Grimes offers AI creators a 50% royalty split for using her voiceGrimes is embracing AI music at a time when most other major artists and their labels are pushing the panic button with an offer to split royalties with any AI. Continue reading
The post Grimes offers AI creators a 50% royalty split for using her voice appeared first on Hypebot.

GearFest UK 2023 Update A huge number of exhibitors are now confirmed for this year's GearFest UK, which is taking place at Tileyard London on 15 and 16 July 2023.

Ask Sophie: My STEM OPT expires in 30 days, what are my options?

Sophie Alcorn
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Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives.


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Here’s another edition of “Ask Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.
“Your questions are vital to the spread of knowledge that allows people all over the world to rise above borders and pursue their dreams,” says Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. “Whether you’re in people ops, a founder or seeking a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next column.”
TechCrunch+ members receive access to weekly “Ask Sophie” columns; use promo code ALCORN to purchase a one- or two-year subscription for 50% off.

Dear Sophie,
My STEM OPT expires in a month, and my company did not register me in this year’s H-1B lottery.
I’m not sure what options I have now. Help!
— Sleepless in Silicon Valley
Dear Sleepless,
I’m so sorry to hear that your employer didn’t register you for this year’s H-1B lottery! Things can feel similar for those who were not registered and their STEM OPT is expiring. Not to worry though! I’ve got you covered. But first, let me dive into a few things you should know, starting with your grace period.
Image Credits: Joanna Buniak / Sophie Alcorn (opens in a new window)
60-day grace period
You get a 60-day grace period when your F-1 STEM OPT expires. Please keep in mind that you cannot work during the 60-day grace period. This grace period is not to be confused with the 60-day grace period typically utilized by people in H-1B status.
The purpose of a student F-1 grace period is to give you time before you must depart the United States to either:

Continue your education by enrolling in a new academic program at another institution and obtaining a new Form I-20
Apply to change to another nonimmigrant status for work or another purpose (USCIS recently clarified that it is ok look for a job in B visitor status)
Apply for a green card through an adjustment of status if you are eligible and don’t plan to travel internationally
Wrap up your affairs, travel inside the United States and depart the United States

Let me dive into some of the nitty gritty of this list:
Continue your education
The tech job market worldwide can feel tough right now. The number of people laid off in the tech industry so far this year has already surpassed all of 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi. In 2022, 164,511 people lost their jobs. So far this year, more than 183,000 people have been laid off in the tech industry.
Given this, you may want to consider continuing your education as an F-1 student by enrolling in a full-time degree program. Typically, Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is available at some universities and colleges. CPT enables an F-1 student who has been enrolled full-time for at least one academic year and has not yet graduated to work, but some programs offer “day-one” CPT.
Keep in mind that working for one year of full-time CPT (more than 20 hours of work per week) means you won’t be eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT). Working part-time under CPT (20 hours per week or less) means you will still be eligible for OPT and possibly another two-year STEM OPT extension if your degree is on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s STEM Designated Degree Program List.
Change your status to visitorAsk Sophie: My STEM OPT expires in 30 days, what are my options? by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

Orchestral Tools Orchestral Tools Soloists Series - Nocturne Violin https://youtu.be/G1UKlk-fOHc The Nocturne Violin is part of the Soloists series from Orchestral Tools. A collection of exquisite recordings from the cream of Berlin... Read More

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TuneCore and Beatport strike partnership to extend self-releasing artists’ reach to DJs, dance music producersTunecore artists using Unlimited distribution plans will be able to send their music to the Beatport platform for an add-on fee of $7.99 a month
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All-important percentage of Spotify paid vs. free users keeps fallingSpotify added 26 million users in the first three months of 2023, hitting a record 515 million active monthly users. Paid subscribers grew by 5 million to 210 million. Both. Continue reading
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50% of Vinyl buyers DON’T own a record player: Music as a SouvenirAs the massive multi-year vinyl resurgence continues, it would be fair to assume that most of those hundreds of thousands of record buyers owned something to play their purchases on.. Continue reading
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3 ways to get more fan email addresses at showsWhile this post was originally written for radio broadcasters, these three tools also provide musicians and venues with smart ways and simple ways to capture all important fan email addresses.. Continue reading
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Bill Ackman thinks there’s a lot of growth ahead for Universal Music Group. These analysts agree.Ahead of Universal's Q1 results tomorrow, a number of Wall Street watchers are reiterating their faith in music's biggest company
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Spotify confirms it’s working with labels to quell copyright threat from AIIf Spotify keeps growing at its current rate, it will have a billion global users by the midpoint of 2027. That was one of MBW’s major takeaways from the firm’s Q1 2023 quarterly earnings today (April 25), which confirmed that SPOT’s monthly active user (MAU) count hit 515 million at the end of March this … Continued
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Google Cloud turns profit for the first timeGoogle Cloud may be chasing Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud game, but it has something big to boast about after earnings came out today. The company has turned a profit on its cloud unit for the first time since it began reporting cloud income several years ago.
The company reported cloud revenue of $7.4 billion in Q12023, that’s up from $5.8 billion in the year ago period, up 27.5%. But that growth is not the primary news nugget here. The company also reported an operating income loss of $706 million a year ago. This year it reported a $191 million gain. That’s huge for a company that has struggled in third place in the cloud market.
Yet even while Google Cloud revenue grew 27.5% this quarter, that growth is slowing from 32% last quarter and 38% the one before that. Cloud spending in general has been slowing as companies look more carefully at their cloud spend and cut back where they can.
Ray Wang founder and principal analyst at Constellation Research says that it shows how long a time horizon it requires to get to this point in this market. “It’s a significant milestone for Google Cloud, which started in April 2008. Fifteen years later, it’s now profitable. This shows how hard it is for new players to enter the space and what’s required to achieve escape velocity for cloud adoption,” Wang told TechCrunch
Insider Intelligence senior analyst Max Willens says that the slowing growth tempers the profitability news. “Its cloud segment turning a profit is notable, and a testament to management’s diligence in steering Cloud toward profitability. But the reality is that Google Cloud remains comfortably behind its two most important competitors, and its growth is slowing,” he said.
It’s worth noting that Google Cloud includes both the infrastructure and platform as a service pieces — which competes directly with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure — along with Google Workspace, its productivity software package that includes corporate GMail, Docs, Calendar and so forth.
So that combined income means it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison with its competitors, but it is still significant nonetheless, especially when you consider that the company reported losing a whopping $5.6 billion in the cloud unit in 2020. That’s quite a turnaround in just three years.
Even as it reports this positive quarter, the company laid off 12,000 people in January. It also reported it was buying back $70 billion in stock. Meanwhile CNBC reported that Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made $226 million in total compensation last year.
Google Cloud turns profit for the first time by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch