We’re drawing to the end of the working week and once again Friday is upon us… and so is the Music + Tech Weekly Round Up! This week we’ve brought you the latest from Girls Names, Samsung, HTC, Twitter and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra…
Interview: Girls Names
We’re very excited to tell you that we’re spreading the wings of our Customer Services Team into the world of social. We’ve just set up a new Twitter help account (@7digitalhelp) as another way to get in touch with us about service related concerns. The friendly, music loving, 7digital Customer Services Team will be managing the account so you will receive responses in a timely manner, with fully informed authority on how our products and services work. We value your feedback, so let us know what you think!
We’ve all got that Friday feeling in the office as we greatly anticipate the weekend, but do you know what else Friday means? Yes, it’s time for the Music + Tech Weekly Round Up! A lot’s been happening this week and we’ve picked out the most exciting bits of news for you to enjoy!
Microsoft Drop Xbox Points System In Time For 720
At long last Microsoft have said goodbye to their dreaded Xbox points system in favour of local currency. If you’re not already familiar, the Xbox points had a varying value across the globe and required the player to remember exchange rates that were complete nonsense (400 points = £3.50)! Now it is said that Microsoft will be replacing these points with gift cards, however credit and debit card payments will also be accepted. read more »
It was a fantastic week of meetings, metadata, and music for the folks bunkering down in Century City’s
Hyattfor NARM’s Music Biz conference last week. We started the week with digitalmusic.org’s comprehensive dive into issues surrounding metadata with speakers from all the important influencers. Other highlights throughout the week included the various working groups focused on improving issues in the digital supply chain, an afternoon of in depth discussions around automotives and music, a great day of demoing at app alley, and a luxurious awards show with celebrity guests that included Buddy Guy, Emeli Sandé, Jason Derulo, Natalie Cole and Tom Jones amongst others. Last but not least we had the pleasure of holding our own 7digital workshop recapping all of our favorite topics; licensing, APIs, music rights, and product development.
What does it take to launch a music application in 2013? read more »
We’d like to tell you about something very exciting that happened earlier this week.
It’s a cold and dreary Monday morning. The skies are spitting, the wind is whistling, but for once the London buses seem to be running on time. It’s 9:47 when the bright spark walks into the central London office: black skirt, neat hair, sensible shoes… our new apprentice.
As a global company with roots in London’s Tech Hub, 7digital has recognised the need for educational opportunities for young people and therefore we have enrolled ourselves as an employer for the UK’s leading digital apprenticeship programme, Arch. We see apprenticeships as a way to nurture talent and prepare our youths for their future professional lives. The UK government has placed a lot of emphasis on encouraging apprenticeships that give the UK a greater presence on the global technology stage, and we are proud to be doing our part to boost the apprenticeship figures in the UK. read more »
We’re back once again for another installment of the weekly Music + Tech Round-Up and this week we’ve been pretty busy attending and doing our own workshop at NARM. Stay tuned for our recap of the event. In the meantime lets dive in to our music review starting off with our label of the month.
Label of the month: Sub Pop Records
Last month our own head honcho Ben Drury was at the Financial Times’ annual Digital Media Conference, speaking on the Sound of Innovation panel. It was an interesting debate, and the panel discussed everything from the growth in mobile and digital music to the revenue streams that were kicking around some 2,000 years ago.
New month, new week and new portion of Music and Technology News. Let’s kick off with Troy Carter, Lady Gaga’s manager and technology investor conversation on how technology is changing the music industry. He also mentions two areas, that according to him, are particularly ripe for disruption: terrestrial radio and live touring. Have a look at the TechCrunch video below:
It’s time to kick off with another round of Music + Tech news. This culminating April edition is focused on how technology can enable music to break boundaries and create new experiences! Before we get there let’s have a look at the freshest eMarketer report showing how UK teens far outshine US peers in smartphone usage. It is no secret that cravings for technology among youths across the globe are incurable but it still might be a little startling for some to find out that 93% of UK teens will use mobile phones in 2013. We agree with Mary Madden, senior researcher for the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project and co-author of the report who said: “The nature of teens’ internet use has transformed dramatically — from stationary connections tied to shared desktops in the home to always-on connections that move with them throughout the day.” Always-on connections in our ears sounds like your music everywhere. With our open and agnostic approach and growing network of partners, we are ready support always-on users across any number of devices. More about the report.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Music Hack Day in Paris. Kindly hosted by Deezer in their lovely trendy offices, there were about 150 hackers from both within and without France who’d come to hang out, drink beer, mess around with technology and generally have a great time.
The event kicked off with a short presentation from each of the sponsors, introducing their company and outlining the APIs on offer. Hackers then headed out into the blazing sunshine to discuss teams and ideas over a hotdog, before bagging a desk and settling down to work. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, folks alternated between bouts of intense concentration, games of table football, and replenishing caffeine levels. The background soundtrack of those Parisian favourites Daft Punk was occasionally punctuated by a friendly squabble over coding practises, or a burst of dischordant music as teams demonstrated their work-in-progress to each other. read more »
