More on the power of creators, and then an interview with Nathan Hubbard about Taylor Swift and the future of music.
Stripe’s Role, Competition and Differentiation, The Local News Opportunity
Differentiation can flow from the writer, but also from the subject. That is why the Substack model could help deliver the local news business model.
Sovereign Writers and Substack
Substack is at the center of media controversy, most of which misses the point that sovereign writers — not Substack — are in control.
A Pandemic Year, Coronavirus and Information, Zeynep Tufekci Cuts Through
Looking back on the pandemic through the lens of Stratechery’s Articles about information. Plus, why Zeynep Tufekci is the writer of the year.
More from Daniel Ek; Creation, Consumption, and Clubhouse; Facebook and Australia, Continued
More on Spotify via interviews with Daniel Ek; then, Facebook and the Australian government come to an agreement that still entails paying off publishers.
Google Makes Deal With News Corp, Facebook Blocks News in Australia, Microsoft’s Cynicism
Google gives in in Australia, not to the government, but to News Corp. Facebook, meanwhile, pulls out; they are right on the merits, but terrible at the politics.
Publishing is Back to the Future
Journalism cannot afford to be divorced from business realities; that applies to Australia, the New York Times, and even Andreessen Horowitz.
Substack and the Media, The Substack Opportunity, Substack’s Business Challenges
Substack is a threat to the media, but its business prospects are threatened by the same forces threatening all of media.
Disney’s Investor Day, Disney+ as Harvester, Disney’s Optionality
Disney’s investor day showed the power of differentiated IP and optionality.
WarnerMedia to Stream Movies First Day, AT&T Versus HBO, Self-Disruption
WarnerMedia’s move to stream all of its movies on HBO Max appears to be value disruptive, but if the company is actually meaningfully responding to disruption, that was inevitable.