State Champ Radio technology
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HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: NurPhoto / Getty / X
If you got a blue checkmark courtesy of X, Elon Musk wants the world to know so.
Spotted on The Verge, premium X users are finding out they can no longer hide their blue checkmarks and are sharing a notification they are receiving informing them of the new X, formerly Twitter policy.
Last summer, Elon Musk’s lame version of Twitter made showing your blue checkmark optional after X introduced a new subscription feature, giving subscribers the once highly coveted sign that they were part of an elite group.
It’s unclear why X is now doing it, but the timing comes after many celebrities and notable people who vowed to never pay for X to keep their blue checkmarks, now have them after X began “gifting” subscriptions to users with high numbers of verified users.
Those users who received their blue checkmarks began hiding them after announcing to their followers that they had not paid for them.
So this feels like Elon Musk being a douchebag and telling his team to make that move to spite those people who are spiting him and his company.
The social media formerly known as Twitter has been a hot mess since Elon Musk reluctantly purchased it. He changed the name and then rolled out the subscription platform, which was immediately abused by scammers who used to verify fake accounts and fool people.
Some people with blue checkmarks became the target of online harassment and mass blocking before giving users with more than a million followers blue checkmarks.
X is an ongoing mess, but we will stick beside it until the wheels fall off like everyone else.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: SOPA Images / Getty / Disney+
If you’re one of those people who enjoys Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ content at the expense of a friend or family member without having to pay, start counting your days.
You have until June to get your bank accounts in order and decide whether you want to continue sharing your Disney+ and its family streaming platform account with your homie or other family members.
Those allowing other people to use their Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ accounts will see a message telling them to add that person to their plan for an additional fee, of course.
Speaking with CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger talked about Disney’s plans to start cracking down on the popular practice of password sharing.
Per Variety:
According to Disney chief Bob Iger, the Mouse House this June will “be launching our first real foray into password sharing” enforcement. Iger, during an interview Thursday on CNBC, said the initial launch will be “just a few countries in a few markets” (he didn’t identify them) then “will grow significantly with a full rollout in September.”
The initial communications to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ customers will prompt password-borrowers to start their own subscriptions, the company has said previously. Later in 2024, account holders who want allow access to individuals outside their household will be able to add them for an additional fee.
When Disney+ begins its crackdown on password sharing, which it hopes will help achieve “double-digit margins, it will join Netflix, which has already begun doing so.
Netflix claims that its effort to crack down on password sharing has been successful in helping boost subscriber numbers.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: NurPhoto / Getty / X / Elon Musk
It looks like Elon Musk’s X is giving blue checks back to the platform’s most popular users, and they are like, thanks, but no thanks.
Overnight, Elon Musty’s X, formerly Twitter, “gifted” premium subscriptions to some users on X, mainly those who vowed never to pay for the subscription service that gave users the “blue check,” along with access to other premium features.
Musk confirmed in a post on his bootleg platform that this is the case, writing, “Going forward, all 𝕏 accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free, and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.”
Those who have gotten their blue checkmarks back to their names are taking to the platform to let their followers know they are still ten toes down on their initial stance and did not give Bootleg Tony Stark any money to get back their checks.
Acadmey Award-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright was one of those users who expressed that sentiment, sharing a screenshot of a notification from X that he was getting his complimentary subscription to X Premium.
In the caption for the post, he wrote, “Pay $8? Kidding. Help me. But don’t say anything too free speechy about me or my Garbage Tower of Babel shitsite.”
Netflix’s Good Times star also spoke on the matter, writing, “What happened? I didn’t pay for this. I would NEVER pay for this. When did the Blue Check mark start getting passed around again?!
Actor Mark Hamill, aka our guy Luke Skywalker, responded to Brown’s post, “I didn’t pay when it went away, & really didn’t care. Then, out of nowhere, it mysteriously reappeared. #whatever.”
Well, the sentiment remains thanks, but no thanks.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Renee Dominguez / Getty / Chuck D
Hollywood isn’t the only industry worried about the dangers of AI (artificial intelligence). The music industry is also weary of the technology.
Spotted on Deadline, the Artists Rights Alliance penned an open letter that garnered over 200 signatures from big names in the entertainment and music industry, calling on AI companies and digital streaming platforms to pledge “that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”
The website reports that Billie Eilish, her brother Finneas, Nicki Minaj, the estates of Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra, Smokey Robinson, Katy Perry, R.E.M, Chuck D, Camila Cabello, J Balvin, and more have signed the letter that lives on Medium.
The letter calls on “AI developers, technology companies, platforms, and digital music services to cease using artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
It also points out that AI can be beneficial by adding, “Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.
“Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders.”
The letter adds it wants to “protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”
AI was a significant issue in the SAG-AFTRA and Writer’s Guild strikes, which lasted for several months before both entities agreed on major sticking points.
