On the first Friday of September, we’ve got some great Five on Friday features for you. Streamlabs launches a recurring monthly tipping service to top Twitch in terms of revenue share, Axel Springer will buy POLITICO in a deal valued at more than $1 billion, and LinkedIn shares top subscription jobs. Also, some states will allow state IDs and driver’s licenses in the Apple Wallet, and Microsoft announces a release date for Windows 11.
Streamlabs Launches Recurring Monthly Tipping Service to Top Twitch
In the creator economy, monetization options are a key consideration as creators choose their preferred platforms. Streamlabs has come up with a new way for creators to tap into the subscription market – recurring monthly tips.
Streamlabs, a livestreaming software company owned by Logitech, is rolling out a monthly tipping service for recurring revenue as a way for streamers to earn money from their fans. This allows creators to give some flexibility with the subscription options they offer, The Verge says. From their Streamlabs suite, creators will be able to integrate this into their preferred streaming platform.
Tipping is something that has always been an option with Streamlabs. However, a monthly tip subscription is something new to the market. The platform will allow creators to decide what kind of subscription service they want to offer their fans, and they can also set specific price points. However, if they want to, they can allow their viewers to choose how much they want to contribute to the creator per month.
The best part? Streamlabs won’t take a cut of the tips sent, though they are subject to processing fees, according to Engadget. This would give Streamlabs an edge, compared to popular streaming option Twitch. Twitch takes a 50% cut form the subscription fees streamers get. This move comes just a month after Streamlabs launched Crossclip, which allows creators to share clips to other platforms. This allows creators to cross promote their Twitch streams to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Read more about how the new monthly tipping services works in the Streamlabs Monthly Tipping Tutorial by Ethan May.
Axel Springer to Acquire POLITICO for More than $1 Billion
Axel Springer, the German media giant, is on a quest to dominate digital publishing. Last week, they announced their plan to acquire 15-year-old POLITICO with a price tag estimated at more than $1 billion. This makes this one of the most expensive media merger deals as of late.
The company also acquired its remaining 50% share of POLITICO Europe, as well as the tech news website Protocol, Axios states. The deal follows their acquisition of E&E News, a news organization that focuses on energy and the environment, earlier this year.
“POLITICO’s outstanding team has disrupted digital political journalism and set new standards. A true North Star. It will be a privilege and a special responsibility to help shape the future of this outstanding media company. Objective quality journalism is more important than ever, and we mutually believe in the necessity of editorial independence and nonpartisan reporting. This is crucial for our future success and accelerated growth,” said Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer CEO, in an August 26, 2021 news release.
Robert L. Allbritton, founder and publisher of POLITICO and Protocol, also commented on the deal.
“My 15-year adventure with POLITICO has been the ride of a lifetime. I reach this milestone with a sense of satisfaction that I hope is shared by every POLITICO. Together we have built what is without a doubt the most impressive and most enduring of the many experiments in new publications over the past generation. Particularly in recent years, we have put the emphasis on doing rather than boasting, and what multiple competitors have aspired to—a consistently profitable publication that supports true journalistic excellence—we have achieved,” said Allbritton.
Allbritton will remain the publisher of POLITICO and Protocol, and at this time, the editorial and management leadership teams at the companies will remain the same. There are currently more than 500 journalists between POLITICO and Protocol. These journalists help to set the agenda on urgent issues like global public policy in today’s political landscape. Their publishing model has produced steady growth, as well as healthy profits, and believe in their strategy to continue their expansion.
Axel Springer and POLITICO have been partners since 2014, with the launch of POLITICO Europe. POLITICO Europe has been a critical source of information in the EU, and has been profitable for the last three years, and is still growing to this day. The deal is slated to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Top Subscription Jobs
Director of Cloud and XaaS Pricing
Maxonic
Santa Clara, CA
The Director of Cloud and aaS Pricing is a challenging, hands-on role within the Global Pricing Operations team working directly with Product and Finance stakeholders to manage the pricing and packaging of software, cloud and aaS offerings. The role will lead the definition of pricing and licensing models to maximize value extraction for Software and as-a-Service offerings. The scope of this role includes driving pricing strategy, gathering competitive data, setting list prices, implementing pricing policies, and measuring price realization. This role will also own the pricing model design of Software and as-a-Service offerings that span from perpetual and fixed term selling models into subscription, variable consumption and risk sharing monetization approaches. Read more.
