Music + Tech Round-Up – Jan 31 2014
MUSIC AND TECH ROUND-UP
Friday is upon us, but it’s not hometime yet! While you’re waiting for that clock to move why not check out the best of this week’s Music + Tech news:
Shazam Use Peaks At Grammys
Our partners over at Shazam had their biggest night ever this week during the Grammys with it’s 10 million users Shazaming over a million times throughout the show, generating 54, 000 music purchases- now that is incredible! The top 5 most purchased songs were:
- John Legend – All of Me
- Kacey Musgraves – Follow Your Arrow
- Taylor Swift – All Too Well
- Daft Punk – Get Lucky
- Hunter Hayes – Invisible
Well done Shazam!
Amazon Releasing New Hardware
Amazon is launching new hardware to be at the centre of the living room. The device will allow users to stream and download music, as well as video games, films and other media and will connect to your TV. Amazon plans to use a similar strategy to the Kindle Fire by pricing it under $300 to take on higher-end competition. We see this as a big year for movements around connected living rooms by all the major players. Google and Apple already have their devices in the market and we work with a number of partners who are innovating around connected speaker systems in the home. There is also undeniable buzz around gaming consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One being the major center for media in the home. What does the Amazon device user look like as compared to some of these other systems? We will be interested to see their product features as more information on this is released.
Google Sells Motorola To Lenovo
Tech giant Google has sold Motorola to Lenovo for $2.9bn, despite shelling out $12.5bn for the smartphone manufacturer just 2 years ago. It was Google’s largest acquisition, and although it was partially done with the intention to get their hands on Motorola’s patents, Larry Page wrote that it “helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices”. The smartphone market is so competitive, but what are Lenovo’s real plans for Motorola and can they pull it off?
Music Hackathon Championship
SXSW has announced their first Music Hackathon championship which will take place over 24 hours on the 12th-13th March. Participants will include invited winners of previous worldwide music hackathons, experts from cutting-edge music tech companies, and hackers from the public at large. The aim is to develop a game-changing idea for music consumers, music artists, or even the music industry!
We can’t wait to see what the hackers come up with!
Interested? RSVP here, but be aware that RSVPing does not guarantee involvement. Every hacker will be reviewed and contacted.
Smarter Smartphones
We love our smartphones here at 7digital, but what if our smartphones were even smarter? Mashable have put together a funny little selection of even smarter smartphones! Head over and check them out!