Spotify has reportedly pulled tens of thousands of tracks from generative AI company Boomy. It's said to have removed seven percent of the songs created by the startup's systems, which underscores the swift proliferation of AI-generated content on music streaming platforms.

Universal Music reportedly told Spotify and other major services that it detected suspicious streaming activity on Boomy's songs. In other words, there were suspicions that bots were being used to boost listener figures and generate ill-gotten revenue for uploaders. Spotify pays royalties to artists and rights holders on a per-listen basis.

“Artificial streaming is a longstanding, industry-wide issue that Spotify is working to stamp out across our service,” Spotify, which confirmed that it had taken down some Boomy tracks, told Insider. "When we identify or are alerted to potential cases of stream manipulation, we mitigate their impact by taking action that may include the removal of streaming numbers and the withholding of royalties. This allows us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists."

Universal Music's chief digital officer Michael Nash told the Financial Times, which first reported on Spotify removing Boomy's tracks, that his company is "always encouraged when we see our partners exercise vigilance around the monitoring or activity on their platforms."

AI-generated music hit the headlines last month after a song that appeared to include vocals from Drake and The Weeknd went viral. Universal Music Group, which represents both artists, claimed that using the duo's voices to train generative AI systems constituted “a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law." Both Spotify and Apple Music removed the song from their libraries.

Music industry figures have been sounding the alarm bells about the overarching impact of AI-generated tracks, as well as people using bots to drive up listener figures and siphon money out of the kitties that streaming services use to pay royalties.

Boomy, which opened its doors in 2021, enables people to generate songs based on text inputs. Over the weekend, the company said that "curated delivery to Spotify of new releases by Boomy artists has been re-enabled."

Boomy says its users "have created 14,554,448 songs" or just under 14 percent of "the world's recorded music." Its website states that users can create original songs in seconds, then upload them "to streaming platforms and get paid when people listen."

Your first apartment after graduation is probably not your forever home, but you can make it something you’re proud of with gadgets that do your bidding. You can automate your lights, keep an eye on your pets and clean up your floors more efficiently with relatively affordable devices that won’t eat up too much of your paycheck. We’ve tried out a lot of smart home tech over the years and here’s what we recommend for newbies and those with tight budgets.

Echo Show 5

Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is a diminutive smart display often marketed as a bedside alarm clock, but it works equally well in small kitchens. You can play music, watch shows, check the news and weather and make video calls. Plus, with Alexa’s help, you can do all of that hands-free. But more importantly, the Show 5 can act as a smart dashboard of sorts, from which you can control connected devices and see feeds from security cameras. The Show 5 also acts as a digital photo frame when not in use and the built-in camera has a physical shutter for your privacy.

Blink Mini

If you’ve got pets or just want extra peace of mind when you’re away, you might want to get an indoor security camera. Amazon’s Blink Mini cameras are some of the most affordable options around and they easily sync with other Alexa-enabled devices. They can deliver video feeds to your smartphone, Echo Show, Fire TV or any compatible screen, and they’ll send you an alert when their motion sensor detects disturbances. You can hear and talk to whoever’s in the room via the built-in mic and speakers as well – handy for telling your dog to get off the couch.

Roku Streaming Stick 4K

Roku’s Streaming Stick 4K turns any screen with an HDMI port into a smart TV for under $50. Our commerce writer, Nicole Lee, likes Roku’s straightforward interface and the fact that it supports universal search so you can find out which service a given show is playing on. Unlike some streaming sticks, Roku works with all the major voice assistants: Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa. You can even control your TV by saying “hey Roku” to the included remote or through the Roku app. The same app turns your phone into a second remote and enables private listening through your headphones as well. The 4K dongle is made for high-resolution screens, but if you don’t have a 4K TV and want to save more money, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick Lite is our favorite budget option.

