Podcast app Pocket Casts makes its web player free

Pocket Casts, the podcast app acquired by Automattic in 2021, is now making its web player free. The company says the move offers an alternative to the big platforms’ closed ecosystems, where algorithmic-driven content is prioritized and podcasts are kept behind paywalls. Podcasts were built

Spotify says it’s fixing the bug that caused Premium users to hear ads

Spotify has acknowledged an issue that’s causing some of its paid Premium subscribers to encounter ads when trying to play music. In an X post published on Thursday by Spotify’s customer service account, the company said it’s looking into the problem and linked to its Community we

Prime Video tests AI dubbing for select movies and TV series

Prime Video is now experimenting with AI-assisted dubbing for select licensed movies and TV shows, as announced by the Amazon-owned streaming service on Wednesday. According to Prime Video, this new test will feature AI-assisted dubbing services in English and Latin American Spanish, combining AI

YouTube launches a $7.99 per month, ad-free Premium Lite subscription

YouTube on Wednesday announced a new premium subscription tier called Premium Lite, which will allow users to watch “most” videos ad-free for $7.99 per month. With YouTube Lite, customers will be able to watch videos across verticals like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and more

Conan O’Brien comments on AI during his opening monologue at the Oscars

When hosting the 2025 Oscars last night, comedian and late-night TV host Conan O’Brien addressed the use of AI in his opening monologue, reflecting the growing conversation about the technology's influence in Hollywood. “We did not use AI to make this show,” O'Brien said. Hi

Stability AI optimized its audio generation model to run on Arm chips

AI startup Stability AI has teamed up with chipmaker Arm to bring Stability’s Stable Audio Open, an AI model that can generate audio including sound effects, to mobile devices running Arm chips. While a number of AI-powered apps can generate audio, like Suno and Udio, most rely on cloud proc

Amazon Alexa+ can work with Prime Video and Fire TV to ‘jump to a scene’ in a movie

As part of the new Alexa+ experience Amazon introduced on Wednesday, the smart assistant will gain the ability to navigate through movies on Prime Video on your behalf. Thanks to integrations between Alexa, Prime Video, and Fire TV, Alexa+, as the upgraded assistant is called, will be able to ̶

YouTube is working to make ad slots less interruptive

YouTube announced it’s making changes to mid-roll ads to improve the viewing experience for users while also helping creators potentially earn more revenue. Starting May 12, the Google-owned platform is going to show fewer ads during moments that feel interruptive or may cause viewers to aba

1,000 artists release ‘silent’ album to protest UK copyright sell-out to AI

The U.K. government is pushing forward with plans to attract more AI companies to the region by changing copyright law. The proposed changes would allow developers to train AI models on artists' content found online — without permission or payment — unless creators proactively “opt ou

SoundCloud partners with Ticketmaster to let artists list events

Music streamer SoundCloud announced a partnership with Ticketmaster and Universe, owned by Live Nation Entertainment, to let artists list events on their profiles in a customized way. The company said it would create more promotion opportunities for artists in the future in partnership with Ticket

How I Podcast: Summer Album / Winter Album’s Jody Avirgan

"">The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It's a rare medium that's nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut from&

Explore the online world of Apple TV’s ‘Severance’

Apple has been steadily working to expand the world of the Apple TV+ series “Severance,” through online materials, e-books, podcasts, and other content — and so have its fans. Taking advantage of its platform power, the Cupertino tech giant has been able to easily distribute supplemental mate

Google Play Books purchases on iOS now skirt the App Store’s commission

Google has gained permission to sell its e-books and audiobooks directly to customers through its iOS app, Google Play Books. While iOS apps today can offer access to content previously purchased elsewhere, like e-books bought via a website, developers have to request a specific exception to link t

Olyn secures Beatles biopic for its 'Shopify for filmmakers'

The recent Brian Epstein biopic “Midas Man,” a film about the manager of The Beatles, debuted not on a platform like Netflix or Amazon, but on a startup that bills itself as “Shopify for filmmakers.” So what? you might ask. The answer is that the new platform, Olyn, claims to offer