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- 🎙️ Podcasting Has A Massive Money Problem
🎙️ Podcasting Has A Massive Money Problem
Plus: 🛒 Shopify + Amazon, 👁️ X Collects Users' Biometric Data
🎙️ How the Podcasting Business Model is Struggling
Podcasts are more popular than ever among listeners, but the money that sustains their shows has slowed to a halt.
In March, layoffs at NPR led to the cancellation of four popular podcasts. In June, Spotify laid off 200 employees from its podcast division, shuttering some of its major shows.
Last month, SiriusXM officially shut down its once-popular podcast player, Stitcher.
Why? Advertisers are no longer footing the bill.
With shows distributed for free, fans haven’t been the ones exchanging money to keep their favorite shows going - that’d be corporations and advertisers.
But with a recession looming, advertising budgets have been among the first to go. The podcast industry has watched that happen in real time this year.
The silver lining? Podcasting isn’t going anywhere - it just needs a more sustainable business model.
🛒 Amazon and Shopify Announce Game-Changing Partnership
The two biggest names in online shopping just joined forces.
That’s right, Amazon and Shopify have struck a deal to give Shopify merchants access to Amazon’s logistics network.
This means that the “Buy with Prime” option will soon be available to Shopify merchants in the US, with plans to roll it out to all Shopify merchants by the end of September.
Shoppers will be able to use Amazon’s checkout service and speedy shipping guarantees when buying items on Shopify, making them more likely to make purchases from unfamiliar brands or websites.
Under the new deal, Shopify Payments will process the payments through the company’s checkout service.
👁️ X Wants to Start Gathering Users’ Biometric Data
X, which you may know as the former Twitter, has updated its privacy policy to start collecting biometric data from its users.
This new feature is for premium users and will allow them to submit their government ID and an image to add an extra layer of verification. Biometric data will be extracted from both the ID and image for matching purposes.
This move seems to be related to X’s beta feature that allows verified organizations to post job listings on their profiles. This hiring initiative is part of Musk’s plan to turn X into an “everything app”.
In addition to this, X’s updated policy also states that it will start storing users’ employment and education history.
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