Author: Dave Lawrence

To the beat of the crowd: Looking back at 20 years of digital music disruption

In 1999, with little more than a clever piece of code, Shawn Fanning turned the music industry on its head. Napster, a P2P file sharing service, enabled music listeners to download MP3s and share them with others, for free. The genie was out the bottle and the music industry would never sound the same again. The disruption of the music industry in the last 20 years, however, is not just a story about musicians and record companies, but rather a compelling tale about coders, entrepreneurship, legal battles, and listener entitlement. Here are some of the key developments of the last two decades that shaped the music industry into what it is today, leading it into the 21st century, and beyond: 1995: File extension “.mp3” After the advent of the CD in the late 1970s, the next major stride in digital music technology came with the emergence of the MP3. An organization that went by the name of Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) set out to define standards in audio recording in the late 1980s. MPEG compressed music digitally by eliminating...

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When startups and financial hubs collide: FinTech developments in the Startup Nation

Banks and startups, the two worlds could hardly be further apart. Banks: colossal institutions, conservative in nature, often centuries of history. Startups: minimal staff, innovative and fledgling businesses. So why are some of the world’s major financial institutions heading to Tel Aviv to set up start-up accelerators? The answer: Fintech (financial technology). In the most recent development of the Startup Nation, the Israeli fintech space has earned the attention of banking institutions both in Israel and abroad. While there have been some notable success stories (Fundtech, Nice Systems and now, Check), Israel isn’t entirely famous for its fintech startups. However this is beginning to change. So what is fintech all about? Fintech in broad terms refers to the technologies and software available that ensure the smooth operations of the banking and the financial services industry. The services and applications developed in this space include electronic payment platforms, international money transfers, personal finance and asset management and crowdfunding. While the fintech market currently stands at $470 billion annually it is expected to grow at 5.4% annually. According to a recent report...

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