Music

196 'Music' stories August 2010 - May 2014

Cue praises Beats curated playlists and headphones; Iovine disses Apple’s EarPods

Ben Lovejoy May 29 2014 - 4:16 am PT

(Image via Re/code)

It’s typical in any acquisition for both parties to sing the praises of their new partner, and Eddy Cue was certainly playing his part at Re/code’s Code Conference, saying that Beats’ curated playlists were a key strength and would help music grow again. As Mark Gurman reported in his live blog coverage at Code Conference:

Cue said Apple bought Beats because “music is dying. It hasn’t been growing.” He said combining the two companies will help it grow again […]

Cue said what makes Beats good is that it provides users with curated playlists.

He said: “When you bring what Beats has got and what we’ve got it’s not two plus two is four. It’s something much more than that” …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Logic Pro X updated with improvements for 12-core Mac Pros, bug fixes, and more

Mike Beasley May 13 2014 - 12:36 pm PT

2 Comments

Logic Pro X has been updated today with a number of bug fixes and improvements. First on the list of changes is better support for 12-core Mac Pros, which can now utilize up to 24 threads at once. Fixes to step sequencer issues when using Low Latency Mode and alignment guides have been implemented, and several XML import and export bugs have been taken care of.

A few extra enhancements also appear in this update: You can now copy automation data and paste it to any location using the Marquee tool; MIDI devices with volume and pan controls can now be set to control the software instrument rather than the channel strip the instrument is recorded on; and volume, pan, and effect send values can now be inserted into the automation track at the current playhead position.

There are also upgrades to the app’s accessiblity features. You can grab the update for free if you already own Logic Pro X. The app is $199.99 for new users on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 10.0.7

• Now supports 24 processing threads on 12-core Mac Pro models
• The current volume, pan, and send values for all selected tracks can now be inserted at the playhead position
• Enabling Low Latency Mode no longer creates sync issues for Drummer, Ultrabeat, Native Instruments Machine and other plug-ins with integrated step sequencers
• Automation can now be copied and pasted to any location using the Marquee tool
• Adds an option for MIDI volume and pan data to control the instrument plug-in instead of the channel strip
• Resolves several snap and alignment guide issues
• Various fixes that improve XML import and export with Final Cut Pro X
• Contains multiple enhancements to Accessibility

Sonos releases redesigned iPhone & iPad apps w/ universal search & more

Jordan Kahn May 13 2014 - 6:28 am PT

0 Comments

First launched a couple months back as a beta for Android users, Sonos today announced that its redesigned mobile app for iPhone and iPad users is now available. On top of a streamlined interface with a darker color palette (pictured above), the app also introduces a new universal search feature and much more:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Beats Music had only 111k subscribers in March, claims music blog

Ben Lovejoy May 13 2014 - 5:35 am PT

3 Comments

If a leaked royalties report posted by a musician’s blog is genuine, Beats Music subscribers certainly played no part in Apple’s presumed decision to acquire the company. The report appears to indicate that the service paid first quarter royalties to musicians based on total subscriber numbers of just 110,992.

As Business Insider notes, there are a couple of complications that make it hard to determine the actual number of paid subscribers. First, the majority of subscriptions are family packages, where a single payment of $14.99 a month allows up to five users to access the service. The total number of users will thus be higher than the raw subscription figures.

Against this, however, a promotion by AT&T offering free 90-day subscriptions mean that many of those appearing in the subscriber numbers may have paid nothing.

Either way, the numbers are irrelevant to Apple. With the headphone business bringing in $1B a year, Apple appears to have bought itself a well-respected streaming music technology, unrivalled music industry expertise and contacts, and a highly successful marketing team, for a bargain price.

Beats acquisition may be part of a new focus on music quality, suggests Japanese blog

Ben Lovejoy May 13 2014 - 4:29 am PT

33 Comments

Following the presumed acquisition of Beats, Apple plans to up its music game with support for high-resolution audio files in a revamped Music app in iOS 8, and to offer a higher-quality version of its In-Ear Headphones, reports Japanese blog Macotakara.

