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Tag: Alexa

  • Hungama Music now streaming on Alexa

    Hungama Music now streaming on Alexa

    MUMBAI: Hungama Music, one of the leading music streaming platforms in the country owned by Hungama Digital Media, today announced the availability of its service on Alexa. Users can now listen to their favorite tracks on the Amazon Echo range of smart speakers as well as the Amazon Fire TV Stick by simply asking Alexa to play songs from Hungama Music.

    The service enables users to stream individual tracks or songs from an entire album and even songs featuring a particular actor or a genre. Playlists curated by Hungama consisting of songs from composers, singers, occasion- specific trends and themes are also available. Users can access Hungama Music’s library on their Alexa devices using simple voice commands such as “Alexa, play Dilbar on Hungama”, “Alexa, play Punjabi songs on Hungama”, “Alexa, play Arijit Singh’s songs on Hungama”.

    Speaking about the association, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “At Hungama, we believe in offering our users an enriching experience that combines convenience with the power of choice. Our presence on Alexa, Amazon’s voice-based assistant, will help us ensure a truly multi-channel presence and enhance the users’ experience of listening to music at home. At the same time, the association will make it even easier for our users, existing and new, to explore and enjoy our multi-genre, multi-lingual and original content library.”

    Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills, Amazon India added, “Listening to your favorite music hands-free with Alexa is always a delight. With the availability of Hungama Music on Alexa, users will now be able to enjoy a diverse catalogue of film and non-film music across all major languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and more, by using simple voice commands. The addition of Hungama will further enhance the experience of all Alexa users.”

    To enjoy the Hungama Music service, users need to launch the Alexa app and enable the Hungama Music skill.  Once enabled, users also have the option to make Hungama Music their default streaming service by visiting the ‘Music’ section under settings. This eliminates the need to specify the music service name when asking Alexa.

  • Amazon Prime Music introduces innovative Hands Free Feature to enjoy music using voice on its mobile app

    Amazon Prime Music introduces innovative Hands Free Feature to enjoy music using voice on its mobile app

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Music further deepens its focus on innovative voice features with the introduction of Hands Free feature that enables listeners an effortless, lean-back music listening experience on their Amazon Prime Music mobile app. Starting today, Amazon Prime Music listeners can simply ask Alexa to play music wherever they go, while the app is open on any iOS and Android smartphones, without tapping the Alexa icon. 

    Listeners can now directly ask Alexa to play music from their favourite movie soundtracks, play music by mood, activity, era, genre, artists or create a playlist just by asking while eliminating the need to tap the Alexa icon. When the Amazon Prime Music app is open and in the foreground on any iOS and Android smartphones, customers can utilize the innovative voice features they can use on Echo devices to play music and can now simply say, “Alexa” to play, pause, repeat, move back and forth between songs and much more.

    · In the middle of a run? Just ask, “Alexa, play the Dance party playlist I was listening to last week” while enjoying your workout

    · In a mood to cook while listening to latest Bollywood songs? Like something and want to add to your playlist? Simply say, “Alexa, add this song to the playlist ‘My Favourite Hits’” and continue to enjoy cooking

    · Busy with weights at the gym and want to start a new song to keep you motivated? Simply ask, “Alexa, play my workout playlist”. No need to interrupt your weights routine.

    Commenting on the launch, Sahas Malhotra, Director, Amazon Prime Music, said, “We want to make music listening as easy and enjoyable as possible. The launch of the Hands Free feature on the Amazon Prime Music app eliminates yet another step between you and your music, giving you the freedom from tapping the Alexa icon and simply asking for your favorite music. Since its initial launch in the US in 2018, providing Hands Free listening in the app has been one of the top requests by our listeners for the music app. And, today, Amazon Prime Music is making mobile music streaming even better by enabling this new functionality in our app for our listeners. This brings the voice-forward music listening experience that customers love on Echo devices to the rich, visual mobile app interface”.

    The Hands Free feature in the mobile app makes the other recently launched voice-enabled features even more delightful to use and easier to enjoy. For example, in a mood to know what music is trending in other parts of the world across cities or countries? Just ask, “Alexa, play popular songs in New York”,  discover similar music to what listeners are listening to with “Alexa, play more like this” and Alexa will then select and play songs similar to that favourite track, making it easier to sit back and enjoy. That’s not all – listeners don’t ever have to search or browse for their recently played songs or music they haven’t heard in a while – all they have to do is ask, “Alexa, play recently played songs” or “Alexa, play songs I haven’t heard in a while” by artist, genre or time to truly enjoy an immersive music discovery and listening experience on Amazon Prime Music.

