Neil Young wants to pull music from Spotify over vaccine disinformation

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Neil Young reluctantly has his catalogue on Spotify, but now the artist wants it pulled again. In a since-deleted letter to his management team and record label, he demands they remove his music from the streaming service because "Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines - potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them."

He targets Spotify because of its exclusive deal with podcaster Joe Rogan, who has helped fuel this anti-vaccine movement. "I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform," he continued. "They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both."

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Spotify acquires audio platform to help turn radio shows into podcasts

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Spotify's latest acquisition will help the company lure radio broadcasters to turn their shows into podcasts. The company bought Whooshkaa, an Australia-based firm that provides radio broadcasters tools to convert their shows into podcasts. Spotify plans to integrate its technology into its Megaphone suite for podcasters. The goal is to offer stations a way to profit from shows by offering ad-supported podcast episodes.

Whooshkaa can also help with Spotify's other audio efforts. Founder Rob Loewenthal mentioned that his company offered speech-to-text and text-to-speech tech, smart home integration, and "enterprise grade" podcasting tools. But those have not been clearly noted as part of their goals. We wouldn't be surprised if these help Spotify develop its podcasting features in the future.

Source: Engadget

Exploring the world of Halo Infinite

As parents of teens, we know that gaming is one of the most popular pastimes. In our home, we instilled a "no play until homework is done" policy when the kids were very young. Luckily, that has stuck. As a gamer myself, I know how quickly time can pass once you get emerged into the play. That goes for any game. Even to this day I play about a half an hour of games on my devices right at bedtime. Somehow, I manage to sleep very well. I know, I know, it's not suppose to work like that. But maybe it's the type of games you play?  It's a way to wind down the day and clear my mind, maybe?

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Spotify is 'retiring' its Car View feature without a replacement

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Spotify is getting rid of its Car View feature, which has made it easier for drivers to use the app while they're in their vehicles. It seems to have disappeared on Android already, but it isn't clear if and when it'll disappear on other platforms. It was confirmed to be coming, though. In October, a Spotify moderator responded to a post on its community forum asking where the feature went. It also planned to retire features like the in-car Now Playing View for Android.

And while features get retired on apps all the time, what might upset many of its users is that there isn't a replacement for it right now. Some accuse Spotify of removing the feature to sell its Car Thing device, a display and remote control for the car. But even that feature is limited to Premium subscribers via a waitlist.

Source: The Verge