17 October, 2024
YouTube blocks videos from Adele, Green Day, Bob Dylan, others in dispute with SESAC
A number of YouTube videos featuring music from artists such as Adele, Green Day, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, and R.E.M. have been unplayable in the United States since Saturday.
For example, if you try to play Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” (whether it’s the classic album recording or a live performance), you are instead told: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.” Sometimes, you even get to watch a pre-roll ad before you see the message.
However, not all videos featuring these artists are blocked; it’s not clear whether the playable videos are exempt from the current dispute or if they’ve simply been overlooked.
In statements to the press and on social media, YouTube blamed the situation on failed negotiations with SESAC, a performing rights group that says it represents more than 35,000 music artists and publishers.
“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before its expiration,” YouTube said. “We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.”
The situation echoes a dispute between Universal Music Group and TikTok earlier this year, which saw UMG pull songs by artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande from the short-form video platform while it was negotiating over royalties.
Unlike UMG, SESAC isn’t a record label, but rather an organization that collects royalties for songwriters and publishers, similar to ASCAP and BMI. In addition to the artists mentioned above, it also represents Burna Boy, George Clinton, Kenny Rogers, Kings of Leon, and many others.
Samsung renews its green cred at CES
We’ve heard “reduce, reuse, recycle” used ad nauseam, but at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Samsung follows in Apple’s footsteps, doubling down on that, dedicating a significant amount of its keynote speech to underscoring its commitment to sustainability. The company is specifically expanding its efforts toward resource circularity, from the design of its devices to how they’re used and, ultimately, how they’re reused or recycled. The company has embraced recycled materials in some of its most popular products.
“We start by incorporating recycled materials into some of our most loved products, such as recycled fishing nets in our Galaxy,” said Inhee Chung, VP of corporate sustainability at Samsung. “Smartphones, recycled plastic in our TVs and recycled aluminum in our bespoke refrigerators. Recycled plastic accounted for 14% of the total plastic used in our products in 2022. And we’re working towards increasing this amount.”
CES 2024: Samsung’s bigger, foldier, more rollable displays
Beyond the manufacturing process, Samsung is also considering the environmental impact of their products during use. Innovative features like SmartThings AI Energy Mode can help consumers manage energy at home by using connected intelligence. According to Samsung’s data, the number of SmartThings energy users worldwide has increased by more than 75% in 2023 (although the company didn’t specify the base number for that, so who knows if that’s as impressive as it sounds.)
Samsung has also announced the integration of SmartThings energy with Tesla’s Powerwall solar inverter and Wall Connector EV charging solutions. This collaboration means that SmartThings energy can enable Tesla Powerwall Storm Watch to notify users before a severe weather event and help prepare for power outages by activating energy-saving automation.
Perhaps the most interesting initiative shown off at the press conference today was the company’s commitment to sustainability beyond end-of-life use. The company prioritizes reuse and recycling, offering refurbished phones through programs like 35 Renewed, and the Galaxy Upcycling initiative, which helps users reuse or repurpose old phones. One way that shows up is that the company has partnered with the D-Lab at MIT to develop new ways to upcycle Samsung devices and divert them from becoming electronic waste. The collaboration aims to create a transformative impact in low-income communities in Africa, where the impact of e-waste is most acutely felt.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 lineup set for January 17 debut
Today’s press conference gave me some hope that Samsung’s commitment to a low-carbon circular economy goes beyond lip service. From the design of their products to their end-of-life, Samsung is proving that tech companies can embrace sustainability and environmental responsibility. The tech giant is not only innovating in its product line but also in its environmental footprint, making strides toward a greener and more sustainable future.
Could they be doing more? Likely, yes — but the metrics and milestones outlined today do seem to go beyond the run-of-the-mill greenwashing the cynical among us have grown to expect from corporations all over the world; the initiatives are real and cost real money and take effort to put into action.
More of that, please.
Samsung renews its green cred at CES
We’ve heard “reduce, reuse, recycle” used ad nauseam, but at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Samsung follows in Apple’s footsteps, doubling down on that, dedicating a significant amount of its keynote speech to underscoring its commitment to sustainability. The company is specifically expanding its efforts toward resource circularity, from the design of its devices to how they’re used and, ultimately, how they’re reused or recycled. The company has embraced recycled materials in some of its most popular products.
