Hulu is Considering Ad-Free Subscriptions
While Amazon and Netflix have been in the news lately for their exclusives, it feels like Hulu has stayed relatively quiet, save for their exclusive distribution for Seinfeld. In fact, I've spent more time watching various shows on Hulu than Netflix and Amazon combined over the past month. However, one thing I'll never be able to get over are Hulu's ads. Without fail, most will opt to wait for releases on Netflix rather than watch them earlier on Hulu with ads.
It's this mentality Hulu must combat in order to stay competitive with Netflix and Amazon. If rumors are to be true, the streaming company is ready to make the necessary adjustments. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hulu insiders revealed plans to explore ad-free subscriptions, perhaps timed for a fall release. The initiative, nicknamed internally as NOAH (no ads Hulu), is rumored to be in the $12 to $14 per month range. If true, their fees will be considerably more expensive than Netflix ($8/month) and Amazon ($99/year or $8.25/month), and slightly cheaper than HBO Now ($15/month).
Will a few extra dollars for ad-free Hulu content be enough to convince current and prospective Hulu subscribers? Personally, I would rather stick with the commercials or wait patiently for a Netflix release.
[Wall Street Journal via /Film]
[Weekly Netflix Fix] First July 2015 Update
Coinciding with the release of the amazing Creed trailer this week comes the return of the Rocky films to Netflix, which are the main highlights for this week. Some other highlights include the cult classic The Warriors, Adam Sandler's Big Daddy (a personal favorite of mine), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
You can find the full list of new Netflix Instant additions below.
My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes
Twin Warriors
King of Comedy
Ballet 422
God of Cookery
Hasee Toh Phasee
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Cupcakes
Young & Hungry: Season 2
Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour
Dragons: Race to the Edge: Season 1
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Ralphie May: Imperfectly Yours
