Spotify is doubling down on its AI push with a new dedicated chatbot that creates custom playlists and answers questions about songs, audiobooks, podcasts, and your listening history.
The “Talk to Spotify” prompt bar is now available on the Home and Now Playing pages for Premium subscribers in select regions. To get started, tap the bar, add a prompt using text or voice, and let the AI open a new chat window for back-and-forth conversations.
For example, you could say, “Play some artists I haven’t heard before,” or “Play a mix of hits from my top artist.” When the chatbot responds, you can fine-tune the playlist by providing additional instructions, including “just his recent stuff” or “make it more upbeat.” You can also use prompts to perform a few other Spotify actions, such as saving a song or following an artist.
From the Now Playing screen, you can ask the AI for trivia and other details about the song that’s playing, including the inspiration behind a tune, when the album was released, or what a song’s genre is. You can also ask Spotify to guide you toward similar artists and songs.
The “Talk to Spotify” feature also extends to audiobooks and podcasts. It can answer questions about other books an author has written, or podcast shows where a certain guest has appeared.
You can also use the AI to learn more about your listening habits. Ask the chatbot how many times you’ve listened to a song, when you played it for the first time, or what genres you’ve been listening to lately.
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“The new conversational experience is part of our ongoing work to make Spotify more personal and useful for every listener, giving people more ways to get the most out of every moment,” Spotify says.
To use the feature, you’ll need a Premium subscription, be 18 or above, and live in the US, Ireland, or Sweden. It’s still in beta and limited to Android and iOS devices in English. “Like any beta, it’s a work in progress: responses won’t always be perfect,” Spotify warns.
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Jibin is a tech news writer based out of Ahmedabad, India. Previously, he served as the editor of iGeeksBlog and is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex information for a broader audience.
Ever wonder how Sylvester Stallone became Rocky? Peter Farrelly’s upcoming biographical drama “I Play Rocky” will answer the question as “Grand Army” actor Anthony Ippolito takes on the role of Stallone in this behind-the-scenes dramatization of the making of the classic 1976 sports drama.
The official synopsis for “I Play Rocky” from Amazon MGM reads: “The film tells the true story of Sylvester Stallone and his unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky, he was meant to be Rocky Balboa.”
The film’s supporting cast includes Stephan James as Carl Weathers, plus AnnaSophia Robb, Matt Dillon, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts Jay Duplass and Robert Morgan. Farrelly, who directed Best Picture winner “Green Back,” returns to more dramatic territory with “I Play Rocky” following his R-rated Amazon comedies “Ricky Stanicky” and “Balls Up.”
Ippolito has experience playing acting icons of the 1970s. He starred as Al Pacino in the Paramount+ limited series “The Offer,” which recounted the making of “The Godfather.” Now he takes on the role of Stallone, who famously got “Rocky” made for under $1 million. The movie became the biggest box office hit of 1976 and won the Oscar for best picture. After cementing its place in Hollywood history, the original “Rocky” spawned several sequels as well as the “Creed” spinoff series.
“I Play Rocky” opens in theaters this November from Amazon MGM. Watch the trailer below.
The notable thing about The Boroughs — other than Netflix’s quick decision to cancel the series — was the composition of its audience.
The show, about a group of retirees stalked by something supernatural in their 55-plus community, drew about 4.05 billion minutes of watch time in the United States in its first four weeks, according to Nielsen’s streaming ratings — with a large portion of that coming from people over the age of 50. In The Boroughs‘ premiere week, people over 50 accounted for 57 percent of the show’s 1.2 billion viewing minutes. The percentage of younger viewers ticked up in subsequent weeks, the greatest concentration of viewers remained in the demographic similar to that of the on-screen characters, played by (among others) Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman and Denis O’Hare.
To be clear, having an older-skewing audience was not the reason The Boroughs was canceled. It was a relatively expensive show, with eight-figure episodic budgets. Matt and Ross Duffer, the Stranger Things creators who executive produced the series, also left Netflix for Paramount earlier this year.