The source of the high-res audio rumor appears somewhat circumstantial, linked to a Warner Music post about the forthcoming release of a ‘Super Deluxe’ version of three remastered early Led Zeppelin albums in 96kHz/24-bit form – a resolution the current iOS Music app cannot play. It is, however, consistent with a similar earlier rumor regarding iTunes support for higher-quality audio …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple and Beats not such strange bedfellows, argues Bloomberg

Ben Lovejoy May 12 2014 - 4:38 am PT

8 Comments

Steve Jobs and Jimmy Iovine in 2008 (Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage via Getty Images)

A Bloomberg analysis of the presumed acquisition of Beats Electronics by Apple says that while the two companies may have very different cultures, the partnership is not so strange as it might first appear.

“These aren’t strange bedfellows at all,” said Peter Csathy, chief executive officer of entertainment law firm Manatt Digital Media Ventures. “Steve Jobs really drove the relationship with the music industry. The executives at Apple and Beats know each other very well, and there’s a comfort level there” …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Upcoming album ‘Turn Blue’ by The Black Keys now available on iTunes Radio First Play

Mike Beasley May 5 2014 - 11:34 pm PT

0 Comments

iTunes Radio is once again proving to be one of the destinations for an early listen to unreleased albums from popular musicians. Today, the service added The Black Keys’ upcoming album Turn Blue to its “First Play” lineup, allowing users to stream the entire album for free ahead of its release on May 13.

Previously, iTunes Radio has granted early streaming access to albums from artists like Eminem, Rick Ross, and Pharrell. First Play is one of the ways Apple is attempting to set its own offering apart from competing streaming services like Pandora and Spotify, which don’t currently offer any early-access releases.

You can listen to Turn Blue by opening up the Radio page in iTunes on a computer or the iOS Music app and selecting it from the list of pre-made stations. The full 11-track album is available for pre-order for $10.99. Two songs from the album—the title track and “Fever”—can be purchased and downloaded now for $1.29 each.

Apple brings iTunes Match to Japan

Benjamin Mayo May 1 2014 - 3:39 pm PT

2 Comments

As shown on Apple’s iTunes Match availability page, Apple has now brought its iTunes Match service to Japan. This follows an expansion of iTunes in the Cloud and Apple TV content to Germany, earlier today.

For $30 a year, iTunes Match uploads your entire music library and makes it available across all your devices automatically. Lower quality, or pirated music, is replaced with high-quality 256kbps legal songs.

The service in Japan is priced at 3980 yen.

(via MacRumors)

Beats Music teases upcoming iPad version of streaming service

Zac Hall Apr 30 2014 - 1:04 pm PT

0 Comments

After being announced last fall and debuting an iPhone app at launch in January, streaming music service Beats is finally ready to ship an iPad-optimized version of its software… almost. Beats Music tweeted the photo above earlier today with the caption “THIS JUST IN: Your favorite Music App is feeling ready to grow in size…literally… “. The news follows recent moves to increase accessibility to becoming a paid subscriber to the service as it recently added in-app subscription purchasing capability (something which gives Apple a 30% cut of the rate).

Sprint iPhone users can get up to 6 months of Spotify for free

Zac Hall Apr 29 2014 - 9:14 am PT

0 Comments

Sprint made a lot of news at a media event held today announcing a Harmon Kardon version of the HTC One M8 and a new promotional partnership with Spotify. Included in the announcement regarding the streaming music service is some good news for iPhone users on the carrier. Sprint customers including iPhone users can get between 3 and 6 months of free Spotify. Both promotions cover both new and existing Sprint subscribers and include a discounted rate after the free period.

Framily plans qualify for 6 months of Spotify
Non-framily plans qualify for 3 months of Spotify

If you’re an iPhone user on Sprint, check out the Spotify promotion regardless of which plan you’re using at there’s goodies to go around. Also check out 9to5Toys for the full details on the Sprint+Spotify promotion.

Beats Music updated with subscriptions via in-app purchase, Facebook friend search, and a lot more

Mike Beasley Apr 18 2014 - 5:48 pm PT

2 Comments

Beats Music for iOS was updated today to version 1.0.7, but don’t let the minor version number bump fool you: this update has a lot of new stuff, including an entirely new subscription model, packed in.

The biggest news in this update is the option to purchase a subscription directly from the iTunes Store through an in-app purchase. Previously users had to add the Beats Music service to their carrier phone bill in order to enjoy the full feature set, such as on-demand streaming music and downloads.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple and Shazam planning to team up for music identification feature built into iOS

Mike Beasley Apr 16 2014 - 5:56 pm PT

23 Comments

Apple and Shazam are teaming up to build a music identification feature natively into iOS, according to a Bloomberg report. The feature will allow users to find the name and artist of a song that’s playing, likely with the option to download the song from the iTunes Store or create an new iTunes Radio station.

