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The Attention Recession: How inflation and the pandemic are reshaping entertainment

Cover image for The Attention Recession: How inflation and the pandemic are reshaping entertainment
Mark Mulligan
Netflix and Meta were the canaries in the proverbial mine for the attention recession and it is looking increasingly likely that difficult times lie ahead. If the attention crunch was not enough on its own, it has been compounded by the perfect storm of headwinds: the cost of living crisis, rising interest rates, energy and global grain supply constraints, and the Russo-Ukrainian war.
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Instagram is trying TikTok features on for size – but does the shoe fit?

Cover image for Instagram is trying TikTok features on for size – but does the shoe fit?
Ashleigh Millar
Instagram has started testing its new TikTok-esque make-over. The platform, which originally started as a photo-first app, has revealed its plans to push forward in a more video-first direction. This is following Meta’s revelation during its Q1 2022 earnings call earlier this month that its TikTok-inspired short-form video vertical, Reels, accounts for 20% of users’ overall time spent on Instagram.
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Is TikTok becoming a record label? The question misses the point

Cover image for Is TikTok becoming a record label? The question misses the point
Tatiana Cirisano
Every time TikTok does anything that seems to hedge on record label territory, someone inevitably asks the question: is TikTok turning into a record label? Cue the eye-rolls from the music industry. No one seems to want to admit how powerful a music company competitor TikTok really is — to the point where becoming a record label is not the point at all.
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How the iPod changed everything

Cover image for How the iPod changed everything
Mark Mulligan
Apple just announced that it is finally ending production of the iPod . At 21 years of age, it outlived many of the dramatic changes it witnessed and triggered. In this age, dominated by streaming (and a vinyl resurgence), the iPod did not really have a place anymore, other than with its ever-diminishing base of super fans.
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