Instagram just announced some new features coming to Stories, including a suite of interactive stickers. The music one is perhaps the most interesting, as it's an extension of the pre-existing Add Yours feature. The Add Yours Music sticker lets users share their favorite songs, along with a prompt for followers to get in on the fun by sharing their own related tracks. Of course, the song has to already be in Instagram’s music library to work.
To that end, Instagram has partnered with Dua Lipa to promote her new album, Radical Optimism. Many of the songs from the album are available for use in this way, and the artist herself has been posting Stories with Add Your Music stickers.
Instagram
Another nifty sticker added today is called Reveal. Opting for this sticker blurs the visuals of a story post and the only way followers can see the content is to DM the person who shared it. Direct messages have become a key factor behind Instagram’s continued growth, with site head Adam Mosseri stating that teens actually spend more time in DMs than anywhere else on the platform.
He also says that “virtually all” engagement growth over the past few years has come from DMs and Stories, according to reporting by Business Insider. So, yeah, this will most definitely be used as a hack by savvy creators looking to boost their engagement. The thirst traps will be thirstier and trappier than ever before.
Instagram
Instagram has also unveiled a sticker called Frames. This tool throws a Polaroid-esque overlay over a photo, turning it into an instant print image. To reveal the contents, followers will have to channel Andre 3000 and shake their phones like a Polaroid picture, though there’s also a button. Creators can add captions which are also revealed upon shaking. This feature was originally revealed at this year’s Coachella festival.
Instagram
Finally, there’s a feature called Cutouts. This tool turns any part of a video or photo in your camera roll into a sticker, which can then be applied to a story or reel. Once a cutout is created, it gets saved into an easily-accessible sticker tray for future uses. This also works with photos posted to Instagram, though the pictures have to be shared by public accounts.
This has been a big month of changes for Instagram. In addition to the aforementioned new sticker systems, the social media app recently overhauled its algorithm to boost original content and deemphasize aggregator accounts. The company also changed the way Reels works to give smaller accounts a chance to expand their reach, though it remains unclear how this works. Instagram has also recently made Meta’s AI chatbot available in DMs, if you want some confident, yet absolutely wrong, answers to questions.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagrams-add-yours-sticker-now-lets-you-share-songs-180730795.html?src=rss
TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG) have signed a deal that will allow Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, The Weeknd and other artists to return to the platform, the companies announced in a press release. Universal pulled songs from its roster of performers back in February and with some exceptions, its music hasn't been there since. Both sides are now "working expeditiously" to get content back on the platform that's home to a billion-plus users.
A key part of the deal is artist protection from generative AI. "TikTok and UMG will work together to ensure AI development across the music industry will protect human artistry and the economics that flow to those artists and songwriters," the companies wrote. "TikTok is also committed to working with UMG to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from the platform, as well as tools to improve artist and songwriter attribution."
Also part of the deal are "new monetization opportunities" from TikTok's recent expansion into e-commerce. TikTok will reportedly also assist artists by providing tools around analytics, integrated ticketing, an "Add to Music App" and more.
Universal took the drastic move of pulling music earlier this year, forcing the platform to mute videos or replace tracks with options from other labels. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth," UMG said at the time.
Last month, Taylor Swift's songs returned to TikTok, likely because she has full control of her own catalogue and was able to strike a separate deal. Some songs by other UMG artists, including Ariana Grande, also started appearing on the platform.
The dispute appears to be water under the bridge, but it's the least of TikTok's problems at the moment. US Congress recently voted in favor of a bill that would see TikTok banned in a year unless owner ByteDance sells the app.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/olivia-rodrigo-drake-and-other-universal-artists-return-to-tiktok-094057811.html?src=rss
With almost everyone owning a smartphone these days, the need for dedicated media players has plummeted significantly. That’s not to say they’ve completely disappeared, especially those types that can be placed and displayed on desks or shelves. The retro design craze has breathed new life into old products like turntables, but these aren’t the only designs from bygone ages that deserve to be rediscovered. Some of these old-school designs come from the digital realm, where some software have achieved near immortality thanks to their distinctive user interfaces. Winamp is one of those iconic faces when it comes to music player applications, and this concept turns that into an actual device that, just like the digital original, can somewhat be configured to suit your needs and moods.
