Spotify is now selling audio books, but with an analog business model that is further hampered by Apple. The limitations aren’t Spotify’s fault, but do limit upside.
Daily Update
Archive of Daily Emails for Stratechery Members
Roblox Ads, Walmart Land, Internal Economies
Roblox announced an advertising platform; I’m skeptical about the value to brand advertisers, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be valuable to Roblox itself.
An Interview With Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang About Building the Omniverse Cloud
An interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about his GTC keynote, the Ada Lovelace GPU, the companies shift into cloud services, its challenging last few quarters, President Biden’s China ban, and more.
Launch Follow-Up, Figma Feedback, More on Antitrust and Acquisitions
More details on yesterday’s launch, then a designer explains why Figma is different, and why Adobe has a good chance in court if it goes that far.
Adobe Acquires Figma, Figma’s Disruption, The Figma OS
Adobe’s acquisition of Figma is about the long-term shift in the design value chain; it paid so much because there was no other reason for Figma to sell.
An Interview With The Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel About Building a Destination Site
An interview with The Verge EIC Nilay Patel about building a destination site, his background and how that connects to his career in tech journalism, The Verge’s business model and approach to journalism ethics, and a bit of a debate about moderation and net neutrality.
Instagram Reels Struggles, Meta’s Mistake, TikTok at Code
Instagram policy with regards to TikTok content shows Meta hasn’t internalized the real risk from the Chinese company; then, revisiting U.S. TikTok policy
AI Bundling Follow-Up, iPhone Follow-Up
Follow-up to AI Bundling, including costs, the meaning of distribution, and centralization, and why Apple is still a product company.
Shopify vs. Buy With Prime, Instagram Shopping, CUDA and China
Shopify kind-of sort-of bans “Buy With Prime”, while Meta changes its e-commerce focus on Instagram. Plus, why the China ban is bad for Nvidia’s CUDA moat.
AI Chips and China, Geopolitical Considerations, Nvidia Considerations
Nvidia and AMD graphics chips are barred from sale in China, signaling a permanent shift in the U.S.’s approach to selling tech to China