Apple Seeking Lower Rates With Record Labels as Initial Deals Start Expiring
Apple is said to be aiming to reduce the share of revenue record labels get from streaming music as it works to establish new deals for Apple Music and iTunes, reports Bloomberg.
Apple is reportedly pursuing lower rates as part of an effort to revise its “overall relationship” with the music industry. Apple’s current deals with record labels expire at the end of June, but Bloomberg’s sources say they will be extended if a new agreement can’t be reached.
Apple currently pays out some of the highest royalty rates with record labels receiving 58 percent of revenue from Apple Music subscribers, but it wants a deal closer to what Spotify recently negotiated. Spotify pays 52 percent of revenue from subscribers, down from an earlier rate of 55 percent.
Spotify’s new rate is contingent on subscriber growth, and music labels are said to be open to negotiating a similar deal with Apple. Record labels also want assurances from Apple that iTunes will be promoted in countries like Germany and Japan, where most music is still purchased rather than streamed.
The growth of Apple Music hasn’t been as detrimental to iTunes as labels had feared. But record labels are still asking for precautions. Labels have asked Apple to commit to promoting iTunes, and music in general, in countries where streaming isn’t as prevalent.
Since its 2015 introduction, Apple Music has seen steady growth, which may give Apple an upper hand when negotiating new deals with labels. As of June 2017, Apple Music has 27 million paying subscribers, up from 20 million in December of 2016.
Tag: Apple Music
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What not to wear: Pinterest Lens suggests outfits based on what you already own
Why it matters to you
Pinterest Lens can both save time and generate new inspiration — and now the system works for fashion too.
Pinterest’s camera search tool is getting even better at suggesting pins based on what you see. On June 20, Pinterest began rolling out several new features to Lens, including better controls and more compatible categories.
Pinterest Lens is the platform’s visual search tool that allows users to photograph a piece of furniture, food ingredient, or a number of other items, and then generate similar pins to match. With Lens, users can find DIY versions or online retailers for things they see in store, or find new ideas stemming off in any number of directions from real-life objects.
Lens isn’t capable of recognizing every type of item, but the update now doubles the number of objects the program recognizes. The latest update focuses on fashion: Users can photograph a pair of shoes or a hat, for example, and see how others have incorporated similar accessories into their outfits. With the update, Pinterest says the computer system that allowed Cher from the 1990s series Clueless to choose coordinated outfits is becoming closer to reality.
“According Pinner feedback, the majority want ideas for how to wear items they already own, so we’ve made major improvements to make Lens better at recommending outfit ideas for specific styles of shoes, dresses, hats, and more,” Pinterest said in the update announcement. “Lens can even help you find your next swimsuit, recognizing different styles to try like high-waisted bikinis, retro, strapless and more.”
Lens, still in public beta, now also includes more controls for the camera. After updating, users can zoom and tap to focus – common features that were missing from Lens’ in-app camera. With an updated user interface, Pinterest is also making it easier to search with an existing photo instead of a live view from the camera.
Another new feature allows Instant Ideas to migrate over from the home feed and search, into Lens suggestions. Instant Ideas uses object-recognition technology to suggest similar pins. The feature appears as a small white circle in the corner of a pin — tapping the circle brings up related ideas. Now, with Lens integration, users have access to the same suggestions without leaving Lens.
Andy Rubin-backed Meeting Owl is a smart 360 camera for the boardroom
Why it matters to you
The hands-free Meeting Owl could make your employer’s tedious remote meetings a lot less painful.
Fresh off the launch of the Essential smartphone and AI-powered Essential Home, Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Google’s Android mobile operating system, is turning his attention to the conference room via an investment in the Somerville, Massachusetts-based Owl Labs. On Wednesday, the firm unveiled the Meeting Owl, a speaker-equipped, 360-degree camera for workplace video meetings.