“We start by incorporating recycled materials into some of our most loved products, such as recycled fishing nets in our Galaxy,” said Inhee Chung, VP of corporate sustainability at Samsung. “Smartphones, recycled plastic in our TVs and recycled aluminum in our bespoke refrigerators. Recycled plastic accounted for 14% of the total plastic used in our products in 2022. And we’re working towards increasing this amount.”
CES 2024: Samsung’s bigger, foldier, more rollable displays
Beyond the manufacturing process, Samsung is also considering the environmental impact of their products during use. Innovative features like SmartThings AI Energy Mode can help consumers manage energy at home by using connected intelligence. According to Samsung’s data, the number of SmartThings energy users worldwide has increased by more than 75% in 2023 (although the company didn’t specify the base number for that, so who knows if that’s as impressive as it sounds.)
Samsung has also announced the integration of SmartThings energy with Tesla’s Powerwall solar inverter and Wall Connector EV charging solutions. This collaboration means that SmartThings energy can enable Tesla Powerwall Storm Watch to notify users before a severe weather event and help prepare for power outages by activating energy-saving automation.
Perhaps the most interesting initiative shown off at the press conference today was the company’s commitment to sustainability beyond end-of-life use. The company prioritizes reuse and recycling, offering refurbished phones through programs like 35 Renewed, and the Galaxy Upcycling initiative, which helps users reuse or repurpose old phones. One way that shows up is that the company has partnered with the D-Lab at MIT to develop new ways to upcycle Samsung devices and divert them from becoming electronic waste. The collaboration aims to create a transformative impact in low-income communities in Africa, where the impact of e-waste is most acutely felt.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 lineup set for January 17 debut
Today’s press conference gave me some hope that Samsung’s commitment to a low-carbon circular economy goes beyond lip service. From the design of their products to their end-of-life, Samsung is proving that tech companies can embrace sustainability and environmental responsibility. The tech giant is not only innovating in its product line but also in its environmental footprint, making strides toward a greener and more sustainable future.
Could they be doing more? Likely, yes — but the metrics and milestones outlined today do seem to go beyond the run-of-the-mill greenwashing the cynical among us have grown to expect from corporations all over the world; the initiatives are real and cost real money and take effort to put into action.
More of that, please.
Green search engine Ecosia launches a cross-platform browser
Ecosia, the search engine that funds tree-planting initiatives with a portion of its search ad profits, has launched a new cross-platform browser to grow its online footprint.
The new browser, available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, is built on top of Google’s open source browser project Chromium, which explains why there aren’t many differences to Google’s own Chrome browser. While the desktop versions are new launches, mobile versions replace older search products.
However, the Germany-based company sees that as a good thing, as users might be more tempted to switch if the experience they’re accustomed to is similar. Ecosia does allow the user to customize the landing page, and remove sections that aren’t to their liking, such as top sites or the climate impact widget.
Sustainability
Michael Metcalf, Ecosia’s chief product officer, told TechCrunch that the company expanded into browsers so that it could grow its sustainability pledge.
“The main reason we are building a browser is because we want to go where our users are and start to expand the footprint of where they can be sustainable,” Metcalf said. “Right now, our main use case is around search, but we want to expand into parts of browsing experiences.”
With this new browser, Ecosia is also starting an affiliate shopping program, meaning that users will see links to shopping sites such as Amazon, eBay and Decathlon under the sponsored links section. The company said all the money earned through affiliate revenues will go toward planting trees and backing similar green projects. Through this kind of investment, Ecosia has committed to generating 25Wh of clean energy per user each day.
Metcalf said that while the company promotes lower consumption, it’s acutely aware that consumers like to shop online. With the affiliate program, they have an opportunity to give back. In the future, the company also wants to improve the affiliate shopping interface, integrate its AI chatbot and introduce more customization to the browser.
Acknowledging that it’s tough to get users to switch browsers, the company is initially targeting its existing search engine user base of 20 million, while it will also increase its marketing targeted at consumers who already demonstrate an affinity with the “green” cause. The company said that it was happy with the retention rate in its early beta testing, but it wouldn’t share any data on the impact on Ecosia search traffic resulting from those using the new browser.
Ecosia made a few structural changes to its search engine last year. After years of using Bing as its sole search provider, the company started experimenting with Google Search in markets like Canada, New Zealand, Brazil and the Philippines. The company uses System1, an ad tech company that syndicates search results from Microsoft Bing, Startpage and Info.com.
Earlier this year, Ecosia also crossed the mark of planting more than 200 million trees across 95,000 locales globally.
Ecosia adds a train travel search tool powered by Omio