Tech
Inside Track: Where Does Music’s Love Affair With Gaming Go?
Yes, you read that correctly. It’s not news that the music business wants in on that money. For years there have been collaborations across industries, including soundtracks for games like Grand Theft Auto IV way back in 2008 and ongoing partnerships spanning well over a decade to provide music for sports franchises like Madden and NBA 2K. But over the past two years, that relationship has rapidly expanded, reaching a fever pitch during the pandemic when gaming, in general, exploded around the world as people were confined to their homes and artists looked for new revenue streams (think Travis Scott partnering with Fortnite and Lil Nas X working with Roblox). Now many are wondering where this leads next. For rights holders, lawsuits are shifting to cooperation, most recently with the NMPA ...
HHW Gaming: ‘Kingdom Heart’s Sora The Final ‘Super Smash Bros.’ DLC Character, Gamers Raise Keyblades In Excitement
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: Chesnot / Getty During Nintendo’s last direct presentation, the company promised it would reveal the final DLC fighter was coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate later. Tuesday (Oct.5), that promise was kept by Nintendo, and gamers are very pleased. During a special presentation solely dedicated to the Nintendo Switch brawler, Director Masahiro Sakurai revealed the next challenger joining the fight is none other than Sora of Kingdom Hearts fame. Sora is a skilled airborne fighter that is also nimble, but at the same time, is “very light” and can be launched quickly by competitors. His skills include fire, lightning, ice magic attacks, and a vertical spiral move that some players will compare to Link’s similar spin attack. [embedded content] Before the...
Facebook & Its Family of Apps Suffer Massive Service Outage, Hilarity Ensues On Twitter
HipHopWired Featured Video CLOSE Source: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / Getty The world found out what life would be like if Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp didn’t exist for a few hours. Monday (Oct.4), social media was a spooky place for people who spend most of their time on Facebook and its family of apps it acquired. Ironically, right after a whistleblower revealed how shady the social media giant is when it comes to capitalizing off its user’s mental health during an episode of 60 Minutes on Sunday (Oct.3), the service came crashing down on Monday. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were useless for about five hours and revealed how attached people have grown to these apps. Businesses, politicians, and everyday people felt the sting of the planetary outage due to the company built by Mark Zuck...
Pandora Is Shutting Down Next Big Sound
The post characterizes the platform’s closure as “the final step of a multi-year transition,” adding that the Next Big Sound team “is excited to focus on improving and expanding” Pandora’s Artist Marketing Platform (AMP), which provides artists with streaming data around their music on the service. The AMP tools have been a focus for Next Big Sound since shortly after Pandora’s acquisition of the company in 2015. Moving forward, AMP will continue sharing Pandora streaming data with Next Big Sound partners including Billboard, MRC Data and Chartmetric. Next Big Sound adds it is working to ensure that the integration process “is as seamless as possible for all of our users and partners,” noting that full track-level reporting is already available in Pandora’s AMP dashboard. That said, ...
The Sneaker Game: RARES App Founder Gerome Sapp
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: handout / RARES Sneakers are big money, and investing in them is a no-brainer, now. Gerome Sapp, a former NFL player and the Founder & CEO of RARES, introduced a new app that allows users to literally invest in kicks, but convincing venture capitalists of the money in the sneaker game was practically a non-starter. Despite a degree in Finance from Notre Dame (and an MBA from Harvard Business School), a keen insight into the viability of sneakers as an asset class, and a dedication inherent in anyone who can carve out a career as a pro-athlete, Sapp had to pull up stakes and go for self. “Finally, I was just like, ‘these people aren’t even my demographic’,” recalls Sapp of getting the cold shoulder from venture capitalists. “They don’t understand sneak...
HHW Gaming: Head of Xbox Says Xbox Series X Jig Will Last Well Into 2022
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz83 We hate to break this news to you gamers, but the struggle to get your hands on Xbox Series X isn’t coming to an end any time soon. In an interview with The Wrap, Xbox chief Phil Spencer shared the bad news that Xbox Series X shortages will continue throughout 2021 and well into 2022 because of current supply chain issues that are not only due to the ongoing chip shortage. “I think it’s probably too isolated to talk about it as just a chip problem,” Spencer said. “When I think about, what does it mean to get the parts necessary to build a console today, and then get it to the markets where the demand is, there are multiple kind of pinch points in that process. And I think regretfully it’s going to be with us for months an...
