The word on the street is that Internet company Amazon is stepping into the ring with music streaming services like Spotify and Apple, Inc. The e-commerce company is about to grace us with its very own music streaming service.
The company already offers a free streaming music service to Prime subscribers. But, “free-99” has its drawbacks as the catalog is rather sparse. Rumor has it that the new service will have a more robust catalog of songs for US $9.99/ month. Although the company has been mum on this new service, reports claim that it should be available come this fall.
The company’s decision to enter a crowded market is to solidify its position as a one-stop shop for all content and consumer goods.
You probably already have your music streaming faves, but would you be willing to give a new Amazon music service a go? Let us know in the comments!
Social media outpour after gunman takes the lives of 50 people in Orlando, Florida.
This past Saturday, a gunman walked into Pulse, an Orlando gay nightclub, and opened fire. Authorities identified Omar Saddiqui Mateen, an American born, 29-year old male, as the perpetrator. Mateen claimed about 50 lives and injured 53 more. In a shoot out with law enforcement, Mateen was shot dead.
As of now, we know that the U.S. FBI had its eye on Matten over the past few years. The first encounter took place in 2013 after co-workers reported him to the FBI based on beliefs that Mateen could have terrorist ties. A year later, the FBI uncovered a potential connection between Mateen and Moner Mohammad Abusalha, an American suicide bomber. Neither of those investigations panned out, and the FBI cleared Mateen. Authorities believe Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS based on a 911 call he placed from inside the night club’s bathroom. However, Mateen’s father – Seddique Mir Mateen – does not believe that his son’s actions had anything to do with religion but simply his disapproval of the gay community.
How did people react?
Shortly after the attack, Facebook launched its Safety Check feature for users in Orlando. Then, many people, including celebrities and politicians, immediately took to social media to pray for the victims and their families. U.S. presidential candidates tweeted and shared their thoughts on the attack via other social media platforms.
In a series of tweets, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sent prayers and thoughts to those affected.
Republican candidate Donald Trump continued his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and said that the country’s current leadership is weak and ineffective.
Earlier today, Hillary responded with the following:
What needs to happen next?
The Orlando event tops the list of mass shootings that have occurred in recent U.S. history. After every highly publicized, gun-related tragedy, there’s an outcry to end gun violence. Do you think the U.S. has finally reached breaking point? Let us know what you think.
Microsoft and LinkedIn just announced that they have decided to become one. According to reports, Microsoft plans to buy the professional social network for a cool US $26 billion in cash money.
So, why is this happening?
The merger is a win-win situation for both companies. Linking up with LinkedIn allows Microsoft to dive into enterprise social media services. While LinkedIn can have some peace of mind in an increasingly competitive market. In other words, LinkedIn can now be more competitive when matched up against other companies using their social graphs to potentially compete against the professional network.
What does it mean for us – the average LinkedIn user?
Not to worry, even though LinkedIn will become part of Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment, it will still keep its branding and product.
Is the deal finished or is it done?
The short answer is “no.” Both companies’ boards have given the go ahead. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman led the deal. In a statement, he said “Today is a re-founding moment for LinkedIn. I see incredible opportunity for our members and customers and look forward to supporting this new and combined business. I fully support this transaction and the Board’s decision to pursue it, and will vote my shares in accordance with their recommendation on it.”
LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner also had positive things to say about the new partnership. Weiner penned a blog post where he said that this merger is simply just the next phase in the company fulfilling its mission. Read the full post here.
But, there is still more to do. More hoops to jump through to finish the deal. Regulators in the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Brazil still need to give LinkedIn and Microsoft their blessing.
Good to Know: Placing stickers or plastic slides over laptop cameras is definitely a trend due to privacy and security concerns. If FBI Director James Comey does it, then perhaps it’s worth jumping on the bandwagon.
Spotify just brought on Lady Gaga’s former manager Troy Carter as its Global Head of Creator Services. The music streaming company wants Carter to write a “bad romance” with artists, songwriters, and record labels. And by bad, we really mean “good.” #RelationshipGoals
Attention iOS users: Sharing pics and videos on Insta just got a whole easier. Launching the app isn’t even needed.
Verizon is willing to put up US $3 billion for Yahoo’s Internet parts.
YouTube says it’s doing what it needs to do to pay artists. In the past decade, the platform has shelled out about US $3 billion to artists across the globe. And, the platform has rolled out new services and features to get people paid (i.e., subscription service YouTube Red and Content ID). And, YouTube is renegotiating music licenses contracts with record labels.
When It’s Just Not Enough …
The music industry wants more to be done so it’s calling on the United States Congress to change the current copyright law, namely the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA basically protects YouTube and other platforms that host third-party content if they follow certain requirements. Click here to learn more about the DMCA. The music industry says that the current DMCA is no bueno because it allows the YouTubes of the world to host illegal content. Even if the platforms take down unauthorized works, it’ll just pop up again when another user posts it to the site. The industry is pulling out all the stops and got big name artists like Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Billy Joel to sign letters asking for changes to the law.
When You Can’t Take It Too Far …
The DMCA applies to more sites than just the YouTubes of the world. We’re talking blogs, fan sites, etc. So, everyone’s gotta be careful with what they ask for when it comes to changing the law. Also, you should know that the problem isn’t just in the U.S. The European Union is in the middle of changing their copyright laws, and EU reps want YouTube to pay artists more money. Oy!
Uber and Lyft want to bring your Walmart groceries right to your door. They’re teaming up with the retailer for a grocery delivery service. The partnership is in test mode, and the cities of Denver and Phoenix are up first.
Internet platforms are all about giving users control. Facebook’s taking that mission to heart with the latest experiment with its Safety Check feature. Instead of letting its staff launch the feature during times of crises, FB wants to give users control to let their friends and fam know that they are A-OK.
More people are using Snapchat on a daily basis than Twitter. That’s Snapchat’s 150 million active users in comparison to Twitter’s less than 140 million.
Twitter may be planning a Golden State Warriors-style comeback. Word on the street is that microblogging site has its eyes on Yahoo. Twitter’s instant news platform plus Yahoo’s large audience could be the perfect match to get Twitter back in the social media game. Discussions are still early.
Speaking of perfect matches, Tinder is rolling out its transgender-friendly feature next month. CEO Sean Rad said “[t]here’s a transgender community on Tinder, and we haven’t done enough to give them a good experience.”
