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Apple Music ad play continues with MTV VMA promo featuring The Weeknd + John Travolta

In case you weren’t tuned in to the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards last night (it’s okay, I missed them too), Apple has shared its two-part Apple Music promo video that ran during the music awards show on Sunday night. Both clips together run two minutes in total and feature hip-hop artist The Weeknd (who performed at Apple’s 2015 WWDC) plus a cameo from actor John Travolta in one.

Aside from pushing the Apple Music three-month free trial in front of MTV’s audience, the promo shows The Weeknd using the Beats 1 radio station and Apple Music to create a playlist to post on the artist activity portal Connect. It also introduces a new tagline of sorts for Apple’s streaming music service: ‘It’s all in your head. Create your own party. Unlimited music for $9.99.’ That’s quite the pitch.

Since launching the music streaming service earlier this summer, Apple has focused much of its advertising energy on billboards, TV spots, and publicity for Apple Music. The next big boost will likely come from the iPhone 6S event next week. The MTV VMAs connection dates back to Beats 1 exclusively announcing the nominees in July which may have caused a services outage.
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Several iTunes-related services go down as Apple and MTV announce VMA nominees on Beats 1 [U: Restored]

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[Update 1:45 PM: Apple’s system status page now reports that the widespread outage has been resolved including an issue with iTunes Connect. Apple Music services may require relaunching iTunes or Music to resume playback.]

Last night Apple announced that its Beats 1 web radio station would be the exclusive outlet for MTV to announce the Video Music Award nominees this year. The reveal was scheduled for 7 AM Pacific time this morning, but many users are finding themselves unable to tune in.

Listeners took to Twitter to point out that Apple Music, the Beats 1 station, and several other iTunes-related services are failing to load.


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Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio station partners w/ MTV to exclusively announce VMA nominees

Apple is putting a big focus on exclusive content with its new Apple Music streaming service. In addition to the debut of exclusive music, interviews, and content uploaded directly by artists on the fly, it appears the service’s 24/7 live radio station, Beats 1, will also be the source of exclusive industry news and events.

The proof of that comes in the form of an announcement today that the station will exclusively reveal nominees for the upcoming Video Music Awards. Clearly Apple has partnered with MTV in order to be first to make the announcements, and it’s obvious from the effort that Apple hopes Beats 1 won’t just be the venue for new music, but also a source for music fans when it comes to news and other industry related events.

In addition to exclusive music from artists and industry news and events, Apple is also hiring music video producers and other creatives to help work alongside artists in creating Apple-produced music videos and other original content for the service.

Beats 1 will announce the MTV VMA nominees on Tuesday at 7AM PT/10AM ET.

[tweet https://twitter.com/beats1/status/623132759951847424]

Report: Apple negotiating w/ media companies for pay TV service, working on full-fledged TV set

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A new report from Quartz today offers some details on Apple’s content negotiations for a much rumored revamped Apple TV. Most of the report echoes what we’ve heard several times in the past– Apple is apparently talking with HBO, Disney, MTV and others about a new TV service. According to Quartz, it could include a pay TV service that would see Apple “essentially becoming a cable company itself,” as well as the release of a “full-fledged television set”:

One alternative being considered is that Apple could essentially become a cable company itself. Under that scenario, sources say, Apple would launch what is formally known as a virtual multichannel video programming distributor. Apple is still interested in striking deals with cable companies that would allow people to plug their cable lines into the back of the TV set, bypassing a cable box, sources say. But at least two years of negotiations haven’t progressed very far.

Sources say Apple has concluded that it doesn’t need all, even most, content providers on board before it can release a TV set that people would buy. It just needs enough good programming to distinguish the new product, which will try to simplify the experience of connecting internet video to the TV.

The report doesn’t offer up any details that we didn’t hear around this same time last year (and the year before that), but it appears Apple could be closer to reaching the deals it needs to launch the next-generation of Apple TV. Earlier today we reported that former Hulu SVP Pete Distad has now officially started his new role at Apple as Product Marketing VP and is thought to be leading Apple executives through negotiations with cable and media companies. 
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MTV revamps iOS app with full episodes, on-demand video, & second screen experience

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MTV is rolling out a huge update to its iOS app today that brings a ton of new content to both the iPhone and iPad. The previous MTV WatchWith app appears to be rebranded to simply “MTV” and now offers a ton of full episodes from the network’s most popular series, on-demand video, & a brand new second screen experience.

As for full episodes, MTV has signed up nine cable providers so far: AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cablevision (Optimum), DIRECTV, Hawaiian Telecom, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. Subscribing to one of these cable providers will be necessary to access the full episodes, but MTV notes it is “working hard to get all TV providers to participate.”

Other content, such as on-demand video, won’t require you to sign in. Available through on-demand is sneak peeks, after shows, bonus clips and exclusive, original content for MTV series, but also great content from MTV News, MTV Style, MTV Geek, HTV Hive, HTV Other, and live coverage of the MTV Video Music Awards and MTV Video Awards:
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iTuneUp Bundle for iTunes: $30, Toast 11: $50, Voila Screencapture tool: $15

From 9to5Toys.com:

StackSocial offers the $30 TuneUp Bundle which offers to “Cleanup your iTunes Music Collection. Automagically.” The TuneUp Bundle (Lifetime License) includes:

Clean — Accurately fixes mislabeled or missing song information (like “Track 01” or “Unknown Artist”) using cutting-edge waveform recognition

Cover Art — Scans your entire music collection in seconds and automagically™ fills in missing album artwork

DeDuper— Intelligently finds and removes duplicate music files from your music library using waveform recognition

Tuniverse — Delivers music videos, artist bios, concert alerts, social network integration and more

(Stacksocial also offers Toast 11 for $50 and Voila screencapture tool for $15)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0IHUnmDfmQ]


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Vevo delivers lovely Vevo HD player for iPad

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Forget Flash, really, forget it. I don’t care how much more efficient it is at last becoming now it faces much-needed competition — I do however care that US iPad users can now download Vevo HD, a beautiful app offering you access to all 25,000 videos in Vevo’s huge catalog — no Flash required.

“The app has a few special features created especially for the iPad, including our favorite one, Music Maps, which gives you a window into what videos people are watching in your neighborhood and around the world,” the company says on its website.
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