After more than a decade, Twitter’s co-founder, Jack Dorsey, has stepped down from his CEO position, bringing to the spotlight an issue that frequently impacts tech companies—the founder dilemma. Today’s tech giants were touted as miracles born out of the minds of geniuses in the 90s or early 2000s. Among those entrepreneurs were Steve Jobs, […]
YouTubers go mainstream
Social media entertainers and especially YouTubers have traditionally had loyal fan bases on isolated corners of the Internet. Though very successful on their own channels, they would rarely enter the mainstream realm. That, however, is ending. Factors like the rising popularity of Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch—in February of 2020, Twitch had 3.8 million streamers, while […]
Ten predictions for the 2021 media and entertainment industry
As we near the close of 2020, we wonder what the new year might bring to the entertainment and media industry. During these complicated 12 months, we have seen an apparent acceleration of the trends that had been in the works since the early 2010s. In 2021, that transformation of the market will only speed […]
Tech companies under the microscope
Last week, the US House Judiciary Committee published the report on tech companies’ monopoly in the digital space that we had been expecting since the summer. The report argues in favor of reducing tech companies’ power and reexamining the way antitrust laws are understood. However, it does not show a way forward on how to […]
Antitrust measures for the 21st century
On Wednesday July 29, the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google were summoned to a hearing with the House antitrust committee. It turned out to be one of the most critical antitrust events since the 90s Microsoft case. One thing is clear—U.S. politics are finally waking up on the antitrust front after three decades […]
Where did Quibi go wrong?
Three months ago, the streaming service Quibi was launched with some fanfare and we devoted one of our posts to it (read Quibi, the new streaming platform for mobile devices). Its success so far has been quite limited. Its founders have blamed the pandemic for the app’s flop, but its problems may not stop here. […]
Subscriptions Flood Movie Theater Chains
We’ve heard it a thousand times—movie theaters, very much like books, are done. With their humongous fixed costs and their conservative outlook, they are just not ready to survive the online streaming era. That general assertion is true—streaming platforms, available for anyone with a laptop or a TV set, are releasing world-class pictures. But, although […]
Digital reading platforms: publishers’ friend or foe?
By Giulia Surace, Carmen Arroyo Last week the Swedish Publishers’ Association and the Swedish Booksellers’ Association released their annual Book Sales Statistics report for 2019, which covers 80% of the Swedish trade book consumer sales. The findings, in line with the previous years, are nonetheless astounding. Although the book market grew 1.1% in value, sales […]
