Media & Entertainment

Media & Entertainment tech news covers everything from Big Tech to streaming services to mobile apps. We dissect startups entering App Stores, the creator economy and more.

“X Video Yields $263K for MrBeast, but He Deems Payout a Hollow Representation”

Mrbeastburger
MY FIRST X VIDEO MADE OVER $250,000! Luckily for Musk, MrBeast is a fan of his — but, business comes first. Throughout MrBeast’s test, though, some users raised concern that the video was being treated by X as though it were an advertisement, which could possibly juice engagement. Ryan Broderick hypothesized that videos might be wrongly labeled as ads if a pre-roll ad plays before the video, but this still causes a lot of confusion on the user end. A representative from X did not respond for comment.

Collaborate and Curate: Apple Music’s New Feature Empowers You to Build Playlists with Others

Apple Music Icon Ios 2020
Apple announced today that Apple Music subscribers now have access to collaborative playlists with the launch of iOS 17.3. When users are in a car and streaming music through Apple Music, other trusted iPhone devices will get an invite to join the session. Listeners can then control the music from their own devices, even if they don’t have an Apple Music subscription. The launch of iOS 17.3 also brings Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection feature, which helps prevent thieves from accessing your information. To turn on Stolen Device Protection, you need to go into your settings then tap “Face ID & Passcode.” You then need to enter your device passcode tap to turn Stolen Device Protection on.

“Disney Presents a Sophisticated Answer to VR’s Movement Issue”

Disney Imagineer Makes History Disney Parks
I’ll never forget trying out an early version of the virtual reality treadmill in a hotel suite many E3s ago. The system, which features a concave platform and slippery shoes, was clever enough to influence Ready Player One’s take on the space. HoloTile — which recently made its YouTube debut at the end of a video honoring Disney Research fellow, Larry Smoot – is an extremely clever and honestly quite elegant solution to some of these issues. “I can walk on this omni directional floor in any direction I want,” Smoot says in the video. If it’s going to see the light of day, it seems likely that it will be as part of a Disney Parks VR experience.

The Discovery: A Malfunctioning Glitch Led to Multiple Posts Being Incorrectly Tagged as ‘Sensitive Material’

Twitter X Logo Musk 2
A bug on X, formerly Twitter, was causing numerous posts over the weekend to be flagged as “Sensitive Media,” thwarting the company’s own attempts to make its platform more approachable to advertisers. Today, a bug in our system caused X to incorrectly label numerous posts as Sensitive Media. — Safety (@Safety) January 21, 2024“Sensitive media” is a label X uses to denote content that others may not wish to see, like violence or nudity. X asks its users who want to regularly post such items, to adjust their media settings to appropriately mark their images. This is being fixed.” An hour later, he reposted the message from the X safety team which referred to the issue as a bug.

Sony orders the termination of the $10 billion Indian merger with Zee

Sony1
Sony called off the merger between its India unit and Zee Entertainment on Monday, ending a two-year acquisition deliberation that would have created a $10 billion media powerhouse in the South Asian market. Sony said in a statement that it has sent a termination letter to Zee after the Indian firm failed to meet the conditions, despite a 30-day extension. Sony also sought for Zee to improve its finances, something that has only grown worse in recent quarters. The deal would have created a $10 billion media powerhouse in India, where billionaire Mukesh Ambani is increasingly flexing his wealth and reach. Zee and Sony have been important fixtures in the Indian TV industry for the last 25 years.

“Unlock the Auto Scroll feature on TikTok – A Step-by-Step Guide”

Gettyimages 1231203702
TikTok has been experimenting with an auto scrolling mechanic for months now, allowing you to watch TikTok hands-free. To use the auto scroll feature, you hold down on a video on TikTok’s For You page – similar to if you want to repost a video – and click the auto scroll button. If you land on a photo post, however, the scrolling will stop until you swipe through all the photos. To turn off the feature, hold down on your phone screen again and select “Manual scroll.”Since auto scrolling is still being tested, the feature is only available to a select number of TikTok users. TikTok’s auto scroll has been highly requested among users, with many searching for hacks online to make their daily TikTok viewing experience more efficient.

“TikTok Ventures into Song Creation through AI-Driven Experimentation”

Tiktok Tokyo Game Show
TikTok is testing a new “AI Song” feature that uses AI to create songs based on prompts that users enter, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The company told TechCrunch that AI Song uses Bloom, a large language model, to create lyrics based on text prompts. AI Song is an experimental feature available on TikTok, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to generate songs based on prompts you input. For your security, refrain from sharing personal or confidential information while using AI Song #tiktok #tiktoknewfeature ♬ Vibes – ZHRMusicAccording to the video, the app notes that “there are rules that must be followed” when using AI Song. The new AI Song feature comes as TikTok has been pushing deeper into the music business.

Plex to Launch New TV and Movie Rental Services in Upcoming Month

Plex Live Tv
Media streamer Plex’s long-delayed plans to launch a marketplace for TV and movie rentals are finally being realized after multiple false starts. The media startup originally announced its plan to expand its streaming service to include rentals just ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, which impacted launch plans alongside other technical concerns. Then, at CES a year ago, Plex said the rentals market was due for a second-quarter launch. With those headaches behind it, the rentals service is finally nearing launch — for real this time, Plex says. In addition to the TVOD store, the report noted Plex’s plans for the year ahead included a redesign and additional social features, too.

New Feature for Android Users: Introducing Audio and Video Calls by X

Twitter X Logo Musk 1
Elon Musk’s own social network X is rolling out the ability to make audio and video calls directly from the app to its Android client. One of the X engineers working on the project posted about the feature release and said it will be available to Android users after an app update. audio and video calls on X slowly rolling out for android users today! It’s one of the long list of things only paid users can do on X. Users can enable or disable calling through Settingle > Privacy and safety > Direct Messages > Enable audio and video calling.

Viral Craze: Spotify’s Astrology-Inspired Daylists, But Did You Know Its Genre Genius was Recently Fired?

Spotify Daylist
That’s up to your Spotify Daylist, an algorithmically-generated playlist inspired by your listening habits, which changes several times per day. With the sudden uptick in posts about Spotify’s Daylists, you’d think that the feature only just came out, but it actually launched in September. The Instagram template positions Daylists as a new, more specific form of astrology, which is apt, because astrology and Daylists have the same appeal. Spotify’s hyper-personalized, algorithmic features — from Spotify Wrapped to Daylists — are capitalizing on this same impulse. And yet, time and time again, Spotify’s corporate leadership proves that it’s not in it for the love of music, nor podcasts.