By modern standards, the original design of the Winamp media player app is clearly outdated, but it remained a darling until recently because of its flexibility. It supported using different skins to personalize the software’s appearance, which naturally led to hundreds of designs, some of which might even make you want to gouge out your eyes. At the very least, Winamp followed a LEGO-like design where you can move parts of the app around or even remove them completely, depending on your needs.
This concept design for a device of the same name follows the latter aspect of Winamp’s design, particularly the ability to move its three main panels around or even leave one out. Like the original Winamp, the media player device has a component for the actual media controls with a single-line display for the current music, one for the equalizer, and another for displaying album art and the playlist. All three can be stacked together for a tall device that is propped up on a desk using the built-in kickstand of the equalizer. Or you can switch them around leaving only two components visible, as long as the equalizer is there to act as the base.
You can, for example, only have the media controls and the equalizer if you don’t mind not seeing the list of tracks and the album art. Or if you already have a fixed equalizer setting, you can put either the media player or the album display above it and then snap the other component in front of the equalizer to hide it. You can even show only the media player itself, with the other two hiding behind it. These components connect using strong magnets, so no rewiring is needed to make instant changes to the combination. And at the end of the day or if you want to take the device with you, you can simply collapse all the components in a sandwich and carry it around.
What’s interesting about this particular design is that it uses physical controls like sliders and buttons instead of simply employing a touch screen to offer the same interface. It’s like reverse skeuomorphism, where the digital user interface mimics the appearance and behavior of physical controls. Of course, this more physical design means you don’t get to use skins anymore, but it’s a small price to pay for such an intriguing device.
You may be able to give those plastic Rock Band guitars you have stuffed away in the attic a new lease of life. Fortnite Festival (a Rock Band-style mode that debuted in Fortnite in December) now supports several Rock Band 4 controllers across PlayStation, Xbox and PC, as detailed in a blog post.
If you have a compatible plastic guitar, you can use it to play new Pro Lead and Pro Bass parts in any Jam Track. These parts have colored notes for each lane that match with the guitar controller buttons. They also include hammer-on and pull-off notes — just like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
Epic Games (which bought Rock Band developer Harmonix in 2021 to build music experiences for Fortnite) plans to add support for more peripherals down the line. Hopefully, the developers will make the whammy bar more useful beyond triggering a visual effect too.
Epic previously said it would add support for Rock Band guitars. Earlier this year, third-party peripheral maker PDP (which Turtle Beach recently purchased) unveiled a new Xbox and PlayStation wireless guitar controller for Rock Band 4 and Fortnite Festival.
Support for the Rock Band peripherals come just as Billie Eilish joins the game as its new music icon. Several of her songs are available to buy and use in Fortnite Festival, and you'll be able to purchase an Eilish outfit (or unlock one through a secondary battle pass) and play as her in the Battle Royale mode.
Meanwhile, Epic has added a setting that allows players to hide certain emotes that others often use for trolling in Battle Royale. For instance, after being eliminated, a player might not want to see a rival using the "Take the L" emote, which involves making the shape of an "L" (for "loser") on their forehead and doing a silly dance. The setting won't stop players from using any emotes and it only hides four of them for now. Somehow, one of the emotes that the setting doesn't hide is a personal favorite called "Rage Quit."
Starting today, these Fortnite emotes will be hidden with a "confrontational emotes" setting.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/your-old-rock-band-guitars-now-work-in-fortnite-festival-164054839.html?src=rss
Not everyone likes listening to music, but even those will perhaps begrudgingly agree that certain kinds of music can have different effects on one’s mood or mental state. Next to entertainment or the sheer joy of listening to favorite tunes, the most common use of music is to set the right mood, whether it’s to relax, to get pumped, or to be more productive. That said, musical tastes can be quite subjective, and even the kind of harmonies that you like could be affected by your mood at any given time. It can be quite taxing to change playlists or tracks every time, so rather than relying on your fingers and your own mind, why not let your phone do the work for you? This desk speaker concept does exactly that, analyzing your mood and picking the right music to help you finish your work, studies, or any other task you need to get done.
Designer: Junyoung Lee
People who love playing music while they work most likely have a library of tunes selected to help massage their grey matter, especially during slow hours. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of music can be thwarted by moods, emotions, and physical conditions. Sometimes we’re just stuck in a slump and manually picking out a more appropriate playlist only adds to the stress and traps you in a vicious mental cycle.
