Category: Media & Entertainment

Patreon, a subscription platform for online creators, is ge has signed podcasting partnerships with Sony Music Entertainment and Amazon’s Wondery, the company announced on Wednesday. Patreon says the partnerships are designed to make the site a home to fan engagement and exclusive perks for shows from major podcast networks, as the company looks to expand…

AI crawlers cause Wikimedia Commons bandwidth demands to surge 50%

April 2, 2025

The Wikimedia Foundation, the umbrella organization of Wikipedia and a dozen or so other crowdsourced knowledge projects, said on Wednesday that bandwidth consumption for multimedia downloads from Wikimedia Commons has surged by 50% since January 2024. The reason, the outfit wrote in a blog post Tuesday, isn’t due to growing demand from knowledge-thirsty humans, but…

OpenAI disables image gen for certain Sora users as capacity challenges continue

March 31, 2025

OpenAI is still struggling to overcome the capacity issues brought on by the viral image generation feature the company launched last week. On Monday, OpenAI disabled image generation for new users of Sora, the company’s suite of generative AI media tools. “We’re currently experiencing heavy traffic and have temporarily disabled Sora video generation for new…

OpenAI disables video gen for certain Sora users as capacity challenges continue

March 31, 2025

OpenAI is still struggling to overcome the capacity issues brought on by the viral image generation feature the company launched last week. On Monday, OpenAI disabled video generation for new users of Sora, the company’s suite of generative AI media tools. “We’re currently experiencing heavy traffic and have temporarily disabled Sora video generation for new…

Runway releases an impressive new video-generating AI model

March 31, 2025

AI startup Runway on Monday released what it claims is one of the highest-fidelity AI-powered video generators yet. Called Gen-4, the model is rolling out to the company’s individual and enterprise customers. Runway claims that it can generate consistent characters, locations, and objects across scenes, maintain “coherent world environments,” and regenerate elements from different perspectives…

Streaming service Plex rolls out a revamped mobile app

March 31, 2025

Media software maker and streaming app Plex on Monday released an updated version of its mobile app. The redesign features a new user experience, reorganized navigation that includes giving its Watchlist a dedicated spot, and other changes that aim to make it easier to access power-user features for Plex customers who use the company’s personal…

China Miéville says we shouldn’t blame science fiction for its bad readers

March 30, 2025

It’s been 25 years since China Miéville stepped into the literary spotlight with his novel “Perdido Street Station.” Combining elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, the novel introduced readers to the fantastically complex city of New Crobuzon, filled with insect-headed khepri, cactus-shaped cactacae, and terrifying slake moths that feed on their victims’ dreams. It…

ChatGPT’s image-generation feature gets an upgrade

March 25, 2025

During a livestream on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the first major upgrade to ChatGPT’s image-generation capabilities in over a year. ChatGPT can now leverage the company’s GPT-4o model to natively create and modify images and photos. GPT-4o has long underpinned the AI-powered chatbot platform, but until now, the model has been able to…

Step into the spotlight: Apply to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

March 24, 2025

Calling all tech innovators, startup fanatics, marketing gurus, and emerging VCs — this is your moment! You’ve waited long enough, and now the time has come to step into the spotlight at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27–29 in San Francisco. Share your expertise with over 10,000 eager attendees and make an impact by…

Jonah Peretti helped shaped digital media — can he do it again?

March 22, 2025

Jonah Peretti’s career to date has been defined by constant reinvention. As the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed, Peretti has been at the forefront of digital media for almost two decades, navigating changes as the once small startup transformed into, at one point, a multimedia powerhouse. But as the company grows older, one question lingers:…

TechCrunch has, yes, personal news!

