Facebook’s latest home feed focuses on recommended content

There’s increasing pressure on Meta to show more content in chronological order, and the company is responding — if not quite in the way you might have expected. Facebook has launched Home and Feeds tabs that simultaneously offer more control while giving the social network more opportunities to push recommendations. The Feeds tab shows posts from friends, groups and Pages in a linear timeline, but the Home tab uses Facebook’s discovery engine to recommend posts, Reels and other content, including from people you don’t follow.

The tabs will appear in the shortcut bar of Facebook’s Android and iOS apps starting today, and should roll out worldwide this week. The Home tab will open by default, but you can pin the Feeds tab to the shortcut bar to make sure it’s always available.

The social media giant has previously made concessions to people who prefer chronological viewing. In March of last year, it gave users quick access to a “Most Recent” setting for the News Feed. As The Vergenoted, though, this appears to be an effort to compete with TikTok’s recommendation-driven approach to videos without dropping the usual focus on friends and Pages. Meta lost daily Facebook users for the first time in the third quarter of 2021, and has struggled to return to its previously rapid growth. In theory, this shift toward recommendations will keep users coming back without alienating those who just want to interact with their friends.

Warner is the first major label to adopt SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties model

SoundCloud has found a powerful partner for its unusual royalty system that ensures lesser-known artists and indie acts are getting the money they deserve. The service has signed a global licensing agreement with Warner Music Group, making the company the first record label to adopt its Fan-Powered Royalties model. Some of the record label’s most popular acts are Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Cher, Gorillaz, Hayley Kiyoko, Kelly Clarkson and Lizzo. However, it’s most likely the artists who aren’t quite as well-known who would benefit the most from the scheme.

This deal ensures every artist across the label’s roster gets paid based on users’ listening habits. Most streaming services’ pro-rata model puts their ad earnings and their customers’ subscription payments in one big pot used to pay artists based on their share of total plays across the service. SoundCloud’s system, however, sends listeners’ subscription money directly to the artists they’re listening to. 

The service launched the new model in 2021 and implemented it for performers using SoundCloud Premier, Repost and Repost Select. Back then, it said artists could collect as much as five times their previous royalties under the scheme. Company President Eliah Seton said in a statement: “Warner Music Group is known for developing some of today’s biggest superstars and helping them build long-term careers by investing in technologies and models which grow and support their fan communities. This makes them an ideal partner for SoundCloud… [The company] is known for our community of music-loving fans and this partnership aligns with our commitment to a fan-powered, artist-centric business.”

When SoundCloud introduced the fan-powered royalties model, critics noted that it might potentially be expensive to operate and, while it looks good on paper, it may not work well in practice. Warner signing the deal adds weight to the royalties scheme, though, and other major labels might be more inclined to follow suit.

‘Space Explorers: The ISS Experience’ wraps up with a spacewalk filmed in VR

The final episode of Space Explorers: The ISS Experience is available starting today and it’s closing things out with a bang. The four-part series, which debuted in October 2020, wraps up with the first spacewalk filmed in ultra high-resolution cinematic virtual reality. The episode, which is called “Expand,” includes the arrival of a SpaceX crew on the International Space Station for the first time as well. Meanwhile, the astronauts are forced to reckon with the impact of COVID-19 back on Earth.

You can check out “Expand” on Meta Quest and Meta Quest 2 headsets for free. The other Space Explorers: The ISS Experience episodes are still available too. Meanwhile, Felix & Paul, the studio behind the series, plans to livestream the Artemis I launch in VR. The launch of an uncrewed mission to the Moon is currently slated for August 29th, September 2nd or September 5th.

Not all Netflix shows will be streamable on the ad-supported tier

When Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported tier launches next year, subscribers may find themselves unable to access some of the service’s titles available on its regular plan. As Deadline notes, Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos has admitted during the company’s most recent earnings call that the upcoming subscription option will not include all of its licensed content at launch. It will be missing shows and movies from both US and international studios and distributors, unless the company can successfully (and quickly) convince them to change the deal they originally agreed to. 

Netflix is in talks with studios to amend their deals and be able to make their shows available for streaming alongside ads. Based on a previous Wall Street Journal report, Netflix is renegotiating its deals with Warner Bros. (the studio behind You), Universal (the producer of Russian Doll) and Sony Pictures Television (producer of Cobra Kai). The service will reportedly have to renegotiate the terms for some of the older shows it carries, as well, including Breaking Bad. 

Sarandos said during the earnings call:

“Today, the vast majority of what people watch on Netflix, we can include in the ad-supported. There’s some things that don’t and we’re in conversations with the studios on, but if we launched the product today, members in the ad-tier would have a great experience. We will clear some additional content but certainly not all of it but don’t think it’s a material holdback for the business.”

In the same call, Netflix also admitted that it lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022. It still turned a $1.44 billion net profit and expects to add a net 1 million subscribers in the next quarter, but it’s hoping that some of the measures it’s taking will help it grow its userbase yet again. The ad-supporter tier it’s launching with Microsoft early next year could help Netflix grow in markets where there’s strong ad spending. 

Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ will hit Disney+ on August 3rd

Lightyear didn’t hit the box office heights Disney hoped for, despite it being the first Pixar movie to debut exclusively in theaters in over two years. You won’t have to wait too much longer to stream the movie at home, though. It’s coming to Disney+ on August 3rd, 47 days after it landed in theaters.

