Latest news with #musicstreaming
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Spotify is DOWN: Music streaming app crashes for thousands of users across the UK
It's one of the most popular music streaming apps in the UK. But it appears that Spotify has crashed this afternoon. According to Down Detector, the problems started at around 13:30, and are affecting users across the UK. So far, 3,971 problems have been logged - with the majority of reports complaining about the Spotify app.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
VEEPS and Postmedia Studios Announce Strategic Relationship to Launch VEEPS All Access in Canada
Article content Launch content exclusive to VEEPS includes live concerts from Canadian indie rockers Metric at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto, nine-time GRAMMY winner Sheryl Crow live from Red Rocks, Bryan Adams live from Royal Albert Hall show plus thousands of hours of the world's best performers. Article content Article content LOS ANGELES & TORONTO — VEEPS, the leading global platform for live-streamed concerts and entertainment, is proud to announce a strategic relationship with Postmedia Studios, a part of Postmedia Network Inc. ('Postmedia'), to bring VEEPS All Access to Canada for the first time. VEEPS All Access is the first music subscription service to offer unlimited viewing of premium quality concerts and live music entertainment for a monthly or annual fee. This collaboration between VEEPS and Postmedia Studios will deliver unparalleled access to live entertainment for audiences across the country, from major cities to small towns, both live and on-demand. Article content 'This collaboration is a significant milestone for VEEPS as we expand our offering in Canada,' said Kyle Heller, Co-Founder of VEEPS. 'With Postmedia's vast reach and deep connection to Canadian communities, we'll be able to bring even more Canadian fans closer to the music and artists they love from Arcade Fire to Metric, Coldplay, and beyond. We're introducing this special, lifetime rate for those who sign up early as members' Article content VEEPS All Access gives Canadian fans access to thousands of hours of live and on-demand concerts, comedy specials, music documentaries, intimate artist interviews, and live entertainment featuring popular Canadian artists like Shawn Mendes, Arcade Fire, Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Alessia Cara, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jessi Cruickshank, Mae Martin, and Anvil as well as an incredible display of content from world-class international artists like Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, Alicia Keys, Fall Out Boy, Kings of Leon, and many more. Article content For a limited time, Canadians and Postmedia subscribers can lock in a lifetime monthly rate of CAD $13.99—a 30% discount—by subscribing through a Postmedia website link. This provides unlimited access to all VEEPS content at this special price through the end of the Summer. Article content As part of the launch, VEEPS and Postmedia Studios are excited to announce a special livestream event featuring one of Canada's most iconic bands, Metric, performing live from Toronto's 15,000-capacity Budweiser Stage on June 6. 'We're thrilled to have people from all over the world join us virtually for this very special hometown performance of Fantasies in Toronto,' says Emily Haines of Metric. 'It's going to be a romantic, nostalgic evening for all. Wherever you may be, we'd love to have you there with us.' Article content Erika Tustin, Postmedia Studios, added, 'Postmedia's unparalleled reach across Canada gives us the unique ability to introduce VEEPS to audiences in every corner of the country. This strategic relationship highlights the power of our network to connect Canadians with unforgettable live entertainment experiences.' Article content As part of the collaboration, Postmedia has launched a new music coverage channel on Canoe ( which was recently rebranded as an entertainment, lifestyle, shopping and commerce site. On Canoe, audiences will find music and industry coverage from across the country, be the first to hear about concert news and trends and get access to interviews with artists performing on VEEPS. Article content 'Entertainment has the power to unite and inspire like nothing else,' said Steven Amato, Founder of Contend, Postmedia's strategic partner in Postmedia Studios. 'This collaboration bridges the physical and virtual worlds, giving Canadians access to the artists they love, no matter where they are.' Article content VEEPS and Live Nation will support the launch with a robust promotional campaign, leveraging their global expertise and deep experience connecting artists with fans. This strategic relationship is set to redefine how Canadian audiences experience live music and entertainment, while fostering a new era of access, storytelling and creativity. VEEPS content is available via and apps on Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Samsung, and Android. VEEPS All Access subscribers will gain unlimited access to hundreds of upcoming live and on-demand performances each year, exclusive VEEPS-only artist content, merch drops, and more for a special introductory price of $13.99 a month. Article content About VEEPS: VEEPS is the world's leading streaming platform for live music and entertainment, where fans connect with their favourite artists through live and on-demand concerts, comedy shows, and