March 21, 2025

If you haven’t heard the news, TechCrunch has a shiny new home. After years under Yahoo’s ownership — which, in turn, is backed by Apollo Group — the brand is now in fresh hands. Its new parent company: Regent, a dynamic private equity firm with a diverse portfolio spanning media, retail, and manufacturing. Regent was…

Microsoft is exploring a way to credit contributors to AI training data

March 21, 2025

Microsoft is launching a research project to estimate the influence of specific training examples on the text, images, and other types of media that generative AI models create. That’s per a job listing dating back to December that was recently recirculated on LinkedIn. According to the listing, which seeks a research intern, the project will…

Google claims news is worthless to its ad business after test involving 1% of search results in eight EU markets

March 21, 2025

Google has reported the results of an experiment it ran which removed news from search results for 1% of users for 2.5 months in eight* markets in Europe — claiming the results show that news is essentially worthless to Google’s ad business. The search giant conducted the test because European copyright law requires it to…

Apple is reportedly losing $1B per year on its streaming service

March 20, 2025

Apple is losing more than $1 billion per year on its streaming service, Apple TV+, according to a new report from The Information. Apple TV+ is the only service in Apple’s portfolio that isn’t profitable, the report reveals. The company has spent around $5 billion on content each year since the streaming service launched in…

A high schooler built a website that lets you challenge AI models to a Minecraft build-off

March 20, 2025

As conventional AI benchmarking techniques prove inadequate, AI builders are turning to more creative ways to assess the capabilities of generative AI models. For one group of developers, that’s Minecraft, the Microsoft-owned sandbox-building game. The website Minecraft Benchmark (or MC-Bench) was developed collaboratively to pit AI models against each other in head-to-head challenges to respond…

Gwyneth Paltrow says Goop is growing just fine

March 20, 2025

Gwyneth Paltrow gave an update on her company Goop in a cover story for Vanity Fair. Paltrow founded the lifestyle brand Goop in 2008 and it has raised more than $140 million from investors including Greycroft and G9 Ventures, according to Pitchbook. The brand is often regarded as one of the first examples of a…

OpenAI upgrades its transcription and voice-generating AI models

March 20, 2025

OpenAI is bringing new transcription and voice-generating AI models to its API that the company claims improve upon its previous releases. For OpenAI, the models fit into its broader “agentic” vision: building automated systems that can independently accomplish tasks on behalf of users. The definition of “agent” might be in dispute, but OpenAI Head of…

Make waves in 2025: Exhibit at TechCrunch events

March 20, 2025

If you’re reading this, you already know: It’s time to amplify your brand. Get in front of thousands of TechCrunch event attendees, readers, and decision-makers who can take your business further this year by exhibiting at a TechCrunch event. The perks of exhibiting: What’s in it for you Exhibiting doesn’t just elevate your brand —…

xAI launches an API for generating images

March 19, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has added image generation capabilities to its API. Only one model is available in the API at the moment, “grok-2-image-1212.” Given a caption, the model can generate up to 10 images per request (limited to 5 requests per second) in JPG format, priced at $0.07 per image. For comparison, AI…

Streamer Plex raises subscription price for the first time in a decade

March 19, 2025

Streaming service and software maker Plex is raising its prices. The company announced on Wednesday its first price increase in a decade for its premium subscription service Plex Pass, which offers power users a variety of additional features, like offline access, themes, hardware transcoding, and other advanced settings. The service will now cost $6.99 per…

‘The Last of Us’ to stream in American Sign Language on Max

March 19, 2025

Max announced on Wednesday that the HBO series “The Last of Us” will be available to stream in American Sign Language (ASL). Season 2 premieres on April 13. Notably, this is the first time HBO’s original content will be accessible for streaming in ASL on the service, representing a step towards inclusivity for deaf and…

Agentic AI startup AMT aims to be ‘Google Adwords for influencers,’ raises seed round

March 19, 2025

Booking an ad campaign with social media influencers is currently not exactly easy. For starters, influencers’ approaches to marketing can be unconventional, and there’s no standard way to engage with them. On the other side, marketing agencies that employ hosts of people to book and track brand campaigns are limited by how many influencers they…

US paid music subscribers cross 100 million mark for the first time

March 19, 2025

The U.S. crossed the 100 million paid subscriber mark for music streaming services for the first time ever last year, as per a new report by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA). The subscriber number was up from 96.8 million in 2023, with year-on-year growth of roughly 3%. RIAA’s report said that these numbers…