One other thing: Having an audience that skews toward viewers 50 and older is pretty commonplace now. The median streaming viewer is still 15 to 20 years younger than the median network or cable viewer, but the gap has started to narrow some.
In the first quarter of 2026, Paramount+’s Landman and Netflix’s The Night Agent, The Lincoln Lawyer and Virgin River all got 60 percent or more of their watch time from viewers 50 or older. That demographic also accounted for almost half of viewing time for HBO Max’s The Pitt and Netflix’s miniseries His & Hers.
“It used to be unusual because older viewers made up a smaller percentage of the streaming population,” Brian Fuhrer, senior vp product strategy at Nielsen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Now? Not so much. “In 2008, 18- to 24-year-olds were going away to college, and between Netflix and other services, they were really streaming first,” said Fuhrer. “Now those 18- to 24-year-olds, they’re over 40 [or almost there]. It’s just the demography of an aging population.”
Here are the the top 10 original series with the most watch time from viewers 50 and older in the first quarter of this year.
The outlier on that list is Stranger Things, which had such a massive audience across all age groups that it ranks highly among older viewers as well. Notably, though, the percentage of viewing from people 50 and older is lower than any other show in the top 10. The Traitors and Fallout are in a similar situation, where large total audiences mean a sizable amount of viewing but relatively low percentages among the 50-plus demo.
Looking at all titles (including library series and movies) brings in a few long-running network and cable shows — including Gunsmoke, the oldest series ever to make Nielsen’s weekly top 10 streaming rankings.
In addition to early adopters getting older, streaming has also, obviously, become much more widely adopted among all age groups in the the past decade-plus. It now accounts for almost half of all TV use, per Nielsen, and that doesn’t happen just with younger viewers. Furher also noted that Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount have all seen the percentage of their streaming users over 65 grow in the past three years; those viewers make up at least 10 percent of streaming viewing on the companies’ respective platforms. At Fox, thanks largely to free streamer Tubi, viewers 65 and older account for 20 percent of streaming viewing.
More recently, Dutton Ranch, Paramount+’s latest Yellowstone spinoff, has also attracted a large set of 50-plus viewers. Over its first five weeks, the series drew 3.83 billion minutes of viewing, with about 2.4 billion of those minutes — 63 percent — coming from people 50 and older.
“That’s by no means anything to be ashamed of,” said Fuhrer. “It’s commanding huge audiences, and it’s bringing a lot more people over.”
One of the initial lures of streaming for writers and creators was that in an ad-free business, they wouldn’t have to worry about living and dying by weekly ratings or whether enough people in a certain age group were watching their show. Now that most streamers offer ad-supported versions of their product, there’s a non-zero chance that those platforms might start scrutinizing demographic data more closely. (And, while correlation is not causation, it’s hard not to notice that The Night Agent and The Lincoln Lawyer, two of the shows with the highest amount and percentage of 50-plus viewing last quarter, will be ending with their next seasons.)
Furher, however, takes a more optimistic view: “I think it’s less ad sales driving cancellations than it is using the normal ways of analyzing programs [via demographics] helps these platforms make sure they’ve got content that’s engaging the broadest potential groups of of subscribers.”
Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our new daily news show covering all of the top stories in 5 minutes, downloadable on Apple Pod or Spotify.
GM!
Today’s top news:
Crypto majors are up 3-6% after a cold CPI print; BTC at $64.6k
HYPE jumps 7% to $68 as SEC Crypto Task Force meets with HPC team
Mizuho downgrades Circle to $50 target, cites OpenUSD competition
Pump.fun hits first major unlock as $86M in PUMP hits market (PUMP +15%)
Robinhood Chain sees major rotation from memes to protocols
📈 Crypto Rips on Cool CPI, but Warsh Won’t Call It a Win
The soft inflation print crypto was waiting for finally landed.
