Music Business Worldwide reports: “The idea of using data from streaming services to predict hit songs has been around for some time, and a number of research papers have been written on the subject. But AI is bringing this idea closer to reality, and now, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), China’s largest operator of music streaming services, says it has cracked the code.”
GamesBeat reports: “Yellow has raised $5 million in seed funding from A16z Games to fund further development of its Gen AI-powered 3D modeling tool. With its YellowSculpt tool, artists can generate clean, pre-rigged 3D character meshes based on a text prompt in under three minutes.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on a streaming bundle. The two entertainment giants will launch a bundle this summer that combines the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services. Specific pricing is still to be determined, but there will be both ad-free and ad-supported options of the bundle.”
Games Industry Biz reports: “A new study has found that YouTube is the most popular and trusted platform for discovering new games among players. PR and marketing agency Big Games Machine surveyed 1,000 US-based console and PC gamers about how they find new titles to purchase and play, of which 64% said they discover games via YouTube.”
The Verge reports: “Advertisers can now use Walmart’s shopping data to target Disney’s streaming portfolio, which includes Disney Plus and Hulu, Adweek reports. The news comes after the companies announced a partnership between Disney Advertising and Walmart Connect, the retailer’s media business, on Wednesday.”
Engadget reports: “TikTok is ramping up its efforts to automatically label AI-generated content in its app, even when it was created with third-party tools. The company announced plans to support content credentials, a kind of digital watermark that indicates the use of generative AI.”
TechCrunch reports: “Autonomous, AI-based players are coming to a gaming experience near you, and a new startup, Altera, is joining the fray to build this new guard of AI agents. The company announced Wednesday that it raised $9 million in an oversubscribed seed round, co-led by First Spark Ventures (Eric Schmidt’s deep-tech fund) and Patron (the seed stage fund co-founded by Riot Games alums).”
GamesBeat reports: “Iconic Arts, a new Los Angeles transmedia entertainment studio, has raised $3.1 million to create original properties for games and Hollywood. And it will prototype its ideas in the market using games for quick-and-easy platforms like Roblox.”
Music Business Worldwide reports: “Gabb, a company specializing in kid-safe technology, has announced the launch of Gabb Music+, a premium version of its existing Gabb Music streaming service, available on Gabb phones. Gabb on Tuesday (May 7) said it has recruited a team of “top music industry talent” in Nashville to lead the development of Gabb Music+.”
Variety reports: “Tubi will give up-and-coming creatives a streaming platform — and funding — for their passion projects, with an assist from Issa Rae. The Fox Corp.-owned free, ad-supported streamer launched Stubios, which it calls “a fan-fueled studio” for aspiring filmmakers and their fans.”
