SEC sues Do Kwon, Paxos ready to litigate, SBF’s VPN: Hodler’s Digest, Feb. 12-18Top Stories This Week Paxos ‘categorically disagrees’ with the SEC that BUSD is a security The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defined the stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD) as a security in a Wells Notice sent to its issuer, Paxos Trust Company. The SEC alleges the organization failed to register BUSD under federal […]

iOS gains new emoji, Showtime joins a pricier Paramount+, and Instagram launches ChannelsHey, TechCrunch besties. After a week in Korea and the Philippines, it’s great to be back in the States — and slightly more tan (i.e., burnt) than before. Massive thanks to Henry, who was forced to step in over the past two weeks thanks to my failing to realize that Korean Air does not offer in-flight Wi-Fi. Talk about a good sport.
If you’re wondering about Greg’s status, not to worry — he’s due to return from a well-deserved parental leave in a month and change. In the meantime, I’m here to nag you about TechCrunch’s upcoming headliner events.
TechCrunch Early Stage is fast approaching — it’s on April 20 in Boston this year, and it’ll host experts across the venture and tech landscape who’ll speak to solutions in getting a startup off the ground. (Also in Boston: City Spotlight, which kicks off February 27.) On the far horizon, there’s TechCrunch Disrupt (September 19–21), which promises to be an absolute blowout this year. Having taken a peek at the preliminary guest list, let me just say this: It won’t disappoint.
With those administrative bits out of the way, let’s get on with Week in Review. (If you want it in your inbox every Saturday, sign up here). Here are the top stories from the past several days!
most read
Dashed ambitions: Tage exclusively reports that allegedly Dash CEO Prince Boakye Boampong was temporarily suspended pending an investigation into financial impropriety at the company. Boampong, one of Africa’s best-known serial entrepreneurs, is reportedly accused of engaging in financial misreporting; sources tell TechCrunch that executives repeatedly concealed financials within the firm while laying off employees at will. Prior to Boampong’s alleged suspension, Dash had raised tens of millions in venture capital at an over-$200 million valuation.
New iOS, new emoji: Apple released the iOS 16.4 developer beta, which brought with it the next set of emoji coming to iPhones. Originally unveiled during the draft phase last year, the emoji span categories like food and drink, activity, objects, animals and symbols. Sarah writes that among the highlights are variations on the heart emoji, pushing hand gestures and a “shaking face” emoji. Curious users can check out the new additions by enrolling in Apple’s Developer Program.
Pony up for Paramount: Ahead of the launch of “Paramount+ with Showtime,” a new TV streaming service bundle that’ll see Showtime integrated with Paramount+, Paramount announced that it would be increasing the price of its Paramount+ Premium tier from $9.99 per month to $11.99 per month. It’s not an unexpected move — Paramount CEO Bob Bakish telegraphed the plans in early December — but it could nonetheless put Paramount+ with Showtime at a disadvantage as it competes with Warner Bros. Discovery’s upcoming HBO Max/Discovery+ service.
Feishu is the new Slack: Feishu, ByteDance’s Slack-like workplace collaboration app, surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year, Rita writes. ByteDance’s heavy investment in Feishu is telling of the state of enterprise software in China. At a time when Silicon Valley investors are heralding product-led growth, software in China is still largely counting on sales, marketing and services to recruit users.
Channeling Instagram: Instagram launched a new broadcast chat feature this week called “Channels.” Aisha reports that it lets creators share public, one-to-many messages to directly engage with their followers. Channels support text, images, polls, reactions and more. Instagram is starting to test channels with select creators in the U.S. and plans to expand the feature in coming months.
Salesforce under pressure: Salesforce is looking for new ways to cut costs as activist investors put pressure on the company. This week, Salesforce implemented stricter performance measurements for engineering, with some salespeople being put under pressure to quit or succumb to harsh performance policies of their own. As Ron writes, it’s probably related to the fact that activist investors have been circling the company, undoubtedly pushing management to increase productivity and reduce expenditures.
Safety concerns dog Tesla: Tesla this week issued a recall of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, an advanced driver-assistance system that federal regulators say could allow vehicles to act unsafe around intersections. Affecting over 362,000 vehicles, the recall was motivated in part, Telsa disclosed, by concerns that FSD-driven vehicles might respond insufficiently to changes in posted speed limits, among other concerns. FSD beta software — from its name and Musk’s promises around its capabilities to its rollout and safety concerns — has been controversial, attracting scrutiny from regulatory agencies.
Snapping up users: Snapchat now has over 750 million monthly active users (MAUs). The company announced the milestone during its Investor Day on Thursday, Sarah reports. Snapchat said it sees a path to reaching over 1 billion people in the next two to three years, but whether it’ll actually achieve that remains to be seen. In any case, 750 MAUs puts Snapchat ahead of Pinterest (450 million) but behind Facebook (2.96 billion).
A Tetris movie: Apple TV+ this week released the first trailer for its movie “Tetris,” based on the origin story of the popular puzzle video game. Starring Taron Egerton, who plays American video game salesman Henk Rogers, “Tetris” tells the story of Rogers and his mission to secure the distribution rights of the game. The movie will premiere at South by Southwest film festival in March, after which Apple will release it worldwide on Apple TV+ (on March 31).
audio
TechCrunch has a wonderful lineup of audio programming, in case you weren’t aware. In other words, we’ve got podcasts for days. This week on Equity, Mary Ann and Becca got on the mic to talk about Descope’s $53 million seed round, Phenomenal Ventures’ new fund and a Mexican neobank’s latest raise. On Found, Darrell and Becca talked with Alex Rappaport, the CEO and co-founder of ZwitterCo, which makes it practical for industries to recycle water and enhance product recovery with new filtration technology. And over at TechCrunch Live, the crew went live (not to be repetitive) with CFO-turned-CEO Christina Ross and her Mayfield Fund partner, Rajeev Batra, to talk about the story behind Ross’ company, Cube, and how it meets its customers where they’re at.
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:
An egg, but not: Price parity with traditional foods is one of the main challenges for alternative protein startups. However, the avian flu, a shortage of cage-free eggs and a subsequent rise in prices in late 2022 seems to provide an “in” for alternative egg companies to show they can compete. Christine takes a deep dive.