Stability AI’s new AI model turns photos into 3D scenes

March 18, 2025

Stability AI has released a new AI model, Stable Virtual Camera, that the company says can transform 2D images into “immersive” videos with realistic depth and perspective. Virtual cameras are tools often used in digital filmmaking and 3D animation to capture and navigate scenes in real-time. With Stable Virtual Camera, Stability sought to add generative…

People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images

March 17, 2025

Users on social media have discovered a controversial use case for Google’s new Gemini AI model: removing watermarks from images, including from images published by Getty Images and other well-known stock media outfits. Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model’s image generation feature, which lets the model natively generate and edit…

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, acquires a generative AI video startup

March 17, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a startup working on AI-powered video generation tools along the lines of OpenAI’s Sora. Aakash Sastry, Hotshot’s CEO and co-founder, announced the news in a post on X on Monday. “Over the past 2 years we’ve built 3 video foundation models as a small team — Hotshot-XL,…

Vote for the session you want to see at TechCrunch Sessions: AI

March 17, 2025

We’ve been blown away by the overwhelming response to speak at TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5 in Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley. After thorough consideration, we’ve selected six standout finalists. The power to choose who will take the stage and share their AI expertise with 1,200 AI leaders and enthusiasts is now in your…

Google adds its HD voice model Chirp 3 to its Vertex AI platform

March 17, 2025

A lot of the focus in generative AI up to now has been on text-based interfaces used to generate text, images and more. The next wave appears to be voice, and it’s rolling in fast. In the latest development, Google today announced that it would be adding Chirp 3 — its HD voice interface —…

People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images

March 16, 2025

How ‘The Electric State’ team created a world of unlikely robots

March 14, 2025

The new Netflix movie “The Electric State” depicts a world full of robots — but not robots as we know them. Directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (who previously helmed two Avengers blockbusters, “Infinity War” and “Endgame”) for a reported budget of $320 million, “The Electric State” takes place in an alternate version of…

OpenAI’s ‘creative writing’ AI evokes that annoying kid from high school fiction club

March 13, 2025

When I was 16, I attended a writing workshop with a group of precocious young poets, where we all tried very hard to prove who among us was the most tortured upper-middle-class teenager. One boy refused to tell anyone where he was from, declaring, “I’m from everywhere and nowhere.” Two weeks later, he admitted he…

Bria lands new funding for AI models trained on licensed data

March 13, 2025

AI-powered image generators, which are at the center of a number of copyright lawsuits against AI companies, are frequently trained on massive amounts of data from public websites. Most of these companies argue that fair use doctrine shields their data scraping and training practices. But many copyright holders disagree. That’s why some startups and firms developing image…

Food delivery startup Wonder acquires media company Tastemade for $90M

March 12, 2025

Food delivery startup Wonder is acquiring media company Tastemade for around $90 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2021, Tastemade produces food, travel, and home videos and operates several free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels. The acquisition gives Wonder access to a content studio, production company, and advertising business. Wonder will leverage…

Moonvalley releases a video generator it claims was trained on licensed content

March 12, 2025

Los Angeles-based startup Moonvalley has launched an AI video-generating model it claims is one of the few trained on openly licensed — not copyrighted — data. Named “Marey” after cinema trailblazer Étienne-Jules Marey, the model was built in collaboration with Asteria, a newer AI animation studio. Marey was trained on “owned or fully licensed” source…

Spotify says its payouts are getting better, but artists still disagree

March 11, 2025

Spotify on Tuesday released its annual Loud & Clear report, detailing information about the music streaming service’s royalty payments. While Spotify revealed earlier this year that it paid out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, the new report offers more in-depth numbers about its payments in an effort to dispel reports that the company…

The New Yorker has finally embraced modernity

March 11, 2025

When the first email was sent in 1971, Richard Nixon was president. The video game “Pong” was still in development. The Pittsburgh Pirates were a good baseball team. This is to say, technological achievements like the email have lived long enough to have their own grandchildren. And yet, one of the most storied magazines in…

