blogger better: 2017-03-12

Saturday, March 18, 2017

How Spotify is finally gaining leverage over record labels

{rss:content:encoded} How Spotify is finally gaining leverage over record labels http://ift.tt/2nD9PVL http://ift.tt/2b7MeGl March 18, 2017 at 06:17PM

That’s why over the past few years, Spotify has been pushing five different paths to putting pressure on the labels to cut it a better royalties deal. They all hinge around the idea of making the labels need Spotify as much as it’s historically needed them. When Spotify launched in 2008, it had no power in the relationship since it had so few listeners. It needed to raise over… Read More

The problem with Spotify going public has always been that the record labels own the music. They force Spotify to pay 70 percent or more of its revenue to them for royalties, and could jack up that price if Spotify got too profitable. That’s why over the past few years, Spotify has been pushing five different paths to putting pressure on the labels to cut it a better royalties deal. They… Read More

http://ift.tt/2b7MeGl How Spotify is finally gaining leverage over record labels http://ift.tt/2nD9PVL

What is augmented reality good for? Product visualization to encourage online shopping, reckons Santa Clara-based startup Apollo Box, which has now opened access to its AR tech to all vendors selling products via its ecommerce marketplace. Read More

http://ift.tt/2mdU5eK Apollo Box is applying AR to drive lifestyle ecommerce http://ift.tt/2mFQfqL

The League adds read receipts, so paid members can confirm when someone is really ghosting them

The League, a dating app that users have to apply to join, has a new feature that could help with one of the most agonizing parts of the online dating process — wondering if someone’s deliberately ignoring you or if they just haven’t opened the app in a while. Specifically, The League is importing an idea from other messaging services — read receipts, which tell you… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2mEGnxx The League adds read receipts, so paid members can confirm when someone is really ghosting them Anthony Ha http://ift.tt/2mEoejH
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The League adds read receipts, so paid members can confirm when someone is really ghosting them

{rss:content:encoded} The League adds read receipts, so paid members can confirm when someone is really ghosting them http://ift.tt/2mEoejH http://ift.tt/2mEGnxx March 17, 2017 at 10:40PM The League read receipts

Humans, especially Americans, are kind of slobs. We mess up the Earth by throwing out about 4.5 pounds of garbage per person on average every day. Two-thirds of that waste could be composted, but isn’t. And half of the rest of it could be recycled, according to research from the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment, corroborated by studies from the Global Footprint Network and… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mEBOU2 Santa Fe enlists Rubicon Global to curb waste and ramp up recycling http://ift.tt/2mc7unt

The League, a dating app that users have to apply to join, has a new feature that could help with one of the most agonizing parts of the online dating process — wondering if someone’s deliberately ignoring you or if they just haven’t opened the app in a while. Specifically, The League is importing an idea from other messaging services — read receipts, which tell you… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mEGnxx The League adds read receipts, so paid members can confirm when someone is really ghosting them http://ift.tt/2mEoejH

We all have our opinions about art (even if that opinion is just I don’t get it) — but what about art as an investment? Arthena, which is part of the current batch of startups at Y Combinator, says it can help investors make money reliably from art. Founder and CEO Madelaine D’Angelo said Arthena first launched as an equity crowdfunding platform for purchasing… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mRB9zG Arthena uses data science to find the best investments in art http://ift.tt/2mbMwoG

You might think of healthcare in Africa as some physician working in a remote village via Doctors without Borders but mobile technology is rapidly changing the entire continent and Y Combinator startup Kangpe Health aims to cash in by providing Africans with a platform to contact doctors remotely through their mobile devices. People access Kangpe’s platform by firing up the mobile… Read More

http://ift.tt/2nAixnF Kangpe is a mobile service connecting Africa to healthcare http://ift.tt/2mXNTX0

Amazon will now tell Prime members what to wear via a new “Outfit Compare” feature

{rss:content:encoded} Amazon will now tell Prime members what to wear via a new “Outfit Compare” feature http://ift.tt/2nhR10G http://ift.tt/2nA2Pc5 March 17, 2017 at 07:12PM