In the music industry, AI is used in production and mastering, while independent artists utilize the tool to help with songwriting.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Activision / Activision
Activision just dropped Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile and one of the millions of people who downloaded the app and gave it a spin was Memphis rapper NLE Choppa. The “Shotta Flow” rapper has been occupied with the whole rap star thing, so he now considers himself a former gamer.
Source: Activision / Activision
“I don’t have too much time for it now,” Choppa, who participated in Thursday’s (March 21) Warzone Mobile Streamathon, told Hip-Hop Wired. “Once upon a time I was deep. I still do it in my free time, though. I was like 2K, [Grand Theft Auto], Call of Duty, all of those different games.”
Apparently, becoming a star rapper takes up a lot of time (a record deal with Warner Bros., two hit albums and touring will do that) so his hours spent on the sticks had to suffer.
Nevertheless, Choppa stays in tune with CoD (“Every new Call Of Duty I’m copping.”), and he gave Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile a thumbs up even though it seems he’s better on a PS5. “I was just playing it in my green room it’s actually kind of cool with the joystick thing connected to the phone. I don’t know if I’m as sharp with the tapping it on the screen, but the joystick, I could be able to work that for sure.”
Back to the music for a second, he just dropped a song called “AMF” with Flau’jae, the female rapper who happens to currently be a star guard on LSU’s women’s basketball team. “It came together with her, her mom, my mom, and me. Just respecting the relationship they have as a daughter and a mom-a-ger standpoint and it’s the same thing with my mom and my /manager,” said Choppa. “We connected that way and just always supported Flau’jae from basketball and we got the track in.”
Speaking of Flau’jae dropped 14 in LSU’s win over Rice.
Choppa also says he’s seriously retiring his “Shotta Flow,” with the last, “Shotta Flow 7” having been released in February. He’s starting another series but for the sake of Activision, we won’t mention the somewhat NSFW title here. But back to Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile and gaming in general, he’ll always find time for a good reason.
“Really it’s just a break from the world,” explains Choppa of why plays video games. “It’s just a break from who I am. To just be able to live that inner child feeling again, just to be able to play games is the goal for me, just to feel like a kid.”
Sounds like a plan. Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is available right now on iOS and Android mobile devices.
Source: Activision / Activision
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Spotify / Spotify Music Videos Feature
Spotify is finally getting a feature it should have had: the ability to instantly watch music videos.
Today, Spotify announced that its music video feature is rolling out in “beta” and will feature a “limited catalog” in 11 markets.
As for the supported artists, Spotify users can see videos from Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Aluna, and Asake. Per Techcrunch, the company’s global head of consumer experience, Sten Garmark, says that users can expect Spotify’s entire music video catalog to include “thousands” of songs.
Per Spotify:
“So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan,” says Charlie Hellman, Vice President and Head of Music Product at Spotify. “They’re an important part of so many artists’ tool kits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music.”
Users can access the music videos by hitting the “Switch to Video” icon above the song title for the songs supported by the feature.
When you hit the icon, the track will restart, and the video will appear in the center of the screen. You can flip your Android or iOS device to switch the aspect ratio to full screen.
The feature will also be available on desktop and the Spotify smart TV app, and it is currently live in the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya.
Genmark says those markets specifically chosen were “based on a number of criteria, including market size and the availability of local content support.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: NurPhoto / Getty / TikTok
TikTok’s run in the US over? The social media platform is trying its best to remain on smartphones in the States, but the US Government is working really hard to end its stranglehold on social media content creators.
Spotted on The Verge, TikTok is relying on its users to contact their local congress members as a bill calling for the app’s ban gains support in Congress.
The social media platform sent out a push notification warning users about the ban, claiming the government is trying to strip their constitutional rights from them.
Per The Verge:
TikTok sent users in the US a push notification on Wednesday, warning that “Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok” that would “[strip] 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression.”
The page says that a ban would “damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country, and deny artists an audience.” The alert includes a way for users to find their representative and call their office.
The notification comes shortly after the White House expressed support for a bipartisan bill directed at TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
The bill — called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — is in response to the perceived national security risks of TikTok, particularly around how the company collects user data.
The bill would require that TikTok break off from ByteDance or risk being removed from app stores in the US.
The Irony
The White House’s support for the bill is ironic due to President Biden’s presence on the platform under the handle @BidenHQ.
Congress has been trying for years to ban the app, with some states successfully banning the app from government devices, and Montana became the first state to ban it successfully.
A judge put a halt on the ban, which is the subject of numerous court challenges. If the government is successful in passing the ban, the American Civil Liberties Union is already pointing out that it will be a violation of the First Amendment.
TikTok has been having a rough year, with UMG (Universal Music Group) pulling music off the platform after both entities did not extend their licensing agreement.
It sounds like TikTok is in danger. There’s always Instagram Reels. Just saying.
01/29/2024
These are Billboard’s top products across all categories from the latest Consumer Electronics Show.