MIX:X is a smart speaker system that uses the power of your smartphone and machine learning to automate that process so you won’t have to lift a finger when your brain or heart is just too tired to care. You simply dock the phone in front of the tall, boxy speaker to start the process. The large camera at the bottom keeps a constant watch on the person’s face in front of it, particularly their facial expressions, and using computer vision, machine learning, and algorithms, it tries to identify the mood that the person is in. Depending on what mood that is, it will switch to a different playlist that will help get you into a more productive working state.
Part of the MIX:X speaker’s solution is actually not the device itself but the app that comes with it. Here you select the songs that you like and associate them with certain moods. The app’s AI analyzes the music selection and uses that as a pool to choose from when your mood shifts one way or another. It doesn’t simply get music out of thin air (or the Internet), giving you some amount of control to limit the choices to your preferences.
In that sense, the MIX:X speaker is simply a box with speakers facing sideways and a camera, though it definitely has an interesting aesthetic. It has transparent panels for its sides and back, putting the sophisticated electronics inside on display. The rest of the device’s design is pretty minimal, with a single dial for the volume. If there’s one glaring flaw in its design, it’s the fact that it seems to support only a specific model or size of a specific phone, namely an iPhone, which severely limits how much this concept can be used outside of that single device.
In this installment of what we're listening to, Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low dives into new releases from Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, and explores what music means to us when songs are consumed more like books and journal entries.
Cherlynn Low, Deputy Editor, Reviews
April 19 should have been declared a global holiday. It was, after all, the release day of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD). How could we be expected to work on this most hyped of Fridays, when there were lyrics to overanalyze and melodies to emo-walk to?
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department
I’ll admit: I hate myself a bit for the eagerness with which I hit play on albums like TTPD and Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine (ES). Both musicians had recently left long-term relationships and got together with new beaus, amid rabid press coverage and relentless speculation on Reddit. I usually prefer to hear from the people involved instead of reading tabloid articles based on what “friends close to” said, and for Swift and Grande, songs are usually as close as we’ll get to primary sources.
I saw these albums as opportunities to get their takes on what went down. Granted, it’s always wise to take their words with generous helpings of salt, the same way therapists tend to remember that their patients’ retelling of stories can be skewed or unreliable.
Both Grande and Swift have made their lives the subject of their music for years, and they often have an air of defensiveness. Titles like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Yes, and?” make me think of people who blame others or don’t care about the consequences of their actions. Even songs like Swift’s “Anti-Hero” from her last album and Grande’s “Thank U, Next” seem at first glance to be about taking accountability, but really continue the theme of dodging real responsibility.
I’m not sure if music has always been rooted in scrutinizing the artist’s life, but it certainly seems to have become more popular in recent years. The level of interest and analysis around things as simple as word choice or order has probably never been as high, either. It’s also worth considering that these two much-hyped albums were released within two months of each other. Granted, Swift’s new music has only been out for about 40 hours, and there are 31 whole songs spanning a full 65 minutes and 8 seconds, so I will need to listen to it a few more times for it all to sink in.
Grande’s album, which dropped last month, was scrutinized by fans and critics alike. It was released shortly after her divorce from Dalton Gomez and her budding relationship (reportedly) with fellow Wicked cast member Ethan Slater.
When I first played through ES, I was mostly underwhelmed and annoyed. There was, as expected, no accountability for what her actions did to the mother of a newborn and a lot of romanticizing of her latest man. But even on just my second listening, I knew I had a few favorite tracks. Other Engadget staff members agree with me: ES is a solid album with quite a few bangers.
Ariana Grande - Eternal Sunshine
I may not endorse Grande’s behavior — and no one asked me to — but damn, I can’t help liking her music. And it’s probably because I’m hooked on the melodies and production, not the lyrical content.
Swift, on the other hand, seems more of an aspiring wordsmith. Much has been said about her lyricalabilities, and I have no desire to retread those waters. I’ll just say that as an occasional aspiring poet myself, I have to admire the laissez faire approach of rhyming “department” with “apartment.”
I’m more intrigued by what seems to me like the priority of a song’s words over its tune and sound. Like Billboard states, TTPD’s title alone “calls even more attention to her lyricism than usual.”
