audio

Biden order: End the monopoly game

President Biden wants to remake the U.S. economy by injecting more competition into highly concentrated industries including airlines, Big Tech and agriculture to improve choices and prices for consumers. Why it matters: The ambitious executive order signed Friday directs the federal government to step up antitrust enforcement and regulation.

 

“Let me be very clear, capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Biden said at a White House signing ceremony for the order.

Source: Biden order: End the monopoly game

How software got so noisy, and why it’s probably going to stay that way

  • Facebook, Google Microsoft and other technology companies employ sound designers who specialize in developing distinct sounds that meet product needs and reflect well on their brands.
  • During the Covid pandemic, emails and meetings have proliferated, and so their corresponding sounds have been going off more often.
  • Sound designers listen extensively to sounds before deploying them in products, but they can still be jarring to some people.

Source: How software got so noisy, and why it’s probably going to stay that way

Now That You’ve Bought a Multi-Million-Dollar Music Catalog, What Are You Going to Do With It?

In recent years, as streaming has rapidly become the format of choice for much of the world — and the primary revenue source for recorded music — the value of copyrights has soared. That value climbed even higher when the pandemic flattened the financial engine of the music business — the live-entertainment industry — and copyrights proved themselves to be a remarkably durable asset.

Source: Now That You’ve Bought a Multi-Million-Dollar Music Catalog, What Are You Going to Do With It?

Bandsintown data shows in-person concerts returning much faster than predicted 

Data from Bandsintown’s 62 million registered users and 550,000 artists reveal a robust and surprisingly fast return of in-person concerts. 78% of announced concerts are happening in the next 6 months The number of live concerts announced to happen as early as this weekend is exploding as concerns over fan and artist hesitancy as well as the time needed to launch a new tour prove unfounded.

Source: Bandsintown data shows in-person concerts returning much faster than predicted – Hypebot

Veritone launches new platform to let celebrities and influencers clone their voice with AI

Recording advertisements and product endorsements can be lucrative work for celebrities and influencers. But is it too much like hard work? That’s what US firm Veritone is betting. Today, the company is launching a new platform called Marvel.AI that will let creators, media figures, and others generate deepfake clones of their voice to license as they wish. 

Source: Veritone launches new platform to let celebrities and influencers clone their voice with AI

Twitter expands Spaces to anyone with 600+ followers, details plans for tickets, reminders and more

Twitter Spaces, the company’s new live audio rooms feature, is opening up more broadly. The company announced today it’s making Twitter Spaces available to any account with 600 followers or more, including both iOS and Android users. It also officially unveiled some of the features it’s preparing to launch, like Ticketed Spaces, scheduling features, reminders, support for co-hosting, accessibility improvements and more.

Source: Twitter expands Spaces to anyone with 600+ followers, details plans for tickets, reminders and more – TechCrunch