Biometrics, Playlist Tools & Spotlight on Nigerian Music.

Happy Friday SongsBrewers!

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Music Meets Biometrics

A pioneer in biometric tech announced a partnership with “one of the world’s leading digital music streaming services” on September 30th.

Zwipe, who specialize in ID, access solutions, and payments, made the announcement.  

Two key points make this incredibly interesting. The first is: Which streaming service is it? The second is the potential uses of biometrics elsewhere in the music streaming industry. 

Logically, with Zwipe being a Nordic company listed on the stock exchange in Oslo and Stockholm, Spotify with Swedish roots, makes the most sense. According to the press release, the “leading music streaming service” will use the technology to increase security on its premises.  

Spotify has locations in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Copenhagen, making this partnership seem likely.  

Zwipe will be used for building access; however, we might see the tech used elsewhere in the industry in the future. 

We should also remember that if it were Spotify, this wouldn't be its first foray into biometrics. Four hundred twenty-six free-tier Spotify users voluntarily wore electrodermal sensors on their palms any time they listened to audio content over the span of 40 days. 

In this 2023 study, they worked with the biometric company MindProber. According to the study, Sonic Science Volume 2, it was the first of its kind.  

22,170 hours of streaming audio, 285,136 audio content examples (music and podcast episodes), and 85,210 ads (mock and real) were delivered.  

While the report was designed for potential advertisers, it makes interesting reading and illustrates how biometrics could become a more significant part of music streaming.  

Is there a potential for biometrics to further improve the personalized experiences that we get from music streaming services? Would you wear a device to help get your music listening experience fine-tuned?

Tesla to Tune Out Spotify? 

The free ride on Spotify Premium is ending soon. As of December 1st, 2024, Tesla will officially discontinue its free Spotify Premium for select regions. If you've been enjoying ad-free music and unlimited skips with Spotify on your drives, it’s time to prepare for a change.

What’s changing?
Tesla’s Premium Connectivity package has long included Spotify Premium for in-car use. Unlike other streaming subscriptions, you don’t receive login credentials for other devices - so it is available in the vehicle only. Starting in December, this perk will be removed for drivers in Europe and Australia.

This move mirrors what happened in North America when Tesla switched from Slacker Radio to LiveOne in 2021 ​​(Tesla Updates).

What’s next for Tesla drivers?
If you want to keep using Spotify or LiveOne, you’ll need to set up your own subscription. The good news is that Tesla also supports other streaming platforms like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music, so you’ll still have plenty of options to listen to music on your drive.

3 Tools for Playlist Curators 

FreeYourMusic  

Maximize the listening potential across multiple streaming services using their sync feature. 

Spotify has the largest listener base, but Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music have millions of users - it is time to reach them. The app allows you to copy your original playlists and keep them synced. When you add new music to the ‘master’ playlist, it will automatically be added to the corresponding playlists on other streaming services—fast and efficient playlist management.  

Playlist Push  

Playlist Push is a hub for playlist creators and is used by over 25,000 independent and major labels to promote music. Playlist curators can earn money through placements; artists and labels see increased streaming numbers.  

You can get started with the curator program if you have over 1000 genuine followers on Spotify. Or, for artists, you can sign up for their promo tools.  

Sort Your Music 

Sort Your Music is an excellent tool for those who are just starting to curate playlists. It works with Spotify and helps you arrange your playlists in thematic order. You can use filters like energy, loudness, and valence to give listeners a smooth experience.

Having playlists that have a strong theme will attract listeners and earn the followers you need to get started with a curator program.  

Want to try something new? You can now get FreeYourMusic and dozen more apps for your iPhone with cost-effective subscription.

Get high-quality iOS apps at an alternative marketplace, Setapp Mobile (EU only!) Try for free for 7 days!

Spotlight on Nigerian Music.

Nigeria recently celebrated its 64th Independence, and with it, Apple Music released its Top 10 Nigerian Songs of All Time. Tems, Rema, and Burna Boy made the list multiple times. A couple of tracks went viral through TikTok—"Calm Down" by Rema was huge, sitting in the top 10 twice, once alone and once with Selena Gomez.  

Arya Starr scored a Grammy nomination for "Rush" in the Best African Music Performance category.

Here is the list:

1. ‘Calm Down’ – Rema ft Selena Gomez
2. ‘Last Last’ – Burna Boy
3. ‘Essence’ – Wizkid feat. Tems
4. ‘Free Mind’ – Tems
5. ‘Ye’ – Burna Boy
6. ‘Location’ – Dave feat. Burna Boy
7. ‘Calm Down’ – Rema
8. ‘Rush’ – Ayra Starr
9. ‘On the Low’ – Burna Boy
10. Come Closer’ – Wizkid feat. Drake (Source: MyJoyOnline)

What makes Nigerian music unique (and long overdue for a big global pop) is its seamless blend of Jazz, Highlife, Reggae, Afrobeats, and regional sounds. Genre-blending is something we don’t see to this extent often; the music transcends borders while maintaining tradition and history. Making it one of the richest listening experinces. 

The Highlife genre, Fuji, and Igbo Pop saw huge growth in 2023. Luminate Data reported that Afrobeats saw a 34% increase of streams in the US between H1 2022 and H1 2023.  

With "Calm Down" dominating the Shazam charts globally, Ckay’s "Love Nwantiti" going eight-times platinum, and the first Nigerian song hitting the billion streams club on Spotify, all the data points to Nigerian music seeing significant growth in the next two years.    

AirPods For Hearing Health? 

This is massive news for Apple lovers. The latest AirPods 4 has been released, offering the most advanced and comfortable headphones Apple has ever created. 

As of September 20^th, 2024, Apple customers can choose between two new models, AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). Both offer long-lasting battery life and noticeably improved sound quality. 

“With AirPods 4, customers can enjoy Active Noise Cancellation and the most advanced audio experience ever in an open-ear design,”

Said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.

Pretty cool, but wait, there's more.

John continues: 

“And with a revolutionary update to the world’s best-selling headphones, AirPods Pro will deliver groundbreaking new capabilities — including Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features — to help more than a billion people affected by hearing loss.” 

The company’s AirPods 2 Pro, released in September 2023, has an impressive update on the way. With around 1.5 billion living with hearing loss, Apple’s new features could completely change their listening experience. (WHO) 

They’re not just your run-of-the-mill wireless earbuds anymore. The new features are designed to help tackle challenges that those with hearing loss may face. 

One of the most impressive features included in the update is hearing protection. It reduces loud, harsh, and disruptive noises for users. This means you can still safely listen to music while drowning out annoying and potentially harmful sounds. 

What’s more, while all external sounds are tuned out for you, the quality of your listening is wholly preserved. 

Users can take a quick test using their iPhone or iPad. Once completed, a personalized hearing profile will be stored in the Health app, making it easy for users to pull up the data to track their hearing health. 

The AirPods Pro 2 update also includes hearing aid features. Once the user has a personalized hearing profile, the earbuds can automatically adjust sound in real-time. An interesting step forward in accessibility when combined with iOS18 Music Haptics. (The feature can be turned on in the Settings app under Accessibility → Music Haptics).

Let us know in the comments if you got it right. ⬇️

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