TikTok is further entrenching itself in music streaming with its new “Artist Account” toolbox that allows followers to play tunes, buy merchandise and access news and information. The new feature is designed to allow artists to promote their work and increase discoverability using such tools as an artist tag and new release highlights on discovery pages. TikTok describes the Artist Account as a “toolbox of features” to support promotion and “forge a closer relationship between artist and fan on TikTok.” Available to every music creator that has uploaded at least four songs, more than 70,000 accounts are eligible from the drop. Continue reading TikTok Adds ‘Artist Accounts’ to Help Boost Music Streaming

Universal Music Group and Deezer have set Q4 as the launch date for a new, artist-centric streaming royalty model the companies jointly developed. Indie streaming platform Deezer will launch the concept model in its native France in Q4 2023. The companies conceived the new compensation methodology as part of a previously announced collaboration, using “deep data analysis” for an outcome they say “better reflects the true value of artist-fan relationships.” Calling streaming “the most significant technology advancement in music in many years,” the partners conclude “a flood of uploads with no meaningful engagement” has necessitated reassessment. Continue reading Universal, Deezer to Reinvent Music Streaming Royalty Model

Open-world action role-playing game “Diablo IV” has become the biggest out-of-the-gate seller in Blizzard Entertainment history, generating $666 million in global sales within the first five days of its June 6 launch. The game developer equated the record to box-office movie performance, crediting “Diablo IV” for the company’s “biggest opening week of the year.” The online game, which accommodates single or multi-players, combines a gothic atmosphere with monster-slaying. The heroes of Sanctuary, the world in which “Diablo” is set, have already played more than 276 million hours, or more than 30,000 years. Continue reading Blizzard: ‘Diablo IV’ Generates $666 Million in First Five Days

Disney+ has unveiled a new app for viewing augmented reality, inviting subscribers to test drive “the future of storytelling, in your own living room” with the new short “Remembering: The AR Experience.” Created by an award-winning duo (“Captain Marvel” star Brie Larson, who also produces, and writer/director Elijah Allan-Blitz), the 8-minute film is meant to be viewed “through” an iOS tablet or iPhone that you hold up to your TV screen, allowing its camera to activate a QR code that triggers the AR, bringing fanciful objects (trees, rainbows, shooting stars and clouds) to your IRL surroundings. Continue reading Disney+ Shares the ‘Future of Storytelling’ with New AR Short

YouTube Premieres, first announced in 2018, allows content creators to promote pre-recorded videos via a landing page for fans to gather before new content debuts. Now YouTube is enhancing Premieres with three new features. Live Redirect lets creators livestream a pre-show to viewers before they debut a new video and then automatically redirect them to Premiere just before it starts. BTS and Cardi B have been beta-testing this feature for a couple of months. The other two features are Trailers and the option of a custom countdown via Countdown Themes. Continue reading YouTube Adds Features to Help Creators Promote Premieres

On November 13, Twitter is launching Topics, a feature aimed at new or intermittent users that allows them to follow more than 300 subjects. By following a topic, the user will see tweets from experts in that arena. Twitter began testing the feature on Android in August. Topics team lead Rob Bishop noted, “the main reason that people come to Twitter is to keep up on the things that they’re interested in … [but] the challenge is it’s really quite difficult to do that on Twitter day to day.” Continue reading Twitter Users Can Follow 300+ Subjects via Topics Feature

Fake followers are a problem on Instagram. A $1.3 billion problem, to be exact, due to the brands that are paying influencers whose followers simply don’t exist. It’s gotten easier to buy fake followers, from dozens of online sellers and a coin-operated vending machine from artist Dries Depoorter. Cybersecurity firm Cheq tallied the monetary cost above to brands for 2019 alone. Now, potential sponsors and agencies are increasingly up in arms about the scam, and looking for ways to hold influencers responsible. Continue reading Fake Followers on Instagram Are Becoming a Costly Problem