Micah Singleton | Vox Our world has too much noise and too little context. Vox helps you understand what matters. 2019-03-06T11:07:16+00:00 https://www.vox.com/authors/micah-singleton/rss https://platform.vox.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/vox_logo_rss_light_mode.png?w=150&h=100&crop=1 Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Spotify to Pay Out $21 Million in Royalty Deal]]> https://www.vox.com/2016/3/17/11587076/spotify-to-pay-out-21-million-in-royalty-deal 2019-03-06T05:38:11-05:00 2016-03-17T17:35:40-04:00

Spotify has reached an agreement with the National Music Publisher’s Association (NMPA) over unpaid royalties. The streaming service will pay out around $21 million to publishers and songwriters in the deal, according to sources, with roughly $16 million set aside for royalty payments and a $5 million bonus fund for publishers and songwriters who opt in to the deal. The deal covers all content between Spotify’s inception and June 30th, 2017

The streaming service has been the target of a few lawsuits surrounding unpaid royalties, the latest of which was demanding $150 million in damages. Spotify is hoping that this deal with the NMPA will placate most of the complaints from publishers and songwriters, and it can move on from those lawsuits, and it may be right. Back in 2011, the NMPA struck a deal with YouTube and most of its constituents opted in instead of attempting alternative lawsuits.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

]]> Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Apple, Ericsson Settle Patent Dispute]]> https://www.vox.com/2015/12/21/11621636/apple-ericsson-settle-patent-dispute 2019-03-06T06:07:16-05:00 2015-12-21T09:43:29-05:00

Apple and the mobile telecom giant Ericsson have agreed on a patent license deal that will find the world’s largest company paying out a small portion of its iPhone revenue to the Swedish company.

Ericsson did not announce how much it stands to make from the seven-year deal, but an estimate by investment bank ABG Sundal Collier pointed out by Reuters has Apple paying out 0.5 percent of its iPad and iPhone revenue. The dispute has been going on since 2012.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

]]> Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Jawbone Cuts 15 Percent of Its Workforce]]> https://www.vox.com/2015/11/20/11620850/jawbone-cuts-15-percent-of-its-workforce 2019-03-06T06:05:54-05:00 2015-11-20T09:09:14-05:00

Jawbone has laid off 15 percent of its staff, totaling around 60 people, as first reported by TechCrunch. The company, best known for making fitness trackers and Bluetooth speakers, attributed the latest cuts to streamlining in a statement to The Verge.

“As part of our strategy to create a more streamlined and successful company, we made the difficult decisions to reorganize the company which has had an impact on our global workforce,” a Jawbone spokesperson said. A source close to the company says there are no further cuts currently planned.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

]]> Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Fossil Group Acquires Wearable Maker Misfit for $260 Million]]> https://www.vox.com/2015/11/12/11620624/fossil-group-acquires-wearable-maker-misfit-for-260-million 2019-03-06T05:44:18-05:00 2015-11-12T14:27:52-05:00

Fossil Group has agreed to acquire Misfit, maker of wearable activity trackers, for $260 million in a major deal uniting traditional watchmakers with Silicon Valley talent. Fossil Group says it plans to begin incorporating Misfit’s technology into products resembling traditional watches as early as next year.

Since it was founded in 2011, Misfit has built sleek, inexpensive activity monitors — like the Shine 2, which lasts up to six months on a coin battery — and some smart-home products like sleep monitors and smart bulbs. The company found success in partnerships with companies like Speedo and Swarovski, but it hadn’t been able to overtake industry staples like Fitbit and Nike who dominate the wearable market.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

]]> Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Verizon Will Support Samsung Pay in a ‘Future Software Update’]]> https://www.vox.com/2015/10/6/11619254/verizon-will-support-samsung-pay-in-a-future-software-update 2019-03-06T06:03:26-05:00 2015-10-06T11:18:50-04:00

After not being a part of the initial group of carriers to support Samsung Pay, Verizon Wireless has finally announced that it will support the service in an upcoming software update.

Verizon Wireless missed the September 28th launch of Samsung Pay, stating that it was “evaluating” the mobile payment service, despite the fact that AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular all had time to evaluate and approve the service on their networks back in August.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

]]> Micah Singleton <![CDATA[Amazon Launches Underground to Promote Free Apps and Games]]> https://www.vox.com/2015/8/26/11618048/amazon-launches-underground-to-promote-free-apps-and-games 2019-03-06T06:01:29-05:00 2015-08-26T11:26:57-04:00

Amazon launched a new shopping app on Android called Underground, which is a collection all of the free apps offered throughout the Amazon Appstore. Underground gathers and displays apps and games that are “actually free” as Amazon calls it — with no hidden costs like in-app purchases.

Amazon says users of Underground have access to over $10,000 in free apps and in-app purchases through Underground that would normally cost them if purchased through Amazon’s regular Appstore. But unless you are one of the hundreds of people still using the Fire Phone, it’s still a pain for most people to install any apps from the Amazon Appstore on an Android device.

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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