While it’s technically a Toy Story spinoff, it has a meta element to it. The action figure in the Toy Story movies is supposedly based on Lightyear, an in-universe film characters like Andy seemingly watched (making this a quasi-prequel). This time around, Buzz is in human form and is voiced by Chris Evans. He’s an astronaut who, along with his crew and commander, gets stuck on a strange planet and needs to find a way home. The cast also includes Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin and Uzo Aduba.

‘Doom’ co-creator John Romero is making a new first-person shooter

John Romero, one of the brains behind Doom, is working on another first-person shooter, Romero Games announced today. In a tweet, the independent studio founded by Romero and his wife Brenda Romero said it will be teaming up with a major publisher to develop the game and will be using an “original, new IP.” 

Few other details were revealed about the upcoming title, which will be the first title from Romero Games since Brenda’s 2020 strategy game Empire of Sin. We do know that it will be powered by Unreal Engine 5. The studio mentioned that it is recruiting staff at all levels to help build the game, particularly people with UE5 experience.

The Galway-based studio isn’t revealing much else about the game. In the FAQ section of its website, the question “What can you tell us about the new shooter?” appears first. “We can confirm that it’s new, that it’s a shooter and that we’re making it with a major publisher. Otherwise, it’s way too early to share any other information on it. We’re grateful for your interest, though,” the studio writes in response.

It’s only been a few months since Epic Games released UE5 to developers, and we’ve already seen a number of new, promising game announcements — though we won’t see most of them until later on in 2022 or 2023. Fans of Romero’s work will likely have to remain patient for this latest title, and it’s unclear where whether it will take precedence over Sigil 2, which Romero Games announced last year but which still lacks a release date.

Correction 7/19/22 5:51pm:Empire of Sin has now been appropriately attributed to Brenda Romero.

The new Instagram map is like Google Maps but with more selfies

The map function on Instagram got a lot more useful today, in a Google-inspired kind of way. The new Instagram map supports searches and filters, allowing users to look up restaurants, attractions and other hot spots directly in the app, rather than simply viewing where a photo was posted. The updated map also features posts, stories and guides tagged by users, offering a glimpse into the local scene wherever you search.

The map supports hashtag searches and offers the ability to explore by tapping tagged locations in the feed or Stories. You can also type the name of an establishment, city or neighborhood directly into the Explore page and see results on the map. The new map allows users to save their searches in a collection and share locations with other Instagrammers, as well.

Using location stickers on posts and Stories will add that content to the search results on the new map, as long as your profile is public. Visually, the map features Instagram icons where the attractions are, allowing searchers to tap and see Stories or visit the profile pages of businesses they find interesting.

This is yet another step in Instagram’s plan to become a one-stop shop for social networking, commerce, traveling and, like, life in general. For instance, earlier in July, Instagram rolled out the ability to buy things directly in chat. Moves like these make it easier for users to simply stay on Instagram, rather than opening up Google Maps or Venmo and taking their ad-supported eyeballs elsewhere.

YouTube makes it easier for creators to sell merch to fans

YouTube is making it that much easier to buy on impulse from your favorite channel. The internet giant now lets creators link their Shopify stores, making it easier to snag merch. You’ll know if a product is in stock, and you won’t even have to leave a video to check out if a YouTuber is based in the US. If there’s a must-have hoodie or yoga mat, you can order it moments after you see it.

You’ll see the enhanced shopping from eligible creators — that is, they need to have at least 10,000 subscribers (or an official artist channel), monetization, a focus on non-child content and a largely spotless policy violation record. You can’t launch your YouTube channel and store at the same time, then.

YouTube told Engadget it won’t take a cut of Shopify-linked sales. Even so, the company is clearly hoping that the seamless experience will encourage you to shop through video pages. That, in turn, might spur creators to build up a large-enough audience that they can share a storefront and boost their bottom line. This might also help YouTube fend off competition from Instagram and others that already help you shop through social media posts.

Netflix’s animated ‘Tekken: Bloodline’ series will arrive on August 18th

Netflix has launched a full trailer for its upcoming animated adaptation of Tekken, Bandai Namco’s famous fighting game franchise, and with it comes the show’s premiere date. Tekken: Bloodline is arriving on the streaming service on August 18th and will be available in several languages, including English and Japanese. The show focuses on Jin Kazama and takes place between the events of Tekken 2, which features his mother Jun Kazama as one of The King of Iron Fist Tournament competitors, and Tekken 3. Jin made his debut in the franchise’s third entry released back in 1996 after losing his mother and his home to Ogre, one of the franchise’s antagonists. 

In the series, Jin trained under his grandfather Heihachi Mishima, the tournament’s founder, in his quest for revenge. You’ll hear Heihachi tell Jin to shed the pacifist Kazama ways and to “stoke [his] Mishima fire.” Yes, Heihachi sounds positively villainous, because he’s the franchise’s main antagonist. The trailer also shows faces that would be familiar to long-time fans, as characters from the games also appear in the show. They include Hwoarang, Julia Chang, Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix, Ling Xiaoyu and Heihachi’s son Kazuya Mishima.

You can watch show’s official trailer below: