Apple's privacy change is already crushing advertisers

Hi and welcome to the Insider Advertising newsletter, where we go over the big news in advertising and media, including:

Apple's privacy change fallout;

Air Mail seeks $15 million;

Bezos' TV rules.

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Apple fallout

It's been just over a couple weeks since Apple rolled out its new privacy-focused changes, and it's already resulting in user opt-in rates, falling ad prices, and increased opacity around advertising measurement as a result, Lara O'Reilly and Tanya Dua reported.

And the worst may be to come, as it's still very early in Apple's rollout of the changes.

Some ad-industry observers have said the change could boost Apple's fledgling ads business - and indeed, Apple just launched a new ad format that users see when they visit the search section of the App Store.

Probably just a coincidence, right?

Read more: Apple's new major iOS change lets you decide if you want brands to track you across apps. Most people are opting out, and it's already crushing advertisers.

As Apple tightens the screws on ad tracking, it's preparing a new ad format of its own. People briefed on the plans reveal its pricing model and targeting options.

Apple just made a major hire on its ad-platforms team, and it's the latest sign of the company's growing advertising ambitions

Air Mail prepares for liftoff

Steven Perlberg caught up with famed editor Graydon Carter, who's out raising more money for his 2-year-old newsletter Air Mail.

Carter outlined his plans for the company, including Italian and French language editions, cafés, and high-end Air Mail-branded merchandise. He also embraced comparisons with the glossy magazines of bygone days:

I don't think that most online publications look great. People care about design. They care about it in their homes, their cars, their clothes, and I think they care about it in the things they read. It's why a lot of attention is put into book cover design.

We fact check and copy edit Air Mail as closely as we did Vanity Fair, and that's rare on the internet. A couple of things I've read on Substack, I thought, "Oh my God, this person needs an editor." Editors serve very little function in this world, but they do tend to create order out of chaos.

Read the rest: Air Mail is looking to raise another $15 million. Graydon Carter explains how the company hopes to reach profitability in 3 years and why it's launching international editions and Air Mail-branded velvet slippers.

What makes great TV, according to Jeff Bezos

One of the juicy tidbits in Brad Stone's new book "Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire" was that Bezos was so involved in Amazon Studios' projects that he had 12 elements that each TV show had to have, including "a heroic protagonist who experiences growth and change" and "moral choices."

Amazon Studios execs had to send Bezos regular updates on projects in development, and if they didn't follow the 12 rules, explain why they didn't.

Bezos eventually stopped micromanaging, and is stepping into an executive chairman role this summer, but the company is still betting on big, genre-focused entertainment projects.

Read more: Jeff Bezos had a 12-step guide for making 'iconic' TV shows that Amazon Studios execs had to follow, according to a new book

Other stories we're reading:

• Shopify's CEO sent an essay to managers to remind them that they are a sports team, not a family. It shows the growing tension between leaders and employees in the corporate world. (Insider)
• BuzzFeed in Talks to Acquire Complex Networks (The Information)
• Fox News leans on 'uplifting content' to woo skeptical news advertisers (NY Post)
• The Associated Press' Sally Buzbee is the new executive editor of the Washington Post, the first woman to hold the position (Insider)
• Bustle Digital Group formally rebrands as BDG ahead of anticipated IPO (Axios)

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

- Lucia