The Barber
NCIS: Season 1
NCIS: Season 2
NCIS: Season 3
NCIS: Season 4
NCIS: Season 5
NCIS: Season 6
NCIS: Season 7
NCIS: Season 8
NCIS: Season 9
La Reina del Sur
NCIS: Season 10
NCIS: Season 11
El Señor de los Cielos: Season 1
El Señor de los Cielos: Season 2
La Patrona
Camelia la Texana
The Pope from the End of the World
If You Don't, I Will
Born to Fly
The Day My Butt Went Psycho!: Season 1
The Day My Butt Went Psycho!: Season 2
Hard to Be a God
Toobys in English
Black Butler: Season 1
Sirius
Below Dreams
Next Goal Wins
An Honest Liar
The Immortalists
Pantani: The Accidental Death of a Cyclist
Mary Kom
Plot for Peace
El Crimen del Cácaro Gumaro
El Cartel: Season 1
Operación Jaque: Operation Checkmate
Octonauts: Season 3
El Secretario: Season 1
Made in Cartagena: Season 1
La Promesa: Season 1
El Cartel 2: Season 1
Las muñecas de la mafia: Season 1
La Ruta Blanca: Season 1
Worms
love and other catastrophes
The Widowmaker
Death in Paradise: Season 3
Dancer and the Dame
Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collins Story
Sweet Blackberry Presents: Garrett's Gift
Sweet Blackberry Presents: Henry Box Brown
Love & Engineering
How I Got Over
Xiaolin Chronicles: Season 1
Xiaolin Chronicles: Season 2
The Father's Love
Velvet: Season 2
Bad Hair Day
Man Up
Dave Attell: Road Work
Rocky V
Piglet's Big Movie
Road House
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Browning Version
Underworld
Alive
You Got Served
Thumbelina
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
In Enemy Hands
Hostage
The Beverly Hillbillies
Kung Fu Hustle
Dutch La Usurpadora
Underworld: Evolution
Grandma's Boy
Renaissance
Teeth
Some Kind of Hero
Saw V
Unstable Fables: Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
Hell Is for Heroes
Bionicle: The Legend Reborn
The Concert
House of the Rising Sun
Rubi
Para Volver a Amar
Captive
Inami: Season 1
Yakari: Season 1
Chicken Town: Season 1
XH Derbez
Foreign Letters
When Day Breaks
48 Hrs.
Batman
Conan the Barbarian
Mr. Mom
The Net
Rob Roy
Rocky
Rocky II
Rocky IV
State Fair
The Terminator
WarGames
Shooting Fish
Pi
Silence of the Lambs
Bulworth
Star Trek: Insurrection
Big Daddy
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Drive Me Crazy
Scary Movie
The Secret of Roan Inish
The Delta Force
Almost Famous
Chocolat
The Warriors
How to Marry a Millionaire
Flashdance
From Here to Eternity
Rocky III
Street Smart
The Turning Point
Uncommon Valor
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Bandits
Hombre
Apple Won't Pay Royalties During Apple Music Trial Periods
It's been a few days since Apple officially entered the streaming service game with their announcement of Apple Music. Personally, I felt the announcement (and the service) was underwhelming - why would you want to pay for a service for the same selections of songs you can currently get for free on Spotify? Hell, I don't even really stream music that often, only opting to do so when my RAM acts up and essentially makes iTunes worthless. Nevertheless, Apple is doing what they can to not only pull ahead of Spotify, but to also ensure the value of their service doesn't go undetected by the common listener.
But what about the artists? In leaked contract documents, it's revealed that Apple is only paying independent musicians 58% of their revenue streams, which is a considerably lower rate than Spotify's purported rate of 70% across the board. However, this percentage has been put into question. More damning than the revenue rate is a pseudo-dark period in which Apple will not pay artists any royalties during free periods.
Since Apple is offering a free three-month trial period when Apple Music officially launches on June 30th, any albums released between June 30 and September 30 will not generate any revenue for artists through Apple Music. This basically handicaps many artists and their release plans - do they delay their albums to maximize their profits across the board, or do they hope their popularity on Apple Music will translate into revenue from other avenues?
You can read the leaked contract documents below.
[via Digital Music News]
President Obama Wants to Reclassify the Internet as a Utility
As a 27-year-old, I'm part of the last generation that knew what life was like before the internet took over our everyday lives. To bring some context to this, MySpace was only rising in popularity during my Senior year of high school in 2004-2005. Since then, we've entered a huge renaissance where the internet has become a near necessity in our lives. As such, companies have monetized and commercialized our access to the service, but in a way that was standard for everybody, whether you're an online entrepreneur or a web surfer.
Back in January, the FCC ruled against the "net neutrality" provision, which paved the way for certain internet service providers (ISPs) to enter in business deals with various websites/services to provide premium speeds/prices dependent on your provider. If this comes off a bit confusing, imagine it like DirecTV with a premium channel package or Comcast making certain sites load faster than others because they offered to pay more. As I detailed back then, this meant larger sites like Google would load quicker when compared to a competitor like Bing... perhaps depending on your ISP, Bing wouldn't even be accessible. Net neutrality allows an even, level playing field for all ISPs, websites, and online services. It shouldn't matter if you access the internet through a laptop or smartphone, whether you have Comcast, AT&T, SBC Global, etc., or whether you like to visit larger sites like Complex or VICE or smaller sites like Ruby Hornet and the like.
Earlier today, President Obama officially sided in support of net neutrality, and officially made a request to reclassify the internet as a utility. By doing so, the reclassification would ensure all ISPs follow a standard set of rules across the board, which include the following:
- No blocking. If a consumer requests access to a website or service, and the content is legal, your ISP should not be permitted to block it. That way, every player — not just those commercially affiliated with an ISP — gets a fair shot at your business.
- No throttling. Nor should ISPs be able to intentionally slow down some content or speed up others — through a process often called “throttling” — based on the type of service or your ISP’s preferences.
- Increased transparency. The connection between consumers and ISPs — the so-called “last mile” — is not the only place some sites might get special treatment. So, I am also asking the FCC to make full use of the transparency authorities the court recently upheld, and if necessary to apply net neutrality rules to points of interconnection between the ISP and the rest of the Internet.
- No paid prioritization. Simply put: No service should be stuck in a “slow lane” because it does not pay a fee. That kind of gatekeeping would undermine the level playing field essential to the Internet’s growth. So, as I have before, I am asking for an explicit ban on paid prioritization and any other restriction that has a similar effect.