Podcast app Pocket Casts makes its web player free

March 11, 2025

Pocket Casts, the podcast app acquired by Automattic in 2021, is now making its web player free. The company says the move offers an alternative to the big platforms’ closed ecosystems, where algorithmic-driven content is prioritized and podcasts are kept behind paywalls. Podcasts were built on open technology — the open, decentralized standard RSS, which…

Supercharge your brand visibility with an exhibit table at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

March 10, 2025

From October 27-29, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 will bring together over 10,000 startup pioneers, VC leaders, and tech enthusiasts at Moscone West in San Francisco—the epicenter of innovation set to reshape the future of technology. What’s in it for your startup? A golden opportunity to put your innovation in front of an eager audience for all…

Christie’s AI art auction reportedly exceeds expectations

March 6, 2025

Nearly 6,500 artists demanded in an open letter that fine art auction house Christie’s cancel its first show dedicated solely to works created with AI. Yet, the show, Augmented Intelligence, went on — and reportedly exceeded expectations. According to Christie’s, the show brought in more than $700,000, with many lots reaching beyond their high estimates.…

Spotify says it’s fixing the bug that caused Premium users to hear ads

March 6, 2025

Spotify has acknowledged an issue that’s causing some of its paid Premium subscribers to encounter ads when trying to play music. In an X post published on Thursday by Spotify’s customer service account, the company said it’s looking into the problem and linked to its Community website where the issue has been documented by users…

Prime Video tests AI dubbing for select movies and TV series

March 5, 2025

Prime Video is now experimenting with AI-assisted dubbing for select licensed movies and TV shows, as announced by the Amazon-owned streaming service on Wednesday. According to Prime Video, this new test will feature AI-assisted dubbing services in English and Latin American Spanish, combining AI with human localization professionals to “ensure quality control,” the company explained. …

YouTube launches a $7.99 per month, ad-free Premium Lite subscription

March 5, 2025

YouTube on Wednesday announced a new premium subscription tier called Premium Lite, which will users to watch “most” videos ad-free for $7.99 per month. With YouTube Lite, customers will be able to watch videos across verticals like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and more, ad-free, but will be shown ads on music content and music…

Conan O’Brien comments on AI during his opening monologue at the Oscars

March 3, 2025

When hosting the 2025 Oscars last night, comedian and late-night TV host Conan O’Brien addressed the use of AI in his opening monologue, reflecting the growing conversation about the technology’s influence in Hollywood. “We did not use AI to make this show,” O’Brien said. His remarks were clearly a reference to the use of generative AI…

Stability AI optimized its audio generation model to run on Arm chips

March 3, 2025

AI startup Stability AI has teamed up with chipmaker Arm to bring Stability’s Stable Audio Open, an AI model that can generate audio including sound effects, to mobile devices running Arm chips. While a number of AI-powered apps can generate audio, like Suno and Udio, most rely on cloud processing, meaning that they can’t be…

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Final 24 hours to save up to $1,130

February 28, 2025

The early bird gets the worm and time is running out! You have less than 24 hours left to save up to $1,130 when purchasing passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. If you want massive savings on Disrupt 2025 individual passes and up to 30% on group tickets, secure your low ticket rate today. These offers…

2025 TechCrunch Events Calendar

February 27, 2025

For two decades, TechCrunch has provided a front row view to the future of technology, shaping conversations that matter and spotlighting the next big things before they break — both on the page and in person at our world-renowned events. This year, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we’re launching our most ambitious events calendar…

Alexa+ can work with Prime Video and Fire TV to ‘jump to a scene’ in a movie

February 26, 2025

As part of the new Alexa+ experience Amazon introduced on Wednesday, the smart assistant will gain the ability to navigate through movies on Prime Video on your behalf. Thanks to integrations between Alexa, Prime Video, and Fire TV, Alexa+, as the upgraded assistant is called, will be able to “jump to a scene” in a…

YouTube surpasses 1B monthly podcast viewers

February 26, 2025

YouTube continues to assert its dominance in the podcasting space, presenting significant competition to both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In an announcement on Wednesday, the company revealed YouTube has surpassed 1 billion monthly active podcast viewers. This milestone highlights YouTube’s popularity in the podcast industry and emphasizes consumer preference for video-first formats. Last year, YouTube…

