Queen music catalog could be sold this year for over $1 billion, say MBW sourcesMajor music companies including Universal Music Group have been in discussions for the acquisition, we're told, in addition to players from the world of private equity
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TechCrunch+ roundup: South Korea investor survey, 1-hour board meetings, venture leasing basicsAfter sales software startup TigerEye closed its Series A and established a board of directors, its co-founders put them on notice:
One thing we’d like to never do is the three-hour, too-in-the-weeds, non-strategic board meeting.
“Every board deck I’ve made and seen is more than 80 pages long,” says Tracy Young, co-founder and CEO of TigerEye. “I am not exaggerating.”

Full TechCrunch+ articles are only available to members.
Use discount code TCPLUSROUNDUP to save 20% off a one- or two-year subscription.

In this TC+ article, she explains how to structure a one-hour board meeting that creates real value for founders and investors. Step one: Replace your enormous deck with a three-page memo.
We’re taking Monday, May 29 off to celebrate Memorial Day, so I’ll be back with another TC+ roundup a week from today.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

Early-stage board decks are dead: How to run a meeting in 60 minutes

Why aren’t venture capitalists flocking to fund cybersecurity startups?
Image Credits: RobertAx (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
The accelerated shift to digital has been great for mature cybersecurity companies: Palo Alto Networks, Scaler and CrowdStrike are showing strong revenue multiples, reports Alex Wilhelm.
But there doesn’t appear to be a halo effect for venture-backed cybersecurity startups. According to Crunchbase, funding for companies in this sector fell 58% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022.
“Given that valuations are down across the board, today’s cybersecurity equity prices have been dramatically depressed, even if they remain more expensive than other tech subcategories,” writes Alex.

Why aren’t venture capitalists flocking to fund cybersecurity startups?

Profitability over growth: 5 investors explain their mantra for South Korean startups
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
South Korea saw a unicorn boom in recent years, but like the rest of the world, it’s feeling the impacts of a global market correction.
“Venture funding in Asia in the first quarter of 2023 declined 33% from Q4 2023 and 57% from Q1 2022,” reports Kate Park, who surveyed five investors to get their predictions for 2023 and find out how they’re advising their portfolio companies:

Han Kim, general partner, Altos Ventures
Tim Chae, managing partner, 500 Global
JP Lee, CEO and managing partner, SoftBank Ventures Asia
Yeemin Chung, managing director, BRV Capital Management
Eunse Lee, founder and managing partner, 541 Ventures

Profitability over growth: 5 investors explain their mantra for South Korean startups

Ask Sophie: What are my options if a company rescinds my OPT job offer?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
I’m an international student graduating this month, but the company I was supposed to start working for on OPT has rescinded my job offer.
What are my options?
— Grappling Grad

Ask Sophie: What are my options if a company rescinds my OPT job offer?

3 things businesses must do to secure their applications in the AI era
Image Credits: Henrik Sorensen (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Companies with AI-enabled applications give bad actors a broader attack surface when it comes to phishing, bots and other attempts to access customer accounts.
“We’re already seeing examples of reverse engineering AI-powered sites to get free AI computing,” says Reed McGinley-Stempel, co-founder and CEO of Stych, a customer identification and access management (CIAM) platform.

3 things businesses must do to secure applications in the AI era

Venture leasing: The unsung hero for hardware startups struggling to raise capital
Image Credits: bagi1998 (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Hardware startups have always been challenged when it comes to high initial capital expenditures and open-ended R&D timelines.
Fortunately, venture leasing creates “a happy medium between costly debt loans and VC funding that works particularly well,” says Felipe Chávez Cortés, CEO and co-founder of robotic food delivery firm Kiwibot.
To bring products to market faster while avoiding dilution, his company closed a $10 million venture leasing deal.
“Hardware companies shouldn’t feel limited to VC funds to finance their high-risk, high-growth operations,” according to Cortés.

Venture leasing: The unsung hero for hardware startups struggling to raise capital

Pitch Deck Teardown: Faye’s $10M Series A deck
Image Credits: Faye
Insurtech startup Faye shared a redacted version of the 19-slide deck its founders used to land a $10 million Series A round.
“Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat,” says Haje Jan Kamps. “This is a truly excellent pitch deck.”

