Activeplayer.io estimates that Fortnite had approximately 390 million registered users in Q1 of 2021 and that there were an average of 229 million average monthly players over the last 30 days. Using the music of those independent acts to soundtrack gameplay for a highly engaged audience serves as a valuable promotional tool for those artists.
February, 2023
Jaxsta acquires ‘LinkedIn for creatives’ Vampr
Australian music tech company Jaxsta has acquired Vampr, a social network connecting musicians and artists, dubbed as “LinkedIn for creatives.” Jaxsta noted that Vampr’s ‘freemium’ business model already converts 4% of weekly active users into paying subscribers. The business model is expected to accelerate when Vampr Pro is bundled with the Jaxsta Creator subscription, said Jaxsta.
Legendary Sci-Fi Magazine Halts Submissions Amid Deluge of AI-Written Stories
Popular science fiction publication Clarkesworld Magazine announced on Monday that it had closed all submissions after being inundated with AI-generated short stories. The announcement followed a blog post that Clarkesworld editor Neil Clarke wrote last Wednesday called “A Concerning Trend.” Clarke wrote that since the pandemic, the magazine had been receiving an increase in spam submissions, with resulting bans now being at an all-time high as a result of the uptake of AI chatbots like ChatGP.
Source: Legendary Sci-Fi Magazine Halts Submissions Amid Deluge of AI-Written Stories
ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon
There were over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February listing ChatGPT as an author or co-author, including “How to Write and Create Content Using ChatGPT,” “The Power of Homework” and poetry collection “Echoes of the Universe.” And the number is rising daily. There is even a new sub-genre on Amazon: Books about using ChatGPT, written entirely by ChatGPT.
Source: ChatGPT launches boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon
YouTube Music will let you make your own custom radio stations
Google is giving YouTube Music users the ability to create custom stations based on specific artists and to tune how the algorithm decides what songs it should play. The feature, which is called the “Radio Builder,” started rolling out on Tuesday and can be accessed by scrolling to the “Your music tuner” section of the YouTube Music homepage in the iOS or Android app.
Source: YouTube Music will let you make your own custom radio stations
Spotify launches ‘DJ,’ offering personalized music with AI-powered commentary
Ahead of Spotify’s upcoming Stream On event, where the company is expected to announce a redesigned home feed and other updates, the company today launched a new AI feature called “DJ” to better personalize the music listening experience for its users. Similar to a radio DJ, Spotify’s DJ feature will deliver a curated selection of music alongside AI-powered spoken commentary about the tracks and artists you like.
Source: Spotify launches ‘DJ,’ a new feature offering personalized music with AI-powered commentary
Filling music streaming’s Disney+-shaped hole
Disney+ was part of the ‘big bang moment’ of transformative change in the video streaming market. Meanwhile, the music streaming market basically stayed the same. This may have been tolerable during its time of plenty, but now, with global music streaming revenue growth looking set to have dropped to 7% for 2022, the lack of change leaves music streaming vulnerable in a time of scarcity.
Streamers Projected To Spend $8.5B Globally On Sports Rights In 2023
Subscription OTT services’ global spend on sports rights in 17 major markets around the world will reach $8.5 billion in 2023 — up 64% versus 2022, projects Ampere Analysis. The research also predicts that the platforms’ share of total global spending on sports rights will leap to 21%, from 13% in 2022. Up to now, subscription OTT services’ spend on sports rights has lagged their investment in original TV and film content.
Source: Digital News Daily: Streamers Projected To Spend $8.5B Globally On Sports Rights In 2023