Elon Musk’s run as CEO of Twitter has come to a close. Hitting the app, Musk announced a new CEO will take over, and she will start in about six weeks.
“Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter,” he tweeted. “She will be starting in ~6 weeks! My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.”
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
The new hire follows Musk’s December 2022 poll asking if he should step down. A 57% vote, ruled yes, evoking the response, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”
I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.
The historic run of MTV News is coming to a close. As Showtime rebrands into Paramount + With Showtime, Paramount, Showtime, and MTV Entertainment studios are experiencing a 25% layoff of their employees.
According to Variety, MTV News will completely shut down with the layoffs.
In a statement, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy spoke about the success of streaming but are pressed by “broader economic headwinds like many of our peers” and pushed the company to consider “the optimal organization for the current and future needs of our business.”
Additional networks impacted by the layoffs include Nick, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, CMT, Smithsonian, TV Land, Logo, and Pop TV. Four months ago, Showtime dropped 120 employees in its merger with MTV Entertainment Studios.
Get ready for more AI. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is currently developing an AI program whose purpose is to “significantly lower the music creation barrier.”
MBW scooped two new positions added to the ByteDance site that is seeking a Product Manager to serve the company in “working on an AI-powered tool that provides intelligent music creation and audio editing capabilities.”
In speaking on the mission for the program, ByteDance has the vision to “to significantly lower the music creation barrier and inspire musical creativity and expression, further enriching the music content.”
The listing also encourages knowledge of algorithms, intelligence creation, and hopefully a merger of music. You can learn more about ByteDance’s plans here.
Are you still on Clubhouse? The social platform has downsized, dropping 50% of its workforce to reset its purpose, and will use a “smaller, product-focused team.”
According to Music Business Worldwide, Clubhouse founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth shot an email on the decision to lay off workers.
“Today we announced that we’re scaling back our org by over 50% and saying goodbye to many talented, dedicated teammates in the process. We’re deeply sorry to be doing this, and we would not be making this change if we didn’t feel it was absolutely necessary,” the founders said.
In their email, Clubhouse acknowledged how their platform was impacted by a post-COVID world, forcing an evolution. You can learn about the development here.
The AI debate is one of the most controversial topics in tech right now. AI technologies, such as art generators and chatbots are becoming more and more prevalent. However, there is a growing opposition to the technology. Firstly, these AI tools work via machine learning. This means that they “learn” based off the contents of databases made available to them. However, the problem with this is that it means they are essentially mashing together elements of pre-existing works. To a lot of artists and writers, this is just stealing their work.
Furthermore, AI is now being used deceptively. An AI startup recently posted a clip of a song their software had created. The song was not just in the style of Drake, it had been created to intentionally sound like a Drake song sung by Drake. As AI regulation begins to gain steam, its proponents and supporters say the technology is inevitable.
JoJo Says If You Can’t Beat It Join It To AI music
Vermont-born singer JoJo has become the latest supporter of AI music. Speaking with TMZ, she called AI music technology “interesting” and argued that it could be used for “harmonies and backgrounds”. Additionally, she said that the use of the technology was inevitable and the music industry shouldn’t wait too long to embrace it. While a fair point, a lot of people said similar things about the metaverse and well, how’s that going for people?
However, JoJo is not the only musician who has been sharing their views on AI music. Khalid, also speaking with TMZ said he saw the potential benefits of AI but was afraid of what it meant for human performers. Moreover, this has been a valid concern across many AI fields. In one viral instance, an artist was working on a drawing on Twitch. A viewer took the drawing, fed into an AI to finish before the artist did, and demanded credit as if they were the original creator. AI clearly isn’t going anywhere for the time being. However, it appears that the music industry is split on whether it should be embraced or rejected.
Get ready to pay a bit more to stream your favorite songs. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek revealed on Tuesday (Apr. 25) his desire to raise prices for American subscriptions for the first time.
“I think we are ready to raise prices, I think we have the ability to do that, but it really comes down to those negotiations,” Ek said.
“We did raise prices in 46 different locations and markets last year, and even in those markets we were still outperforming,” said Ek. “I feel really good about our ability to raise prices over time and we have lots of data now that backs that up. We may have been marginally helped by being a lower-cost provider, but it isn’t a primary part of our strategy and it’s not something that we’re thinking about.”
According to TechCrunch, Spotify currently boasts over 515 million monthly active users, an increase of 5% from the previous quarter. The number is also a 22% increase from the last year. Of that number, 210 million are premium subscribers.
Elon Musk has decided to drop Twitter’s media labels “State Affiliated” and “Government Funded” after receiving heavy backlash. Media entities such as NPR and PBS vehemently objected to the descriptions. Both networks halted the use of the social network owned by Musk in protest. However, this change has caused much controversy. The labels were designed to limit the spread of state-sponsored propaganda on the Elon Musk-owned social media site. Reportedly, by NPR reporter Bobby Allyn, Musk claimed that the decision to drop the media label was made by Walter Isaacson. Isaacson is working on a book about the Twitter owner.
Furthermore, NPR and PBS have not resumed the use of Twitter since suspending their activity earlier this month. Not only that, Twitter has since removed all “state-affiliated” and “government funded” labels from the site. Not to mention including accounts operated by huge news organizations like BBC, CBC, ABC, and a slew of others. Additionally, Elon Musk has been making more significant changes to the once popular bird app. Twitter recently removed “visibility filtering” restrictions on government accounts. According to NPR, from an ex-Twitter employee, at the direction of Elon Musk, Russia, Iran, and China were the three accounts to have visibility filtering removed.
Elon Musk Faces Backlash For New Changes To Twitter
Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit” and posted video of himself walking into the social network’s California headquarters carrying a sink, days before his contentious takeover of the company must be finalized. (Photo by various sources / AFP) (Photo by -/Twitter account of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Images)
The restriction was designed to thwart the spread of state-sponsored propaganda from those regimes. Nonetheless, the controversy comes just after Elon Musk greenlit the addition of the new labels to several organizations that previously didn’t have such titles. After labeling NPR with such labels NPR said it was suspending Twitter activity. The media sited noted that the label “undermine[s] our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.” Reportedly, less than 1% of NPR’s average annual operating budget comes from federal grants.
The label eradication came Friday the day after Musk revoked thousands of blue checks from a myriad of accounts of celebrities, influencers, and athletes. The move was designed to boost subscription rates and revenue. However, the Tesla tycoon conveniently framed it as democratizing the user-verification process (make it make sense). How do you feel about Twitter in the Elon Musk era? Are you buying a blue check? Let HNHH know in the comments below!
At a private celebration at Mel’s Drive-In in West Hollywood, Nick Cannon and Amp, the live radio app from Amazon, toasted the impending premiere of The Daily Cannon, a new morning program hosted by Nick Cannon, live on Amp every Monday through Friday starting April 24, at 9 a.m. EDT.
Along with brunch-inspired cocktails and shared breakfast fare, the event also featured a performance by DJ Skratchy, an update from Nick about his plans for his new daily program, and brunch-style beverages.
Rapper NLE Choppa will be Nick’s first guest visiting him live from The Daily Cannon studio on the launch program on April 24th, he said before getting into the DJ booth.
“I’m excited to be joining the next generation of live audio entertainment on Amp. Having a place where I can directly connect with listeners five days a week to spotlight the hottest emerging artists, chat about the latest and greatest in music and entertainment, and share real-time announcements in my world and beyond will make The Daily Cannon a show you don’t want to miss,” said host Nick Cannon. “There’s a magical thing that happens when entertainment is unedited and live, and I am excited for our journey ahead.”
Courtney Bee_Mason Moussette_Abby De La Rosa_ Amp The Daily Cannon Launch Party
Courtney Bee Mason Moussette Abby De La Rosa Amp The Daily Cannon Launch Party
The Daily Cannon, a new morning program presented by Nick Cannon, will debut on Amp on Monday, April 24, at 9 a.m. EDT, according to an announcement made by the live radio app from Amazon. The multidimensional talent will serve as a cultural ambassador as he headlines each raw and uncensored show with personally selected new R&B, hip-hop, and pop songs; the inside scoop on celebrity and culture news; and conversations with today’s best musicians, newsmakers, and Amp innovators.
The Daily Cannon on Amp is a cutting-edge radio show that has been redesigned for a live audience that is primarily social. With Amp, listeners can ring in and have live chats with Cannon on the app, allowing him to interact with them in real-time.
Programs on Amp feature a diverse range of emerging and established hosts across the talent spectrum, including artists Nicki Minaj, Halsey, NBA YoungBoy, Joe Budden, NBA star Draymond Green, and artist, producer, and TV personality Kandi Burruss. Anyone can create their own live shows using just their phone.
Ncredible and Justin “Freeze” Fostar are responsible for producing The Daily Cannon. Ben Sumpter and Nick Cannon are the executive producers. The Weiss Agency’s Heather Cohen, Michael Goldman’s management, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein’s legal counsel, and Michael Goldman are members of Cannon’s team. Bobb & Lezcano Lezcano.
The Amp app can be downloaded in the U.S. iOS App Store here.
According to confirmed reports, authorities have arrested Nima Momeni, an IT tech company owner, for the stabbing death of CashApp founder Bob Lee.
An arrest warrant was issued for Momeni in the April 4 stabbing of Lee in San Francisco after it was revealed that Lee and the Expand IT owner were driving in a car registered to the alleged assailant when a physical confrontation occurred between the two men. A knife was discovered not far from the scene, which police believe Momeni used to stab Lee.
Police say that the stabbing was not a robbery ora random crime.
No further information has been released about the incident, but TheSource.com will update this story as more details develop.
Lil Durk is letting everyone into the closed-off realm of investing in music rights thanks to an exclusive relationship with Exceed Talent Capital. Starting with his upcoming new song “Bedtime” starring Doodie Lo, Lil Durk is enabling fans to own shares of songs from his OTF label. On the OTF webstore via the Exceed app, fans can purchase shares in future music revenues produced from the song. Everyone may invest in music rights thanks to Lil Durk’s mission.
A percentage of “Bedtime” revenues will be given to Lil Durk’s Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, which supports impoverished areas across the country, as a way to honor the collaboration between OTF and Exceed. Instead of a one-time payment, Neighborhood Heroes will be the legal owner of a share of the song, a musical asset that will perpetually generate royalties.
“Where I’m from, few own anything, so I’m always looking for ways to give back to my people,” shares Lil Durk. “Exceed makes it possible for my fans and community to become part of our team and share in the success of OTF with me and my artists.”
Investment funds find music rights to be a very appealing asset class, but when private money spends billions acquiring the most renowned music, the people who create and shape culture are left out. Exceed intends to change that by giving fans the opportunity to directly support artists and acquire their favorite songs. Reg A+ securities of music are offered by Exceed, an SEC-compliant trading platform, and can be purchased, sold, and used to generate income.
Exceed President, Anthony Martini, adds, “Streams, follows, and likes are all pretty passive, but when you actually own a slice of the music, you become part of the story and can share in its success. That’s the ultimate engagement.”
You can learn more about Exceed Talent Capital here.