    To get started with the Hands Free music listening with Alexa in the Amazon Prime Music app, listeners can update the app for iOS or Android today or download. Listeners can always turn the feature on or off through the Amazon Prime Music app’s settings. Learn more at:

  • Housing, PropTiger, Makaan blogs to be available on Alexa

    Housing, PropTiger, Makaan blogs to be available on Alexa

    MUMBAI: Elara Technologies, a Singapore-based digital real estate company and owner of Housing.com, PropTiger.com, and Makaan.com, has announced the launch of an initiative offering latest news of the Indian real estate sector on Alexa- compatible smart home devices. Alexa users will now be able to consume respective news and blog sections of housing news, PropGuide, and MakaanIQ on Amazon Alexa.

    To listen to daily updates, users need to add Housing News, MakaanIQ or PropGuide to the Alexa skill set, and it will read the latest news in real estate along with other news from sources that one may have added. The cloud-based voice service from Amazon Alexa will present a compact brief of the news that can be consumed efficiently by a user. 

    Housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com group CPTO Ravi Bhushan said, “With almost 28 per cent of queries, voice-enabled searches are the new frontier and they are expected to contribute 50 per cent of all global searches. We are always at the forefront of adopting technology and transforming customer experience by providing instant solutions. Getting our news content in the voice format is another step towards offering our customers the utmost convenience. We see immense potential in serving informational queries such as latest news, property rates, how to guides and more such content in the voice format.”

    “With emerging technologies shaping our lifestyle and dependencies, the recent development demonstrates our single-minded focus and commitment towards consumers, helping them experience property in a way never envisaged before. Most forward-thinking companies have pioneered change, in our field, we are delighted to have done it again,” added Bhushan.

  • Amazon Echo says experience everyday magic in new campaign

    Amazon Echo says experience everyday magic in new campaign

    MUMBAI: In today’s world, where people are worried that the growth of technology is drawing them apart, Amazon Echo’s new campaign aims to bring Indian families together with its smart speaker technology. The campaign stitches together an Indian family’s everyday situations that lead to small moments of everyday magic enabled by the Amazon Echo device.

    Conceptualised by Ogilvy Bangalore and directed by Aarthi Kakkad of Curious Films, the films tell the story of an Indian family where the father, mother and daughter encounters an endearing family moment that is relevant to a daily family setting. One film captures a sweet moment of the father being caught off guard by the mother and daughter secretly dancing to the tunes of a popular Bollywood song. While the other film encapsulates the traditional bond between a father and daughter.

    Ogilvy Mumbai executive creative director Neville Shah, “The simplicity of creative was broken down to one thing. How can the Echo be part of your everyday; like a family member. And since this is an extremely new category, familiarizing people with the use of the product is key.”

    “With the successful launch of Echo, Indian consumers have shown that they are more than ready to adopt new technologies which are relevant to them. The current campaign is continuation of our launch campaign about how Echo fits seamlessly in the lives of consumers and makes everyday moments special,” adds Amazon India director mass and brand marketing Ravi Desai.

    Ogilvy South senior vice president for head of planning Anirban Roy mentions, “The category is at a nascent stage and hence demonstrating relevant use cases of Amazon Echo was critical for us. We are trying to build the category and at the same time trying to create a positive disposition towards us.”

  • Amazon Prime Music launches innovative voice controls powered by Alexa to further enhance Prime members’ music listening experience

    Amazon Prime Music launches innovative voice controls powered by Alexa to further enhance Prime members’ music listening experience

    MUMBAI: Amazon Music today announced the launch of more innovative voice features on Alexa- available only on Amazon Prime Music – both in its mobile app as well as on Echo family devices. Amazon Prime Music listeners can now simply use voice to ask Alexa to play their favorite songs that they haven’t heard in a while. Also launching today is the ability to easily create new playlist(s) or add to the existing playlists just by asking, no searching or browsing required. 

    Amazon Prime Music now makes it easier to go back and listen to music from an earlier point in time by asking Alexa, eliminating the need to remember specific track titles or look back through listening history. Listeners can easily ask for their recently played songs or even those they haven’t heard in a while by artist, genre or time to make the listening experience even easier, including “Alexa, play music that I was listening to last week” or “Alexa, play me the Arijit Singh song I was listening to three weeks ago”. Also launching today is the ability to ask, “Alexa create a new playlist from this song” or add a song from their play queue to an existing personal playlist, making it easier to track and explore music while significantly enhancing the day-to-day listening experience. 

    Sahas Malhotra, Director, Amazon Prime Music India, said, “At Amazon, we constantly listen to our customers’ feedback and innovate to serve their needs in the best possible ways. With the launch of these new ways to discover music, we have made it easier than ever to make the music listening using your voice simpler and easier with Alexa being more like your best friend who understands you well and knows what you want to listen to – all just by asking! With the ad-free music streaming now coupled with the power and simplicity of Alexa Voice controls, Amazon Prime Music will continue to offer simpler, easier and more fun ways to listen to your favourite music.” 