more. Launched in 2018 by Joel and Benji Madden, VEEPS has streamed performances to millions of viewers worldwide for thousands of artists, including Billie Eilish, Bob Dylan, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and Kings of Leon. VEEPS has been named a Fast Company World's Most Innovative Company, nominated for an Emmy, and holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest ticketed livestream performance by a solo male artist. VEEPS content is available via and apps on Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Samsung, and Android. VEEPS is a part of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV). Article content About Postmedia Network Inc.: Postmedia Network Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (TSX:PNC.A, PNC.B), is a Canadian newsmedia company representing more than 130 brands across multiple print, online, and mobile platforms. Award-winning journalists and innovative product development teams bring engaging content to millions of people every week whenever and wherever they want it. This exceptional content, reach and scope offers advertisers and marketers compelling solutions to effectively reach target audiences. Our expertise in home delivery and expanding distribution network powers Postmedia Parcel Services. For more information visit: and Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For Media Inquiries: Article content Article content Article content
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
This Puzzling Metaverse Company Just Renamed Itself Napster
John Acunto, Cofounder & CEO of metaverse company Infinite Reality, which recently renamed itself Napster after acquiring the music sharing application for $207 million A Florida-based upstart called Infinite Reality held a private investors-only Zoom meeting on May 15, at which it told some of its 1,500 shareholders that it was rebranding itself as Napster Corporation, a nod to the peer-to-peer file sharing application cofounded in 1999 by Facebook's first president and now billionaire Sean Parker. (He's no longer affiliated with Napster.) The once-revolutionary app, which had some 75 million users at its peak, declared bankruptcy in 2002 after a U.S. copyright infringement ruling. It has since bounced around, picked up by Roxio, then Best Buy and later repackaged as a Spotify rival, recently ranking just 39th among music apps, Infinite Reality, which had been pitching itself until recently as a metaverse shop, acquired music-streaming company Napster in a $207 million deal in March. At the time, Napster had unpaid royalty fees of more than $56 million; its CEO Jonathan Vlassopulos resigned last week. Now Infinite Reality is rebranding itself as Napster, a provider of 'AI-powered digital experiences.' In that same call, the company told investors of a new plan for them to get liquidity, explaining that they could sell back their shares at $20 a pop (before fees) starting in June, thanks to an unidentified investor. Assuming Infinite Reality's share count hasn't materially changed in the last couple of months, that would imply at least $18 billion valuation—or more than 240 times its $75 million revenue last year. This is not the young company's first rebranding. John Acunto and some investors bought bankrupt social media Tsu in 2019. Later renamed Display Social, it brought in just $150,000 in revenue for the first three years combined. Acunto pivoted the company again in 2022 when he acquired production company Thunder Studios and nascent firm Infinite Metaverse in an all-stock deal for $235 million in January 2022. With a new name, Infinite Reality went on a shopping spree, picking up nine more companies, each one boosting the firm's valuation. Got a tip for us? Contact reporters Phoebe Liu at pliu@ and +1 678-834-4200 for Signal or WhatsApp, and Iain Martin at or +1 646-739-6427 for Signal or WhatsApp. It's the fourth time since 2022 that Infinite-Reality-now-Napster has promised to let investors cash out, but so far none have panned out. Around the same time the company rebranded as Infinite Reality, it also filed paperwork with the SEC to go public via a reverse merger. That fell through in December 2022. Two weeks later came an agreement to go public via SPAC, but that didn't happen either. (It began termination of the agreement in December, and the blank-check company is suing Napster over an alleged $7 million unpaid termination fee.) In January, shortly after announcing $3 billion in funding from an anonymous investor, the company announced a secondary share sale through Nasdaq Private Market, a trading platform for private company share sales. In a February investor call when he discussed the Nasdaq Private Market deal, CEO John Acunto boasted about how much wealth the company had created for its shareholders. 'We have over 600 millionaires as a result of their investment in Infinite Reality,' Acunto said. 'I want to remind you that our job is not just to create a great company, but to create value for our shareholders … and give you an opportunity to get that value extracted from the market.' But some shareholders were pretty jaded by this point. 