Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Research into YouTube’s music industry influence: YouTube has commissioned a study from RBB Economics into how its platform impacts the use of other music services and potentially stems piracy. The survey reached out to users in Germany, France, Italy, and the UK asking about their music consumption habits. One of the big takeaways was that if music videos were no longer available on YouTube, 85% of time currently spent listening to music videos on that service would be lost completely or shifted to lower or similar value channels such as TV, AM/FM radio, and Internet radio.
Apple launches Giphy channel: Apple has launched its own channel on Giphy. So far, the gif outlet is being used to advertise Apple Music’s streaming content. As of this posting, there are 85 looping animations pulled from Apple Music’s original and exclusive content.
NPR interview on corporate sponsorships: NPR remains one of the dominant forces in podcasts, and it has secured sponsorships from some major companies for its shows. The broadcaster has reported 100 clients that will be renewing this year. Bryan Moffett, chief operating officer of NPR subsidiary NPM, gave an interview about how the institution manages corporate sponsorships. “Podcasting is moving from what I would call a leisure activity to a place where you’ve got things like Up First and The Daily, because it’s a habit every day that you go to,” he said.
MP3s are dead. For real. The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, the research institution that bankrolled development of the MP3, recently announced that it has terminated the ”licensing program for certain mp3 related patents and software of Technicolor and Fraunhofer IIS.” Dr. Berhard Grill, director of Fraunhofer IIS, said that the AAC format has become the “de-facto standard for music download and videos on mobile phones,” calling it “more efficient” than MP3s.