Meeting Owl isn’t your average 360 camera. Unlike the Samsung Gear 360, the Ricoh Theta S, and other snappers designed to capture VR-optimized headset footage, the Meeting Owl is meant to sit in the center of a conference table and zoom in on participants on the fly. The 11-inch tall, 2.6-pound domed speaker uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 processor, a 720p HD camera with a fisheye lens, an eight-microphone array, and built-in speakers to shift focus between speakers’ faces. It’s compatible with teleconferencing apps like Skype, Hangouts, and Zoom, and plugs into a computer or monitor via USB.
The idea is to make remote meetings feel more natural — and less of a chore. Unlike most teleconferencing solutions, which require an operator to manually turn cameras during meetings, the Meeting Owl is completely hands-free.
In a demo video released this week, the Meeting Owl shows a zoomed-out, panoramic view four people in a conference room. When someone begins speaking, it zooms in, then automatically creates a split view when a second person chimes in.
Mark Schnittman, an Owl Labs co-founder, told The Verge that the Meeting Owl was inspired by “persistent problem[s]” with conference rooms and workspaces. “When I was my colleagues rotate the [videoconferencing] camera as opposed to robotics doing it, I knew I could make it happen robotically.”
“I’ve heard stories of people bringing a Lazy Susan to work to get their cameras to rotate,” Max Makeev, another co-founder and chief executive officer of Owl Labs, told The Verge. “And, there are lots of remote-controlled cameras for meeting rooms, but we found that people have the desire to steer the camera but not the will do it.”
Makeev thinks the Meeting Owl will strike a nerve in a workplace that’s increasingly split between the office and home. According to a Gallup poll released in February of this year, 43 percent of American workers said they spend some of their time working remotely in 2016, up 4 percent from 2012.
Rubin, an early Meeting Owl investor, pegs the potential market for the Meeting Owl at “hundreds of dollars.”
Owl Labs isn’t a fly-by-night operation. It’s backed by Rubin’s Palo Alto, California-based Playground Global venture firm and veteran executives from iRobot, and counts more than 20 employees among its growing team. Since its founding in 2015, it’s raised $7.3 million.
And it already has its eyes set on the future. Eventually, Owl Labs plans to launch a mobile app that enables remote control of the camera, and new smart meeting analytics software that will let employees know if meeting rooms are available based on nearby activity.
“We’ll push software updates to deliver that value,” Schnittman told The Verge. “Maybe people really want an Alexa in their meeting room. Maybe we’ll tap into APIs. But we really want that user feedback.”
Andy Rubin-backed Meeting Owl is a smart 360 camera for the boardroom
Why it matters to you
The hands-free Meeting Owl could make your employer’s tedious remote meetings a lot less painful.
Fresh off the launch of the Essential smartphone and AI-powered Essential Home, Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Google’s Android mobile operating system, is turning his attention to the conference room via an investment in the Somerville, Massachusetts-based Owl Labs. On Wednesday, the firm unveiled the Meeting Owl, a speaker-equipped, 360-degree camera for workplace video meetings.
Meeting Owl isn’t your average 360 camera. Unlike the Samsung Gear 360, the Ricoh Theta S, and other snappers designed to capture VR-optimized headset footage, the Meeting Owl is meant to sit in the center of a conference table and zoom in on participants on the fly. The 11-inch tall, 2.6-pound domed speaker uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 processor, a 720p HD camera with a fisheye lens, an eight-microphone array, and built-in speakers to shift focus between speakers’ faces. It’s compatible with teleconferencing apps like Skype, Hangouts, and Zoom, and plugs into a computer or monitor via USB.
The idea is to make remote meetings feel more natural — and less of a chore. Unlike most teleconferencing solutions, which require an operator to manually turn cameras during meetings, the Meeting Owl is completely hands-free.
In a demo video released this week, the Meeting Owl shows a zoomed-out, panoramic view four people in a conference room. When someone begins speaking, it zooms in, then automatically creates a split view when a second person chimes in.
Mark Schnittman, an Owl Labs co-founder, told The Verge that the Meeting Owl was inspired by “persistent problem[s]” with conference rooms and workspaces. “When I was my colleagues rotate the [videoconferencing] camera as opposed to robotics doing it, I knew I could make it happen robotically.”
