

☆ 3 ways Indeed is leveraging AI to help bridge the gap between hiring managers and job seekers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here are three ways Smart Sourcing can help you hire smarter and faster. "As you accept or reject candidates, the Smart Sourcing AI will learn what you prefer over time," Kudrikow said. Matches are based on three things: The keyword relevancy of your job post, job seekers' resumes, job seekers' search activity on Indeed, and how recently job seekers have been on the site. With a Professional Subscription, hiring managers gain the ability to automate post-outreach and follow-up with custom reminder messages. Getting started with Smart SourcingSmart Sourcing subscriptions are available starting today, and existing Indeed Resume subscriptions have transitioned to Smart Sourcing.

Persons: Allison McLellan, Harris Poll1, Jason Kudrikow, Harris, Smart Sourcing's, Kudrikow, you've, Kudikrow Organizations: Smart, Universal Health Services, UHS, Employers, Insider Studios, . Survey Locations: Puerto Rico, United States

☆ Uh, this music-streaming app called Musi sure feels like it's in a gray area
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Musi is a music-streaming app that has millions of users, especially among teens. It works by streaming music from YouTube, and unlike Spotify, it doesn't make deals with record labels. Wired reports that Musi is a free music streaming app out of Canada that's especially popular with teenagers. And unlike Apple Music or Spotify, which make their own deals with record labels and pay artists for streams, Musi works quite differently. It essentially streams music from YouTube — and Musi runs its own ads against those streams.

Persons: —, Anne Hathaway — Organizations: YouTube, Spotify, Service, Wired, Apple Music, Business Locations: Canada

☆ Opinion | Watching the Protests From Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ultimately, the Gaza war protests sweeping campuses are about influencing Israeli politics. So I wanted to know what it’s like to watch these protests from Israel. What are Israelis seeing? “Israelis are seeing a different war than the one that Americans see,” he tells me. “You see one war film, horror film, and we see at home another war film.”

Persons: “, Ezra Klein, Ari Shavit, ” Organizations: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Locations: Gaza, Israel, Israeli

☆ Workday Has Become the Most-Hated Workplace, Business Software
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Matt Alston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Every HR professional and hiring manager I spoke with — whose lives are supposedly made easier by Workday — described Workday with a sense of cosmic exasperation. "Workday does not have oversight or control of our customers' job application processes.") If candidates hate Workday, if employees hate Workday, if HR people and managers processing and assessing those candidates and employees through Workday hate Workday — if Workday is the most annoying part of so many workers' workdays — how is Workday everywhere? (Workday's "customers choose the frequency at which they conduct reviews, not Workday," said the spokesperson.) "HR software sucking" is a big tent.

Persons: you'd, Workday's, —, David Duffield, Teladoc, UKG, Cory Doctorow, It's, He'd, Matt Alston's, Stone Organizations: Fortune, Netflix, Goodwill, Spotify, Washington Post, Ohio State University, FedEx, Nintendo, Honda, LinkedIn, IBM, Oracle, Bank of America, Automation, Rippling, Systems, Facebook, Wired Locations: San Francisco, Amazon's, It's, Bonusly, Maine

☆ Tech stocks like Apple are table-pounding buys following earnings, Morgan Stanley says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

There's still plenty of room for upside in tech stocks, Morgan Stanley said earlier this week. CNBC Pro combed through Morgan Stanley research to find the firm's favorite overweight-rated stocks based on the latest results and updated forecasts. "We believe GOOGL's AI positioning is improving, and that investors are beginning to recognize this," he said. Spotify Shares of the music streaming giant are too attractive to ignore following the company's blowout earnings report in late April, according to the firm. ... We believe GOOGL's AI positioning is improving, and that investors are beginning to recognize this.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Brian Nowak, durably, Nowak, Keith Weiss, Weiss, Morgan Stanley's, Benjamin Swinburne, Swinburne, that's Organizations: CNBC, Apple, Microsoft, Spotify, 28X Locations: China

☆ Kendrick Lamar and Drake's beef explained, from its 2013 origins to their diss tracks "Push Ups" and "6:16 in LA" and latest responses
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Ayomikun Adekaiyero | Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Both rappers released diss tracks that took blistering personal shots on Friday night. "He doesn't have the heart for the lying, disrespect, and animosity it requires to make an effective diss track," Pierre wrote. Later in the track, Drake references Cole's diss track and apology. At the end of the track, Lamar samples a 1994 Tupac interview to simulate a conversation between the two rappers. "6:16 in LA" also parodies Drake's song titles, which often feature location names and timestamps.