Kasa Smart Bulbs

Connected bulbs might be the easiest way to turn your analog home into a “smart” one. A single smart light can ensure you never walk into a dark apartment again. You can set schedules for your daily routines or make it look like you’re home when you’re not. Being able to turn things off with just your voice or via an app can save you from getting out of bed when you’re ready to crash. Our senior commerce editor, Valentina Palladino tested a number of bulbs for our guide and thinks TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Bulbs give you the best value. Installation will be easy, even for those new to smart devices, thanks to Kasa’s clean and simple app. It’s worth noting that voice control is only available with Alexa or the Google Assistant; Siri is unfortunately incompatible.

Wyze Smart Plug

Like smart lights, smart plugs are affordable gadgets that can help you automate simple tasks around your home. You could program a fan to turn on before you get home from work or run a humidifier just before bed. If you have a basic on/off coffee maker, you can fill it with water and grounds the night before and wake up to a fresh pot of joe. Commerce writer Nicole picked Wyze’s Smart Plug for our smart home guide because it’s cheap, has an easy-to-use app and doesn’t hog the other outlet thanks to its thin profile.

iRobot Roomba 694

Senior commerce editor Valentina has tested more than a dozen robot vacuums and recommends iRobot’s Roomba 694 to anyone looking to keep their floors clean without spending too much money (or time). The company’s companion app is simple and probably the 694’s biggest selling point, guiding you through installation and programming. The vacuum can handle hard floors and carpet, and it runs for about 45 minutes on a charge, which should be enough for most smaller apartments. You’ll have to help it out when it gets snagged on a cable and empty the bin when it's full, but other than that, it’s a fairly hands-off way to get cleaner floors.

Govee M1 RGBIC smart light strip

Nobody’s knocking Christmas lights as decor, but strip lights are a slightly classier way to add flair to your space. You can use them to light up bookcases, create ambiance for your streaming setup or turn your bedroom into a color-coordinated haven. Govee makes many different smart LED strips, but the one senior commerce editor Valentina recommends in our guide is the M1 RGBIC. She was impressed by the light's brightness and wide spectrum of available hues. You can control different segments independently and the app has an “effects lab” that offers pre-programed lighting presets like sunsets, starry nights and movie-themed color palettes.

Sonos Roam

The Sonos Roam is both a smart and portable speaker, packing a decent amount of utility into a $180 package. While not the cheapest around, it’s relatively low-cost for Sonos, a brand known for quality audio. The Roam will play whichever music service you prefer, delivering clear highs and impressive bass for its size. Alexa is built in and you can access the Google Assistant too, which means you can use the speaker to order around your compatible smart home devices. And when it’s time to relax, you can ask Roam to play just about any song you can think of.

TP-Link AC1200 RE315 WiFi extender

Thick walls, weird layouts and other factors can make home WiFi reception spotty. If you’re experiencing dead zones in your apartment, a WiFi extender might help. TP-Link’s AC1200 RE315 is our favorite budget pick: it covers 1,500 square feet and delivers speeds of up to 1,200Mbps – plenty fast for streaming and working from home. It also has a built-in Ethernet port, which should provide an even more reliable connection to essential tech like your TV or game console.

Instant Pot Duo (3-quart)

Cooking for yourself is one of the bigger adjustments of adulting – it certainly was for me. Luckily a big batch of beans and rice can keep most humans alive for much longer than you’d think. The Instant Pot Duo cooks beans without soaking and makes fluffy rice; add a jar of salsa and you have a fairly well-rounded meal. Of course, it can cook more elaborate stuff too: search for Instant Pot recipes and you’ll get a lifetime’s worth of ideas. We recommend a larger version in our guide to kitchen gadgets, but this three-quart model is both more affordable and a better size for just one or two people.

Aria Air smart scale

Smart scales offer a more comprehensive view on your overall health, by presenting information like your body mass index and trends over time instead of just your weight. Our top budget pick is Fitbit’s Aria Air. It’s not as advanced as other options out there, but it tracks weight changes and gives you BMI metrics based on profile information. For $50, it's a good entry-level scale that syncs nicely with an app that our senior editor, Daniel Cooper, says is very polished.