June CPI fell 0.4% month over month, the biggest monthly decline since April 2020, dropping the annual rate to 3.5% from May’s 4.2% and coming in under the 3.8% expected. Core CPI cooled to 2.6%, below forecasts, and was flat on the month.
Crypto squeezed higher within minutes. Bitcoin jumped from around $62,000 to reclaim $64,900, ETH surged 7% to $1,884, and roughly $300 million in short positions were liquidated as bears got run over.
Notably, this was the last major inflation read before the Fed’s July 28-29 meeting, and it undercuts the rate-hike case that’s been capping the market all summer. The odds of a July rate cut fell from 35% on Polymarket to just 6% in the wake of CPI + Warsh’s commentary. Though odds of at least 1 hike are still ~80% by end of year (down from 90%).
Within hours of the CPI print, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testified to Congress, his first appearance since taking over from Powell. The major takeaway from his testimony was his comment that if the Fed gets policy right, the inflation surge of the last five years “will be a thing of the past.” He leaned hard into the AI story too, calling business investment the most striking feature of the economy and predicting that what’s now called “AI investment” will soon just be called “investment,” a view that AI is fundamentally disinflationary.
Warsh: Fed has “no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation”
“If we get policy right—and we will—the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past.” https://t.co/RvCRxzdPuS
That said, when asked directly about the morning’s CPI data, he pushed back on the optimism, saying some might look at it and declare “mission accomplished,” and then adding flatly, “that is not my view.” He gave no forward guidance, no signal on the next move, and reminded lawmakers the committee has “no tolerance” for elevated inflation. Some (myself included) may interpret that as a bit hawkish, and it does still feel like a rate hike may very well come in 2026.
Perhaps we will learn more at FOMC in 2 weeks. Until then, enjoy the pump…
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
Crypto majors are very green after a cold CPI print; BTC +3% at $64.6k; ETH +5% at $1,880; SOL +3% at $77; HYPE +7% at $68
PI (+15%), PUMP (+14%) and ZEC (+13%) led top movers
Oil -1% at $80; Gold -1% at $4,035
Stock futures are slightly green; DOW flat, Nasdaq +0.4%
Several Senate Democrats came out against the CLARITY Act, calling it a “corrupt bill” at a press conference, escalating opposition over its failure to bar Trump and his family from profiting off crypto
The CFTC moved to stop Kalshi from canceling tradesas ordered by a Michigan court, siding with the prediction-market platform in a jurisdictional clash between the federal regulator and the state
JPMorgan said Hyperliquid’s rise threatens Circle’s USDC economics, creating a “prisoner’s dilemma” that pits Circle and Coinbase against each other for distribution
Tom Lee’s Bitminegenerated $45M from ETH staking in Q2 according to their latest filing
Meme Coin Tracker
Meme leaders were mostly green up 2-3%; DOGE +2%, SHIB +3%, PEPE +2%, PENGU +7%, TRUMP +2%, BONK -3%
Robinhood chain memes had a volatile day as previous leaders sold off with Cashcat -30%, Juggernaut -38% and Hoodrat -47%, while new launchpad PONS jumped 13x and new RWA protocol INDEX jumped 400%
No notable action on Solana
📈 Myriad Market of the Day
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
Pump.fun completed its first major unlock at the 1-year mark, with $86M in team and investor PUMP tokens hitting the market
Binance is betting on becoming a crypto “super-app”as stablecoins reshape its growth, expanding beyond trading into payments and financial services.
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
NFT leaders were mostly flat; Punks even at 32.4 ETH, BAYC +1% at 8.94 ETH, Pudgy +1% at 4.37 ETH; Hypurr’s -2% at 175 HYPE
Cryptoadz (+22%) and Trolls (+26%) led top movers
New Robinhood NFT sets jumped including RDEGEN Hood (+450%) and Post Mortem (+60%)
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Dave Kendall, creator and former host of MTV’s “120 Minutes,” has died, according to a post from his friend and latter-day host of the show, Matt Pinfield. No caused of death or age were cited, although he was likely in his sixties.