YouTube is working to make ad slots less interruptive

February 25, 2025

YouTube announced it’s making changes to mid-roll ads to improve the viewing experience for users while also helping creators potentially earn more revenue. Starting May 12, the Google-owned platform is going to show fewer ads during moments that feel interruptive or may cause viewers to abandon the video — like in the middle of a…

1,000 artists release ‘silent’ album to protest UK copyright sell-out to AI

February 24, 2025

The U.K. government is pushing forward with plans to attract more AI companies to the region by proposing changes to copyright law that would allow developers to train AI models on artists’ content on the internet—without permission or payment—unless creators proactively “opt out.” Not everyone is marching to the same beat, though. On Monday, a…

SoundCloud partners with TicketMaster to let artists list events

February 24, 2025

Music streamer SoundCloud announced a partnership with entertainment company Live Nation today, allowing artists on its platform to list Ticketmaster and Universe events on their profile in a customized way. The company said it would create more promotion opportunities for artists in the future in partnership with Ticketmaster through a new promotion program but didn’t…

How I Podcast: Summer Album / Winter Album’s Jody Avirgan

February 22, 2025

The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It’s a rare medium that’s nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut…

Explore the online world of Apple TV’s ‘Severance’

February 22, 2025

Apple has been steadily working to expand the world of the Apple TV+ series “Severance,” through online materials, e-books, podcasts, and other content – and so have its fans. Taking advantage of its platform power, the Cupertino tech giant has been able to easily distribute supplemental material that adds to the show’s storytelling abilities, offering…

Your Android phone could have stalkerware. Here’s how to remove it

February 20, 2025

Google Play Books purchases on iOS now skirt the App Store’s commission

February 18, 2025

Google has gained permission to sell its e-books and audiobooks directly to customers through its iOS app, Google Play Books. While iOS apps today can offer access to content previously purchased elsewhere, like e-books bought via a website, developers have to request a specific exception to link their iOS app’s users to the company’s own…

The New York Times has greenlit AI tools for product and edit staff

February 17, 2025

The New York Times is now allowing its product and editorial teams to use AI tools, which might one day write social copy, SEO headlines, and code, reports Semafor. The news came to staff via an email, in which the publication announced the debut of its new internal AI summary tool called Echo. The New…

Olyn secures Beatles biopic for its ‘Shopify for filmmakers’

February 17, 2025

The recent Brian Epstein biopic “Midas Man,” a film about the manager of The Beatles, debuted not on a platform like Netflix or Amazon, but on a startup that bills itself as “Shopify for filmmakers.” So what, you might ask? The answer is that the new platform, Olyn, claims to offer a new model for…

YouTube TV reaches new deal to keep Paramount content

February 16, 2025

After warnings that Paramount content was about to disappear from Google’s pay TV service YouTube TV, the companies announced late Saturday that the’d reached a deal that averting any disruption to channel availability. Those announcements didn’t include many specifics about the agreement, but a statement from a Paramount spokesperson said it includes “an expanded streaming…

Hotstar and JioCinema merge into JioHotstar as Reliance tightens grip on streaming in India

February 13, 2025

Hotstar and JioCinema, two widely used video streaming apps in India, have merged into JioHotstar. JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Star India, said Friday it had integrated JioCinema’s content into a revamped version of Disney’s Hotstar platform. The merged service will feature movies and TV shows from Disney, Warner Bros, NBCUniversal and…

Apple’s TV app, TV+ streaming service, and MLS Season Pass launches on Android

February 12, 2025

Apple on Wednesday announced that its Apple TV app, including its Apple TV+ streaming service and MLS Season Pass, is arriving on Android devices. While the company previously offered a version of its app for Google TV, the newly released app will support a broader range of Android-based devices, including phones, tablets, and even foldables.…