Subscription Services Manager
Infor
U.S. – Remote
The Subscription Services Manager (SSM) is a key individual contributor within the ISS organization that helps to ensure our customers renew their annual support and subscriptions. The SSM manages an assigned set of customers and/or partners with a focus on maintaining and growing renewal revenue and establishing customer/partner relationships with a keen focus on identifying opportunities for subscription services growth through upselling programs and services, as well as lead generation. Read more.
Product Manager, Subscription
GoPro
U.S. – Remote
GoPro is seeking a top-tier candidate to take on the responsibilities of Associate Product Manager, Subscription. The position will own and assist in defining product requirements for GoPro Subscriptions. The successful candidate will own and assist in the product development phases by collaborating with various teams during the research and concept phases. In addition, the position will help identify key feature opportunities, document phases of the product and manage tradeoffs. The ideal candidate will have experience writing clear and concise documents and experience in either the consumer electronics and/or action sports industries. Read more.
Director, Product Strategy & Innovation, Secondary Education
Cengage Group
Multiple Locations – Remote
Reporting to the SVP, General Manager, Secondary Education, this strategic role helps to guide research, market intelligence, new commercial models, and innovative product investments. The Director Product Strategy and Innovation is jointly accountable for growth of the product pipeline, driving and delivering validated innovative solutions, creating a differentiated market position, and forming and launching value-added partnerships. This individual will play a key role in crafting the product vision, product requirements, user experience, development of digital roadmaps, and the go-to-market planning and execution in Secondary education. Read more.
Director of Content Acquisition and Programming Strategy
Curiosity Inc.
New York City Metro Area – Remote
CuriosityStream is seeking an experienced and agile content acquisitions and programming strategy professional to build our content library and grow our audience’s engagement by acquiring titles from distributors and producers of all sizes and working with the content operations and product teams to make strategic use of content to activate our audience. This position will be responsible for sourcing content to acquire for our library that checks off every box including fit with brand, fit with priority genres, and fit with budget. This person will be data-fluent and driven by a love for content and building a content brand with resonance across all demographics. Read more.
Eight States and TSA to Allow Driver’s Licenses and State IDs in Apple Wallet
In an exciting technology announcement, Apple said that two states – Arizona and Georgia – are the first who will allow residents to digitally store their state IDs and driver’s licenses in their Apple Wallet on their iPhone or Apple Watch. Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah will follow. In addition, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow select airport security checkpoints and lanes at participating airports to use them as well. Apple says the technology is both secure and convenient. Identity data is encrypted and not shared with Apple.
“The addition of driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet is an important step in our vision of replacing the physical wallet with a secure and easy-to-use mobile wallet,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “We are excited that the TSA and so many states are already on board to help bring this to life for travelers across the country using only their iPhone and Apple Watch, and we are already in discussions with many more states as we’re working to offer this nationwide in the future.”
David Pekoske, TSA administrator, shared the TSA’s view on the technology.
“This new and innovative mobile driver’s license and state ID initiative with Apple and states around the country will enable a more seamless airport security screening experience for travelers. This initiative marks a major milestone by TSA to provide an additional level of convenience for the traveler by enabling more opportunities for touchless TSA airport security screening,” Pekoske.
Adding a driver’s license or state ID to the Apple Wallet is similar to how Apple users add new credit cards, tapping the + button in the Wallet on their iPhone. Customers then scan their license or ID and take a selfie. For users who have an Apple Watch paired to their iPhone, the process is seamless.
Read more about how this will work and hear what the adopting states are saying about it in Apple’s September 1, 2021 announcement.
Microsoft Will Release Windows 11 on October 5, 2021
“A new Windows experience, Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love.”
It’s official. Microsoft will release Windows 11 on October 5, 2021 for eligible devices. On that date, Microsoft will begin rolling out a free upgrade to eligible Windows 10 PCs and devices. New PCs that include the Windows operating system pre-loaded will also be available on that date. New eligible devices will get the upgrade first, and other PCs will receive the new release over time. Microsoft expects all eligible devices to get the free upgrade by the middle of 2022.
Here are a few highlights for the upgraded Windows operating system:
- A modern, fresh, clean design
- Powerful snap layouts, snap groups and desktops for multitasking
- Widgets, a new personalized feed powered by artificial intelligence
- The best Windows gaming experience
- A new Microsoft Store with a fresh new design that’s easily searchable
- New accessibility improvements
For more details, read Microsoft’s August 31, 2021 blog post, “Windows 11 Available on October 5” by Aaron Woodman.