Watch the brief video President Obama released indicating his support of net neutrality and urging of the FCC to classify the internet as a utility below.
[youtube id="uKcjQPVwfDk"]
[via White House]
[Songs on the Day] 2/18/14 (Feat. Chief Keef, A-Villa, My Chemical Romance & More)
Tuesday was a good day. Chicago finally got above freezing for the first time in two months and a horde of music hit the Internet for our listening pleasure. Starting things off is Ty Money who linked with none other than Chief Keef for the hard work anthem, "No Hobby" while Jose Guapo and Young Scooter discuss all things green in "Cash Talk". BOY/FRIEND had a rousing entrance onto my personal radar with her track, "Eve" featuring Va$htie and Train Company offered up a new tune in "Step To Me". Producer got in on it as well, as Los Angeles duo BC Kingdom stabilize the dance aesthetics with their latest track in "DWN4U/JEEPS" and Chicago button-pusher A-Villa teamed up with Closed Session and the ever-talented Lili K for a rousing performance on "Smooth It Down" and Calez gave fans the first cut off his upcoming Ceito project with "Positive Energy". ShadowOnStars released a cover of Aaliyah's "Are You That Somebody" and both My Chemical Romance showed they still have it, dropping "Fake Your Death" to essentially announce the end of the band. Crystal Method also got a remix of their track "Over It" featuring Dia Frampton via the Bixel Boys. Check it all out below!
Track of the Day: Calez: "Positive Energy"
Ty Money: “No Hobby” (Feat. Chief Keef)
Jose Guapo & Young Scooter: “Cash Talk”
BOY/FRIEND: “Eve” (Feat. Va$htie)
Train Company: “Step To Me”
BC Kingdom: “DWN4U/JEEPS”
A-Villa: “Smooth It Down” (Feat. Lili K)
Calez: “Positive Energy”
ShadowOnStars: “Are You That Somebody” (Aaliyah cover)
Crystal Method: “Over It” (Feat. Dia Frampton) (Bixel Boys Remix)
My Chemical Romance: “Fake Your Death”
[youtube id="tiJzCahaN8w"]
Hide Your Location With SafePlug
Protecting your personal data is very important when it comes to surfing the web because you never know when someone has access to it. One day, you're living care free, and the next thing you know, someone has racked up charges on your credit card and might even know where you live. For those of you that want some form of privacy when surfing the web, Safeplug is here to fill that need. What Safeplug does is uses a service called Tor which routes your internet traffic through random locations so it's next to impossible to know where you are. The Safeplug helps protect your privacy, because when you enter a website they potentially can access your IP address. Set up is as easy as plugging the machine into your router, and set up only takes a few minutes. For more info on Safeplug, visit their website here.
[Via Safeplug]
Death Grips & Local Natives Release Stems For Free
The trend of releasing music for free is not a new concept, but in the past six months even, the practice has taken on a whole new attitude and usefulness. Death Grips, never ones to wilt to social norms or adhere to expectations or ethics, released both the a capella and instrumental versions of their albums, Government Plates (click here) and NO LOVE DEEP WEB (click here) for free via their Twitter account. While the move is similar to Beyonce's instantaneous release of 14 songs and 17 music videos as one entity, it is a different kind of openness.
Local Natives also followed suit, dropping the stems from their album Hummingbird (click here). While Bey gave the world a host of new entertainment to sift through, Death Grips and Local Natives offered music geeks and production nerds an endless amount of material to work with, encouraging remixes and the use of their work. It is the sort of openness that breeds new genres and new sounds and is honestly a responsible move on the behalf of both acts and it will be interesting to see where the stems lead in the near future.
[Video] Tyler, The Creator on "The Arsenio Hall Show"
Arsenio Hall welcomed Tyler, The Creator to his show last night and sat down with the Odd Future de facto leader to talk on a wide array of subjects, including the YouTube Music Awards, his latest music video as a director, and relationships. Tyler was very candid throughout the interview and dropped a few inspirational gems that are definitely worth listening to.