“I’ve heard stories of people bringing a Lazy Susan to work to get their cameras to rotate,” Max Makeev, another co-founder and chief executive officer of Owl Labs, told The Verge. “And, there are lots of remote-controlled cameras for meeting rooms, but we found that people have the desire to steer the camera but not the will do it.”
Makeev thinks the Meeting Owl will strike a nerve in a workplace that’s increasingly split between the office and home. According to a Gallup poll released in February of this year, 43 percent of American workers said they spend some of their time working remotely in 2016, up 4 percent from 2012.
Rubin, an early Meeting Owl investor, pegs the potential market for the Meeting Owl at “hundreds of dollars.”
Owl Labs isn’t a fly-by-night operation. It’s backed by Rubin’s Palo Alto, California-based Playground Global venture firm and veteran executives from iRobot, and counts more than 20 employees among its growing team. Since its founding in 2015, it’s raised $7.3 million.
And it already has its eyes set on the future. Eventually, Owl Labs plans to launch a mobile app that enables remote control of the camera, and new smart meeting analytics software that will let employees know if meeting rooms are available based on nearby activity.
“We’ll push software updates to deliver that value,” Schnittman told The Verge. “Maybe people really want an Alexa in their meeting room. Maybe we’ll tap into APIs. But we really want that user feedback.”
Andy Rubin-backed Meeting Owl is a smart 360 camera for the boardroom
Why it matters to you
The hands-free Meeting Owl could make your employer’s tedious remote meetings a lot less painful.
Fresh off the launch of the Essential smartphone and AI-powered Essential Home, Andy Rubin, the co-creator of Google’s Android mobile operating system, is turning his attention to the conference room via an investment in the Somerville, Massachusetts-based Owl Labs. On Wednesday, the firm unveiled the Meeting Owl, a speaker-equipped, 360-degree camera for workplace video meetings.
Meeting Owl isn’t your average 360 camera. Unlike the Samsung Gear 360, the Ricoh Theta S, and other snappers designed to capture VR-optimized headset footage, the Meeting Owl is meant to sit in the center of a conference table and zoom in on participants on the fly. The 11-inch tall, 2.6-pound domed speaker uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 processor, a 720p HD camera with a fisheye lens, an eight-microphone array, and built-in speakers to shift focus between speakers’ faces. It’s compatible with teleconferencing apps like Skype, Hangouts, and Zoom, and plugs into a computer or monitor via USB.
The idea is to make remote meetings feel more natural — and less of a chore. Unlike most teleconferencing solutions, which require an operator to manually turn cameras during meetings, the Meeting Owl is completely hands-free.
In a demo video released this week, the Meeting Owl shows a zoomed-out, panoramic view four people in a conference room. When someone begins speaking, it zooms in, then automatically creates a split view when a second person chimes in.
Mark Schnittman, an Owl Labs co-founder, told The Verge that the Meeting Owl was inspired by “persistent problem[s]” with conference rooms and workspaces. “When I was my colleagues rotate the [videoconferencing] camera as opposed to robotics doing it, I knew I could make it happen robotically.”
“I’ve heard stories of people bringing a Lazy Susan to work to get their cameras to rotate,” Max Makeev, another co-founder and chief executive officer of Owl Labs, told The Verge. “And, there are lots of remote-controlled cameras for meeting rooms, but we found that people have the desire to steer the camera but not the will do it.”
Makeev thinks the Meeting Owl will strike a nerve in a workplace that’s increasingly split between the office and home. According to a Gallup poll released in February of this year, 43 percent of American workers said they spend some of their time working remotely in 2016, up 4 percent from 2012.
Rubin, an early Meeting Owl investor, pegs the potential market for the Meeting Owl at “hundreds of dollars.”
Owl Labs isn’t a fly-by-night operation. It’s backed by Rubin’s Palo Alto, California-based Playground Global venture firm and veteran executives from iRobot, and counts more than 20 employees among its growing team. Since its founding in 2015, it’s raised $7.3 million.