Swift’s music has always felt like journal entries meant for the public, chock-full of inside references, Easter eggs and thinly veiled digs at former lovers. Her earlier works were therefore highly relatable for scores of teenagers around the world. But as her success ballooned, so has she grown out of touch with the average person, and her songs have consequently become more like glimpses into a life that mere mortals can only dream about. While her pieces continue to feel like blogs or Tumblr posts, Swift controls the narrative by carefully orchestrating not just synths, guitars and lyrics, but also pap walks and delicately timed public appearances.
Unlike Grande, who has mostly avoided appearing with Slater at high-profile events and also hasn’t hidden as many Easter eggs in her songs, Swift has not been afraid to show off and show up for her new partner. She’s not publicity-averse; she seems to anticipate and almost courts it.
With the general strategy around TTPD, like announcing it at the Grammy’s and slow teases of lyrics and cover art, it certainly seems like these days, the billionaire with a private jet problem is more focused on her myth and financial value than the art of songwriting.
Swift surprised everyone at 2AM on April 19 by releasing a whole 15 more songs alongside the initial 16 people were expecting for TTPD. This meant that anyone who pre-ordered the original album would miss out on basically an entire second album worth of tracks and need to spend more. The Swift team also made several versions of the physical album available, like collectors’ editions — all blatant cash grabs designed to maximize revenue.
Grande is guilty of this too, making so many different iterations of “Yes, and?” when that single was released in what seemed like an attempt to place the song at the top of streaming charts. ES also has different versions of cover art for fans to spend their hard-earned money on.
Here’s the thing. Do I care deeply about either of these albums? Nope. Did I eagerly listen to them, hoping to glean insight on their seemingly messy and chaotic relationships? Yes. But despite Swift’s marketing and positioning herself as a poet — and TTPD offering more of a look at her fling with Matty Healy from The 1975 — I realized I just didn’t quite like her album musically. In fact, my favorite Swift songs like “Wildest Dreams” and “Delicate” are beautiful symphonies of atmospheric synths and instrumentation.
Maybe I’m just learning that I care more about music than lyrics. Or maybe I think good songs are a combination of the two and should speak for themselves without having to rely on hype, gossip and marketing tactics. To be fair, that’s true of all art, whether it’s film, photography or poetry. And while the irony of my being sucked into playing TTPD and ES due to the promise of learning about their lives isn’t lost on me, I guess I just wish I could listen to music (and read books and watch movies) without having to worry or be so concerned about the creator’s choices and actions. But in 2024 (and beyond), that seems no longer feasible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/what-were-listening-to-the-tortured-poets-department-and-eternal-sunshine-150035421.html?src=rss
Amazon Music is joining Spotify in starting to offer a generative AI-powered playlist feature. For now, Maestro is available in beta to a small number of Amazon Music users in the US on iOS and Android.
Folks who are included in the beta will see Maestro on the home screen after they update to the latest version of the app. They can also access the tool by tapping the plus button to create a new playlist.
The idea is to use natural language prompts to create any kind of playlist imaginable. Your prompts can include sounds, activities, emotions and even emoji. Amazon suggests you might ask Maestro to whip up a playlist of songs that sound like the robot emoji (in which case you'll probably hear a bunch of Daft Punk tracks). Other prompts the company suggests include "😭 and eating 🍝," "Make my 👶 a genius," "Myspace era hip-hop" and, bizarrely, "Music my grandparents made out to." Ewwww.
Based on those ideas, it does seem that Maestro is more or less ready to handle whatever prompts you can throw at it, though Amazon notes that the tech is still in beta. As such, Maestro might not always get things right immediately. The company also says that it has safeguards in place to prohibit offensive language and inappropriate prompts.
Amazon plans to roll out Maestro more broadly over time. As things stand, Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can listen to Maestro playlists instantly and save them for later (or share them with friends). Prime members and users on the ad-supported free tier can listen to 30-second previews of their playlists before saving them.
Earlier this month, Spotify debuted a similar feature for Premium members in the UK and Australia. AI Playlist works in much the same way as Maestro.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-debuts-a-generative-ai-powered-playlist-feature-150848360.html?src=rss
Amazon Music is joining Spotify in starting to offer a generative AI-powered playlist feature. For now, Maestro is available in beta to a small number of Amazon Music users in the US on iOS and Android.