Unlike some of Apple’s other music-releated features (such as Podcasts and iTunes U), the system will be built into the OS directly rather than require a separate download. So far there isn’t any confirmation of whether this feature will appear in iOS 8 or a later version, but with WWDC right around the corner, Apple will need to work quickly to secure the deal if the feature is to be announced with the next-gen software update.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Twitter #music goes the way of the Flappy Bird, pulled from App Store as service prepares to shut down

Mike Beasley Mar 21 2014 - 3:43 pm PT

3 Comments

Remember Twitter #music? Apparently not many people do, and as a result Twitter has decided to pull the app from the iOS App Store today and shut the service down completely next month. According to a pair of tweets posted on the official @TwitterMusic account, the app will be removed from the App Store later today and all streaming service will end on April 18th—one year after the app first launched.

If you hurry, you can probably still grab a copy of the app to use until then.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Amazon in talks w/ labels for new music streaming service as Pandora hits 250m users

Jordan Kahn Feb 27 2014 - 2:17 pm PT

2 Comments

Two pieces of news out today related to the music streaming biz: Recode is reporting that Amazon is talking to music labels about a music streaming service that could be bundled with Prime subscriptions, while Pandora has announced it has grown to 250 million users in the US.

If Amazon is able to make deals with the music labels, Recode speculates that it could offer music streaming through its Prime subscriptions which currently only offers movies and TV shows as well as free two-day shipping for $79/ year. The report notes, however, that Amazon is running into some roadblocks with cutting deals:

Which doesn’t mean it will: One label source reports that Amazon isn’t close to getting a deal done, because its executives are asking for a substantial discount on the pricing the labels have given to other services, like Spotify, Rhapsody and Beats… Still, label talks have been going on for the past few months, sources say.

As for Pandora, that’s up from around 200 million users back in April of last year and since the launch of one of its biggest new competitors, Apple’s iTunes Radio, in September. Pandora also noted that “Listeners have now created over six billion stations.”
Expand
Expanding
Close

Popular lyrics site Rap Genius launches new Genius app for iPhone

Zac Hall Jan 28 2014 - 9:55 am PT

1 Comment

Just a month after Rap Genius got stung by Google for gaming search engine results, the lyrics and annotation site is delivering its popular service to iOS users with the launch of its first iPhone app.

While it features an optimized view of its annotated lyrics service its known for, it also has a Shazam-like feature for picking out the music playing around you. If you have music saved to your iPhone in the Music app, Rap Genius will pick songs it has lyrics for and present those to you as well. The music discovery feature was a bit hit-or-miss for me and a rather limited number of songs from my Music app appear, but the lyrics service of course works really well for the songs it does have.

Genius by Rap Genius is available for iPhone and iPod touch for free on the App Store.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apps, rather than streaming music, may be responsible for ‘peak iTunes’ – analyst

Ben Lovejoy Jan 8 2014 - 5:51 am PT

11 Comments

We noted at the end of last year that iTunes music downloads appeared to be on the decline for the first time, a shift that was confirmed this month. The operating assumption has so far been that music streaming services are taking over, and that a growing number of consumers are now content to simply have on-demand access to music, rather than to own it.

Asymco’s Horace Dediu, an analyst who often has interesting things to say, has suggested an alternative explanation: that we’re actually listening to less music …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple wraps up 12 Days of Gifts with free Rolling Stones live album

Mike Beasley Jan 6 2014 - 12:00 am PT

0 Comments

Apple has released the 12th and final gift in its 12 Days of Gifts campaign. The last free item from the iTunes Store is a three-track live album from the Rolling Stones—Sweet Summer Sun, Live in Hyde Park 2013. The album was first released on New Years Day and features live performances of “Beast of Burden,” “Tumbling Dice,” and “Doom & Gloom.”

This marks the end of Apple’s campaign for this year, which was the first time the promotion has ever been available in the United States.