Down but not out: Natasha M writes how an emerging class of founders is reminding the tech ecosystem how collapse can be an activator. Laid-off talent is flocking to build startups within all sectors, from climate to crypto to the creator economy. And they’re hoping to course-correct where their alma maters — both Big Tech companies and small upstarts alike — went wrong.

Is the tech jobs market as bad as it seems?: Ron investigates the state of the tech jobs market, finding that — while some numbers are down — it’s not a clear-cut matter. His top-level observation? Tech workers, especially those with specialized skills like engineering, data science, AI and cybersecurity, continue to be in demand as supply lags behind the number of open jobs.
iOS gains new emoji, Showtime joins a pricier Paramount+, and Instagram launches Channels by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch

Rast Sound World Mallets World Mallets combines rare, natural mallet instruments from all around the world with designed presets to create beautiful mallet melodies. You can create natural performances with sample... Read More

Getting It Done: The week in D.I.Y & Indie MusicLast week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to use AI for your music career, social media don’ts, and more… How to take care. 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 the Super Bowl affecting streams, YouTube’s CEO stepping down, and more… Rihanna’s Spotify streams up 640%, Apple. Continue reading
The post REWIND: The new music industry’s week in review appeared first on Hypebot.

Steinberg announce HALion 7 The latest version of Steinberg's powerful sampling and synthesis software platform introduces FM synthesis capabilities plus a range of modulation and effects improvements.

Casey Stevens Shares His Love for the Miami Music SceneMeet Casey Stevens, the U.S. Product Specialist Manager with a whole lot of love for DJing and the Miami music scene.

Growing up in Miami, dance music was in Casey’s blood and was the catalyst for his journey into music and audio production. “I knew I wanted to be involved with it in some way very early on,” he recalls. “I started DJing at 12, bought my first drum machine at 15, and the rest is history.”

The Miami music community was strong and diverse with a variety of movements cross pollinating at the same time. “As one of the centres of the Disco era, the residuals of that time continued to influence anyone who grew up there in the ‘80s, so things like synthesizers, nightclubs, and DJ culture,” Casey explains. “Disco turned to House Music, Hip Hop morphed into Miami Bass and Electro, and it all cross pollinated with the percussion of Miami’s heavy Latin influence.”

Read the interview here

Miami Bass and Rap heavily inspires Casey’s productions. “If an 808 drum machine was involved it caught my attention,” he says. “Early Rick Rubin productions, Mr. Mixx from the 2 Live Crew, and DJ Magic Mike set my foundation, and this was supplemented by early Acid House and House Music. Again, Miami was an epicentre for 808 music and an incubator for House Music globally."

Platypus attack exploited incorrect ordering of code, auditor claimsThe misordered lines caused a solvency check to be performed before the user’s amount, factor, and rewardDebt had been set to zero

CCC Will Present Webinar "Building An Artist's Team"On Feb. 21st, 2:30 - 3:30 PST, the California Copyright Conference will present a panel that features opinions from managers, artists, lawyers, booking agents, and more. Get your notepad ready for an exciting rundown of what locking down a new musical artist’s foundational teammates look like from multiple perspectives. If you’ve been scratching your brain on how to break through the TikTok algorithm, asking yourself if you’re ready for a manager, if you are wanting to become a manager and wondering how to find great talent to work with, perplexed on how new artists are booked on large tours/festival runs, and wanting some opinions on where the music industry is headed from some ‘new on the scene’ heavy industry hitters, this one is for you! Moderator: Taylor Le | Artist/Songwriter Panelists: Stevie Comanche | Manager at RAW Material Adam LaRue | Manager/CEO, LaRue Music/Artist Consultant MILES | Artist/SongwriterErin Workman | EVP Department Head & Faculty, Songwriting & Music Business, Los Angeles College of Music/A&R Consultant/Songwriter Advance Registration: CCC Members $0 per person | Non-members $5 per person– No refunds –Stick around for the "after hour, happy hour" chat following the webinar! Catch up and network with the CCC community from thecomfort of your own couch!This webinar is sponsored by Attention Attorneys: This virtual activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education Credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of one (1) hour. Following this virtual webinar, we will verify your attendance via Zoom reporting and email your certificate of attendance to the email provided at registration.