'When I heard about the secondary market set of transactions, I was like, oh, cool, the latest in a line of things that's never going to materialize,' says a shareholder and former employee of the Nasdaq Private Market deal. It turned out they had good reason. First, the Nasdaq Private Market webpage to trade Infinite Reality shares was taken offline, then the deal was called off as of May 7, according to Gillian Sheldon, Napster's head of communications, who claimed that it was a mutual decision made by Napster and the trading platform. Nasdaq Private Market didn't respond to a request for comment and directed multiple shareholders' inquiries to Infinite Reality (now Napster). The latest promise to let investors sell shares appears to center around an anonymous investor represented by brokerage firm Cova Capital. According to its website, the Long Island-based firm has worked on transactions with Palantir, SpaceX and AI startup Cohere. Broker-dealer watchdog Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Cova $30,000 in March this year for recommending three private share sales to retail investors without 'conducting due diligence sufficient to form a reasonable basis to believe that the offerings were suitable for, or in the best interest of, at least some investors.' That included claims that Cova didn't do enough to make sure the issuer actually had the rights to the shares or determine how much the shares had been marked up; Cova paid the fine 'without admitting to or denying the findings.' 'We represent an investor who has executed an indication of interest to make an offer to existing shareholders that will afford shareholders of record on May 31st, two weeks from today, a liquidity opportunity,' Edward Gibstein, CEO of Cova, told Napster investors on the May 15 call. Gibstein added that the investor had signed a letter of intent. Kendall Cluff, an account executive at cap table management firm Carta (which is set to administer the transaction), said that 'we don't know the exact amount of seller interest until we run the transaction, but we expect that it would end up being a multi-billion dollar transaction.' Cova and Napster have a relationship going back to 2021, per Gibstein—before it embarked on a string of headline-grabbing all-stock transactions for startups like Landvault and the Drone Racing League. An SEC filing tied to Napster's July 2024 fundraise also lists Cova as the broker. Around that time, Cova was trying to pitch six-month, high-interest (33%) loans with warrants to purchase Napster stock at a 'discounted' valuation of $1.25 billion, per documents viewed by Forbes. That same document indicated that if the company raised $20 million or more in equity funding before the loan was due, the investor could choose to get paid back early, at a lower interest rate. Per that document, that should have kicked in back in July, when Napster raised $350 million and in January, when the company said it raised $3 billion. But two investors who say they signed similar documents told Forbes they haven't yet been repaid. Five investors sued Napster in May alleging nonpayment of such loans, even after they sent the company a notice of default in December. A Napster spokesperson said the notes are in 'various stages of repayment.' Cova CEO Gibstein didn't respond to a request for comment on this latest deal, but he did comment on May 15, hours before announcing the offer to shareholders. At the time, Forbes was trying to figure out who had reportedly invested $3 billion in then-Infinite Reality at a $12 billion valuation. Gibstein wouldn't disclose the investor's identity, citing a non-disclosure agreement, but said he was a Cova client and confirmed that the company's big fundraising was 'not a debt transaction.' After Forbes published an investigation about Infinite Reality (now Napster) and its anonymous investor in April, the company issued a press release 90 minutes later, stating that 'following high media interest, Infinite Reality's $3B investor has come forward' and that Sterling Select, a New York venture development firm represented 'the significant $3 billion investment.' The press release was later amended to clarify that Sterling Select 'represents the investor,' but it never did reveal the investor's identity. The company's chief marketing officer KaringaKogan later told Forbes that Sterling Select isn't the $3 billion investor, but that it introduced Napster to 'investors' who in turn wrote the checks. Sterling Select did not respond to multiple requests for comment. All of this is just the latest chapter in the saga of a puzzling company. For many investors, the chance to cash out in June can't come soon enough. Many of these individuals have little experience in startup and tech investing and wrote checks as small as $50,000, hoping Napster would be the next big thing. 'Are these guys scam artists, or did I get very lucky to get into the next greatest company in AI?' a shareholder wrote to Forbes. In response, Napster's head of comms Sheldon wrote that 'the many individuals we have spoken to since our internal investor update are very pleased with the liquidity offer, and we're happy to say they represent the overwhelming majority.' Another shareholder told Forbes that their broker 'can't find me a buyer at my cost of under $2' per share, let alone $20, as recently as last week. His broker? Cova's Gibstein.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
AccuRadio files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
