<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GettyImages-149615583.jpg?w=600</center>
## [Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians: Brian Heater](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/25/music-made-2020-better-but-we-failed-to-make-2020-better-for-musicians/)
<hr>
> “Are you okay?” I don’t have a good answer to the question. Knowing full well that I’m talking back to an algorithm — even one asking the same question of everyone with a different band mad-libbed in — doesn’t soften the blow. Am I? Are we? Is anyone, really?…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GettyImages-1020075066.jpg?w=600</center>
## [Daily Crunch: Alibaba faces antitrust probe: Anthony Ha](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/daily-crunch-alibaba-faces-antitrust-probe/)
<hr>
> Chinese authorities investigate an e-commerce giant, Google may be tightening its grip on research and VCs weigh in on the year’s biggest surprises. This is your (briefer than usual) Daily Crunch for December 24, 2020. The big story: Alibaba faces antitrust p…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GettyImages-1196590483.jpeg?w=711</center>
## [Not even 5G could rescue smartphone sales in 2020: Brian Heater](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/not-even-5g-could-rescue-smartphone-sales-in-2020/)
<hr>
> This was going to be the year of 5G. It was going to be the year the next-generation wireless technology helped reverse some troubling macro trends for the industry — or at the very least helped stem the bleeding some. But the best laid plans, and all that. W…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/STR_5.jpg?w=764</center>
## [Elon Musk says SpaceX to double launch pad usage for Starship tests, Super Heavy flights coming in a 'few months': Darrell Etherington](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/elon-musk-says-spacex-to-double-launch-pad-usage-for-starship-tests-super-heavy-flights-coming-in-a-few-months/)
<hr>
> SpaceX is set to significantly ramp up its Starship development program in the new year, in more ways than one. SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk noted on Twitter on Thursday that the company will seek to make use of both of its two launch pads at its developm…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1212221568.jpg?w=571</center>
## [Use Git data to optimize your developers’ annual reviews: Alex Circei](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/reading-between-the-lines-how-data-will-optimize-your-developers-annual-reviews/)
<hr>
> Summarizing the performance of 10, 20 or 50 developers over the past 12 months, offering personalized advice and having the facts to back it up — is no small task.
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screen-Shot-2020-12-22-at-4.28.33-PM.png?w=661</center>
## [US seed-stage investing flourished during pandemic: Natasha Mascarenhas, Alex Wilhelm](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/us-seed-stage-investing-flourished-during-pandemic/)
<hr>
> If you didn’t think much about seed in 2020, you’re not alone. Late, huge rounds consumed most of the media’s oxygen, leaving smaller startups to compete for scraps of attention.
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1171442301.jpg?w=600</center>
## [National Grid sees machine learning as the brains behind the utility business of the future: Jonathan Shieber](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/national-grid-sees-machine-learning-as-the-brains-behind-the-utility-business-of-the-future/)
<hr>
> If the portfolio of a corporate venture capital firm can be taken as a signal for the strategic priorities of their parent companies, then National Grid has high hopes for automation as the future of the utility industry. The heavy emphasis on automation and …
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/equity-podcast-2019-phone-1-2-e1576159337785.jpg?w=300</center>
## [Five VCs discuss what surprised them the most in 2020: Alex Wilhelm, Natasha Mascarenhas](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/equity-venture-capital-surprise-2020/)
<hr>
> Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. Today is our holiday look-back at the year, bringing not only our own Danny and Natasha and Chris and Alex into…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-497314079.jpg?w=600</center>
## [The built environment will be one of tech's next big platforms: Jonathan Shieber](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/the-built-environment-will-be-one-of-techs-next-big-platforms/)
<hr>
> From the beginning, the plan for Sidewalk Labs (a subsidiary of Alphabet and — by extension — a relative of Google) to develop a $1.3 billion tech-enabled real estate project on the Toronto waterfront was controversial. Privacy advocates had justified concern…
<center>https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/71782b46-8e46-40c5-8ac9-f3fb869a18e0-getty-625639490.jpg?w=614</center>
## [Bristol's Brightpearl raises $33M Series C round led by Sage to boost its platform for retailers: Mike Butcher](https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/24/bristols-brightpearl-raises-33m-series-c-round-led-by-sage-to-boost-its-platform-for-retailers/)
<hr>
> Brightpearl, which allows retailers to streamline their operations thus boosting sales, has raised $33 million in funding to scale its business. This Series C round was led by Sage, which has put $23 million into the UK company. Previous backers Cipio Partne…
<hr>
<center>`Peace!` @isaacson
Welcome to the latest news in technology and the future. These news are self-curated headlines for easier consumption.
</center>Posted using [Partiko Android](https://partiko.app/referral/isaacson)