Genelec introduce 5-year warranty By registering their Genelec monitors on the company’s website, users are now able to extend their warranty by an extra three years, with both parts and labour costs covered.

Out Take: Sandro Morales-SantoroSandro Morales-Santoro

Composer

Web: sandromorales.com

Contact: kate.twilley@impact24pr.com

Most Recent: Kold x Windy, Restaurants at the Edge of the World

Sandro Morales-Santoro is an award-winning composer as well as a part of the executive committee of the Composers Diversity Collective to help connect composers of color with opportunities to advance their careers. He recently worked on WeTV’s Kold x Windy, pulling inspiration from hip-hop and drill music, and National Geographic/Disney+’s Restaurants at the Edge of The World, his second collaboration with co-composer David Benjamin Steinberg and director Jeremy Simmons.

His musical background includes popular and folk influences from his native Venezuela, an education in classical music, as well as interests in jazz and electronic music. “When I started as a composer in L.A., I was afraid of bringing too much of my cultural background into my music,” he says. “There have been a few times when I was interviewing for a composing job, and they said, ‘So all you can write is Latin music?’ I wanted to prove I could do music that wasn’t necessarily representative of where I come from, and when you start out, you’re trying to just imitate what the greats are doing. With time, I’ve learned to accept and embrace who I am, not care so much and try to bring those elements into my music.” 

Morales-Santoro says he loves the challenge of working on a variety of different projects, from animated film to documentaries. “The work is unexpected. I constantly need to evolve my sound, learn new instruments, new sound libraries. Having to face that and figuring out how to define a project’s concept through music, work with the director―I love those challenges.” 

Morales-Santoro advises aspiring composers to remember the old adage: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. In the beginning, I always felt in a rush, worried about things happening fast enough, but you have to take it one step at a time,” he says. “You have to network, you have to work on your craft, and then you have to work on your voice, which is what sets you apart from the rest and makes people interested in hiring you over someone else.” 

Netflix axes its basic plan in Canada, IRL shuts down and Shein’s influencer stunt backfiresIt’s that time of week again, folks. Welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular digest of the past week in tech. New here? Not to worry — sign up here to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday, then read on for the week’s recap.
This week, we’re covering Netflix quietly axing its basic plan in Canada, the IRL social app shutting down after it was discovered that most of its users were fake and the blockbuster sales of the Flipper hacking device. Also in store, TC has reporting on Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i dual-screen laptop, DeepMind’s next chatbot to rival ChatGPT and Robinhood acquiring a credit card startup. Phew.
Most read
Netflix axes basic plan — in Canada: Netflix has quietly killed the $9.99 CAD per month basic plan in Canada for new subscribers. This simplifies the streaming company’s offering but leaves a big gap between the ad-supported plan and the standard plan, Ivan writes.
A unicorn social app shuts down: Ironically, the social app IRL‘s users don’t exist in real life. An internal investigation by IRL’s board of directors found that 95% of the app’s reported 20 million users were automated or from bots. So, after raising more than $200 million in venture capital, IRL is shutting down.
A laptop, but double: Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i drew both appreciative and skeptical stares at CES earlier this year when it made its official debut. With two 13-inch OLED screens attached with a central hinge, it’s one of the most unusual laptop designs to ever make it into actual production. And, according to Darrell, it’s the first that proves the dual-screen paradigm can work — and work really well — for a lot of people.
Flipper sells like hotcakes: You may have stumbled across the Flipper Zero hacking device that’s been doing the rounds, which includes a bunch of ways to manipulate the world around you — including RFID card systems, remote keyless systems, key fobs, barriers to entry and more. The company claims that it’s on track to sell $80 million worth of products this year after selling almost $5 million worth as Kickstarter preorders — and claims it sold $25 million worth of the devices last year.
Robinhood acquires X1: Robinhood announced on Thursday that it would acquire no-fee credit card startup X1 for $95 million in cash. X1, which offers an income-based credit card with rewards, has raised a total of $62 million in venture-backed funding from investors like Soma Capital, FPV, Craft Ventures and Spark Capital since its 2020 inception.
Shein’s stunt backfires: As Shein eyes an IPO, the company’s image needs a serious makeover. From stealing indie designers’ work to violating local labor laws, Shein has fallen out of vogue on social media — so the company invited a group of influencers to tour one of its factories in Guangzhou, China. Critics point out that it was a highly curated brand trip wherein influencers were offered free travel opportunities and gifts, encouraging them to promote a favorable image of the company.
Databricks acquires MosaicML: This week, Databricks announced that it’ll pay $1.3 billion to acquire MosaicML, an open source startup with neural networks expertise that built a platform for organizations to train large language models and deploy generative AI tools based on them. Prior to that, MosaicML had raised just under $64 million from investors, including Atlas, Playground Global and Samsung Next.
ChatGPT gets Bing: ChatGPT on mobile can now surf the web. But only via Bing — for better or worse. This week, OpenAI announced that subscribers to ChatGPT Plus, the premium version of the company’s AI-powered chatbot, can use a new feature on the ChatGPT app called Browsing that lets users use ChatGPT to search Bing for answers to questions.
Audio
Hunting for a podcast to while away the hours? You’ve come to the right place. TC has you covered.
On Equity, the crew kicked things off with Honey Homes’ recent funding and Gusto’s teaming up with Remote; they then dove deep into the latest wave of M&A, from Visa’s purchase of Pismo to Databricks’ deal with MosaicML.
Meanwhile, Found featured the founders of Spout, a startup that makes a device that can pull fresh drinking water out of the air.
Over at Chain Reaction, this week’s episode welcomed Jack Lu, co-founder and CEO of NFT marketplace Magic Eden, to discuss the state of the crypto market.
And The TechCrunch Podcast covered Shein inviting several fashion influencers to its facilities in China. The internet didn’t take kindly to the stunt.
TechCrunch+
TC+ subscribers get access to in-depth commentary, analysis and surveys — which you know if you’re already a subscriber. If you’re not, consider signing up. Here are a few highlights from this week:
M&A is back: It’s been a quiet year when it comes to tech M&A. But suddenly this week, it’s as though the M&A floodgates finally opened and we started to see some movement.
Big Tech embraces generative AI: As the race to build generative AI tools for the enterprise devolves into a battle royale, Big Tech companies are busy wielding their most powerful weapons: checkbooks. Will the trend continue? That’s an open question.
When companies have more influence than countries: According to the CIA’s World Factbook, if Apple were a country, its revenue would be No. 50 on the list of countries ranked by GDP. While it’d lag the likes of the U.S., France and Egypt, as a country, Apple would produce more wealth than Norway, Portugal or Greece, and only slightly less than Hong Kong, Peru or Israel. Should it be this way? Haje explores.