And it already has its eyes set on the future. Eventually, Owl Labs plans to launch a mobile app that enables remote control of the camera, and new smart meeting analytics software that will let employees know if meeting rooms are available based on nearby activity.
“We’ll push software updates to deliver that value,” Schnittman told The Verge. “Maybe people really want an Alexa in their meeting room. Maybe we’ll tap into APIs. But we really want that user feedback.”
Intel Inside the Olympics should lead to a tech-heavy 2018 games
Why it matters to you
Intel’s immersive True VR technology will put viewers of the 2018 Olympic Games on the slopes with the world’s greatest athletes.
Ski jumping, figure skating, and all those other Olympic sports you love watching — wouldn’t they be even better in virtual reality? That’s just one part of a tech mash-up between the International Olympic Committee and Intel announced at an event in New York City Wednesday morning.
“Sport has to go where the people are, and many people — in particular many young people — are living a digital life,” IOC President Thomas Bach explained. “So we have to go with sports to where they are living, in their digital world, in their virtual reality.”
Intel said it plans to broadcast 16 events live and offer another 16 on demand from the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea, broadcast using Intel’s True VR technology — the same tech Intel is using to broadcast one MLB game every Tuesday.
True VR involves the use of a special, 12-camera video capture array meant to record 180 degrees of action. It captures a terabyte of data every minute, which is processed and transcoded by mobile production units before streaming out to your headset. Expect to see this live on the Olympic Channel, the the multiplatform destination where the excitement of the Olympic Games is broadcast year round.
Virtual reality has been slow to catch on with consumers, with many content creators and sports groups and teams playing wait and see. Where’s the NFL, for example? Intel CEO Brian Krzanich acknowledged the chicken and egg problem at the event, and said that VR from the Olympics should ensure a great supply of content.
“This fan experience around sports is just kicking off. Before we hype it too high we want to make sure that the experience is really great,” he said.
But the partnership goes well beyond VR: Intel plans to bring a host of technologies to bear on Pyeongchang 2018. There’s drone technology, for example, which should enable not just fantastic camera angles but a new form of pyrotechnics. In recent years, the company has staged events worldwide using arrays of drones to perform interactive light shows — think of them as modern-day fireworks, Krzanich noted.
Drones should let cameras follow ski jumpers as they soar through the skies and other athletes as they wind down mountain paths. That presents unique problems, as well; at an Alpine Skiing World Cup event in early 2016, a drone nearly crashed into an athlete. Krzanich said new technologies and rapid advancements in drones, in particular in object avoidance, should prevent this from being a problem this time around. Bach noted that the IOC had signed off on the use of the drones.
Intel stressed how the partnership would improve the experience for Olympic fans, citing another technology: Intel Free Tech. This involves arrays of 38 cameras that allow Matrix-style camera pivots around a scene, which let the viewer watch the action from any angle. Intel calls it “volumetric,” and if NBC can broadcast with this, it should make for far more dynamic viewing.
Then there’s 5G technology, which was heavily hyped at the CES 2017, in spite of the fact that it’s still years from deployment in the United States. (Here’s everything we know about 5G today.) The advanced cellular network promises more than just speed: It will let viewers gain insights directly from athletes, deliver a wider array of content to broadcasters, and give fans the opportunity to experience the games anywhere, Intel said.
Deployment of such a technology at the Korean games should be a key test of the new technology: Will it allow us to see down the giant slalom as if we were on the slopes, or will it stutter and lag, as slower cellular technologies are known to do?
Finally, Intel says it plans to use artificial intelligence to allow people to better understand the action and events they are watching, and to compare the performance of athletes faster.
“It’s not just about tech, it’s about changing the experience and bringing the experience to more people — and bringing a different experience,” Krzanich said. “The games are truly in transition.”
Intel Inside the Olympics should lead to a tech-heavy 2018 games
Why it matters to you
Intel’s immersive True VR technology will put viewers of the 2018 Olympic Games on the slopes with the world’s greatest athletes.