From scrappy beginnings, the show launched on March 10, 1986 and quickly became a high-profile platform for the rising wave of indie and left-of-center musicians that would soon be dubbed “alternative.” While Kendall, a British-born music journalist, was sometimes seen as an emissary of the “establishment” by the snooty intelligentsia of the indie-sphere, his knowledge of and passion for the music he presented was obvious and genuine.
“At the beginning it was pure chaos,” he said in a SiriusXM documentary video on the show. “I wanted to play music that I thought was cool and original, but the programming department wanted to include all the videos that were in light rotation, folks like Michael Barnes and Jermaine Jackson.
“I had zero experience as a tv producer,” he added.
Regardless, Kendall was hired and his vision won out, and he made the show happen his way. The MTV management team realized he was onto something, and artists from Sonic Youth to the Mighty Lemon Drops and beyond received big looks on the show at a time when there was no email or internet, let alone social media and YouTube, and few televised outlets for that type of music.
Originally its producer, Kendall hosted the show from 1989 until 1992 — ironically, just as the genres of music he’d championed were reaching peak popularity — and worked as a DJ and video host for SiriusXM and a number of outlets. In recent years he lived in Thailand and Indonesia, working as a correspondent for the Bangkok Post and championing environmental causes.
“Dave was one of the true believers,” Pinfield wrote. “Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on ‘120 Minutes,’ introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era. He didn’t just host a show. He gave a home to music that deserved to be heard.
“He loved the music, respected the artists, and connected with fans in a way that always felt authentic,” he concluded. “That’s a rare gift.”
Heartbroken to hear about the passing of Dave Kendall.
Dave was one of the true believers. Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on 120 Minutes, introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era. He didn’t just host… pic.twitter.com/IVTHRV301i
Yesterday’s lower-than-expected CPI data triggered an upward movement in Bitcoin and altcoins. In this context, $BTC rose above $64,000, while Ethereum and other altcoins also saw significant increases.
The lower-than-expected CPI data marks the strongest monthly decline since April 2020, with experts noting that the drop in energy prices is the most significant reason for the slowdown in inflation.
Related NewsBREAKING! Critical US Inflation Data Released! What Was Bitcoin’s ($BTC) Initial Reaction?
Following the CPI data, investors’ expectations regarding the Fed’s monetary policy have been reshaped. Prior to the CPI release, the probability of a Fed interest rate hike in July was priced at 40%, but this figure dropped to 16% after the data.
At this point, the weakening likelihood of a tighter monetary policy from the Fed increased appetite for risky assets like Bitcoin and pushed the $BTC price higher.
After Bitcoin rose above $64,000 following the CPI data, attention is now focused on the US PPI data.
In this context, the June data for the US Producer Price Index (PPI), one of the indicators that the FED closely monitors when making its decisions, has also been released.
The data released is as follows:
Core Producer Price Index (Monthly): Announced 0.2% – Expected 0.3% – Previous 0.4%
Core Producer Price Index (Annual): Announced 4.7% – Expected 5.2% – Previous 4.9%
Producer Price Index (Monthly): Announced -0.3% – Expectation 0.0% – Previous 1.1%
Producer Price Index (Annual): Announced 5.5% – Expected 6.2% – Previous 6.5%
Bitcoin’s initial reaction after the release of the PPI data was as follows:
“Toy Story” helped launch Pixar when it premiered in 1995. More than 30 years and four films later, the family franchise has become a revenue-generating juggernaut for the Walt Disney Company and the global economy. The series has added $51 billion in overall economic activity since its inception, according to a study that Disney commissioned from Steward Redqueen, an independent impact advisory firm.
