Soon, you might be able to watch TikTok ad-free. Mostly. And for a price. As first reported by Android Authority, code within the TikTok app indicates that TikTok might begin to test an ad-free subscription tier for users. The site reported that for $4.99, subscribers could get an ad-free experience on TikTok — no other…
As tech companies begin to monetize generative AI, the creators on whose work it is trained are asking for their fair share. But so far no one can agree on whether or how much artists should be paid. A recent open letter from The Authors Guild signed by more than 8,500 writers, including Margaret Atwood,…
Web publishing platform Medium has announced that it will block OpenAI’s GPTBot, an agent that scrapes web pages for content used to train the company’s AI models. But the real news may be that a group of platforms may soon form a unified front against what many consider an exploitation of their content. Medium joins…
Saregama has acquired a 51.82% stake in the digital entertainment startup Pocket Aces as the oldest Indian music label makes a deeper push into videos. Saregama is paying about $20 million for the 51.82% stake in Pocket Aces and plans to invest an additional $1.8 million into the startup, the Kolkata-headquartered firm disclosed in a…
Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl believes AI will be significantly impacting the music industry within the next year. Speaking at the Code Conference this week, the industry exec said the industry should soon expect the increasing quality of music made with AI technologies that comes at a very fast pace, and the industry’s best bet…
After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached an agreement with Hollywood studios to end the writers’ strike. Starting Wednesday, writers will be able to resume work under the conditions established by their new contract. During the historic strike, AI emerged as a key point of contention between the writers and…
YouTube today announced an update to its advertiser-friendly guidelines that relaxes some of its rules around controversial issues, including sexual and domestic abuse, abortions and eating disorders. The changes will allow YouTube creators to monetize their videos on these topics under some circumstances, though not if they go into graphic detail. YouTube monetization policy lead…
SAG-AFTRA members voted overwhelmingly on Monday to authorize a strike against the video game industry. The union — which includes video game performers like voice, motion capture and stunt actors — has been negotiating a contract for over a year with a collection of studios, like Epic, EA, Activision and more. Around 27.47% of eligible…
As Google is shifting its podcast listeners over to YouTube Music, Apple today announced an upgraded experience for its own Apple Podcasts app, following the release of iOS 17. With the software update, the service will now support a refreshed design with full-screen artwork, a more streamlined queue, episode art, interactive widgets, search filters and…
Google announced this morning it will be shutting down its Google Podcasts app later in 2024 as part of its broader transition to move its streaming listeners over to YouTube Music. The company earlier this year announced YouTube Music would begin supporting podcasts in the U.S., which will expand globally by year-end, and more recently…