There’s a new music discovery app borrowing the endless vertical-scrolling format of TikTok. But instead of watching videos, users swipe through short clips of songs, hoping to stumble upon their next favorite artist. Launched Monday by Harman, a Samsung subsidiary, Drops aims to make discovering new music feel social again.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/11/09/meet-drops-the-new-music-app-bringing-back-the-fun-of-sharing-songs-with-friends/
Originally called the “MDR-3L2,” the first Walkman headphones were known for their sleek, adjustable gray plastic headband, which extended via metal sliders and ended in signature orange, circular ear cushions. The lightweight, on-ear headphones are a contrast to the bulky headsets that are popular these days, which use wide, cushioned headbands for long-term comfort and large earcups that can support big drivers and are often heavily padded for noise isolation.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/11/sony-adds-usb-c-to-its-70s-era-mdr-3-walkman-headphones/
At the end of the 20th century, as digital music was first becoming a thing, Winamp was must-have software for many people. The audio player, which famously featured a llama mascot and sounds of a bleating llama when you started it up, has never completely gone away, but it has long since been overshadowed by embedded media players from Microsoft, Apple, and other companies. The beloved MP3-era music player is teaming up with Deezer to launch a subscription streaming service next year.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91610440/winamp-is-back-and-wants-a-piece-of-spotifys-business
Deezer announced on Monday that AI-generated tracks now represent 44% of all new music uploaded to its platform. The company said it’s receiving almost 75,000 AI-generated tracks per day and more than two million per month. The consumption of AI-generated music on the platform is still very low, at 1-3% of total streams, and 85% of these streams are detected as fraudulent and demonetized by the company.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/20/deezer-says-44-of-songs-uploaded-to-its-platform-daily-are-ai-generated/
The music distribution platform Bandcamp announced in a Reddit post on Tuesday that it’s banning AI-generated music and audio. “We want musicians to keep making music, and for fans to have confidence that the music they find on Bandcamp was created by humans,” the company said. Bandcamp’s new guidelines state that music and audio generated “wholly or in substantial part by AI” is not permitted, and that it will not allow the use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/14/bandcamp-takes-a-stand-against-ai-music-banning-it-from-the-platform/
As TikTok’s fate in the United States remains uncertain, the tech giant has quietly started testing a new “TikTok for Artists” insights platform that is designed to help artists build their careers, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The platform will provide artists with tools to promote their songs, understand performance metrics, and engage with fans. The platform is currently being tested in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. TikTok plans to bring the platform to additional markets in the future alongside a wider rollout.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/03/tiktok-quietly-launches-a-new-tiktok-for-artists-platform/
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While we all wait for the reveal of Nintendo’s next console, the company has once again announced something very different. This time, it’s a mobile app called Nintendo Music, which lets users listen to classic gaming tunes from Nintendo games spanning the last few decades, including Splatoon, Animal Crossing, and The Legend of Zelda. It’s only available to Switch Online subscribers, and it’s launching today on both iOS and Android.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/30/24284073/nintendo-music-streaming-app-switch-online-subscribers