Google introduced AI extensions last year, letting the bot formerly-known-as Bard connect with other Google apps and services. It’s continued expanding the feature, most recently adding a connection between Gemini and YouTube Music, but now Android Authority has found code in the app indicating Gemini could connect to Spotify, too, eventually.
Hopefully, Gemini works better than our experience with the Rabbit R1.
[Android Authority]
The iPhone maker has filed a suit at the EU’s General Court, according to Bloomberg, after arguing that the investigation into the App Store’s music-streaming app distribution had failed “to uncover any credible evidence of consumer harm.”
The probe, sparked by an antitrust complaint Spotify raised in 2019, also ordered Apple to stop preventing music-streaming apps from advertising cheaper deals available outside the App Store.
Julie McNamara, head of podcast studios, announced her departure on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. The company has seen a steady stream of exits as it pulls back on its podcast business.
McNamara’s departure follows deep layoffs at Spotify as well as cuts to its programming as it tries to make the podcasting department profitable.
Spotify’s yearslong legal battle against Apple may have finally come to a head.
In her Soundbite newsletter this week, Ashley Carman covers Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee. Lee is bucking the system by keeping the album, which earned a stellar Pitchfork review, off all the big music services like Spotify.
Instead, you can download WAVs from this Geocities site — I love that I just wrote that — or listen to it on YouTube.
Monthly active users were up 19 percent year-over-year to 615 million, while subscribers were up 14 percent to 239 million. Co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek noted that the company just turned 18-years old, and “as an adult company we are now consistently profitable, which is great news.”
Ok, so where’s Spotify HiFi, Mr. Man?
The music streaming app tells Bloomberg that 25 percent of subscribers in the US, UK, and Canada are listening to audiobooks — a sign subscribers are taking advantage of Spotify Premium’s free 15 hours of audiobook content.
Spotify also tells Bloomberg that purchases for additional audiobook listening hours have “more than doubled” since the end of last year.
Spotify just announced a new integration with Substack, which will allow Substack creators to distribute free and paywalled podcast episodes on the platform. For listeners, this means they can link their Substack and Spotify accounts. Last year, Spotify made a similar move with Patreon.
Both video and audio-only formats are supported in the more discrete player that can be resized from small to very small to best suit your desired desktop layout. Spotify says it’s only available for Premium subscribers right now. You’ll see the miniplayer toggle at the bottom right of the desktop player when available.
Update March 14th, 4:20PM ET: We just saw this server-side change go live in our app.
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Pitchfork exploded as the music industry changed, then was cut down to size by another wave of technological change. Was that it?
I’ll be telling my grandchildren this was Napster.
Plus, don’t ask Musk about his alleged ketamine use.
The artist pulled his catalog in early 2022 over its then-exclusive Joe Rogan deal, which Young said had resulted in Spotify spreading vaccine misinformation. Now, with the exclusivity deal over, Rogan’s podcast is also available on Apple and Amazon, and Young can’t keep his music off all of them.
He’s still not happy about Spotify’s lack of high-res audio quality, though.
[Neil Young Archives]