After a year in beta testing, YouTube Music is finally available for Android and iOS. The app — meant to compete with streaming music offerings such as Apple Music, Pandora, Rdio, Spotify and Tidal — emphasizes music videos and amateur recordings. YouTube’s catalog of 50 million songs does not mean a video for every song, since the collection mixes video, audio-only, fan covers, emerging indie artists and much more. Discovery continues to be the underlying focus, and each song is connected to an auto-generated station of related songs. YouTube Music also blends human and algorithmic curation, similar to Apple Music’s approach. Continue reading YouTube Music Aims Spotlight on Personalization, Discovery

Internet users are typically more engaged when accessing websites and social platforms that include photos and videos. Marketing firm Shift, for example, notes that readers are five times more likely to click an embedded link if a tweet includes an image. As a result, companies are now developing software solutions for sifting through the millions of online images in an effort to help brands, advertisers and e-commerce players identify what draws viewers. EyeEm Mobile and Neon Labs are among those looking to enhance the power of online visuals. Continue reading Companies Develop Tools for Sifting Through Online Images

Spotify’s new feature, Discover Weekly, is a two-hour personalized music selection based on users’ listening habits, delivered every Monday morning. It aims to introduce new music and artists to subscribers based on newly created case profiles. The playlists are much like recommended mixtapes generated by algorithms that evolve over time, relative to user data. The new feature is an attempt by Spotify to maintain its subscriber base as it faces growing competition from rival services such as Rdio, Deezer, Apple Music and others. Continue reading Discover Weekly: Spotify Debuts Personalized Music Playlists

YouTube announced that it is launching a new service called YouTube Newswire with social news agency Storyful. While the two companies have been working together in different capacities since the Tahrir Square protests in 2011 (and News Corp.-owned Storyful was contextualizing YouTube videos even before that), the new service plans to provide a curated and verified feed of newsworthy global events published on the video site. The goal is to help provide journalists with additional resources regarding breaking news, including first-hand eyewitness accounts. Continue reading YouTube and Storyful to Partner on Verified Eyewitness Videos

Apple is expected to launch its Beats Music streaming service at next month’s developers conference, but the tech giant has not been able to finalize deals with several of the major music labels yet. Originally, Apple tried to negotiate favorable deals with music labels that would allow the company to sell Beats Music for $2 to $5 less per month than the industry standard $10. Meanwhile, Jay Z’s new streaming service, Tidal, claims its deals give artists four times the royalty rate of Spotify. Continue reading Apple Needs to Secure Key Music Deals Before Beats Launch

Multiscreen video software company SeaChange International has acquired TV social media toolmaker Timeline Labs for $22 million in cash and shares, with additional stock payouts possible based on performance. Timeline’s software collects content on social media that targets a specific region, and allows broadcast or online clients to quickly and easily curate and display the stories via a localized video service. Clients have used the service to develop content based on local sports, news and entertainment. Continue reading SeaChange International Picks Up Timeline Labs in $22M Deal

Flipboard has grown popular as a personalized digital magazine, allowing users to flip through articles from multiple sources across 30,000 topics. While Flipboard was initially designed for Apple’s iPad, the phone app is now used by 70 percent of its users. Flipboard’s acquisition of Zite has introduced the ability to easily recommend personalized articles in more specific subjects. Now, Flipboard 3.0 is available for tablets and smartphones running iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Continue reading Flipboard Mobile App Focuses on Personalization, Navigation

Warner Music Group’s artist and label services company WEA has acquired U.K.-based startup Playlists.net. The startup, which allows users to share, upload, and discover Spotify playlists, will still operate as a standalone company. Because the music charts in the U.K. now take streaming music into account, WEA could use Playlists.net’s platform to promote playlists with their artists or track data that could help predict up-and-coming artists or trends in music. Continue reading Warner Music Group Buys Music Curation Startup Playlists.net

N3twork (pronounced “network”) is a new app hoping to make video discovery a little easier by organizing online videos into channels, similar to those found on traditional TV. These channels, though, are personalized using data from the users. On each video, the viewer has the option to swipe right to save for viewing later, swipe left to skip, or tap to watch. The service pulls video from an estimated 6,500 different online sources, and users can also upload their own videos. Continue reading N3twork App Curates Online Videos into Personalized Channels

Swedish startup Newstag has developed a compelling revenue-sharing approach that it hopes will solve the “broken economic model” of today’s news dissemination and consumption. Newstag plans to help professional news organizations, brands, NGOs and general consumers make money from news when it launches its service commercially in September. According to journalist and ETCentric contributor Adrian Pennington, the company recently announced $1.3 million in seed funding. Continue reading Newstag Slated to Launch Crowd-Curated Video News Service

Earlier this week we reported that Apple would acquire recommendation startup BookLamp, often referred to as “the Pandora for books.” In related news, Apple has purchased podcasting app Swell, described as “the Pandora of talk radio.” Following the acquisition, Swell announced that its service is no longer available. Disappointed users may be hoping that Apple will somehow integrate Swell into its offerings. Meanwhile, NPR just launched its NPR One app, which offers similar functionality. Continue reading Podcasting App Swell Shutters Following Acquisition by Apple

Qplay, the video streaming device and app startup launched by TiVo co-founders Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton, will close for business this Friday. The San Jose, California-based company was founded in August 2012 and its $49 Qplay adapter was introduced in February. The startup’s iPad app provided access to free online video sites — such as Vimeo, Yahoo and YouTube — and curated clips based on user preferences. It did not, however, provide access to subscription services. Continue reading Qplay Video Service Shutters Just Six Months After its Launch

Apple announced yesterday that it has agreed to purchase Beats Electronics for $3 billion, in a deal that is expected to help the tech giant better compete with subscription-based music services. As anticipated based on earlier reports, Apple will offer the Beats streaming music service, built on curated playlists, and its premium headphones under a separate Beats brand, while the iTunes music store and streaming radio platform will be offered alongside the Beats music service. The Beats deal marks the largest acquisition in Apple’s history. Continue reading Apple to Buy Beats for $3 Billion: Largest Deal in its History

At Digital Entertainment World, Jake Katz and Amrit Singh of Revolt TV discussed how they are reaching their millennial peers. Curation is key, said Amrit. For news, his goal is to be first, right, and “identify the relevant narrative.” Although they call themselves a cable network, they have a large bicoastal (LA, NYC) staff working on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and other social media in real time during the broadcasts. Millennials prefer phones and tablets; 34 percent of the Revolt TV audience won’t watch a television screen. Continue reading Digital Music and File Sharing Addressed at DEW Conference

Shawn DuBravac, chief economist for the Consumer Electronics Association, delivered his pre-CES press briefing, “2014 CES Trends to Watch.” DuBravac said he “wouldn’t be surprised to see 75 UHDTV announcements” this week, which could climb to about 150, when including hardware rollouts, distribution deals and related news. According to DuBravac, the big picture emerging trends this year will center on mass customization, multidimensional screen expansion, the age of autonomy, and curation and context. Continue reading Trends to Watch: CEA Chief Economist Points to Ultra HDTV