The Apple Watch has effectively used the same processor since the S6 inside 2020's Series 6, but it's apparently poised for a long-due upgrade. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tells subscribers in his newsletter Discord channel that Apple Watch Series 9 will reportedly use a truly "new processor." He believes the CPU in the S9 system-on-chip will be based on the A15 chip that first appeared in the iPhone 13 family.

Apple has upgraded the SoC hardware in Watch models following Series 6, but the revisions have added functionality rather than CPU improvements. The S8 chip in Series 8, Ultra and current-gen SE watches includes an updated accelerometer and gyroscope, for instance. Apart from that, it's largely identical to the S6.

While most details remain a mystery, there are some likely improvements. The S8 is still built using an old 7-nanometer manufacturing process, while an S9 is more likely to be made on a denser and more efficient 5nm or 4nm process. That could not only boost performance, but extend battery life. Apple has historically introduced new Apple Watches in September. 

Apple Watch Series 9 is otherwise believed to be an iterative update. Gurman previously suggested there will be no major design or feature changes. You may get the Bluetooth 5.3 support that came with the Ultra, but there might not be much incentive to upgrade if you already have a Series 7 or newer. For owners of older models, however, a speedier processor may help justify an upgrade on top of all the refinements from recent years.

Fall Guys is getting a shot in the arm this week with the introduction of the long-awaited level creator, which players can use to build their own levels (known as rounds). Before season four goes live on May 10th, I had the chance to tinker around with the creative mode on a PC preview build. The mode will be available on all platforms. It's a fairly robust toolkit that Mediatonic plans to build out significantly in the coming years. 

For now, users are restricted to building race rounds and they only have two themes to choose from. Levels need to have a start line and a finish line, and it's up to you to decide what goes in between (probably chaos).

Creative mode is debuting with what Mediatonic describes as a "greatest hits" of Fall Guys platforms and obstacles, including the Door Dash gates, slime floors, a cannon that can launch houses at players and, of course, Yeetus (a big rotating hammer). While the options might not be as extensive as some may have hoped, there's enough here for fiendish level creators to get started with.

Having a limited set of pieces at the outset may not be a bad thing. Constraints can foster creativity, as we've seen in the past with the old 140-character limit on tweets (which can now, regrettably, be up to 10,000 characters long) and short-form video.

The creative mode controls are a little janky, unfortunately, especially on a keyboard. You'll need to use the plus and minus keys (which are on the opposite side of my keyboard from the other buttons) to move pieces vertically. The preview build I was using didn't have the option to rebind the creative mode controls. Hopefully, that's something Mediatonic addresses swiftly.

Aside from that, creating a level is a cinch. It doesn't take long to build a tower with fans, bounce pads and boxing gloves that can send beans off the map and back to the start line if they're not careful. You can't go too off the rails with your rounds, though. There's a limit on how many objects you can include and you'll need to beat your levels yourself before you can publish and share them.

The creative mode had to be robust, since Mediatonic is using the same tools to build its own levels. The toolset has allowed the developers to create 50 new rounds for this season, more than ever before.

Extensive options for creativity have helped Fortnite enshrine itself as one of the biggest games in the world. Mediatonic and Epic will surely be hoping that this update will help do the same for Fall Guys. At the very least, it could bring back some lapsed players.

I probably won't spend too much time building my own rounds. I made one, Marie Kondo-inspired level in Super Mario Maker 2 and then went back to trying out other players' creations. I'll surely dip back into the Fall Guys creative mode as Mediatonic adds more obstacles (I'd like to try building my own version of Slimb Climb), but I'm mainly looking forward to seeing what nonsense other players come up with.

Meta is bringing more ads to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, and changing up how creators can earn money from their content. The change comes two months after Meta “paused” a bonus program that rewarded creators for hitting specific goals.