Get your TechCrunch fix IRL. Join us at Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco this September to immerse yourself in all things startup. From headline interviews to intimate roundtables to a jam-packed startup expo floor, there’s something for everyone at Disrupt. Save up to $600 when you buy your pass now through August 11, and save 15% on top of that with promo code WIR. Learn more.

Netflix axes its basic plan in Canada, IRL shuts down and Shein’s influencer stunt backfires by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

How to end beat block in 2023: The latest tools and processes
Veteran producer iBEENART showcases how he leverages a powerful AI tool to find inspiration and overcome beat block.

Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for all the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to take advantage of SEO, how to use social media for music marketing, and more…. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week In ReviewA busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with a campaign to save an indie venue, Spotify drops Soundtrap, grants to indie venues, and more… As. Continue reading
The post REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week In Review appeared first on Hypebot.

Bitcoin price has never lost more than 10% in July — Is 2023 different?Bitcoin looks primed for a “liquidity hunt” to $35,000, but not everyone is convinced that BTC price upside will last beyond July.

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Crypto Biz: Binance’s chaotic June, miners gear up for halving, Bitfinex’s Latam expansionThis week’s Crypto Biz looks at the story behind Binance’s debanking in Australia, Bitcoin miners preparing for the next halving, and Bitfinex’s expansion in Latin America.

Apple is now the first publicly traded company to close above a $3 trillion market valueApple is the first publicly traded company to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value. The company’s shares climbed about 2.31% on Friday to a new high. The tech giant first reached a $3 trillion market cap back in January 2022, but failed to close at that level.
Apple’s stock has skyrocketed nearly 46% this year. The company’s stock market success this year is a stark contrast from 2022. Earlier this year, Apple’s market cap fell below $2 trillion in trading for the first time since early 2021.
The milestone valuation for the tech giant comes on the heels of its launch of the Apple Vision Pro, its long-rumored augmented reality (AR) headset, earlier this month. The $3,499 headset, which requires users to stay connected to a battery pack the size of an iPhone, will go on sale next year.
Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been all in on the AI hype that sparked with the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. Since then, companies like Microsoft, Google, Nvidia and Meta have jumped on the AI bandwagon. Nvidia leads the S&P 500 with a 181% jump this year. Meta follows with a 137% jump. Apple has largely stayed away from mentions of AI, while its competitors have gone all in on the emerging technology.
It’s worth noting that four other U.S. companies have a valuation of more than $1 trillion, including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia.
Apple posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings in May, even though the tech giant’s sales and profit declined. The company’s results reinforced its reputation among investors.
Update 30/06/2023 4:00 PM ET: Article was updated to note that Apple closed above a $3 trillion market cap. 
Apple is now the first publicly traded company to close above a $3 trillion market value by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch

Wise Music Group Appoints Max Moroldo as Managing Director of Wise Music ItalyWise Music Group has appointed Massimiliano “Max” Moroldo as Managing Director of the recently established company Wise Music Italy, based in Bergamo. Max joined Wise Music Italy in 2022 as Head of A&R and Music Publishing Consultant upon the acquisition of his company, Baby Angel Music, by Wise Music Group.

Through the ownership of Baby Angel Music and Atlas, Wise Music Italy owns shares in international hits such as “I Know You Want Me” (recorded by Pitbull) and “Seek Bromance” (Avicii), as well as Italian hits including Occidentali's “Karma” and “Amen” (by Francesco Gabbani, both winners of the Sanremo Festival), “Come Neve” (Giorgia and Marco Mengoni), “Credo” (Giorgia), “Potremmo Ritornare” (Tiziano Ferro), “Crepe” (Irama), and “Il Coraggio Di Andare” (Laura Pausini and Biagio Antonacci).

Among the catalogue’s many titles is the evergreen “Freed from Desire”, originally recorded by the singer and songwriter Gala in 1996, which became a huge hit all over the world, and which has subsequently been covered and adapted on numerous occasions. 

Max Moroldo comments: “Wise Music Group is definitely one of the strongest independent realities in the worldwide publishing scene and it’s a great honour for me to be appointed Managing Director after only one year working together. In line with the expansion and growth policy of Wise Music, Wise Music Italy has consolidated its position in the international publishing industry with the acquisition of important catalogues. The search for talented songwriters will be our next goal”.  

Wise Music Group CEO Marcus Wise says: “We’re delighted to have a local office in Italy and keen to expand in this important market.  Max is a talented and experienced publisher and is instrumental in helping Wise Music build our Italian business into a significant operation for our Group.”

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