Spotify is expanding its streaming service to now include educational courses in addition to music, podcasts, and audiobooks. The company on Tuesday referenced one of its newer features called courses, which allow users to learn about topics in areas like business, tech, lifestyle, music, and more.
The feature is initially being piloted in the U.K., Spotify notes. But further evidence indicates it may arrive soon in the U.S.
Tech enthusiast and early adopter Chris Messina spotted the development of courses in the U.S. Messina’s findings indicate there will be courses available on subjects that may appeal to the more technical crowd, like learning about AI, web3, the metaverse, and other digital tools.
In addition, he found that users would be able to filter their Spotify Library to show only “Podcasts & Courses,” instead of just “Podcasts,” as it reads currently.
While Spotify didn’t confirm that courses will arrive in the U.S., Messina discovered he was able to access the section via search.
Here, though, the category pages were empty, indicating the U.S. feature is still in development.
The company has been working to make its service known for more than just music for some time. By offering different types of audio, Spotify can grow its revenue through different forms of monetization. This includes ads in audio and video podcasts (even AI ads), as well as paid “top up” hours for audiobooks aimed at subscribers who use up their 15 free hours per month but still want to keep listening. The company is also undercutting market leader Audible with a $10 per month standalone audiobooks subscription.
With courses, Spotify could generate more revenue by charging users for some of the programs it offers for streaming.
Spotify today pointed to a handful of courses it recommends getting started with, including:
Correction: Updated after publication to note that Courses began piloting in the U.K. last year, but new discoveries indicate they may be coming soon to the U.S.
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IMDb, the Amazon-owned online database that provides information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, announced on Tuesday that its founder, Col Needham, is stepping down as CEO. Nikki Santoro, who has served as the Chief Operating Officer since 2021, has been appointed as his successor.
Santoro’s appointment is significant, as she is the first woman to become the CEO and only the second person to hold the position. Needham founded IMDb in 1990 at the age of 23, steering the company into a powerhouse within the entertainment industry. After 35 years, he’ll transition to a new role as executive chair.
According to Needham, Santoro’s ascension is well deserved. “Nikki’s strategic vision, deep understanding of our customers and products, and commitment to innovation have already delivered impressive business results during her tenure as COO. Her track record of driving growth and enhancing our products and services makes her the ideal person to guide IMDb into a new era,” he said, in a statement.
Santoro has been with the company since 2016, leading the company in expanding its database and improving its IMDbPro membership. She previously held leadership positions at Amazon, Microsoft, and The Weather Channel.
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An arena. A hype tunnel, the kind through which NBA players typically streak. A competitor dressed in a jersey patterned with a six-pack abs.
In a new piece, the New York Times takes readers to an event that organizers call the Microsoft Excel World Championship, a 40-minute, Las Vegas-based competition featuring 12 contestants — all of them solving thorny Excel puzzles. Some 400 people attended the December event, which ESPN3 live-streamed in between “competitions like speed chess and the World Dog Surfing Championships,” reports the Times.
The event was no joke, even if the self-described nerds involved have a healthy sense of humor. According to the story, the winner – a Toronto-based financial consultant – walked away with a $5,000 prize, a wrestling-style championship belt, and the title of world’s best spreadsheeter after two front-runners stumbled. Selfies were taken.
The hope is that the prize money will eventually hit $1 million as more spectators and sponsors get involved. In the meantime, the four-year-old event – held in person last month for the first time – is already a big hit. “You’d never see this with Google Sheets,” one contestant told the Times. “You’d never get this level of passion.”
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Meta says it plans to keep its fact-checking program in place outside the U.S. for the time being, though it could eventually expand it elsewhere.
“We’ll see how that goes as we move it out over the years,” Meta’s head of global business Nicola Mendelsohn told Bloomberg in a report from Davos on Monday. “So nothing changing in the rest of the world at the moment, we are still working with those fact checkers around the world.”
Meta had put the fact-checking guardrails in place over several years in response to criticism over how its platform was used to spread misinformation. With a new administration entering the White House, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced earlier this month it would replace its fact-checkers with a community notes system, similar to what’s in place at Elon Musk’s X.
The company may face hurdles implementing its new program elsewhere in the world, particularly in Europe, which has regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) in place to curb the spread of deceptive content.
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