Category: Entertainment

Spotify is raising prices outside the US

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Ah, the wonderful world of streaming. Spotify just announced that it is raising the price of its subscriptions in many regions in the coming weeks. The increase affects Spotify customers in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region according to the announcement.

In Germany, Spotify is raising the price by €2 per month to 12.99 Euro. Student up 1€ Euro to 6.99 Euro, Duo by 3€ to 17.99 Euro and Family by 4€ to 21.99 Euro per month.

Mileage may differ depending on the region, but prices should go up across the board, except for North-America.

Spotify says that it is increasing the price so that it “can continue to innovate”. For subscribers, it means that they have to pay more to continue using the service. Spotify increased pricing in July 2024 the last time (in the U.S.), and before that in July 2023.

Other streaming services, including Netflix or Google, are also increasing pricing regularly. Subscriptions are becoming more expensive with each passing year and there seems no end to it.

What you can do about it? If you do not really need them, cancel your subscription. If you like them, try subscribing for a short period each year. This works really well with TV and movie streaming services, as they may not put out enough quality content to justify annual subscriptions anyway.

Other than that, you could go back to physical media. Yes, that requires a handpicking approach to music and media, but you get can play the media indefinitely and without any limitations after the purchase. The only problem that you may run into is that the discs may get corrupt over time. You could counter that by digitalizing the media.

However, not everything is put out on disc anymore and things may get worse in the coming years.

Add a streaming server to your entertainment setup, and you may play music, TV shows or movies without having to use physical media at all.

Google is testing floating ads on YouTube that overshadow part of the video

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you thought that the current state of the Internet and advertisement in general is at a threshold already, then you may be surprised that companies like Google, Meta, Netflix, or Amazon don’t really think so.

Google seems to be one of the main driving forces behind ads. The advertising company that also operates a search engine, browser, and the YouTube website, announced last month that YouTube Premium Lite users would soon start seeing more ads.

The brunt of ads, however, is reserved for users who do not pay Google to see less or no ads. A report on Tech Issues suggests that Google is pushing it again on YouTube.

The site mentions two reports by YouTube users. The first is about the missing skip button on YouTube, which Google started to hide as early as October 2024. Google displayed a skip button when ads played in the past, but this appears to have changed for some users. No skip button means that you have to sit through the entire ad or ads before you can start watching the video.

The second new type of ad may even be more annoying. Since users only accept a number of ads on the site, Google thought it a good idea to add floating ads to videos.

The example given by a user on Reddit shows a small banner overlay on the video screen that promotes a seemingly unrelated channel on the site. To make matters worse, there does not appear to be an easy way to close that banner. Apparently, you need to click on the three-dots first before you can hide it again.

So, if you do use a content blocker, then there is a good chance that a rules update will hide this new form of advertisement on YouTube. However, depending on how you access YouTube, you may not be able to run a content blocker. For instance, if you use the official YouTube app, you can’t block ads that it displays easily. You can check out my guide on blocking most ads on Android for starters.

Now You: how do you handle ads on sites like YouTube? Do you block them? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Microsoft pulls another section from the Microsoft Store, ends Movies and TV show purchases

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s big plans for its Microsoft Store are slowly coming to an end. The company launched the Store with some fanfare as a place to get games, apps, music, TV shows, and movies. Music, along with the streaming-app Groove Music, was pulled by Microsoft back in 2017 already.

Now, Microsoft is adding movies and TV shows to the ever-growing Microsoft Graveyard. The official Microsoft Store app and website do not list options to browse, rent, or purchase movies or TV shows anymore already.

Microsoft published a support page that answers some of the pressing questions that the few customers of the Store may have.

Here is a quick overview:

  • Customers can access their purchased content on Windows and Xbox devices using the Microsoft Movies & TV app.
  • No refunds. Microsoft states that “per the Microsoft Store Terms of Sale, Movies and TV shows are ineligible for refunds”.
  • Movies or TV shows can no longer be rented or purchased via the Microsoft Store.