Las Vegas just got a Netflix restaurant

February 12, 2025

You can now dine out on dishes inspired by Netflix movies and shows at Las Vegas’s newest restaurant. Netflix Bites is open as of this week in the MGM Grand Hotel & Casio, where it will operate for a year. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner options like a Bridgerton-inspired tea service, Stranger Wings,…

YouTube AI updates include auto dubbing expansion, age ID tech, and more

February 11, 2025

In his annual letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan dubbed AI as one of the company’s four “big bets” for 2025, pointing to the company’s investments in AI tools for creators, like those that help them come up with video ideas, thumbnails, or those that help translate their content into other languages. The latter feature will…

Google backs Toonsutra to grow its webtoons platform in India

February 11, 2025

It’s no news that India is a huge market for entertainment businesses, but what often doesn’t get mentioned is that its people love to see content in their own languages. According to a recent survey by non-profit Internet and Mobile Association of India, more than 870 million Indians sought out videos, music and other content…

Apple Music adds a better-sounding Spatial Audio version of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show

February 10, 2025

If you want to relive Kendrick Lamar’s headline-making Super Bowl halftime show, Apple Music just dropped a replay of the performance in its surround sound-like Spatial Audio. Since Apple currently sponsors the Super Bowl halftime show, the company has permission to republish these musical spectacles — but this is better than just a YouTube video…

AI-driven ads take the field during the 2025 Super Bowl

February 10, 2025

We’ve officially experienced an AI Super Bowl, people. As everyone tuned in to watch the annual championship game, the biggest buzz wasn’t just about the Eagles’ blowout win and Kendrick Lamar performing his Grammy-winning diss track at the halftime show. It was also about AI being a consistent theme in several of the multi-million dollar ad…

Christie’s announces AI art auction, and not everyone is pleased

February 8, 2025

Fine art auction house, Christie’s, has sold AI-generated art before. But soon, it plans to hold its first show dedicated solely to works created with AI, an announcement that has been met with mixed reviews. The auction, which Christie’s is calling ‘Augmented Intelligence,’ will feature artwork from artists including Mat Dryhurst, the founder of AI…

Musk moves to dismiss suit over Tesla’s alleged use of AI-generated ‘Blade Runner’ imagery

February 5, 2025

Attorneys for Elon Musk intend to move to dismiss a case that accuses the Tesla CEO, who is also the head of President Donald Trump’s DOGE organization, of using AI-generated, copyright-violating “Blade Runner”-inspired images at a Tesla press event. In a filing submitted to the U.S. District Court Central District of California, Western Division late…

TED Talks has put out an all-call for a new leader

February 4, 2025

Chris Anderson, who has run TED for 25 years, is looking to bestow the operation on anyone who has a good plan for its future, he announced in a blog post. TED is best known for its TED Talks, where ideas from tech to humor have been explored. It has featured famed tech moguls (Bill…

DSTLRY, the comic books marketplace, launches new customization features for artists

February 4, 2025

DSTLRY, a venture-backed digital comic books marketplace, on Tuesday added a pair of features designed to bring customization to the platform. The first feature, dubbed Commissioned Digital Remarques, allows creators to add personalized sketches and signatures to digital comics. The second, Unlimited Digital Covers, expands platform-wide access to alternative comic book covers. Commissioned Digital Remarques…

Deepfake videos are getting shockingly good

February 4, 2025

Researchers from TikTok owner ByteDance have demoed a new AI system, OmniHuman-1, that can generate perhaps the most realistic deepfake videos to date. Deepfaking AI is a commodity. There’s no shortage of apps that can insert someone into a photo, or make a person appear to say something they didn’t actually say. But most deepfakes…

Spotify reports its first full year of profitability, adds 35M monthly active users

February 4, 2025

On Tuesday morning, Spotify announced its fourth-quarter earnings, marking its first full year of profitability since its inception 17 years ago. The operating income for the quarter reached a record €477 million ($509.48 million) and amounted to €1.4 billion ($1.495 billion) for the 2024 fiscal year. Spotify also reported an addition of 35 million monthly…