01/29/2024
Utopia Music is facing another lawsuit over an aborted deal to buy a U.S. music technology company called SourceAudio, this time over allegations that the Swiss company violated a $400,000 settlement that aimed end the dispute.
The two companies have been battling since February, when SourceAudio filed a lawsuit claiming that Utopia – a buzzy music fintech firm – had bailed on 2022 deal to buy the smaller company for $26.5 million. The case claimed that after a year of delays, Utopia owed more than $37 million on the deal.
That case, filed in Delaware, quickly settled on confidential terms. But in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, SourceAudio says Utopia has now flaked on that agreement, too.
“Desperate to get the Delaware litigation out of the public eye, Utopia negotiated an agreement to pay SourceAudio $400,000 in exchange for a full release and dismissal of the lawsuit,” the company’s lawyers write. “But as with the underlying contract, Utopia has refused to pay what it owes.”
According to the new lawsuit, just days after signing the legal settlement, Utopia “failed to make the required settlement payment—with no explanation at all.”
“It now appears that the settlement was simply a ruse by Utopia to buy time and avoid paying its debts,” the smaller company’s lawyers write. “SourceAudio brings this action to collect what it is owed [or] to rescind the fraudulently procured settlement agreement. Utopia’s gameplaying must come to an end.”
A spokesman for Utopia did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday.
Utopia, a Swiss-based tech company that delivers financial services for labels, publishers and distributors, had been on a buying spree over 2021 and 2022. The company has acquired at least 15 companies, including music tech company Musimap, U.K. physical distributor Cinram Novum and Lyric Financial, a provider of royalty-backed cash advances.
But last fall, news broke that Utopia would restructure operations and lay off 20% of its workforce, representing about 230 jobs. In April, the company undertook a fresh round of job cuts, eliminating another 15% of its global workforce. Then in July, Utopia announced it was closing its research and development offices in the United Kingdom and Finland, resulting in the loss of another 5% of its global workforce.
SourceAudio — a tech platform for digital asset management and monetization — sued in February, claiming it had struck a deal in March 2022 to sell itself to Utopia for $26.5 million. Since almost immediately after the deal was reached, SourceAudio claimed, the bigger company had continually balked at actually completing the purchase.
“Despite repeated assurances that Utopia would be able to close…, Utopia engaged in a pattern of discontinuing discussions for an extended period of time, only to resurface immediately before the next intended closing date to indicate that it was unable to close by such date,” the complaint read.
In Wednesday’s new lawsuit, SourceAudio claims that Utopia quickly agreed to pay $400,000 to end the earlier case. Though Utopia made an initial $50,000 payment under the deal, the lawsuit claims, the remaining $350,000 – due this month – has not been paid.
“Defendants fraudulently represented through their attorney that they would perform the settlement agreement, while never intending to make any payment beyond the first installment of $50,000,” The company wrote. “Defendants’ objective with its false promise was to secure a release and dismissal of the Delaware action in exchange for a $50,000 payment and nothing further.”
HipHopWired Featured Video
Bowers & Wilkins, a leading audio company that produces top-of-the-line products, offers an array of award-winning speakers, headphones, and other devices. The brand’s Px8 over-the-ear headphones are among those lauded devices, and Bowers & Wilkins rolled out a new color finish that reminds us of a certain suit-wearing genius superhero.
Founded in 1966, Bowers & Wilkins has emerged as a leader in providing studio speakers, home speakers, car audio devices, and more. Engineers, musicians, and true audiophiles are the target audience for B&W products but they provide their premiere technology at a fair entry price.
The latest color from B&W for the Px8 is the Royal Burgundy finish. This version of the Px8, as we noted before, is a noise-canceling over-the-ear wireless headphones set that sport a Nappa leather finish along with gold trimmings. The Royal Burgundy joins the existing and still popular Black and Tan Nappa leather finishes.
The B&W team has refined the bells and whistles of its flagship headphones. If one is familiar with the vast world of headphone drivers, the Px8 came equipped with 40mm Carbon Cone drive units, the same drivers that power its innovative loudspeaker units. Paired with the Bowers & Wilkins-developed DSP (Digital Signal Processing), fans who use music streaming services can expect 24-bit high-resolution sound.
Other features of the Px8 included its standard single cast-aluminum arm structure, and the earcups, memory foam cushions, and headband also feature the Nappa leather trim. The Px8 also comes with a handy carrying case for easy transport and storage.
B&W updated its acoustic tuning that promises faster response and low distortion across a wide range of frequencies, building upon the build quality of the bar set by the Px7 S2 earbuds and the Px7 S2e over-the-ear headphones. What listeners can expect is the best representation of sound from the music you enjoy, especially if you use a streaming service that offers high-fidelity options.
The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 model is priced at $699 in the Black, Tan, and new Royal burgundy finish.
Learn more here.
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Photo: B&W