Much of that figure comes from consumer product sales, which Steward Redqueen argues lifts suppliers, retailers, small businesses and service providers. That includes everything from salaries to the sales of clothing, dolls and games touting “Toy Story” characters. It also factors in transportation, tourism, manufacturing, and utilities revenues related to seeing the movies, visiting theme park attractions and producing “Toy Story” merchandise. The report comes as “Toy Story 5” has dominated the box office since it was released in June, earning more than $880 million globally. In addition to ticket sales, the series is also the most streamed franchise on Disney+.
In terms of direct economic impact for Disney, Buzz and Woody have generated $16.2 billion. That includes the sale of merchandise, movie tickets and home entertainment rentals. That figure is more than it cost the company to buy all of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm combined (Disney shelled out $15.4 billion to purchase those brands).
“This is our No. 1 animated franchise,” says Asad Ayaz, Disney’s chief brand officer. “I don’t think there’s many other franchises that have been embraced by audiences and critics over the course of three decades. People who were kids when the first movie came out are taking their own children to the new ‘Toy Story.’”
The study also looks at the multi-generational impact of “Toy Story.” As Ayaz states, because the series has been part of the culture for so long, Millennials, who grew up with the characters, have driven the greatest impact with 74%. Gen Z and Gen Alpha account for 19% and 7% of the economic impact, respectively.
Nearly $25 billion of the overall economic impact occurred in the U.S., Steward Redqueen reports, with California and Florida, where Disney has theme parks, as well as Texas, New York and Illinois listed as the states enjoying the biggest benefits from the franchise. The firm casts a wide net to capture those numbers. It estimates sales margins for downstream suppliers like manufacturers, retailers, and other distributors. So, for example, it factors in what movie theaters spend on popcorn providers, which allows those vendors to also earn profits, pay taxes and pay salaries.
Steward Redqueen said to come up with its calculations it looked at consumer spending on the “Toy Story” franchise across movies, home streaming, consumer products, parks, experiences and music. It then separated those figures in terms of their direct and indirect impact. Direct impact captured the economic contributions directly generated by the franchise’s operations (such as the economic contributions supported by production of the movies). Indirect impact includes the economic contributions supported by the franchise through its suppliers and sales partners (distributors and retailers selling “Toy Story” products), as well as their respective suppliers. This is the first study of its kind that Disney has commissioned on one of its franchises.
With “Toy Story 5” topping the box office, it seems like a sixth film is inevitable.
“I’ll leave that up to the Pixar team,” Ayaz says. “I hope there is more. But what’s great about Pixar is that they wait until they have a story that is worth telling to make another movie.”
The Ethereum Foundation entered 2026 under mounting pressure. Developers, investors and prominent Ethereum community members had spent months criticizing the organization’s pace of execution, governance and technical priorities, with many arguing Ethereum’s roadmap had become overly focused on layer-2 scaling while neglecting improvements to the base layer.
The first major shakeup to the foundation came in February, when co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak announced he would step down after helping lead the foundation through its initial restructuring. A few weeks later, the foundation published a new mandate outlining a narrower vision for its role within the Ethereum ecosystem. Built around the CROPS framework — censorship resistance, resilience, openness, privacy and security — the document recast the foundation as a long-term steward rather than the ecosystem’s primary builder or coordinator.
The leadership transition was followed by a steady stream of departures. Over the following months, nine senior foundation leaders, researchers and executives left the organization, marking one of the largest periods of turnover in its 12-year history. The exits fueled speculation about the foundation’s future even as its leadership insisted the changes were not a sign of decline, but rather a necessary part of a broader organizational reset.
Yesterday’s lower-than-expected CPI data triggered an upward movement in Bitcoin and altcoins. In this context, BTC rose above $64,000, while Ethereum climbed 5% in the last 24 hours to reach $1,870.
While $ETH investors are hopeful for a continuation of the uptrend, analysts at the German analytics company Makrovision Research shared their technical analysis and stated that the first strong signal for an upward move has arrived.