AccuRadio has followed in the footsteps of iHeartRadio and Audacy by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Company founder and CEO Kurt Hanson confirmed Wednesday's bankruptcy filing was the result of a failed legal settlement with rights organization SoundExchange. SoundExchange had filed a lawsuit against Chicago-based AccuRadio for unpaid royalties owed to artists and labels last year. 'AccuRadio has spent almost 25 years building an innovative and well-loved music streaming service while facing royalty obligations that climbed to levels that seem to suggest the system is rigged, perhaps inadvertently, against small and midsize streamers,' Hanson said in a statement. As of now, the radio platform owes the non-profit organization more than $10 million, The Chicago Tribune reported. The company also owes around $200,000 each to the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and Broadcast Music Inc (BMI). Known for being one of the earliest internet radio platforms, AccuRadio features music channels from over 60 genres, including playlists dedicated to Taylor Swift, The Beatles, and Adele. It receives more than one million monthly listeners. AccuRadio and SoundExchange have had a long history since the organization was created in 2003. SoundExchange has received more than $13.5 million in royalties over the years, but the ongoing lawsuit claimed AccuRadio stopped the payments in 2018. Despite creating a payment plan in 2020, SoundExchange accused AccuRadio of not following it, resulting in last year's suit filing. The two went head to head over settlements, which ultimately fell through. Both companies exited bankruptcy afterwards, and Hanson believes AccuRadio will do the same. 'Revenues have been consistently rising, and we are now profitable,' Hanson explained. 'Filing wasn't easy, but we believe AccuRadio will emerge healthier, more resilient, and better able to serve our loyal listeners and the artists we champion.' has reached out to AccuRadio for comment about the bankruptcy filing. It is one of many companies that have filed for bankruptcy this year, including various restaurants and fast food chains. It is not the only company to file for bankruptcy this year. Earlier this week, celebrity hotspot Planta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy . Hooters filed for bankruptcy in March , and Bar Louie abruptly closed restaurants before filing for the second time in five years . Other chains in trouble this year include On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and family-favorite restaurant Bertucci's . Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pioneering radio network files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following in iHeartRadio, Audacy footsteps
AccuRadio has followed in the footsteps of iHeartRadio and Audacy by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Company founder and CEO Kurt Hanson confirmed Wednesday's bankruptcy filing was the result of a failed legal settlement with rights organization SoundExchange. SoundExchange had filed a lawsuit against Chicago-based AccuRadio for unpaid royalties owed to artists and labels last year. 'AccuRadio has spent almost 25 years building an innovative and well-loved music streaming service while facing royalty obligations that climbed to levels that seem to suggest the system is rigged, perhaps inadvertently, against small and midsize streamers,' Hanson said in a statement. As of now, the radio platform owes the non-profit organization more than $10 million, The Chicago Tribune reported. The company also owes around $200,000 each to the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) and Broadcast Music Inc (BMI). Known for being one of the earliest internet radio platforms, AccuRadio features music channels from over 60 genres, including playlists dedicated to Taylor Swift, The Beatles, and Adele. It receives more than one million monthly listeners. Company founder and CEO Kurt Hanson confirmed the filing was the result of a failed legal settlement with SoundExchange AccuRadio and SoundExchange have had a long history since the organization was created in 2003. SoundExchange has received more than $13.5 million in royalties over the years, but the ongoing lawsuit claimed AccuRadio stopped the payments in 2018. Despite creating a payment plan in 2020, SoundExchange accused AccuRadio of not following it, resulting in last year's suit filing. The two went head to head over settlements, which ultimately fell through. 'We were extremely disappointed that we couldn't reach a negotiated settlement,' Hanson said. 'Furthermore, AccuRadio resumed full current payments to SoundExchange many months ago and continues to keep current with ongoing obligations.' The company's bankruptcy protection filing was similar to those filed by iHeartRadio's parent company iHeartMedia and Audacy in 2018 and 2024. Both companies exited bankruptcy afterwards, and Hanson believes AccuRadio will do the same. AccuRadio features music channels from over 60 genres, including playlists dedicated to Taylor Swift and The Beatles 'Revenues have been consistently rising, and we are now profitable,' Hanson explained. 'Filing wasn't easy, but we believe AccuRadio will emerge healthier, more resilient, and better able to serve our loyal listeners and the artists we champion.' has reached out to AccuRadio for comment about the bankruptcy filing. It is one of many companies that have filed for bankruptcy this year, including various restaurants and fast food chains. It is not the only company to file for bankruptcy this year. Earlier this week, celebrity hotspot Planta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Hooters filed for bankruptcy in March the second time in five years.
