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    Google adds free ad-supported tier to music app in the U.S.

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments526 Views

    By Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Google is adding a free tier to its subscription streaming music service in the U.S., aiming to convert the millions of people who click on the Google Play Music app every month but turn away because they're prompted for payment information.

    The service uses Songza, an Internet radio app that Google acquired a year ago but whose innovations it had reserved for paying customers.

    Now playlists curated by Songza music experts, like "Drop-a-Beat Workout" and "Songs to Raise Your Kids To," will be available to U.S. users for free, interspersed with ads. Playlists that are automatically generated according to genres, songs or artists will also be available.

    Google hopes the free tier will entice users to pay $10 a month for an "All Access" plan to unlock features like on-demand playback without ads, offline listening, and use of the YouTube Music Key app, a music streaming service that includes videos and is still in development.

    Zahavah Levine, vice president of content partnerships for Google Play Music, said the free tier is a way to engage curious users.

    "Up until now, this has been a lost opportunity to bring more people in," she said.

    According to publishers' data verified by royalty tracking firm Audiam, Google Play Music had around 815,000 paying subscribers in the U.S. in December 2014, far behind market leader Spotify with 4.7 million. Spotify said this month that it now has 20 million paying subscribers globally.

    Along with video ads that will play before songs, banners and interactive pitches, Google will also plug its paid service. For now, Google is not announcing any expansion of the free tier outside the U.S., though the paid plan is now available in 52 countries.

    Tags:Google



    Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta

    Friday, November 22, 2024

    The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.

    The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.

    The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.

    Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.

    Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.

    Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.

    Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.

    Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.

    The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More

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