Amazon has been steadily pushing its way into fashion over the past several years, with investments in its own private labels – from workwear to activewear – plus increased fashion ad spending and even its own trend-obsessed TV show, Style Code Live. Now the online retailer is looking to dole out its fashion advice to the masses, too, through a new feature called… Read More

Facebook, Twitter and Google are under more pressure in Europe to comply with regional rules. The latest issue they find themselves on the hook for relates to complaints pertaining to a variety of consumer rights that have been investigated by EU regulators since last year. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1Y67Eau Social media firms given a month to fix consumer rights issues in Europe Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/2mAkizw
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Early investor and Executive Chairman of ClassPass Fritz Lanman will be taking over as CEO of the company, with cofounder and former CEO Payal Kadakia swapping with him for the Executive Chairman role. ClassPass, for those of you who live under a rock, is a subscription service that lets users book and access a variety of fitness classes and boutique gyms under a single ClassPass membership.… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mDyYyv Fritz Lanman takes CEO role at ClassPass as founder Payal Kadakia steps in as Chairman http://ift.tt/2maTQ4d

You know when you set up a website and you add a Google Analytics tracker to see how many visitors you have? What you’re actually doing is giving Google and other parties access to your stats and users. Sure there are privacy protections in place and things aren’t all that bad but what if your website or app is particularly sensitive? Then you use something like Piwik or, now,… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mCWqMg Piwic raises $2 million to truly liberate your analytics http://ift.tt/2maeXDP

Apple gives indie gamers a permanent home on the App Store

{rss:content:encoded} Apple gives indie gamers a permanent home on the App Store http://ift.tt/2nvehJ9 http://ift.tt/2mA5Szq March 17, 2017 at 03:49PM

Breaking into the App Store can be difficult enough, but for small-time mobile game developers it’s even more of a challenge as they go up against billion-dollar, global publishers who dominate the top charts, like Supercell, Activision Blizzard, Niantic, EA, Tencent and others who can afford to invest millions in marketing budgets and advertising. Apple is now hoping to level the… Read More

Utilis takes top water innovation prize at Imagine H2O for tech that finds leaks underground

An Israeli tech startup called Utilis has taken top honors at Imagine H2O this year, for technology that can detect underground leaks in underground, potable water supply systems through analysis of satellite imagery. Americans waste 1 trillion gallons of water every year thanks to leaky faucets, faulty sprinkler systems and other small systems. Utilis’ tech can find leaks to systems… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mzUJPQ Utilis takes top water innovation prize at Imagine H2O for tech that finds leaks underground http://ift.tt/2my1MHL

Mobile ad company Appodeal acquires game platform Corona Labs

{rss:content:encoded} Mobile ad company Appodeal acquires game platform Corona Labs http://ift.tt/2nwWcHF http://ift.tt/2m6SGqe March 16, 2017 at 10:50PM

Appodeal is announcing that it has acquired Corona Labs, creators of the Corona SDK for building cross-platform games and apps. The companies say the framework has been used to build more than 10,000 games including The Lost City by Fire Maple Games and HoPiKo by Laser Dog. Appodeal, meanwhile, is a mobile ad mediation company — in other words, it helps app developers manage… Read More

Rock Pamper Scissors, the London-based hairdresser booking app backed by Seedcamp and 500 Startups, has closed its doors. According to a holding page that has replaced the entrance to the site, the startup has “ceased trading”. Read More

http://ift.tt/2nJPrS0 Rock Pamper Scissors, the hairdresser booking app backed by Seedcamp and 500 Startups, shutters http://ift.tt/2nsh7id

Amazon adds Alexa to its main shopping app

{rss:content:encoded} Amazon adds Alexa to its main shopping app http://ift.tt/2mykksp http://ift.tt/2mTmqWj March 16, 2017 at 05:13PM

Amazon’s virtual assistant just got a much wider audience. Today, the company announced it’s integrating Alexa into its main shopping app on iPhone, starting today with a full rollout expected by next week. The assistant can do more than just provide a voice interface to Amazon’s retail store, however – it can also control your smart home, play your music or Kindle… Read More