HHW Gaming Review: ‘NBA 2K22’ Is A Solid Entry In The Annual Franchise, Still Far From Championship Form
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Visual Concepts / NBA 2K22 (PS5) Last year Visual Concepts and 2K took a euro-step in the right direction with NBA 2K’s first entry in the world of next-gen gaming. Can they keep the momentum going with NBA 2K22? The answer to that question is yes and no. Allow us to explain. It’s a new year, and before the real NBA returns, we get to hoop virtually via NBA 2K22. Our review of NBA 2K21 said the game LOOKED and FELT terrific to play, but it still wasn’t a slam dunk, yet still an enjoyable experience despite its flaws. NBA 2K22 takes what was good with the previous iteration of the annual sports video game franchise and improves on that slightly. Quickly, players will notice that the presentation (always on point) is still second to none, and the gameplay h...
Warner Music Becomes Twitch’s First Major-Label Partner
Warner Music Group (WMG) is the first major recording company to partner with Twitch in a deal that will bring WMG artist channels, original music programming and more to the livestreaming platform. To start, WMG is launching artist channels for Warner Records stars Bella Poarch and Saweetie, plus Atlantic Records singer and producer Sueco, where they’ll share exclusive and behind-the-scenes content. Additionally, social media-focused digital media company IMGN — which WMG acquired last year — will produce a slate of original shows like “The Drop,” to discuss music news; “Freestyle Throwdown,” where rappers freestyle based on topics chosen by the audience; and “The One,” where guest artists perform the songs that influenced them. “...
High Fashion Meets Luxury Tech With Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4 Classic Thom Browne Edition
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Samsung / Galaxy Watch4 Classic Thom Browne Edition If you wanted to get your hands on Thom Browne Edition Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch without buying an entire kit Samsung is FINALLY giving you that opportunity. Samsung and famed American fashion designer Thom Browne are linking up once again for a limited standalone edition of its new Galaxy Watch4 Classic. This limited innovative timepiece marks the first time Samsung will offer a solo watch outside of its previous and current limited edition collections. The new Galaxy Watch4 Classic Thom Browne Edition sets itself apart from other versions of Samsung’s latest smartwatch due to the fact it’s crafted with rare, premium rhodium plating, a first for the tech giant. Source: Samsung / Galaxy Watch4 Classic T...
Microsoft’s Unveils New Surface Laptop Studio Plus Eveything Else Announced During Its Surface Event
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Microsoft / Microsoft Surface Event Apple and Samsung have been the talk of the tech world, but Microsoft said, wait a minute, we got some things to show y’all. Wednesday (Sep.22), Microsoft had plenty to show off to tech enthusiasts during its Microsoft Surface event. As expected, the tech giant revealed a new Surface Pro 8, Surface Duo 2, now equipped with a camera plus some other cool features, and even a NEW weird but still cool as hell flagship laptop and much more. So let’s get into it. Surface Go 3 Source: Microsoft / Surface Go 3 The Surface Go3 is Microsoft’s low-end Surface model aimed at those who don’t want to break the bank for one of Microsoft’s fancy tablets. Brand new Intel processors power this new model to give it a bit of a booth....
Apple Announces COVID-19 Vaccination Cards Are Coming To Apple Wallet App
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Apple / Verifiable health records updates As the world continues to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines are required to return to normal activities, Apple is introducing a new tool to make life easier for iPhone users. Tuesday (Sep.21), Apple announced it would add COVID-19 vaccination passes, driver licenses, and digital keys will be added to the iPhone’s Apple Wallet app. This new feature arrives as one of the many new tools rolled out with its latest iOS 15 software update that is now live on iPhone smartphones. According to Apple iPhone, users can also share COVID-19 vaccinations and test results through the Health app allowing users to share that information through approved third-party apps with companies requiring they provide ...
Snoop Dogg, Crypto Expert? Rapper Claims to Run Popular NFT Twitter Account
“Shortly, as promised, I will dox from my personal account,” the tweet from @CozomoMedici read. “As my fame is considerable, the tweet will no doubt be discovered. Those who are curious to know my identity will soon know it.” The owner of the @CozomoMedici account, which is only about a month old, had been promising to reveal themselves for several days before Snoop posted his tweet on Monday. It even ran a poll inviting followers to guess the owner’s identity, though interestingly, Snoop Dogg wasn’t one of the options listed. Since launching in August, the account — named after famed Italian banker and patron of the arts Cosimo de’ Medici, whose portrait is prominently featured in @CozomoMedici’s background photo — had garnered significant interest due to its owner’s well-docu...