According to analysts, Ethereum has given the first long-awaited positive signal on the technical front. With the $ETH price rising above its recent significant peak of around $1,850, the ongoing series of lower peaks in the short term has been broken. This development indicates that buyers are beginning to regain strength.
However, analysts warn that the current rise alone does not mean the start of a new bull trend.
Ethereum’s price is still trading below the long-term downtrend line and the critical resistance zone at $2,130. Therefore, the current rise alone cannot be considered a permanent trend reversal.
Analysts stated that there are currently two critical levels that should be closely monitored: “$1,730 and $1,850”.
“If Ethereum manages to stay above the $1,730 support level and holds onto the $1,850 level, the possibility of the price testing the $2,130 resistance level may increase.”
Conversely, if Ethereum falls below $1,730 again, selling pressure may increase, and the possibility of a drop to $1,545 and $1,400 levels may resurface.”
In conclusion, while the breakout from the short-term bearish pattern is considered a positive development for Ethereum in the technical view, analysts believe that for a true trend reversal in Ethereum, the price needs to both break above the long-term downtrend line and maintain its position above the $2,130 resistance level.
SkyShowtime, the European streaming joint venture of Paramount and Comcast that is available in more than 20 markets, has unveiled a new Spanish original: Death in Llanes (Muerte en Llanes).
Starring two-time Goya Award winner Javier Gutiérrez (Rondallas), María Vázquez (Matria) and Isak Férriz (City of Shadows), the six-episode limited drama series follows the murder investigation following the death of a politician in Llanes, west of Bilbao. Produced by K 2000 in collaboration with 100 Balas for SkyShowtime, the six-part drama is currently in production.
In August 2018, Javier Ardines was found dead 100 meters from his home. The case quickly made headlines. The show shows the Guardia Civil launching an investigation “marked by political rivalries, rigged examinations and personal conflicts,” according to a SkyShowtime synopsis. “The case takes a significant turn when new evidence reveals an unexpected love triangle.”
Adapted from the podcast The Two Deaths of Javier Ardines, the series was created and written by Jesús Mesas Silva and is directed by Gerardo Olivares (4 Latas). Alejandro Flórez and Manu Sánchez serve as executive producers for 100 Balas.
Also part of the cast are Urko Olazábal (Soy Nevenka), Ana Wagener (The Last Night at Tremor Beach), Natalia Verbeke (Todos mienten), Jorge Bosch (La abogadas), Irene Anula (Raising Voices) and Miren Gaztañaga (Maspalomas).
“Death in Llanes (Muerte en Llanes) is a gripping, atmospheric thriller inspired by a truly shocking case,” said SkyShowtime chief content officer Kai Finke. “What makes this project so impressive is how the creative team is transforming a very complex investigation into a premium drama that is both emotionally engaging and crafted with genuine care. It’s exactly the kind of distinctive and authentic local storytelling we’re committed to bringing to audiences in Spain and beyond.”
Added Alejandro Flórez, executive producer and CEO of 100 Balas: “This project started with the podcast The Two Deaths of Javier Ardines, which perfectly captured the meticulous investigation that had the entire country on edge. With the support and collaboration of the Guardia Civil, a unique creative and technical team, and SkyShowtime, we are excited to bring this ambitious drama to life.”
And director Olivares said: “It is a great responsibility to direct this story, based on the investigation carried out by the UCO (Unidad Central Operativa). Our aim is for the project to reflect the authenticity of the police process, creating a series that feels intimate, restrained and honest, allowing audiences to immerse themselves in a complex and nuanced investigation.”
Death in Llanes (Muerte en Llanes) is the latest addition to SkyShowtime’s Spanish original slate, which also includes Shades (Matices), Nails, Road to Arcadia (Camino a Arcadia) and The Tribute (El Homenaje), which featured a Chris Hemsworth cameo.