So, if you bought (which means purchased a right to watch the content, with the “seller” having the right to remove your right at any time) movies or TV shows on the Microsoft Store in the past, you will continue to have access to that content. You are stuck using the Microsoft Movies & TV app to watch that content though, which may mean juggling between multiple services, if you plan to switch to another app to make future purchases.

While digital purchases certainly have their appeal, as you get immediate access to the content and can watch it on any modern electronic device more or less, there is always the danger that the company that sold you the content is terminating your access to it. This case, as well as several others, highlight that some of the largest organizations in the world may do that to you.

So what is the alternative? Assuming that you want to fully own a movie or TV show, buying physical media. If you do not want to own it, waiting until the movie or TV show is available on a streaming service that you use.

Netflix plans to double ad-revenue in 2025

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Netflix published a new shareholder letter that covers the second quarter of the year. Revenue continues to grow and Netflix is optimistic that the trend continues.

The letter covers monetization on the platform, which may also be of interest to Netflix subscribers.

In short:

  • Netflix plans to double ad-revenue in 2025.
  • Netflix plans to refine its plans and pricing “to improve monetization”.

It does not take a genius to understand how this is going to affect subscribers. Expect another round of price increases, at least in select markets, and more ads on the platform.

While the doubling of ad-revenue will also come from the creation of the company’s ad platform and its development, it is quite probable that Netflix may increase the time ads play per hour for users who are subscribed to the ad-powered plan on the site.

It is interesting to note that Netflix has not seen any negative effects regarding its recent price hikes, introduction of advertisement, increase of ad views, and changes made to the service. Growth continues and most customers seem to stick with Netflix, regardless of what the service does.

Netflix is not the only streaming service that is betting big on ads to fuel growth. Amazon revealed recently that it plans to double ad minutes on Prime Video.

My strategy regarding streaming services remains unchanged. Subscribe selectively for a short period, e.g., a month, or grab a very cheap promotional offer, watch the few shows or movies that are worth watching, and then cancel. For the past decade or so, I have found fewer and fewer reasons for subscribing to Netflix and other streaming services. Main reason? I do not find the shows and movies that they put out appealing or interesting.

What about you? Do you have a subscription to a streaming service? If so, what do you like to watch?

Google introduces Hyping on YouTube, what you need to know

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google announced a new feature for YouTube that it says is “all about helping emerging YouTube channels grow by connecting them with new audiences”. Called “Hype”, it allows any YouTube user to hype videos.

The only restrictions are that the video needs to have been published a maximum of seven days ago and that the publisher has less than 500,000 subscribers. This should apply to most channels on YouTube therefore, especially since it sounds a bit crazy that a channel with 450,000 subscribers is considered emerging.

Anyway, each YouTube user has three hypes per week. You need to be signed in to hype a video and YouTube will show a leaderboard of the “most hyped” videos from the week on the site.

In the future, Google plans to introduce options to purchase hypes. Means, once you run out of your three hypes you can start buying more. Useful for the creators whose videos you push, but also for Google as it will certainly take its share of the price of that.

Google says that hyping pushes videos to regional leaderboards, where they may get more exposure and thus views. In addition to that, hyped videos get a special badge on YouTube. It appears, however, that the amount of hype has no influence on recommendations or search results.

Is it worthwhile then? Probably not. While fans may be able to push videos from a certain creator to the top hype charts of the week, the system seems to benefit larger channels closer to the 500k limit more than smaller ones with just a few users.

The main benefactor will be Google, as users will certainly use the option to buy more hypes to push their favorite creators on the site. Also, the amount of hype a video gets on YouTube says nothing about its quality or usefulness to you.

All in all, it does not sound overly useful and could potentially be just another scheme by Google to earn more revenue on the site.

Now You: what is your take on the new Hype option on YouTube? Cool new feature that sounds useful and could really help smaller channels stand a chance against the juggernauts? Or another cash grab by Google?