Now, Meta says it’s “accelerating” its plan to bring ads into Reels on Facebook, with “thousands” of creators now eligible to join the monetization program. The company plans to test a similar program for Reels creators on Instagram in the “coming weeks.”

Notably, Meta is structuring the program a bit differently than typical revenue sharing arrangements. The company says it will pay creators using “a new payout model that pays creators based on the performance of their public reels, not the earnings of ads on their reels” and that “initially, payouts in the test will be determined by the number of plays.” In other words, creators who rack up the highest number of views will earn the most, regardless of other engagement metrics or how much ad revenue their clips generate.

The decision to prioritize views apparently came as a result of the company’s earlier tests, with Meta noting that payments based on ad performance can sometimes negatively impact creators for things out of their control, like the company’s own ad inventory. Those terms are also likely a reflection of the fact that while Reels drive a lot of engagement for Meta, the feature hasn’t proven to be as easily monetized as its feeds and stories features. (The company says in its blog post that it’s continuing to “optimize the ad experience for advertisers,” on Reels.)

It’s also not yet clear just how much creators can expect to make through the new program. Meta had previously promised Reels creators monthly bonuses up to $35,000 a month when it launched the Reels Play bonus program in 2021. But the company reportedly slashed those payments last year, before “pausing” the program entirely in march. According to a Meta spokesperson, the ‘overarching goal” is for creators to be able to earn consistent payouts, but these numbers “will vary widely by creator.”

Meta is bringing more ads to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, and changing up how creators can earn money from their content. The change comes two months after Meta “paused” a bonus program that rewarded creators for hitting specific goals.

Now, Meta says it’s “accelerating” its plan to bring ads into Reels on Facebook, with “thousands” of creators now eligible to join the monetization program. The company plans to test a similar program for Reels creators on Instagram in the “coming weeks.”

Notably, Meta is structuring the program a bit differently than typical revenue sharing arrangements. The company says it will pay creators using “a new payout model that pays creators based on the performance of their public reels, not the earnings of ads on their reels” and that “initially, payouts in the test will be determined by the number of plays.” In other words, creators who rack up the highest number of views will earn the most, regardless of other engagement metrics or how much ad revenue their clips generate.

The decision to prioritize views apparently came as a result of the company’s earlier tests, with Meta noting that payments based on ad performance can sometimes negatively impact creators for things out of their control, like the company’s own ad inventory. Those terms are also likely a reflection of the fact that while Reels drive a lot of engagement for Meta, the feature hasn’t proven to be as easily monetized as its feeds and stories features. (The company says in its blog post that it’s continuing to “optimize the ad experience for advertisers,” on Reels.)

It’s also not yet clear just how much creators can expect to make through the new program. Meta had previously promised Reels creators monthly bonuses up to $35,000 a month when it launched the Reels Play bonus program in 2021. But the company reportedly slashed those payments last year, before “pausing” the program entirely in march. According to a Meta spokesperson, the ‘overarching goal” is for creators to be able to earn consistent payouts, but these numbers “will vary widely by creator.”

LinkedIn is the latest notable tech company to announce a round of mass layoffs. It's letting 716 staff go and shutting down its job search app in China. LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said in a memo to employees that the cuts were part of a shift in strategy that was driven by changes in customer behavior and slower revenue growth. That's despite the platform seeing record levels of engagement and "making meaningful progress creating economic opportunities for our members and customers."

In 2021, LinkedIn shut down the seven-year-old Chinese version of its service, citing the difficulties of operating in the country. It rolled out a job board app for Chinese users called InCareer that did not have any social networking features. Now, Roslansky says the company will phase out that app by August 9th. While InCareer found some success, Roslansky wrote, "it also encountered fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate."

LinkedIn is shifting its strategy in China toward helping companies based there recruit and train workers from other countries. It will cut its product and engineering teams in China and reduce the headcount of its local corporate, sales and marketing divisions. As The New York Times notes, LinkedIn did not say how many of the layoffs will be in China.

