Spotify Packs on More Premium Subs in Q2 Than Expected to Reach 220 Million, Projects Slower Growth After Price Hikes

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Zoom changed its terms of service to say that it won’t use any customer content — at all — in training generative artificial intelligence models. The update, which the videoconference company announced Friday, comes after observers raised the alarm about a recent change in Zoom’s TOS that appeared to grant the company royalty-free rights in perpetuity for customer video calls and presentations for the purposes of training AI models.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Katie Drummond, formerly head of Vice Media’s global news and entertainment operations, is the new editorial director of Condé Nast’s Wired tech and culture publication. Drummond earlier this month left Vice after more than four years, along with other top editorial staffers, after the company exited bankruptcy and was sold to a consortium of its prior lenders. Drummond — the first woman to hold the top editorial post at Wired since it was launched in 1993 — replaces Gideon Lichfield, who announced his exit from the mag this May.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney, trying to swing its streaming business into the black, has set substantial price hikes for Disney+ and Hulu standalone premium plans in the U.S. — while also rolling out a heavily discounted Disney+/Hulu ad-free combo bundle. As of Oct.

New Look fans are flocking to buy the high street retailer's elegant and timeless Leather-Look Buckle Tote Bag, which rivals premium designer brands like Michael Kors. New Look fans have said that the bargain £30 handbag 'looks more high-end than high street', and it could save fashion fans hundreds of pounds.

Expect a mixed bag of weather in Greater Manchester this week - with sunshine and showers forecast.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Molly-Mae Hague is often jet-setting around the globe and more recently has been taking her baby daughter Bambi along for the luxurious rides. Just recently, the former Love Island star and influencer, 24, took a last minute trip to Marbella with Bambi and has been documenting the getaway with her 7.6M Instagram followers. While she's frequently joined by her fiancé and professional boxer, Tommy Fury for their family getaways, this trip saw Molly-Mae fly solo with their tiny tot.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Kai Cenat, the Twitch and YouTube streamer, issued a statement Saturday through his group AMP (Any Means Possible) apologizing after a violent mob took over New York’s Union Square Park a day earlier when he urged fans to come to the park, where he said he was planning to give away free PlayStation 5s and gift cards. Thousands of people flocked to Union Square Park after Cenat’s social media posts went viral Friday, and the flash mob became violent and began attacking police and other people in the area with bottles, rocks, other debris and fireworks.

With Barbie on track to crossing $1 billion at the global box office any day now, it seems inevitable that a sequel is on the way.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A3 Artists Agency signed Smosh, the long-running YouTube comedy brand, for representation across the board. Smosh was founded in 2005 by childhood friends Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. After drifting apart in recent years, in June 2023 the duo bought back majority ownership of Smosh and debuted their first original comedy video together since reuniting as business partners.

More Hollywood A-listers are matching Dwayne The Rock” Johnson’s $1 million donation to the SAG-AFTRA fund, more Hollywood A-listers are following suit. 

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Have you paid Elon Musk for an $8-per-month subscription to Twitter Blue (now called X Blue, under Musk’s rebranding effort) but are embarrassed to advertise the fact? X now lets subscribers to the premium X Blue service hide the blue check mark on their account. Musk has promoted the perk as democratizing Twitter’s most recognizable status symbol.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Speidi is still a thing, according to Spotify. Spotify’s Ringer Podcast Network announced “Speidi’s 16th Minute,” a video podcast hosted by Heidi and Spencer Pratt, the reality TV couple from MTV’s “The Hills,” which originally aired from 2006-2010.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Kanye West’s account on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, has been restored — after the controversial rapper/entrepreneur apparently promised the Elon Musk-owned company he would refrain from posting antisemitic and other hateful content. West, who now goes by Ye, was kicked off Twitter in December 2022 after he share an image of a Nazi swastika embedded inside the Star of David.

Hulu just made another big decision, leading to a cancellation of a fan fave TV show.

A recent visitor to Five Sisters Zoo has praised it online, stating that that "there is so much more to see and do" than at Edinburgh Zoo.

Goalkeeper Nathan Bishop has apologised to Paul Mullin after his challenge left the Wrexham star with a punctured lung during Manchester United's 3-1 defeat to the League Two side.

Spotify is raising the price of its premium subscriptions, bringing the audio streaming service in line with top competitors.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix has rolled out a new feature designed to — what else? — get you to stream as much as possible on the service. Starting Monday, Netflix’s app is adding My Netflix, a new tab described as a “one-stop shop tailored to you.” The My Netflix tab supersedes the Downloads tab on the app, where users could find and watch the TV shows and movies they had saved for offline viewing. My Netflix provides a consolidated view of users’ downloads; a list of TV series and movies they have given a “thumbs up” to; shows and films saved to their My List watch list; trailers they have watched; reminders they have set for upcoming releases; a list of titles that they’re in the middle of watching; and what they’ve recently watched.

Spotify is upping its subscription pricing.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbenheimer” keeps on growing. Greta Gerwig’s very pink fantasy-comedy “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s extremely dark historical drama “Oppenheimer” powered to bigger opening weekends than originally reported. “Barbie” ended up with $164 million in its first weekend of release, above Sunday’s already record-breaking estimate of $155 million. Those ticket sales rank as the biggest opening weekend of the year — besting “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($146 million). It also stands as the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman, overtaking Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 2019 blockbuster “Captain Marvel” ($153 million).