Canada’s StackAdapt snaps up $235M for its AI-based programmatic platform

February 4, 2025

While the U.S. and Canada duke it out over tariffs between the two countries, a tech company based out of Toronto is announcing a major round of funding led by a homegrown VC. StackAdapt, a programmatic advertising startup, says that it has raised $235 million in equity funding, with Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) — the…

Naver-backed Cinamon wants to make 3D video animation easier using AI

February 3, 2025

It’s never been easier to create and publish art than it is now, and if you believe the companies building tech around AI, the production process is going to get even more efficient. That’s especially the case with video production, with companies of all sizes using large language models to build tools that let you…

The Beatles won a Grammy last night, thanks to AI

February 3, 2025

The Beatles’ AI-assisted track “Now and Then” won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance on Sunday night, marking the first time that a song of its kind has taken home the award. No, Paul McCartney did not use AI to create some creepy LennonGPT bot. Instead, he used noise reduction systems to clean up a…

Adobe exec Scott Belsky departs for indie movie studio A24

February 1, 2025

Adobe’s chief strategy officer Scott Belsky announced this week that he will be joining A24, the independent movie studio behind “Civil War,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” and many more titles. Belsky first joined Adobe in 2012 through the acquisition of Behance, leaving briefly in 2016 to become a VC at Benchmark but eventually returning…

Sam Altman’s ousting from OpenAI has entered the cultural zeitgeist

January 31, 2025

The lights dimmed as five actors took their places around a table on a makeshift stage in a New York City art gallery turned theater for the night. Wine and water flowed through the intimate space as the house — packed with media — sat to witness the premiere of “Doomers,” Matthew Gasda’s latest play…

Amazon hikes prices for its Music Unlimited subscriptions

January 30, 2025

Amazon is the latest company to announce a price hike for its music streaming subscriptions. The company revealed this week that the price of an Amazon Music Unlimited Individual plan for Prime members is going from $9.99 per month to $10.99. As for subscribers without a Prime membership, the price of their subscription is going…

MoviePass might pivot to crypto

January 29, 2025

After MoviePass’s historic implosion, subscribers to the “Netflix for movie theaters” were already cautious around the company’s 2023 relaunch. These moviegoers may grow even more skeptical after MoviePass sent out an email blast on Wednesday, which surveyed customers about their interest in web3. “Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain technologies are transforming the business landscape at an unprecedented…

Netflix adds a convenient feature for iOS users to download an entire TV season at once

January 29, 2025

Netflix announced on Wednesday that it’s giving iOS users a new feature that allows them to download an entire season of their favorite TV show with one tap. The feature first became available to Android users. The Season Download button is available in the Netflix app, located next to the Share button on a show’s…

Bookshop.org challenges Amazon with new e-book platform

January 28, 2025

Indie bookstore backer Bookshop.org launched an e-book platform on Tuesday, making it easier for readers to buy e-books without padding Jeff Bezos’s pockets. For years, Amazon’s chokehold and sway in the publishing industry have been so strong that authors and booksellers have accused the company of operating a monopoly. Amazon is dominant in the sale…

Spotify says it paid $10 billion to music industry last year

January 28, 2025

Audio streaming company Spotify said Tuesday that it paid $10 billion to the music industry last year. The company added that it has given nearly $60 billion in industry payouts since its inception. This is another effort from Spotify to dispel reports that the company doesn’t reward artists properly for their work. The key point…

‘Blade’ writer David S. Goyer debuts his latest sci-fi franchise on Incention, a new platform built on Story blockchain

January 28, 2025

While the adoption of IP (intellectual property) blockchain and tokenization of assets is still in its early stages, more creatives in the entertainment industry are embracing what is called “tokenized storytelling.” This approach enables fans to participate in story development, contributing elements – such as characters and plot – that can be tokenized and owned…

Quartz has been quietly publishing AI-generated news articles

January 27, 2025

Quartz, the international business news outlet, has been quietly aggregating reporting from other outlets, including TechCrunch, in order to publish AI-generated articles under the byline “Quartz Intelligence Newsroom.” Quartz started publishing simple AI-generated earnings reports months ago, but beginning last week, the outlet moved on to short articles. One of the 18 AI-generated articles published…