Around 20,000 people work at LinkedIn, so the layoffs account for around 3.5 percent of the overall headcount. However, Roslansky said LinkedIn will open more than 250 positions in other areas starting next week, namely in the operations, new business and account management divisions. 

This is just the latest instance of widespread layoffs in the tech industry over the last several months. LinkedIn parent Microsoft said in January it would cut 10,000 workers. Meta, Alphabet and Amazon have all laid off tens of thousands of workers too.

Samsung's 1TB T7 Shield SSD not only offers solid read/write speeds but has a rugged exterior that helps it withstand drops, water and dust. It's now on sale for a record low price of $75, offering significant savings over the original $160 price tag. It's part of a Samsung storage sale that also feature the 980 Pro SSD 2TB drive down to just $140 ($20 off) and the 256GB EVO Select microSD memory card on sale for $18 ($22 off). 

While there are plenty of portable SSDs out there, the T7 Shield's claim to fame is the durable design. It can survive up to a 9.8-foot drop, and the IP65-rated chassis resists dust and water while offering a rubberized grip to stay in your hands. That makes it a solid choice for content creators and others that are constantly transferring data in the field and throwing drives into their bags.

While it's not the fastest model out there, the T7 Shield drive can hit 1,050MB/s and 1,000MB/s read/write speeds, respectively. That's more than fast enough to back up most memory cards, and the peace of mind from the hardened design could be worth any tradeoffs.

Samsung also has deals on memory cards and NVMe SSDs. A couple of notable deals are the 980 Pro 2TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD priced at $140, for a savings of 13 percent. You can also grab the 256GB EVO Select microSD memory card + adapter for just $18 and save $22. 

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Apple finally has professional creative software to match the iPad Pro. The company is releasing both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad on May 23rd. The two tablet apps now feature a touch-friendly interface and other iPad-specific improvements, such as Pencil and Magic Keyboard support (more on those in a moment). At the same time, Apple wants to reassure producers that these are full-featured apps that won't leave Mac users feeling lost.

The apps also represent a change in Apple's pricing strategy. Where Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for Mac are one-time purchases, you'll have to subscribe to the iPad versions for either $5 per month or $49 per year. There's a one-month free trial. The move isn't surprising given Apple's increasing reliance on services for revenue, but it may be disappointing if you were hoping to avoid the industry's subscription trend.

Developing...

Artiphon, the company behind the Orba handheld synth and MIDI controller, launched a new AR music creation app today that you don’t need a musical background to enjoy. Minibeats for iOS uses gestures, dance moves and facial expressions to craft songs played on 12 virtual instruments with colorful visual effects.

You could view the Minibeats app as a phone camera equivalent to Artiphon’s music-creation hardware. Here, instead of tapping touchpads on top of an orb-like device, the app lets you wave your hands, smile, frown and bust a move; the camera will capture your gestures and turn them into corresponding music.

The app is an extension of the company’s mission to make music creation a fun and simple activity that anyone can do. “With an intuitive interface and zero learning curve, Minibeats allows you to make music in innovative ways using simple gestures,” Artiphon’s announcement reads. “Dance to the beat as Minibeats tracks your movements and mixes the music. Wave your hands to draw across the sky with sparkles, lasers, and ripples. And even play music by smiling and frowning as Minibeats detects your emotions and scores it with a mood that matches the moment.”

Artiphon

The app taps into the Snapchat CameraKit SDK, which Artiphon already used in custom lenses it launched earlier this year in collaboration with electronic artists San Holo and LP Giobbi. “The iOS app will take this idea even further with more music to choose from and even more exciting ways to play it,” the launch video below states.

Although the app is tailored for simplicity, it provides hint videos to show you the ropes and learn the subtler details of AR music creation. Additionally, it includes “dozens” of visual effects corresponding to your gestures and sounds. And, of course, the app makes it easy to share your creations, letting you download your makeshift music video to your iOS Photos library or share with friends through text, email or social apps.