Folks who are included in the beta will see Maestro on the home screen after they update to the latest version of the app. They can also access the tool by tapping the plus button to create a new playlist.
The idea is to use natural language prompts to create any kind of playlist imaginable. Your prompts can include sounds, activities, emotions and even emoji. Amazon suggests you might ask Maestro to whip up a playlist of songs that sound like the robot emoji (in which case you'll probably hear a bunch of Daft Punk tracks). Other prompts the company suggests include "😭 and eating 🍝," "Make my 👶 a genius," "Myspace era hip-hop" and, bizarrely, "Music my grandparents made out to." Ewwww.
Based on those ideas, it does seem that Maestro is more or less ready to handle whatever prompts you can throw at it, though Amazon notes that the tech is still in beta. As such, Maestro might not always get things right immediately. The company also says that it has safeguards in place to prohibit offensive language and inappropriate prompts.
Amazon plans to roll out Maestro more broadly over time. As things stand, Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers can listen to Maestro playlists instantly and save them for later (or share them with friends). Prime members and users on the ad-supported free tier can listen to 30-second previews of their playlists before saving them.
Earlier this month, Spotify debuted a similar feature for Premium members in the UK and Australia. AI Playlist works in much the same way as Maestro.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-debuts-a-generative-ai-powered-playlist-feature-150848360.html?src=rss
It’s unclear what kind of deal Swift struck with TikTok to allow her to return to the platform, but we know one thing. The deal did not include provisions for fellow UMG artists, so Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Drake, among others, are still missing from TikTok. Taylor Swift, being the most popular musician on the planet, likely worked some magic here.
She’s not alone in her return to TikTok. Some songs by other UMG artists have begun appearing on the platform, ready for use in short-form videos. These artists include Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello. Variety suggests that their music was put up either by fans or representatives from the artists. We don’t know if they struck their own deals like Swift may have.
The return could also be a promotional move for her upcoming album. The Tortured Poets Department comes out on April 19 and will likely have plenty of tracks that will be perfect for TikTok singalongs. It’s worth noting that she partnered with the platform to promote Midnights, her last album of all-new material.
This all started when UMG threatened to pull songs from the platform after contract negotiations fell apart, with the label writing in an open letter that TikTok wanted to pay a “fraction” of the rate paid by other social media sites. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth,” the company wrote. “TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
TikTok went full “fake news” in response, writing that “despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.” It’s worth noting that TikTok’s rebuttal did not mention artist payments, but did say that it has been able to reach agreements with other musicians and publishers.
Whatever the reason for Swift’s return, the nation’s teens are no doubt rejoicing at once again being able to lip sync to "Cruel Summer" and "You Belong With Me." UMG and TikTok, however, are still battling it out, so this is likely not the last we’ll hear about all of this.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/taylor-swifts-music-is-back-on-tiktok-184726589.html?src=rss
It’s unclear what kind of deal Swift struck with TikTok to allow her to return to the platform, but we know one thing. The deal did not include provisions for fellow UMG artists, so Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Drake, among others, are still missing from TikTok. Taylor Swift, being the most popular musician on the planet, likely worked some magic here.
She’s not alone in her return to TikTok. Some songs by other UMG artists have begun appearing on the platform, ready for use in short-form videos. These artists include Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello. Variety suggests that their music was put up either by fans or representatives from the artists. We don’t know if they struck their own deals like Swift may have.
The return could also be a promotional move for her upcoming album. The Tortured Poets Department comes out on April 19 and will likely have plenty of tracks that will be perfect for TikTok singalongs. It’s worth noting that she partnered with the platform to promote Midnights, her last album of all-new material.
This all started when UMG threatened to pull songs from the platform after contract negotiations fell apart, with the label writing in an open letter that TikTok wanted to pay a “fraction” of the rate paid by other social media sites. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth,” the company wrote. “TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music.”
TikTok went full “fake news” in response, writing that “despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.” It’s worth noting that TikTok’s rebuttal did not mention artist payments, but did say that it has been able to reach agreements with other musicians and publishers.
Whatever the reason for Swift’s return, the nation’s teens are no doubt rejoicing at once again being able to lip sync to "Cruel Summer" and "You Belong With Me." UMG and TikTok, however, are still battling it out, so this is likely not the last we’ll hear about all of this.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/taylor-swifts-music-is-back-on-tiktok-184726589.html?src=rss