Please register for this webinar by1:30pm PST on Tuesday, February 21st, 2023

CCC MEMBER & NON-MEMBER REGISTRATION

FTC’s new Office of Technology will help mop up tech ‘oozing with snake oil’The FTC is embracing change with the establishment of an Office of Technology (OT) that will help it effectively regulate the fast-moving tech world. Citing “systemic concerns” relating to tech and its potential for fraud and abuse, the FTC’s new division will ensure the agency doesn’t get left in the dust by tech-savvy scammers.
Because the FTC is a wide-ranging agency, it is something of a generalist, and when a case requires specialist knowledge, it can bring in outside experts. You definitely want a few good finance people, but do you need a full-timer just for, say, logging regulations? Probably not, but at some point a problem or industry may become prominent enough to warrant a serious and permanent dedication of resources.
That is the case being described today with issues arising in the tech world, against which of course FTC chair Lina Khan has personally inveighed. Whether it’s antitrust or consumer protection, or just telling influencers they need to declare that post is sponsored, the tech world is a large and diverse setting for bad behavior and regulation.
The announcement of the OT fell to the agency’s CTO, Stephanie Nguyen. Providing as historical context the response to scammy ads propagating at unprecedented speed over radio back when that was new, she says that while the challenges of tech are new, the “systemic concerns” they present are familiar:
The common thread is that some technologies can facilitate substantial injury to consumers, are misleading, or may negatively affect competitive conditions. From the rise of the surveillance economy, to companies’ widespread application of artificial intelligence, to business models that employ tech to disrupt markets, the shift in the pace and volume of technological changes means that more FTC matters need team members with tech expertise.
The Office of Technology’s top priority is to work with staff and leadership across the agency to strengthen and support the agency on enforcement investigations and litigated cases. This could mean dissecting claims made about an AI-powered product to assess whether the offering is oozing with snake oil, or whether automated decision systems for teacher evaluations adversely impact employment decisions and make inferences that impact compensation and tenure. We will also keep a finger on the pulse of business model change, like shifts in digital advertising ecosystems, to help the FTC understand the implications on privacy, competition, and consumer protection. We’re working with attorneys and data scientists to decipher the collection and sale of location data and how that data may harm consumers, and to understand the opaque algorithms making decisions affecting millions of consumers.
Naming each of these potential violators tells those businesses to watch out. It may be fashionable to say your HR productivity tool is AI-powered, but if you can’t show that it is safe and effective, the FTC may be knocking on your (virtual) door soon.

Amazon betrays its fear with petition to sideline FTC Chair and antitrust hawk Lina Khan

To be clear, it’s not like the FTC has just let tech run wild for the last decade. In fact, there are already several tech-focused departments, like the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. But it must have been clear enough to FTC leadership that they needed a larger, more centralized effort to stay abreast of trends and be more proactive about guidelines and enforcement.
They’re hiring, so if you’re a tech worker thinking of getting out of the rat race and into a comparatively sedate (in some ways) federal job, take a gander.
FTC’s new Office of Technology will help mop up tech ‘oozing with snake oil’ by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

AES source separation webinar CEDAR Audio founder Gordon Reid will be delivering an AES lecture on the uses of source separation technology.  

From Snoop Dogg and Death Row’s TikTok exclusive to Hipgnosis’ investment in Timbaland’s Beatclub… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpOur biggest stories of the week, brought to you in association with Centtrip
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Revealed Recordings Revealed Spire Arps Vol. 5 Revealed Spire Arps Vol. 5 is a collection of 64 presets carefully crafted to melodically fill in gaps and bring new life into your music. You'll find a diverse selection of... Read More

How to use ChatGPT to create Social Media posts and save 100s of hoursOur friend Ariel Hyatt of Cyber PR Music, has a new resource for all musicians who have been unsure about what to do with all the hype around ChatGPT. In this article,. Continue reading
The post How to use ChatGPT to create Social Media posts and save 100s of hours appeared first on Hypebot.

SkyNet Is A FREE Reverb Plugin Based On A Guitar Pedal
Shift Line offers SkyNet, a FREE reverb plugin for macOS and Windows. SkyNet is a reverb plugin based on algorithms of the same name (SkyNet-1/Skynet-2) from the Astronaut Space Reverb pedal. Shift Line has released the plugin on a pay-what-you-want basis, so anyone who wants to contribute something can do. SkyNet isn’t a subtle reverb, [...]
View post: SkyNet Is A FREE Reverb Plugin Based On A Guitar Pedal