    Now, simply ask for recently played music by artist, genre, or time to make the listening experience even easier. For example, say:
    • “Alexa, play me songs which I recently played”
    • “Alexa, play me the Arijit Singh song I listened to last month” 
    • “Alexa, play me hip hop music I was listening to three weeks ago” 
    • Or even try, “Alexa, play music that I was listening to earlier today” 

    Rediscover your favourite songs you haven’t played in a while, and enjoy without the need to manually scan the search bar or listening history, just try:
    • “Alexa, play songs I haven’t heard in a while”
    • “Alexa, play Rihanna songs I haven’t heard in a while” 
    • “Alexa, play rock songs I haven’t heard recently” 
    • Don’t know what to ask? Just say, “Alexa, play something I haven’t heard in a while” and let her take you down the memory lane.

    While listening to Amazon Prime Music on Echo family devices, add a new song to a playlist, or create a new one by asking:                                              

    • “Alexa, create a new playlist”
    • “Alexa, create a workout playlist”
    • “Alexa, create the playlist ‘My favorite hits’”
    • “Alexa, add this song to my playlist”

    Learn more at https://www.amazon.in/newwithalexa

    Amazon Prime Music is an ad-free service launched as a Prime benefit at no additional cost to the annual membership of INR 999/- and monthly membership of INR 129/-. Amazon Prime Music includes tens of millions of songs across major International and Indian music labels in over 10 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu and more. Amazon Prime Music is available on Android and iOS mobile phone apps, Desktop app and Web player, Amazon Fire TV sticks and Amazon Echo devices.

  • Kickass torrents shut down; alleged owner arrested

    Kickass torrents shut down; alleged owner arrested

    MUMBAI: Content owners the world over must be heaving a sigh of relief because of a development in Poland. Including those in India – right from Yashraj Films to Dharma Productions to Zee Entertainment to Star India to Sony Entertainment.

    The reason: the alleged owner and creator of peer to peer to sharing site Kickass torrents a 30 year old Ukrainian from Kharkiv, Artem Vaulin has been under police arrest since the past couple of days. Kat.cr, which is ranked 70 in the world, according to Alexa, has been shut down since then.

    Many other domains related to kickass torrents that allowed users to download content have been taken down. Among the domains that have been seized include: kat.cr,kickasstorrents.com, katstatic.com, thekat.tv, kickass.cr, kickass.to, and kat.ph. Even proxy URLs s leading to the torrenting service, which began in 2008 have been brought down by the authorities.

    Everything from the latest TV shows to events like the Star Parivaar Awards to the Zee Rishtey Awards to the latest Hindi films, apart from Bollywood fare could be downloaded without payment from kickass torrents.

    Vaulin has been indicted for copyright infringement in the US which, officials say, has allowed more than $1 billion worth of movies, games, music recordings and other content to be distributed for free, thus causing losses to the content owners.

    There’s more trouble lying in store for the young man. US officials want him extradited to be tried for charges that include conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to attorneys for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

    “This criminal case is a major step to reduce illegal theft of creative content by large-scale piracy sites,” MPAA chairman and CEO Chris Dodd said in a statement. “Actions like these help protect the livelihoods of the 1.9 million hard-working Americans whose jobs are supported by the motion picture and television industry – and a legal market that generates $16.3 billion in exports for the U.S. economy.”

    Those interested can read the details of the US department of justice’s lawsuit by clicking on the link here. 
     

  • Kickass torrents shut down; alleged owner arrested

    Kickass torrents shut down; alleged owner arrested

    MUMBAI: Content owners the world over must be heaving a sigh of relief because of a development in Poland. Including those in India – right from Yashraj Films to Dharma Productions to Zee Entertainment to Star India to Sony Entertainment.

    The reason: the alleged owner and creator of peer to peer to sharing site Kickass torrents a 30 year old Ukrainian from Kharkiv, Artem Vaulin has been under police arrest since the past couple of days. Kat.cr, which is ranked 70 in the world, according to Alexa, has been shut down since then.

    Many other domains related to kickass torrents that allowed users to download content have been taken down. Among the domains that have been seized include: kat.cr,kickasstorrents.com, katstatic.com, thekat.tv, kickass.cr, kickass.to, and kat.ph. Even proxy URLs s leading to the torrenting service, which began in 2008 have been brought down by the authorities.

    Everything from the latest TV shows to events like the Star Parivaar Awards to the Zee Rishtey Awards to the latest Hindi films, apart from Bollywood fare could be downloaded without payment from kickass torrents.

    Vaulin has been indicted for copyright infringement in the US which, officials say, has allowed more than $1 billion worth of movies, games, music recordings and other content to be distributed for free, thus causing losses to the content owners.

    There’s more trouble lying in store for the young man. US officials want him extradited to be tried for charges that include conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to attorneys for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

    “This criminal case is a major step to reduce illegal theft of creative content by large-scale piracy sites,” MPAA chairman and CEO Chris Dodd said in a statement. “Actions like these help protect the livelihoods of the 1.9 million hard-working Americans whose jobs are supported by the motion picture and television industry – and a legal market that generates $16.3 billion in exports for the U.S. economy.”

    Those interested can read the details of the US department of justice’s lawsuit by clicking on the link here.