Queeries, the weekly column from CBC Arts producer Peter Knegt discussing LGBTQ art, culture and identity through a personal lens, has come to an end after seven years. The column won a 2019 Digital Publishing Award for Best Column, and was nominated again in 2022 and 2024. In January, CBC Arts will be launching Emerging Queer Voices, a new monthly column that will feature a different up-and-coming LGBTQ writer each month. It will also focus on covering LGBTQ arts and culture “through a personal lens,” but from a multitude of perspectives and ages. CBC Arts says more information will be released in the coming weeks on how to apply to write for the column.
Meta has published a research paper on Movie Gen, billed as breakthrough generative AI for media, which includes modalities like image, video, and audio. It demonstrates how simple text inputs can produce custom videos and sounds, edit existing videos, and transform personal images into a unique video. Meta says Movie Gen outperforms similar industry models across these tasks when evaluated by humans. The company says the product won’t be ready for release anytime soon.
Spotify has launched Offline Backup, bringing Premium users another way to keep listening to music offline, no downloads required. Intended for times users forget to download audio, Offline Backup takes queued and recently streamed tracks and creates an easy-to-access playlist unique to the listener. Songs within the playlist can be sorted by artist, mood, and genre, with Offline Backup evolving as you continue to listen. After testing the feature with users last year and receiving positive feedback, it began rolling out on Android and iOS this week, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