Persons: Kendrick Lamar, Drake's, Drake, —, Lamar's fiancée Whitney Alford, Lamar, Aubrey Drake Graham —, Lamar dissed Drake, J, Cole, Rick Ross, Cole —, Taylor, Joseph Okpako, WireImage Lamar, Jermaine Cole, Big, Wale, Pusha, Meek Millz, Big Sean, Jay, Tyler, Mac Miller, Kunta, Lamar hasn't, Meek, Getty, Tim Mosenfelder, Aubrey, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jackson, Jackson, Prince, Mike Jack, Prince . Prince, “, rics, Organizations: Metro Boomin, Service, Future, Metro, HBO, Drake, Wireless, Lamar, Big, Rocky, Rap Locations: Drake's, Lamar, LA, Florida

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Listen to and follow ‘Hard Fork’We asked listeners to tell us about the wildest ways they have been using artificial intelligence at work. This week, we bring you their stories. Then, Hank Green, a legendary YouTuber, stops by to talk about how creators are reacting to the prospect of a ban on TikTok, and about how he’s navigating an increasingly fragmented online environment. And finally, deep fakes are coming to Main Street: We’ll tell you the story of how they caused turmoil in a Maryland high school and what, if anything, can be done to fight them. Guests:Hank Green, YouTuber and co-founder of ComplexlyAdditional Reading:

Persons: Hank Green Organizations: Apple, Spotify, Complexly Locations: Maryland

☆ Peloton Chief Executive Steps Down as Company Cuts 15% of Staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( J. Edward Moreno | More About J. Edward Moreno | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Peloton said on Thursday that its chief executive, Barry McCarthy, was stepping down and it would lay off more workers, as it continued to struggle in the fitness market. The connected-fitness company announced disappointing quarterly earnings on Thursday, with revenue down 4 percent from last year. The company, which has not turned a profit since December 2020, is also looking to refinance more than $1 billion in debt. Peloton had a spectacular rise at the start of the pandemic, when gyms and fitness centers closed and consumers were hungry for at-home workout options. But after gyms reopened, Peloton began to face stiffer competition from companies like Bowflex and Lululemon.

Persons: Barry McCarthy, Kevin Dietsch Organizations: Spotify, Netflix

☆ Peloton cuts jobs and is looking for a new CEO after its turnaround plan spins out
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is leaving his role, and the company is cutting about 15% of its workforce as numerous attempts to regain its pandemic-era glory have failed. McCarthy, who was named CEO just two years ago, will become a strategic advisor through the end of the year, Peloton said in a press release. In his place, Peloton has started a “comprehensive search process” for his replacement and two executives will become interim co-CEOs in the meantime. Peloton also announced that it’s eliminating 400 jobs, which will help the company cut $200 million in costs. McCarthy, a former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix, tried to engineer a number of ideas to turn around Peloton.

Persons: Barry McCarthy, McCarthy, Lululemon Organizations: New, New York CNN, Spotify, Netflix, Consumer Product Safety, Sporting Goods Locations: New York

☆ Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy to step down, company to lay off 15% of staff as it looks to refinance debt
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In a letter to staff, McCarthy said the company needed to implement layoffs because it wouldn't be able to generate sustainable free cash flow with its current cost structure. "Achieving positive [free cash flow] makes Peloton a more attractive borrower, which is important as the company turns its attention to the necessary task of successfully refinancing its debt," McCarthy said in the memo. McCarthy had also expected Peloton to reach positive free cash flow by June — a goal the company said it reached early during its third quarter. In a letter to shareholders, Peloton said it generated $8.6 million in free cash flow but it's unclear how sustainable that number is. The company didn't provide specific guidance on what investors can expect with free cash flow in the quarters ahead but said it does expect to "deliver modest positive free cash flow" in its current quarter.