Perplexity submits a new bid for TikTok

January 26, 2025

Perplexity AI has submitted a revised proposal to merge with TikTok, in an arrangement that would give the U.S. government up to 50 percent ownership of the new entity. The Associated Press first reported on the new proposal. A source with knowledge of the bid confirmed to TechCrunch that the AP’s reporting is accurate. The…

Trump administration reportedly negotiating an Oracle takeover of TikTok

January 25, 2025

The Trump administration is negotiating a deal that would see Oracle take over TikTok alongside new U.S. investors, according to a report in NPR. Lawmakers passed a bill last year forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to either sell TikTok or see it banned in the U.S. The app briefly went dark before the law took…

Paul McCartney calls on UK government to protect artists from AI

January 25, 2025

Legendary musician Paul McCartney is warning against proposed changes to UK copyright law that would allow tech companies to freely train their models on online content unless the copyright holders actively opt out. In excerpts of an interview with the BBC, McCartney said the government needs to do more to protect musicians and other artists.…

Nearly 10 year later, Tumblr TV launches to all as a TikTok alternative

January 22, 2025

In 2015, the blogging site Tumblr launched a GIF discovery feature called Tumblr TV as an experimental product. Now, with the U.S. TikTok ban leaving the fate of the short-form video app uncertain, Tumblr has decided it’s finally time to launch Tumblr TV, which has since evolved to support video, to all its users as…

Nearly 10 years later, Tumblr TV launches to all as a TikTok alternative

January 22, 2025

Streaming service Plex gets more social with public profiles and reviews

January 22, 2025

Streaming service Plex has long since grown beyond its original focus of being a home for personal media to offer a more comprehensive solution for discovering, streaming, and sharing content across services, including Plex’s own ad-supported free TV and movies. More recently, the company added social networking features, which it’s today expanding with its rollout…

Spotify introduces educational audio courses, starting in the UK

January 21, 2025

Spotify is expanding its streaming service to now include educational courses in addition to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The company on Tuesday announced the launch of a new feature called courses, which will allow users to learn about topics in areas like business, tech, lifestyle, music, and more. The feature will initially be made available…

Spotify’s educational audio courses could be coming to U.S.

January 21, 2025

Spotify is expanding its streaming service to now include educational courses in addition to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The company on Tuesday referenced one of its newer features called courses, which allow users to learn about topics in areas like business, tech, lifestyle, music, and more. The feature is initially being piloted in the U.K.,…

IMDb founder steps down as CEO after 35 years

January 21, 2025

IMDb, the Amazon-owned online database that provides information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, announced on Tuesday that its founder, Col Needham, is stepping down as CEO. Nikki Santoro, who has served as the Chief Operating Officer since 2021, has been appointed as his successor. Santoro’s appointment is significant, as she is the first woman…

At the Microsoft Excel World Championship, selfies and a ‘hype’ tunnel

January 20, 2025

An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey patterned with a six-pack abs. In a new piece, the New York Times takes readers to an event that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship, a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12 contestants — all…

How to stream Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day 2025

January 19, 2025

Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office on Monday in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., once again. The event takes place at noon ET and is expected to attract considerable attention from both supporters and opponents. How to stream Trump’s inauguration You can watch the inauguration live with cable or…

TikTok is restoring service in the US

January 19, 2025

Barely more than 12 hours after TikTok went dark in the United States, the video-sharing app is coming back online. “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company said in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers…

TikTok is restoring service in the US

January 19, 2025

Trump says he will delay TikTok ban, suggests a joint venture with US ownership

January 19, 2025

TikTok went dark for users in the US on Saturday night, but it may not be gone for long. President-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that he will issuing an executive order Monday that will “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a…

These tech companies are donating to LA wildfire relief efforts

January 15, 2025

Numerous tech companies have pledged millions in donations to help LA recover from wildfires that caused widespread devastation and forced thousands to evacuate the region. Those offering aid include YouTube/Google, Meta, Snap, Amazon, Netflix, and Sony. Here’s an overview of what each company is doing to aid relief efforts in the region: YouTube and Google:…

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