GoKawiil
Tech News
Spotify has rolled out its Memberships program, letting podcast creators offer exclusive content to fans for a recurring subscription fee. Creators can set multiple price tiers and keep 90 percent of revenue, with the feature launching across 34 markets for shows meeting minimum thresholds of 100 consumption hours, 100 listeners or viewers, and three published episodes.
The share of routed IP address blocks with valid RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) records rose from 54.0% in September 2025 to 70.3% in September 2026, a 16.4 percentage point jump in a single year, according to data pulled each September. China accounted for most of the increase, with its share of IPv4 addresses in valid routes climbing from 3.7% to 83.0%, nearly 60% of the global gain by address count.
The UK government is reportedly considering a proposal to expand the existing BBC license fee so it also covers video streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and YouTube, according to The Independent. Currently the £180 (~$239) annual fee applies to anyone watching live or on-demand TV content, but streaming via phones or computers can let viewers avoid it. An unnamed source said officials view this as an unfair loophole that lets people watch television-like content without paying.
A developer has released Sygal, a tool that runs locally to convert images, scans, PDFs, web pages and YouTube videos into Markdown text. The creator says this conversion can cut token usage for AI models by roughly 2 to 7 times compared to feeding in raw images or markup, with YouTube links converted into clean transcripts.
Google is rolling out labels on YouTube Music that flag tracks created or significantly altered using generative AI, appearing on the player page with a tappable menu for more details. The system relies on a mix of Google's own detection tools, partnerships, and optional disclosures from publishers, who can mark uploads as fully, partially, or not AI-generated.
Maka, a new subscription streaming platform for children aged 0 to 6, launched with 25 licensed shows including Sesame Street, Franklin and The Wiggles. The app has no ads, no autoplay and no endless scrolling, and costs $15 a month or $107 a year. Cofounders Isabel Sheinman and Tanyella Leta say content is screened using a framework called Imprint, developed with researchers at the Yale Child Study Center.
According to the Wall Street Journal, YouTube is negotiating with publishers and could launch an audiobooks feature as early as next year. The report says YouTube has discussed bundling the feature into its $16-a-month ad-free Premium subscription, though pricing and whether individual books would be sold remain unsettled. YouTube has not confirmed the plans.
YouTube announced it is expanding its labeling system to flag songs identified as primarily AI-generated on YouTube Music, with plans to extend the labels to the main YouTube app. The company says detection relies on its own tools plus input from music partners, though it hasn't specified how much AI content a track needs to qualify.
DirecTV rolled out a new Build Your Own Multiview feature this week, letting subscribers watch up to four sports channels simultaneously on one screen. The tool, built into the platform's interface, supports channels like ESPN, FS1, NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network and several conference networks, with users able to add or change channels at any time.
YouTube Music introduced a labeling system that flags songs made with generative AI, appearing on the player page and within the main YouTube app. Partners can classify tracks as Fully Gen AI, Partly Gen AI, or No Gen AI, with YouTube using both partner disclosures and its own detection tools to apply the labels.
YouTube Music has started displaying an "AI" label beneath track titles for songs fully or partly generated using AI, including cases where AI created major elements like vocals. Tapping the label reveals details on how AI was used in the track. YouTube says similar labels will eventually appear in the main YouTube video player as well.
Apple's updated CarPlay Developer Guide reveals that third-party video apps like YouTube and Netflix can appear on HomeView, but only if developers add support for CarPlay's video app entitlement. HomeView lacks an App Store, so compatibility hinges on this existing CarPlay framework rather than separate HomeView-specific development.