Ski jumping, figure skating, and all those other Olympic sports you love watching — wouldn’t they be even better in virtual reality? That’s just one part of a tech mash-up between the International Olympic Committee and Intel announced at an event in New York City Wednesday morning.
“Sport has to go where the people are, and many people — in particular many young people — are living a digital life,” IOC President Thomas Bach explained. “So we have to go with sports to where they are living, in their digital world, in their virtual reality.”
Intel said it plans to broadcast 16 events live and offer another 16 on demand from the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea, broadcast using Intel’s True VR technology — the same tech Intel is using to broadcast one MLB game every Tuesday.
True VR involves the use of a special, 12-camera video capture array meant to record 180 degrees of action. It captures a terabyte of data every minute, which is processed and transcoded by mobile production units before streaming out to your headset. Expect to see this live on the Olympic Channel, the the multiplatform destination where the excitement of the Olympic Games is broadcast year round.
Virtual reality has been slow to catch on with consumers, with many content creators and sports groups and teams playing wait and see. Where’s the NFL, for example? Intel CEO Brian Krzanich acknowledged the chicken and egg problem at the event, and said that VR from the Olympics should ensure a great supply of content.
“This fan experience around sports is just kicking off. Before we hype it too high we want to make sure that the experience is really great,” he said.
But the partnership goes well beyond VR: Intel plans to bring a host of technologies to bear on Pyeongchang 2018. There’s drone technology, for example, which should enable not just fantastic camera angles but a new form of pyrotechnics. In recent years, the company has staged events worldwide using arrays of drones to perform interactive light shows — think of them as modern-day fireworks, Krzanich noted.
Drones should let cameras follow ski jumpers as they soar through the skies and other athletes as they wind down mountain paths. That presents unique problems, as well; at an Alpine Skiing World Cup event in early 2016, a drone nearly crashed into an athlete. Krzanich said new technologies and rapid advancements in drones, in particular in object avoidance, should prevent this from being a problem this time around. Bach noted that the IOC had signed off on the use of the drones.
Intel stressed how the partnership would improve the experience for Olympic fans, citing another technology: Intel Free Tech. This involves arrays of 38 cameras that allow Matrix-style camera pivots around a scene, which let the viewer watch the action from any angle. Intel calls it “volumetric,” and if NBC can broadcast with this, it should make for far more dynamic viewing.
Then there’s 5G technology, which was heavily hyped at the CES 2017, in spite of the fact that it’s still years from deployment in the United States. (Here’s everything we know about 5G today.) The advanced cellular network promises more than just speed: It will let viewers gain insights directly from athletes, deliver a wider array of content to broadcasters, and give fans the opportunity to experience the games anywhere, Intel said.
Deployment of such a technology at the Korean games should be a key test of the new technology: Will it allow us to see down the giant slalom as if we were on the slopes, or will it stutter and lag, as slower cellular technologies are known to do?
Finally, Intel says it plans to use artificial intelligence to allow people to better understand the action and events they are watching, and to compare the performance of athletes faster.
“It’s not just about tech, it’s about changing the experience and bringing the experience to more people — and bringing a different experience,” Krzanich said. “The games are truly in transition.”
Virgin Mobile is offering a year of unlimited service for just $1
Why it matters to you
Apple and Virgin are attempting to create an end-to-end mobile user experience here — which could make phone plans a whole lot easier to manage.
Virgin Mobile is redefining itself, and a part of that new identity involves partnering with Apple and turning its business into the first “iPhone-only” carrier. The carrier’s new program is called “Inner Circle.”
Inner Circle, which Virgin announced at an event in San Francisco today, means the carrier is getting rid of all of its Android devices, and will start only selling iPhones. The program starts on July 1, and customers who sign up within the first 30 days will get 12 months of unlimited talk, text, and data for $1. You’ll need to buy an iPhone from Virgin, and set up auto pay to be able to take part in the $1 promotion. In typical carrier fashion, your data is “deprioritized” or throttled if you go over 23GB a month. Video, games, and music on Virgin’s 4G LTE are also “mobile-optimized,” meaning videos are streamed at 480-pixel resolution; music streams at 500kbps or lower; and cloud gaming streams up to 2mbps. After the first year, you will have to pay $50 a month.