Amazon Prime Video Ad Free

Amazon kills Freevee, because it moved ads to Prime Video

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The writing was on the wall. Some time ago, Amazon pulled a fast one on Prime subscribers by introducing ads for everyone. Subscribers who did not want the new experience could pay Amazon a few bucks extra to get rid of the advertisement again. To hammer that home even more, Amazon recently started to show more ads to users per hour.

Questions about the fate of Amazon’s then ad-powered streaming service Freevee came up at the same time. It did not really make sense to have Freevee as an option if all of the streams on Prime Video would also show advertisement to users.

Amazon kept Freevee around for the time being. CNBC reports that some Freevee users see notifications when they launch the app on their devices about the upcoming end of it.

According to the report, Amazon plans to put the standalone Freevee app to rest in August 2025. The notice states “Prime Video is the new exclusive home for Freevee TV shows, movies and Live TV”.

The app will stop working in August 2025 and users may tune in directly on the Amazon streaming service to get their Freevee fix. Amazon users, with or without Prime Video subscription, may continue to watch free content with advertisement on the Amazon website. The only requirement for that is an Amazon account.

Closing Words

Amazon established Freevee in 2019 to stream videos with ads to users. The decision to turn Prime Video into a bigger version of Freevee came in 2024. The only differentiating factor will be that users may watch Freevee content on Amazon without a Prime subscription going forward. Other than that, you will get ads either way unless you pay extra.

It is probably only a matter of time before Freevee is retired entirely and the available media library is integrated into the Amazon Prime Video library.

As far as I’m concerned, I started to watch more content on DVD and Blu-Ray again as it is giving me full control and a (mostly) ad-free experience.

YouTube Experience Interruptions

Is Google delaying videos on YouTube for users with ad blockers?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Watching videos on YouTube is the favorite pastime of many Internet users. Those without YouTube Premium have to sit through ads before they get to see the video that they clicked on. The main way around this is to use an ad blocker.

Good ones block video ads on YouTube so that the actual video plays right away. Google is constantly tweaking and adjusting things on YouTube to make ad blockers less effective.

From displaying banners to users with ad blockers that they have to turn off the content blocker to watch the video to manipulation.

Reports emerged this month that Google may delay videos on YouTube for users of ad blockers. There is this thread on Reddit talking about the change and also one at the Brave forum.

All describe that Google may display “Experiencing interruptions?” in the lower left corner of the browser window on YouTube, if an ad blocker is used.

This delays the initial playback of the video by seconds, up to ten according to reports. Quick test in Brave confirmed that YouTube showed these on some videos that I tried to play. The delay was not as large, maybe a second or two for all the videos that showed the notification.

The issue is not limited to a single browser or a single content blocker. Brave is affected, as is uBlock Origin in Firefox. Updates seem to have fixed the issue for some time, but the issue seems to have reappeared.

There is not really a fix for that at the time of writing. If you are affected, you may have to wait until the filter lists get updated or the issue resolved in another way. Still, even with the delay added, it is not as bad has having to sit through the video ads that YouTube displays when you turn off your ad blocker.

The only other solution that I can think of is to download the videos instead and watch them this way.

Now You: do you watch videos on YouTube? Did you notice the delay in the past couple of weeks?

Gog One-click Mod: easy installation of hand-picked mods

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

PC Gaming platform Gog just announced a new addition to its ever-growing arsenal of tools and options for PC gamers. Called Gog One-Click Mod, it integrates the installation of curated mods into the platform.

Mods are modifications. These can range from tiny changes, like a modified outfit for a character or a fix for an annoying issue, to full conversions or entire new games. Some can even restore content that game developers did not add in the final product but included on the game media.

Not all games support modifications, but those that do, usually fare better long-term. The main reason for that is that mods often add new content to games, be it new levels or entire campaigns.

Gog’s new feature promises the simplest most convenient installation experience. All it takes is a single-click to install the supported mods.

The classic installation process of many mods is not straightforward. It depends on the game, but it is sometimes necessary to tinker with game files or copy files to specific directories to install a mod.

