TICKER TAPE
PODCASTING
New podcast promotes media careers
Media Careers, a new podcast led by Carrie Wootten, targets young people interested in just that – media careers. According to the ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage survey, 77% of media employers reported difficulty in filling roles, due primarily to skills shortages. The podcast aims to eliminate barriers to entry and instead promote jobs in media production, development and distribution. Each episode of Media Careers features a guest speaker who’s an industry professional,
whether they be full-time or freelance, on- screen or off-screen. Guests have included Emily Bergun, associate technical specialist at Sky; Gareth Ellis Unwin, producer at Bedlam Film Productions; Sarah McGettigan, head of TV at Pinewood Studios; and Jonathan Coad, PR crisis lawyer at Coad Law. Media Careers is available now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
SOCIAL MEDIA
MAJOR WORDPRESS ACQUISITION Wordpress.com and Tumblr owner Automattic announced the purchase of another company, Texts.com, which brings all messaging apps together into one dashboard. Bought for a tidy $50 million, Texts.com offers end-to-end encryption, the ability to schedule messages and the option to mark messages as unread.
STREAMING
Spotify expands with audiobooks In early October, Spotify announced that Premium
AI
YOUTUBE MUSIC INCORPORATES AI YouTube has introduced a new feature that allows users to create customised playlist art using generative AI. The new, experimental feature allows users to scroll through a number of themes, followed by a choice of prompts. Once those selections have been made, users can click ‘create’ and then choose from a selection of AI- generated images of their playlist art.
users in the UK and Australia can enjoy up to 15 hours of audiobooks per month with their subscription. This feature is scheduled to hit the US in the coming months. That said, Spotify Premium prices increased in both the US and the UK earlier this year. Founded in Sweden in 2006, Spotify has since become the world’s leading platform in music and podcast streaming, with over 220 million paying subscribers as of June 2023. In 2022, it launched audiobooks, challenging Amazon’s Audible, with its other main competitor being Apple Music. Premium subscribers can choose from over 150,000 audiobook titles, with the option to purchase additional ten-hour top-ups as desired.
SOCIAL MEDIA
‘X’ PRICES UP Elon Musk has revealed plans to launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions for social media platform X, formally known as Twitter. Commenting on the plans via X, the tech entrepreneur and owner of the app said the new offering will include a lower cost package with all features and adverts, along with a more expensive advert-free subscription option.
EDUCATION
FACEWARE GOES TO UNI CJP Broadcast Service Solutions is the new exclusive provider of Faceware’s motion capture solutions for the education market, bringing the technology to universities across the UK. Students on virtual production and games creation courses can benefit from practical applications of facial capture.
LIVE For-A’s flyaway kit enhances events
For-A has provided a flyaway kit to Dubai-based event production specialist MediaPro International. The system will help produce high- res displays for live events across the Middle East, including concerts, sports and fashion shows.
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