A couple of years ago Spotify was investing heavily in podcasts. At the peak of this investment, it even signed an exclusivity deal with Joe Rogan worth upwards of $200 million. It is now retreating and laying off 200 employees in its podcast division. My advice to laid off employees that cannot find work is to consider starting a podcast. Some companies pay big dollars for them.

The lowdown

• 🤹‍♂️ SEC sues Binance, alleging it mishandled billions of dollars and put investor money at risk.

• 🔇 Spotify to lay off 200 employees in its podcast unit, retreating from heavy investment in podcasts.

• 🎥 Hollywood actors are the latest in the film industry to consider industrial action if contract talks break down.

Featured stories

Nordic Netflix rival surprises investors

Swedish streaming service Viaplay’s shares fell by 60% after the company ousted its CEO and issued a profit warning. The company now predicts an operating loss of SKr250-300 million ($23.0-$27.6 million) in Q2 where first it saw a profit of up to SKr325 million ($32 million) – quite the unwelcome surprise!

Viaplay blamed the rising cost of living, which it says affected demand for its services and a sharp decline in Scandinavian TV and radio advertising markets. It also cited FX headwinds. Even so, Viaplay still expects to have 7.7 million subscribers by the end of Q2, a slight increase from 7.6 million in the first quarter.

The company is a minnow in the streaming world but somewhat annoyingly holds the rights to many top flight football games ($),meaning that, for football (aka soccer) fans, it must be paid for. Bring on consolidation!

The content we're consuming today

• The Economist podcast: Editor’s picks: June 5th 2023.

• FT: Europe’s new success stories are built on high luxury, not high tech ($).

• Employ America: Labor Market Churn is Back to Normal.

Off-balance sheet items

• Apple announced the Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Watch the introduction video here. Will we look back on this announcement as the new iPhone moment, or will it be more like ‘The Homer’?

The bottom line