Persons: Barry McCarthy, McCarthy, Karen Boone, Chris Bruzzo, Jay Hoag, It's, John Foley, hasn't, Goldman Sachs, Boone, Barry, Bruzzo, —, hadn't, Creditsafe, it's, Foley Organizations: Interactive, Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, Spotify, Netflix, JPMorgan, LSEG, outperformance, CNBC Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho, lockstep

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicAs the presidential race moves into high gear, abortion is at the center of it. Republican-controlled states continue to impose new bans, including just this week in Florida. But in Washington, the Biden administration is challenging one of those bans in a case that is now before the Supreme Court, arguing that Idaho’s strict rules violate a federal law on emergency medical treatment. Pam Belluck, a health and science reporter at The Times, and Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court, explain how the federal law, known as EMTALA, relates to abortion, and how the case could reverberate beyond Idaho.

Persons: Biden, Pam Belluck, Abbie VanSickle Organizations: Spotify, Republican, The Times Locations: Florida, Washington, Idaho

☆ Radio isn't dead. Yet. Thank, or blame, your car.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Just like TV, radio is a pre-internet medium. For people listening to free, ad-supported audio, radio remains dominant, according to Nielsen. But the younger you get, the less likely you are to listen to radio, even compared to other free options. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . At least not according to a new survey from Nielsen, which argues that lots of people still listen to radio.

Persons: —, Nielsen Organizations: Nielsen, Service, Business

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicIn a special series leading up to Election Day, “The Daily” will explore what a second Trump presidency would look like, and what it could mean for American democracy. In the first part, we will look at Tump’s plan for a second term. On the campaign trail, Trump has outlined a vision that is far more radical, vindictive and unchecked than his first one. Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, political correspondents for The Times, and Charlie Savage, who covers national security, have found that behind Trump’s rhetoric is a highly coordinated plan to make his vision a reality.

Persons: Trump, Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage Organizations: Spotify, The Times

☆ Spotify's stock is surging — and its CEO is cashing out
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sold $176.3 million worth of stock this year. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementDaniel Ek, Spotify's cofounder and CEO, has sold $176.3 million worth of his stock in the streaming service this year as its shares continue to surge. On Wednesday, Ek sold roughly 400,000 shares, worth $118.8 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In a separate transaction in February, he sold 250,000 shares, worth $57.5 million, per filings.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Ek, —, Spotify's Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Business

☆ Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets Department’ makes gigantic debut at No. 1 with her career-best first-week sales
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Taylor Swift’s latest album “The Tortured Poets Department” is indeed the blockbuster that many expected it to become. I’m completely floored by the love you’ve shown this album,” Swift said in an Instagram post. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 albums chart among female recording artists. In 2015, Adele’s “25” sold a staggering 3.482 million album units. When the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart is released on Monday, Swift stands to break even more records.

Persons: CNN — Taylor, Department ”, ” Swift, ”, Jay, Swift, “, Adele’s, Drake Organizations: CNN, Department, Billboard, Beatles, Drake’s, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music Locations: U.S

☆ Daniel Ek’s Next Act: Full-Body Scans for the People
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Bernhard Warner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The problem: Mr. Ek had neither a plan, nor the time or money to do much about it. He knew whom to contact: Hjalmar Nilsonne, a Swedish tech entrepreneur who Mr. Ek had met the year prior at the Brilliant Minds event, an annual gathering Mr. Ek started. At first, Mr. Nilsonne rebuffed Mr. Ek’s proposition. But Mr. Ek eventually won him over. Mr. Ek, a former computer coder, and Mr. Nilsonne, an engineer, zeroed in on building a better diagnostic tool.

Persons: Daniel Ek, ” Mr, Ek, DealBook, Hjalmar Nilsonne, Mr, Nilsonne, Watty Organizations: Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, Apple Watch, Neko Health Locations: Swedish, Stockholm, London

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