Kim Komando Daily Tech Update

How to change your Gmail address

8 min
Apr 7, 202611 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This episode covers how to change your Gmail address through Google's new feature, allowing users to update their email username once per year while keeping the old address as an alias. The show also features a caller named Brian who discusses using AI tools like Suno AI and ChatGPT to revolutionize his music production workflow as a bedroom audio engineer.

Insights
  • Google's Gmail username change feature addresses a long-standing user pain point, enabling people to move away from outdated or embarrassing email addresses created decades ago
  • AI music generation tools like Suno AI are democratizing music production, allowing experienced musicians to dramatically reduce production time from years to weeks
  • The music industry is experiencing generational divide between traditionalists clinging to legacy equipment and innovators embracing AI-assisted workflows
  • AI-generated content requires proper distribution strategy including streaming platforms, YouTube, and TikTok to achieve commercial viability
  • Mastering and loudness optimization remain important post-production steps even for AI-generated music to meet commercial standards
Trends
AI music generation tools enabling faster creative iteration and reducing production bottlenecksShift from hardware-based to software-based music production workflowsGrowing acceptance of AI as a legitimate tool for professional creative work despite musician resistanceMulti-platform distribution strategy becoming essential for music monetization (streaming, YouTube, TikTok)AI addressing creative blocks and enabling remixing of legacy contentGenerational technology adoption gaps in creative industriesGmail username customization as response to long-term user identity management needs
Companies
Google
Announced new feature allowing Gmail users to change their username once per year while maintaining old address as alias
Suno AI
AI music generation tool used by caller Brian to create cyberpunk music albums, enabling faster production workflow
OpenAI
ChatGPT mentioned by caller Brian as tool used in conjunction with Suno AI for music creation and overcoming writer's...
iZotope
Ozone mastering software (version 9 and 12) used by Brian to optimize AI-generated music for commercial loudness stan...
DistroKid
Music distribution platform recommended for getting AI-generated music onto streaming platforms
TuneCore
Music distribution platform recommended for getting AI-generated music onto streaming platforms
People
Brian
Caller from Knoxville, Tennessee discussing 40 years of music experience and AI music generation workflow
Kim Komando
Host of the podcast discussing Gmail features and interviewing caller about AI music production
Quotes
"In tech, it turns out that you do get a second first impression. I guess you could say it's a remalable moment."
Kim KomandoGmail segment
"It has completely, it has changed my workflow a hundred fold. My first album took about three years to do, my second album took a year and nine months, and now with Suno AI I can do it much faster."
BrianCaller segment
"It is. It's not going away. You really need to latch onto this because it's here now."
BrianAI music discussion
"You have to be able to move with the times. If you are a musician and you do want to sell it, you have to get off the free tier of Suno and get on streaming platforms."
Kim KomandoMusic monetization advice
Full Transcript
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Think back to when you picked your email address. None of us knew what we grabbed in five seconds would follow us for 20 years. I'm looking at you, Dragon Slayer and hot guy 500. All right, good news. Google is finally letting you fix that mistake. All Gmail users can now change their username. That's the part before the ad sign. Here's how. Open Gmail settings, tap personal info, and then email Google account email. Pick something you're actually proud of, like your name. Two things though, you can only change it once a year. And your old address stays linked as an alias. So you won't miss a single email sent to that old Dragon Slayer account. In tech, it turns out that you do get a second first impression. I guess you could say it's a remalable moment. Once again, look for a Google account email in your settings. Join almost a million folks who get my free newsletter. Sign up right now at getchem.com. Next up, a call for my weekend show, the Kim Kumando show. Enjoy. 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Just go to getnativepath.com slash Kim. That's getnativepath.com slash Kim. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual results may vary. What I've dedicated my life to is revenge. A brand new drama based on the best-selling novel. They think they're better than us. Who do you think you are? Well, I'm going to prove to them that they're wrong. She's punishing me. You destroyed my family. I will not rest until I've destroyed yours. Woman of Substance on Channel 4, stream now. Brian in Knoxville, Tennessee, you're up next. What's going on with you, Brian? Well, hi, how are you? Great. Thank you. Thank you. What's going on? Okay. It's really great to actually get to talk to you. I listened to your show on the weekends on 98.7 here in Knoxville. Unfortunately, I just get one and then it reruns on Sunday and it comes on at odd times. Oh, we'll have to fix that. What is happening here? Get the podcast. You can get the podcast. Yeah. Listen to what you can on Saturday and get the rest of the podcast. Normally, I'm in the car door dashing and I've got to have the radio off because I need to focus on the job. But because otherwise he'd be busy laughing at all of my jokes. That's right. Go right off the side of the road. All your mom jokes? Yes. I have been using chat GPT in conjunction with Suno AI. I've been a musician for 40 years. Started playing guitar when I was 11. I still use a tube amplifier if you want to talk about old tech. Yeah. But when I started recording in studios, I watched it go from quarter inch tape machine to the Elisa's ADAS, which were super VHS video cassettes that you had to actually sync like four of these machines together to get so many tracks. And then I watched it go to the hard drive and eventually it just went straight to the computer. So what do you think about using AI and how are you using it? Man, it has completely, it has changed my workflow a hundred fold. To where I would sit at home, I'm a bedroom audio engineer. I would sit at home. It would take me, my first album, it took me about three years to do because I was learning how to engineer. My second album took me a year and nine months to do. And now with Suno AI, what I can do is I can actually, I've actually taken some of those old tracks from like 20 years ago and uploaded them and gotten a fresh take on it. So it's a great tool for writer's block or if you get stuck. And I think we have a sample. Let's listen to it. Okay, you know what? It's pretty good. It's pretty good. So rockin'. So that's not you singing I take it. No, no, that is a concept that I've got called Lucinda's Revenge. That album is called Guerrilla. I call it Cyberpunk because for all intents and purposes, that is exactly what it is. It is Cyberpunk music because it's completely created by artificial intelligence. And but you know, it's really good though. Are you selling it? Yeah. So that is my next step. The one thing that I need to do is with Suno, you can download the WAV file. And what I'm going to do with Suno is I'm going to run it through Isotope Ozone 9, which is a they're already up to Ozone 12, but Ozone is mastering software. It's to push it up to those. Get the highs and the highs. Yeah. But yeah, yeah, get it up to that zero, you know, the loudness wars that they have. So now it's okay. So you're door dashing and you've got all this music. Are you trying like Anderson, are you trying to make some money on it? Is that what you're calling us? Or you just calling us because you're saying like, look what I can do. This is bragging. Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm saying look what I can do. And I get a lot of backlash from musicians. They're still stuck in the old, the old ways. And if like, look, man, you really need to latch onto this because it's here now. It is. It's not going away. Yeah. Yeah. And I've got friends that are still stuck on old studios with the quarter inch tape machine and the outboard gear that they can't even use. But you know, but I'll tell you, but sometimes it takes a while to make that change. I mean, let me tell you, my husband, he's been around music since he was eight years old. As a matter of fact, he had his first radio station in his bedroom when he was eight years old. Do you know that story, Andrew? I have. I've heard it multiple times. A thousand times you've heard it. A thousand times. And then, you know, of course the FCC knocks on his door and says, you're on the signal for WLS. Right. So, so let's just fast forward a few years. Okay. So now he's doing the Christmas show for a Mannheim steamroller and we need liners to go in and out. And I, and he's like, you know, I need to find somebody who is like 40 years old, who has this female and need a male voice to do this. And I'm like, why just use AI? He's like, no, it's not going to sound authentic. I said, just try it. Okay. I come home from work. He's like, that's amazing. So, you know, you have to be able to move with the times. And so if you are a musician and we just heard Brian's amazing piece, that was really good. It was good. I mean, you know, if you do want to sell it, by the way, you have to get off the free tier of Suno. You can get on streaming platforms like DisgroKid or TuneGor. And don't forget, you need to have a YouTube channel too. Right. Because a lot of people are- And TikTok. And TikTok. That's how songs go viral. That's it. Of any genre. Brian, thanks for your call today and sharing your talents with us. Hey, want to stay in the tech now without wasting your time? Join nearly a million folks who get my free newsletter, The Current, where you'll see the latest in tech in just five minutes every single day. You're just going to love it. It has a five out of five star rating over on Trustpilot. Sign up right now at GetKim.com. That's GetKim.com. Dr. Amir Levine's latest research shows that those with secure attachment styles feel more at ease, both in their relationships and within themselves. Learn how to rewire your attachment style and unlock stronger relationships, better health, greater resilience, and more fulfilling life. Pre-save, secure on Spotify now.