Here is what is available right now:

  • Doom 3: Phobos
  • Fallout: London One-Click Edition
  • Enderal: Forgotten Stories
  • The Chronicles of Myrtana: Archolos
  • Heroes of Might and Magic III: Horn of the Abyss
  • Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines – Unofficial Patch
  • The Elder Scrolls: Skyblivion (soon)

Gog created a video that demos the functionality:

Some of the most popular computer games of all time started out as mods. Valve Software, maker of Steam, is notorious for that. The company’s games Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 all started out as mods.

Gog is my go-to PC gaming store. While it does not have all the latest games, due to its anti-DRM stance, it offers a good selection of mostly classic computer games. The addition of this feature adds more content to the platform, which is a good move.

It already covers games like Fallout and Heroes of Might and Magic, which I own and love. Gog needs to expand this quickly to cover more games and make this a truly unique feature.

Now You: do you play games and / or mods? What is your take on this new feature of Gog? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

YouTube Premium Duo

YouTube Premium Duo: YouTube for two launches in select regions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

After announcing that YouTube Premium Lite will soon get worse with the addition of advertisement in YouTube Shorts, Google has launched another new YouTube plan.

Called YouTube Premium Duo, it is a plan for two users. Unlike the Lite plan, which includes some ads and limitations, Premium Duo offers the same functionality as the single Premium plan and YouTube Premium Family.

Price-wise, it fits right between the two as well. Subscribers in France, for example, pay 12.99 Euro per month for a single user subscription, 23.99 Euro per month for a up-to-5-users family subscription, and now 19.99 Euro per month for a two user subscription. So, seven Euro more than a single user subscription and four Euro less than a family subscription. That is about 17.50 US-Dollar converted.

YouTube Premium Duo has the same limitation as Premium Family regarding invites. Up to one household member can be invited to use YouTube Premium next to the subscriber. Google notes in the terms that all users need to have the same address and need to join a family group.

According to this post on Reddit, YouTube Premium Duo launched in just four countries and regions: Hong Kong, France, India, and Taiwan.

Here is the price of the Duo subscription in the other regions:

  • Hong Kong: 128 Honk Kong Dollar (about 16.30 US-Dollar)
  • India: 219 Indian Rupee (about 2.60 US-Dollar)
  • Taiwan: 299 Taiwan Dollar (about 10 US-Dollar)

So, for who is the new Duo plan? Couples that watch YouTube individually on different devices? Apartments shared by two? Single parents with a child old enough to watch YouTube with an account?

Now You: what is your take on all the YouTube Premium plans? Are you subscribed to one already? Let me know in the comment section below.

More ads for YouTube Premium Lite subscribers incoming

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube users who have enough of the seemingly ever-increasing bombardment with ads on the site have two official options to deal with it. Subscribe to YouTube Premium, which costs more than a Netflix subscription per month, or pick YouTube Premium Lite, if available.

YouTube Premium Lite is less expensive, at about $8 per month. For that, subscribers get less ads on YouTube. Up until now, that meant no ads in most videos. The notable exceptions were music videos and while searching for or browsing videos on the site.

Google is sending out emails to YouTube Premium Lite subscribers currently that informs them about a notable change coming to their subscription.

From June 30th, 2025 onward, subscribers will also see ads when they watch YouTube Shorts on the platform. Shorts are shorter videos that resemble videos on TikToks, Instagram and other mobile platforms.

Most videos on YouTube remain ad-free, however, according to Google’s email.

Closing Words

More ads for YouTube Premium Lite subscribers makes the plan even less attractive than it is right now. While it may not change much for many subscribers, as Shorts are a love or hate kind of type of videos, it still reduces the attractiveness of the subscription.

Subscribers may cancel at any time. Some might go back to watching YouTube with content blockers instead. It is free, and it improves privacy and security.

Google and other providers continue to test their limits. Years ago, when you paid a service for an ad-free experience, that usually meant entirely ad-free. Now, more and more services continue to charge you for a subscription and still show you ads. YouTube Premium Lite, Netflix, Disney+ and many more have introduced plans that do just that.

Now You: what is your take on all of this? Do you have a YouTube Premium subscription or another subscription that still shows ads to you when you access content?