Want to catch up with what happened in the digital world this week? Our weekly cheat sheet will fill you in on everything you missed while you were scrambling to meet deadlines and put out fires.
Read about MTV’s new artist platform, how teens are increasingly tuning into YouTube to listen to music, how smartphones are becoming vital kitchen aids, and more!
1. MTV launches new artist pages
MTV has come up with a solution to be the Internet’s landing page for music. Artists.MTV will allow musicians, managers, and labels to have their own individual pages with direct-to-fan features. The platform can be updated with the latest news and interviews, social feeds, and photos. It will also be able to stream music and video and sell music and merchandise for each artist. The site is currently in beta but will be open to all artists on September 6.
2. Teens prefer listening to music on YouTube
Remember the days of using CD’s and radios to get your music fix? Well, according to Nielsen’s Music 360 Report, 64% of teens are listening to music through YouTube more than any other source. However, when it comes to music discovery, radio still ranks top with 48% discovering music the most often through the radio.
3. Sonic Notify revolutionizes mobile marketing
Wouldn’t it be amazing to get a personalized deal or coupon for your favorite restaurant you just walked into? With Sonic Notify, you can get mobile notifications at the time you need it the most. Activated by audio, Sonic Notify interacts with your surroundings to provide you with the most relevant media. By installing the system, companies can send mobile notifications at specific times or when consumers are at certain locations.
4. Smartphones becoming an important digital kitchen tool
Many of us have grown up during a time when people used recipe books, clipped coupons, and wrote shopping lists. But now, with our dependence on the Internet, we are relying more on digital tools to helps us create our next meal. The Measuring Cup online poll found that 35% of cooks used smartphones to look up recipes, 18% create digital shopping lists, and 16% redeem digital coupons. While only 15% of cooks watch cooking videos on smartphones, it is important to note that 74% of women watched cooking videos via their PC or tablet in 2012, up from 45% in 1999. As mobile penetration continues to grow, it is expected that all these percentages will increase as well.
5. Big-name retailers team up to create a mobile app for payments
A group of big-name retailers including Walmart, Best Buy and Target, are partnering together to create a new company called Merchant Customer Exchange that will develop a mobile app allowing customers to make purchases with their smartphones. The app is expected have coupons, rebates, and loyalty programs along with a payment system. Retailers are all vying for a position on smartphones as mobile is expected to be the new way to pay.