An 32GB iPhone SE from Virgin Mobile will cost $279, and iPhone 6 costs $319, and an iPhone 7 will start at $650, according to Virgin’s website. The carrier is also offering perks from other Virgin brands as incentive — for example, you could get one night’s stay at Virgin Hotels (you have to pay for two nights to get the third free); or you can get up to 20 percent off on flights with Virgin America. You can take a look at the full list of “member benefits” here. These Virgin perks are only available to new Inner Circle members who enroll by September 30.
The changes aren’t just coming to Virgin — they’re also coming to Apple, which will start offering Virgin Mobile subscriptions at its retail stores. Beyond that, however, it seems as though Apple is dipping its toes into offering a full end-to-end mobile experience. With Virgin helping it out, customers may soon not need to choose a carrier or worry about picking a plan.
This marks one of the first times that Apple has forged a real partnership with a mobile carrier. It’s unclear if the Cupertino company will be pushing Virgin Mobile as a long-term option in its stores, or just during the $1 promotion this summer. It’s also unclear what will happen with current Virgin Mobile customers who have Android phones, or if new customers will be able to bring their own Android phones.
If you do not like Virgin Mobile’s service, you can return your iPhone within 14 days for a full refund. Pre-orders are open now, and iPhones begin shipping on June 27.
This story is still developing and we’ll update it as we get more information.
DeepMind’s kidney disease-fighting Streams app is coming to a new hospital
Why it matters to you
DeepMind’s Streams app will help diagnose kidney disorders in patients.
Google’s DeepMind, the British artificial intelligence firm behind the human-besting AlphaGo software, launched a healthcare platform in partnership with the U.K.’s Moorfields Eye Hospital and Royal Free London in 2015. Since then, it applied computer smarts to eye diagnoses, cancer screening, and electronic patient record management. On Wednesday, DeepMind broadened its efforts to Musgrove Park Hospital.
Starting this month, doctors and nurses at Musgrove Park will get DeepMind’s Streams app for iPhone, which helps spot early signs of acute kidney injury. DeepMind stresses that it is intended to aid, not replace, practitioners — the app will allow clinical staff to view “results of X-rays, scans or blood tests, in one place at the touch of a button.”
“This is all about early detection of seriously unwell patients so that we can immediately escalate care, ensure a very rapid response, and make sure they are treated quickly by the right specialist doctor,” Luke Gompels, a consultant in medicine at Musgrove Park Hospital, told the BBC. “In this way, we can make more of a difference, more quickly.”
The Musgrove Park announcement follows a controversial Streams rollout last year. DeepMind’s contract with London-based Royal Free Trust hospitals, which has since expired, gave it access to 1.6 million patient records, including files belonging to NHS patients who were not asked permission. The U.K.’s National Data Guardian, a watchdog bureau, argued that the company’s use of the data fell outside the boundary of its agreement.
DeepMind has not ruled out the possibility that Streams could be used in the future to detect other health conditions but told the BBC that it will hold workshops and open day events with staff and the public to demonstrate how the app works.
The Streams expansion dovetails with DeepMind Health, the company’s umbrella effort to improve the quality of care with artificial intelligence. Last year, it acquired Hark, a task management app optimized for hospital environments that was co-developed by students from Imperial College London and the National Institute for Health Research. It proved successful in early trials: During a test at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, clinicians who switched to Hark responded 37 percent faster than with the hospital’s pager system.
“Ultimately, the aim is to give nurses and doctors more time to focus on what’s most important,” DeepMind said in a statement. “From identifying challenges, to co-designing solutions, to oversight and governance, nurses and doctors will lead us every step of the way.”
Google acquired DeepMind for $500 million in 2014. Since then, the AI outfit has built systems that optimize data center power draw, teach themselves to play 49 different Atari 2600 video games, and more.
Ace three top cybersecurity certification exams with this $69 bundle!
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