Jottings of note:
The How of Change
In the stream of new articles on NPR’s news website, we see two new posts which address historical changes to the music industry. The first, How the pandemic changed music, makes this double assertion: “First, it made clear just how easy our access to music is now — it is truly a nearly infinite jukebox. And second, it proved that effortless access to the glorious archive of recorded music could not compensate for the absence of people creating music in our lives.” That premise is followed with five essays by NPR reporters. They cover disruption to the music touring industry, the album release cycle, how “pademic” became an emotion, the influence of DJ’s producers, and rappers, and how mourning replaced gathering. It is probably the weightiest thought piece you’ll encounter this week.
Alexa, Whither My Privacy?
Amazon’s voice-controlled Alexa devices, originally pitched as privacy-protected home equipment, will soon reverse that promise. Starting on March 28, all commands and conversations will be sent to Amazon’s cloud. The existing setting which prevents that will be discontinued for new users, and reversed for existing users. Amazon reportedly sent the notification to users who had set the privacy feaure on heir devices. Those notices were sent on Friday (Jan. 14) The change precedes and anticipates the rollout of Aexa+, a generative AI version of the smart speaker.
Time
J.D.Crowley, Digital Officer and President, Podcast & Streaming at audio giant Audacy, announces this: “after 8 incredible years building our digital and podcast businesses alongside so many talented Audacy teammates, it is time for me to move on to my next chapter.” His departure comes six weeks after Audacy completed bankruptcy, and shortly after that laid off 300 employees. // And we also see that Digital Sales Manager Yvonne Lacey has announced the elimination of her role.
Monday, March 17
