Music Biz Monday: Introducing Localify, Qobuz Ditches MP3s for Good, + more

Every Monday, we’re sharing the latest news and information for the music industry and technology worldwide.

Get your learn on and stay in the know with Symphonic’s Music Biz Monday!

Hi-Res Audio Platform Qobuz Ditches MP3s for Good — “MP3 Is Really Bad for Music, Artists, and Listeners”

The format that started it all is now getting ditched by hi-res platform Qobuz. The move is part of a broader streamlining of the service.

In audiophile-speak, two terms often pop up: ‘lossless’ and ‘lossy,’ with the latter being the inferior, compromised version of the former.

The MP3 format, which emerged as a revolutionary codec for compressing audio files while retaining relatively high levels of fidelity, thrived in a digital world constrained by bandwidth, storage, and buffering problems. But among audiophile geeks, the lossy MP3 is now the 2-Buck-Chuck of formats.

But among audiophile geeks, the lossy MP3 is the 2-Buck-Chuck of formats.

No longer. Now, hi-res audio platform Qobuz is doing away with the lowly format entirely.

\\ Read more on Digital Music News //

Introducing Localify, A Local Music Discovery Platform

Ithaca College professor Doug Turnbull outlines the motivation and machinations behind Localify.org, the Spotify linked platform created by his students that helps listeners discover amazing music right in their backyard.

\\ Read more on Hypebot //

THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SHOULDN’T KID ITSELF: PIRACY WAS NEVER KILLED BY STREAMING… BUT IT MIGHT BE MORE VALUABLE THAN YOU THINK.

The following MBW blog comes from Andy Chatterley, the CEO of UK-based MUSO, which monitors copyright piracy worldwide. In addition, MUSO assists clients with protecting releases from infringement, while also helping them use piracy-related data to boost their businesses. Here, Chatterley (pictured) presents some eyebrow-raising stats about copyright infringement in the post-Spotify era – and suggests that sections of the music industry might be missing out on the advantages such consumption could provide…

\\ Read more on Music Business Worldwide //

Inside TikTok: A culture clash where U.S. views about censorship often were overridden by the Chinese bosses

The wildly popular short-video app TikTok has become one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms, known for its quirky memes and viral singalongs. But its happy-go-lucky rise was largely shaped by its Beijing-based parent company, which imposed strict rules on what could appear on the app in keeping with China’s restrictive view of acceptable speech.

\\ Read more on The Washington Post //

Can AI Own IP? U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Opens Inquiry into Artificial Intelligence

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is asking the public for input on whether computers, in the form of artificial intelligence (AI), can create something that could be copyrighted and whether it could infringe on the copyrights of others.

Artificial intelligence can mean a lot of different things. It can mean anything from advanced algorithms that allow computers to process information in an intelligent manner to systems that attempt to mimic human thought.

In recent years, these latter systems have developed to the extent that they could possibly fool a human into thinking that she was communicating with an actual person, which has long been the standard of determining whether a computer system has achieved intelligence. But could these same systems one day actually create intellectual property?

\\ Read more on Digital Music News //