Cover slide
Summary slide
Team slide
Problem slide
Market-size slide
Insurance market overview slide
Product overview slide
Product features slide 1
Product features slide 2
Product features slide 3
Product features slide 4
Go-to-market slide
Financial growth metrics slide
Customer growth metrics slide
Customer validation slide 1
Competitive landscape slide
The Ask slide
Customer validation slide 2
Closing slide with mission statement

Pitch Deck Teardown: Faye’s $10M Series A deck

TechCrunch+ roundup: South Korea investor survey, 1-hour board meetings, venture leasing basics by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

From the 120,000 tracks hitting streaming services daily to Universal’s AI sound partnership… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest music biz headlines from the past week, all in one place
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Revealed Recordings Revealed Future Techno Kits Vol. 2 Revealed Future Techno Kits Vol. 2 is a collection of 5 construction kits for the producer searching for Techno, Big Room, and Rave inspiration. Each kit includes one-shot and... Read More

Acousticsamples VWinds - Double Reeds Following on from the success of our VHorns libraries, we're delighted to announce that the first part of our brand new VSeries library, VWinds Double Reeds, is now available to purchase... Read More

Chowdhury DSP Releases FREE ChowMultiTool Plugin
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Music streaming is predicted to soar this summerAs lifestyles shift to active mode this summer, so will time spent on listening to audio, a medium they can consume wherever they go, according to a new survey. A. Continue reading
The post Music streaming is predicted to soar this summer appeared first on Hypebot.

Collabs are a major contributor to success on SpotifyHere is an in-depth look at some of the music crossover collaborations that made waves on Sptoify both in and out of the artist’s usual genres. Read and learn how. Continue reading
The post Collabs are a major contributor to success on Spotify appeared first on Hypebot.

A talk with DropTrack CEO Paul LoebThe week’s Indie Spotlight shines on experienced musician and business executive Paul Loeb, who talks about his journey to success and his latest venture DropTrack. from A2IM This week, meet. Continue reading
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VST Buzz Offers 70% OFF Excite Audio’s Lifeline Lite Bundle
VST Buzz offers a massive 70% off Excite Audio’s Lifeline Lite Bundle for a limited time. Excite Audio’s Lifeline Lite Bundle consists of Lifeline Expanse Lite and Lifeline Console Lite. The two plugins would usually cost $99, but you can get them both for just $29 for the rest of May 2023. We’ve covered Excite [...]
View post: VST Buzz Offers 70% OFF Excite Audio’s Lifeline Lite Bundle

Acustica release Sunray plug-in suite Acustica have designed the Sunray plug-ins to faithfully recreate vintage American vacuum tube technology.

Rescopic Sound Releases FREE Sci-Fi Energy Weapons SFX Sample Pack
Rescopic Sound released a FREE version of its new Sci-Fi Energy Weapons sample pack. As the game audio industry continues to evolve, we are witnessing the emergence of new companies that specialize in producing sound effects. They aim to help sound designers, post-production houses, music composers, game developers, film editors, and also you, the bedroom [...]
View post: Rescopic Sound Releases FREE Sci-Fi Energy Weapons SFX Sample Pack

Tascam Portacapture X6 firmware update Latest firmware update brings several improvements to the device, providing users with more convenience and versatility.

Ford to bring Tesla’s charging tech into its future EVsFord has reached an agreement with rival Tesla that will give owners of Ford’s EVs access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada. The deal was announced during a Twitter Spaces between Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley.
However, this agreement reaches far beyond providing access to Tesla’s superchargers via an adapter, although aTesla-developed adapter will provide Ford F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles fitted with the Combined Charging System port access to Tesla’s V3 Superchargers.
More importantly, Ford said its future EVs will be equipped with Tesla’s charge port called the North American Charging Standard (NACS) starting in 2025. This suggests that Ford’s second-generation EVs, which for now is an electric truck and a three-row SUV, will come equipped with the Tesla charging tech.
Ford second-generation EVs with the NACS port will have the option of charging at CCS chargers via an adapter, according to Ford.
“We’re very happy to support Ford vehicles with the Tesla Supercharger network, and also provide API access,” Musk said Thursday. “So like a Ford vehicle can charge at a Tesla supercharger using a Ford app seamlessly. Essentially, the idea is that we don’t want the Tesla Supercharger network to be like a walled garden. We want it to be something that is supportive of electrification and sustainable transport in general.”
The charging connector in all Tesla vehicles offers AC charging and up to 1 MW DC charging. Its compact design and performance is considered superior to the Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors used by most EVs in North America. Last year, Tesla shared its EV charging connector design in an effort to encourage network operators and automakers to adopt the technology and help make it the new standard in North America.
Ford customers will have access to twice as many fast-chargers starting in spring 2024 through the agreement with Tesla, according to the automakers.
Ford customers already have access to its so-called BlueOval Charge Network, a public charging network with over 84,000 chargers including access to over 10,000 public DC fast-chargers. Additionally, Ford dealers are adding roughly 1,800 public-facing fast-chargers and locations to the BlueOval Charge Network by early 2024.
Ford to bring Tesla’s charging tech into its future EVs by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch