Tidal unveiled an upgrade to its paid music plan and introduced two new plans — a cost-free tier (a first for the platform) and Tidal HiFi Plus. The standard $9.99-per-month subscription, now called Tidal HiFi, provides users with lossless and high-resolution audio and customized listening insights through features such as Tidal Connect and My Activity. With the new $19.99-per-month Tidal HiFi Plus, users get immersive formats including Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio as well as exclusive access to Tidal’s Master Quality Authenticated recordings. Tidal also launched an innovative direct-to-artist payments program with plans to introduce fan-centered royalties next year. Read more

Auto-dubbing, which uses artificial intelligence to translate content into different languages, is a technology on which the global entertainment industry has increasingly come to rely in finding audiences among the planet’s 7.2 billion people, speaking more than 7,000 languages in roughly 200 countries. Companies like Flawless, Deepdub and Papercup use different approaches to offload to computers much of the labor required to fill that distribution pipeline. Another company, Spherex, emphasizes cultural awareness and the need for heightened sensitivity in pursuit of hits that travel across borders. Read more

Amazon is adding an interactive clip-sharing feature to its Prime Video streaming service that allows users to share short video clips from Amazon Originals via social media and direct message. The feature is available for Amazon series “The Boys,” “The Wilds,” “Invincible” and “Fairfax,” with plans to expand to other original TV shows and movies in the future. Users can click on the “Share a clip” button while watching the content, and the app will generate a 30-second clip. Amazon is the first major streaming platform to introduce such a video-sharing feature. For the initial rollout, the feature is only available for iOS users in the U.S. Read more

Music streaming powerhouse Spotify is expanding its narrative footprint with the acquisition of audiobook distributor Findaway. The purchase brings Spotify a large catalog of audiobooks as well new revenue streams not only through audiobook sales and subscriptions, but through units like Findaway Voices, which provides turnkey services for authors who want their writings recorded. Spotify’s evolution to all-things-audio follows the company’s Q3 announcement that its podcasting business had overtaken market leader Apple in terms of downloads. Spotify says it expects the global audiobook sector to grow from $3.3 billion today to $15 billion by 2027. Read more

Apple is accelerating its plans to enter the self-driving car market, with 2025 the new target date to launch a fully automated electric vehicle that the company is hoping to produce without steering wheel or pedals, although an emergency takeover mode is under discussion. Interior designs under consideration are said to look radically different than today’s cars, with u-shaped or side-facing seating configurations. Apple’s secretive car venture, known as Project Titan, is being led by technology vice president Kevin Lynch, who was instrumental in the success of the Apple Watch. Read more