Software : Music streaming up 700 per cent in 2012, says Universal UK boss

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Music streaming up 700 per cent in 2012, says Universal UK boss Posted: The growing popularity of internet music services like Spotify has sent the number of streamed tracks up by almost 700 per cent in the UK. In an interview with The Guardian, David Joseph, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music UK and Ireland revealed that over 7.5 billion tracks have been streamed this year. During the whole of 2011 only 1.1 billion tracks were streamed through the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Last.fm, representing a seismic shift in the way Brits are consuming music. The Guardian points out that another 250 billion songs have been viewed through YouTube this year. Break on through The streaming figures are juxtaposed with Joseph's concerns about the falling number of UK breakthrough artists (defined by 100,000 album sales) this year. Nine new acts (potentially rising to 12 or 13) attained the 100,000 mark in 2012, according to Joseph, falling from 19 in 2011. Are the higher streaming numbers affecting album sales? Joseph said: "There are two or three more acts to break but it doesn't look like reaching 19," claiming 20+ is the expected norm. "Considering this is our lifeblood it is of concern to us, and something we focus on every day," he added. Despite the concerns over breakthrough acts, singles sales in the UK are, this year, at the highest level this century, according to the UK's Official Charts, buoyed by improved digital download figures.

Watch YouTube on a Google TV with Android app update Posted: YouTube viewers eager for a quick way to watch online videos in their living rooms can now do so thanks to an updated YouTube app for Android and Google TV. Google is rolling out a YouTube app update today that lets users choose which video they want to watch through the app on their smartphones and tablets, then play the video on their TV screens. A TV icon appears on the video selected through the YouTube app and, once selected, streams that video to a Google TV. There's plans to bring the feature to more devices and screens down the road. Added features The update also transforms mobile devices into remote controls, letting users pause, scroll or skip to the next video as it plays on the TV. Because everything is connected in the cloud, viewers can jump to the next video through their tablets or hop around the web on their phones while the video continues to play on the TV. Multiple devices can hook up to the TV, too, so family, friends and housemates can add their vids to the playlist. Q the change While all this is well and good for Google (and its users) it points to perhaps the penultimate if not final nail in the coffin for the Nexus Q experiment. This app update basically offers the same services the Q promised to bring - yet without a piece of wonky hardware. The Q, marketed as a sort of entertainment hub, ran into quality problems when users (like TechRadar's reviewer) tried to transfer videos from a device like the Nexus 7 (where the images looked great) to a TV (where the moving pictures lost significant quality). It wasn't a Google TV - which may have been part of the reason Google has switched gears to the YouTube app. Now, interested parties have to purchase a Google TV in order to take advantage of the app, a much more straight-forward proposition than the Nexus Q, and one that will make Google money.

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