Elevatr is a new mobile app from 23-year old CEO David Spiro and New York-based app development agency Fueled. The free iOS app is designed to help entrepreneurs keep track of their concepts and develop effective models, in hopes of turning innovative ideas into practical business plans. Elevatr is basically a note-taking app that makes a traditional business plan accessible for concept development on mobile devices. Continue reading Map Out Your Startup Business Plan with Elevatr Mobile App

Google unveiled its All Access streaming music service at this week’s I/O developers conference in San Francisco. The service, viewed as a potential competitor to Spotify, also has some musicians concerned about a future in which music listeners choose subscriptions to access music libraries rather than paying to download individual songs. Industry execs, labels and artists are debating the pros and cons of cloud-based music distribution. Continue reading Google All Access: Potential Impact of Another Music Service

During a Q3 earnings call Wednesday, News Corp. COO Chase Carey discussed how Fox has experienced significant growth in home video due to digital downloads. Carey cited digital rentals and downloads via sites such as iTunes and Amazon as the primary contributing factor. He also suggested that in a few years “Hulu will look a bit different than it does today,” in order to compete with Netflix. Continue reading Exec Credits Digital Downloads for Fox Home Video Growth

BitTorrent announced the BitTorrent Bundle earlier this week, a new format that provides access to free content in addition to a gateway to other material. It offers content creators a new means of distributing and monetizing their work outside the confines of traditional methods. BitTorrent continues its efforts to transform the file-sharing software into a legitimate platform for movies and music. Continue reading BitTorrent Bundle Provides New Options for Content Creators

The theme for Disney’s presentation during last week’s Digital Content NewFronts in New York City was “the art of interactive storytelling.” Disney Interactive announced 10 new online original series and the forthcoming “Story” app that helps parents share user-generated stories online. The company also promoted its successful YouTube ventures and a music deal with Vevo. Continue reading Digital NewFronts: Disney Interactive Announces New Series

Pixtr is a new iPhone app that creates subtle changes to facial features of people in photographs, serving almost like an airbrush tool to manipulate mild imperfections. “It uses facial recognition software to scan the photo and make minor adjustments like slimming a nose or a jawline, trimming eyebrows, correcting camera distortion,” reports Business Insider. “It takes into account things like sex, hair color, age.” Continue reading Pixtr App Uses Facial Recognition to Make You Look Better

Over the past decade, Apple’s iTunes has helped shape music discovery and consumption by providing a legal online model for distribution and sales. Since its 2003 launch, the iTunes Store has revamped the way music is distributed and has dismantled the traditional concept of the album. However, now there is concern that artists are not receiving proper creative and financial support with digital distribution expanding to multiple platforms. Continue reading From Disc to Online: Impact of iTunes Over the Past Decade

Startup company Rabbit has created a video chat program in which users can share music and videos in real-time while chatting with one another. Users can have multiple conversations with friends, that all appear in circular bubbles to enhance the feeling of being in the same space together. The new approach by Rabbit could possibly provide competition for other successful programs such as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, and Google+ Hangouts. Continue reading Rabbit Hops Into the Game with New Video Chat Program

Hulu announced yesterday that it has doubled its number of paid subscriptions to four million over the last year. The announcement was made Tuesday morning during the Digital Content NewFronts in New York. The company said it set a new revenue record in the first quarter, but did not specify the amount. Hulu also announced its third and most ambitious wave of original programming that will debut exclusively on the video site this year. Continue reading Hulu Doubles Paid Subscribers, Announces Original Shows

According to fourth quarter estimates released this week by the NPD Group, Apple’s iTunes continues its stronghold with a 63 percent unit share of the U.S. market for digital music downloads. Amazon.com’s MP3 store held second place at 22 percent. Notably, the NPD “Annual Music Study 2012” indicates that eight out of 10 consumers downloaded digital albums or tracks during the fourth quarter from iTunes. Continue reading After a Decade, iTunes Continues its Market Dominance

As the shift to mobile devices continues, media including e-books, music and video are becoming increasingly popular when distributed through a “less is more” model. Consumers are gravitating to short form content they find more convenient. Amazon has brought back serial novels for its Kindle, Capitol Records Nashville has debuted at number one with its EP releases, and shorter films such as the 42-minute documentary “Inocente” are drawing viewers and winning awards. Continue reading Less is More as Consumers Turn to Short Form Content

Mark Teitell, GM of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, spoke recently during a Home Media Magazine UltraViolet presentation. Teitell says we should expect a marketing push this year and suggests there will be increased transparency involving the number of titles within the 12 million-plus UltraViolet accounts. During a Q&A session, he also addressed the status of UltraViolet’s Common File Format and in-home disc-to-digital efforts. Continue reading DECE GM Answers Questions About Future of UltraViolet

Twitter launched a standalone music app this weekend for a handful of “influencers.” The app, expected to be publicly available in a week, uses technology from music discovery site “We Are Hunted.” The Australian startup has been working with the social media giant to create an app called “Twitter Music,” which suggests music based on which accounts a user follows, and offers new tracks from favorite artists and up-and-coming musicians. Continue reading Twitter Music: New App Powered by We Are Hunted Site

The team behind DJ-focused music service Turntable.fm debuted a new smart-radio service called Piki last week that offers a new take on music discovery. Unlike other streaming music sites such as Pandora, Piki creates playlists based on what your friends are currently listening to. Other developers like Rdio and Fuzz have created similar services, but have yet to make a significant impact. Continue reading Music Streaming App Piki Lets Friends Pick Music for You

Soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” which ABC cancelled in 2011, will have a digital revival starting later this month when they return online. Production company Prospect Park licensed the soaps from ABC and plans to launch new episodes via Hulu Plus, iTunes and its own Online Network. The revamped shows are said to have more provocative content in order to attract a younger, contemporary audience. Continue reading Cancelled Soap Operas Return as Online Only Programs