Peak iTunes? Digital music downloads decrease for the first time since the online store opened

Mike Beasley Jan 3 2014 - 10:14 pm PT

4 Comments

For the first time since the iTunes Store in 2003, digital music sales have declined over the past year, reports Billboard. Specifically, individual song downloads took the biggest hit, dropping to 1.26 billion—a 5.7% from the previous year’s total. Entire albums fared substantially better, with only a 0.1% drop overall from 2012.

So far there are no official numbers on streaming music, so it’s quite possible (and likely) that streaming solutions such as iTunes Radio have actually overtaken purchases as the preferred method of listening. In fact, shortly after iOS 7’s launch, Pandora reported in influx of new users, even as Apple moved many of its own users to its new streaming platform.

Digital downloasds aren’t the only thing that’s declined over the past year. Physical CD sales have also dropped 14.5%, although that hardly seems unexpected. What is unexpected is the fact that vinyl sales have actually increased by 31% in the past year. What’s old is new again…

And in case you’re wondering, Robin Thicke took the title of most-downloaded song of 2013 with his hit “Blurred Lines.” Second on the list was “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Apple launches Best of 2013 page on iTunes, highlights top music, apps, books, and more

Mike Beasley Dec 16 2013 - 9:45 pm PT

3 Comments

Apple has just published its Best of 2013 page, highlighting some of the most popular music, movies, TV shows, iOS apps, ebooks, and podcasts from the past year. In the music section, Lorde’s “Royals” took the pick for Song of the Year, while Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ The Heist was named Best Album.

Gravity, the box office hit starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, was named Movie of the Year. Despite the confusion it caused when its final season was broken into two separate purchases earlier this year, Breaking Bad was Apple’s pick for Show of the Year.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple kicks off “12 Days of Gifts” early with a free single from Lorde

Mike Beasley Dec 15 2013 - 9:42 pm PT

7 Comments

Last week Apple released the 12 Days of Gifts app on iTunes. The app is an annual tradition for Apple in many countries, and this year U.S. customers can participate for the first time. Starting on December 26th, users can open the app each day for twelve days to get free content from the iTunes, iBooks and App Stores.

Today, Apple is giving users “a gift to get you started.” Specifically, the gift is a free copy of Lorde’s single “No Better,” which was released only three days ago. The single includes the song “No Better” as well as the music video for the singer’s earlier hit “Royals.” The gift can be claimed through the 12 Days app, but is also currently available for free on iTunes to all users, presumably for today only.

Beyoncé releases unannounced self-titled ‘visual album’ exclusively on iTunes

Mike Beasley Dec 12 2013 - 10:13 pm PT

2 Comments

Beyoncé surprised fans tonight by releasing a previously unannounced album exclusively on iTunes. The “visual album,” as it’s called in the item description, has taken over the store’s front page. It features 14 songs and 18 videos, including videos for each song, and a digital booklet.

The album is currently only available for purchase in its entirety, but the store description says the individual songs will be made available on Friday, December 20th.

Beyoncé is available for $15.99 on the iTunes Store.

Pandora Radio 5.1 turns stations into alarms on iPhone

Zac Hall Dec 9 2013 - 7:35 am PT

4 Comments

Proving it can stay competitive with iTunes Radio, the streaming music service that debuted with iOS 7, Pandora Radio is busy at work bringing new features to its own customizable streaming music service.

The company released a feature update today to its iOS app bringing with it the ability to set song or artist stations as alarm clocks.

While the native Clock app in iOS can awake you to a specific song, Pandora’s station alarm clock is a nice addition to iOS and a compelling reason to use Pandora Radio even if you’re an iTunes Radio evangelist.

Pandora Radio 5.1 also brings full iOS 7 compatibility as it was previously designed for the iOS 7 but built for iOS 6,

Check out the full release notes below and download the latest version from the App Store.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Music for iOS launch reportedly is ‘imminent’

Mark Gurman Nov 14 2013 - 6:14 am PT

3 Comments

All the way back in May, Google announced that its new Google Music “All Access” service will be arriving on iOS in the coming “weeks.” However, months have gone by and nothing has launched for iOS. A report last month indicated that the app would arrive at the end of October, and @evleaks has now claimed that the launch is “imminent.” If the app does indeed arrive soon, you can expect full coverage on 9to5.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Spotify iOS app adds touring dates for artists, instant search w/ playlist & profile results, & new languages

Jordan Kahn Nov 5 2013 - 6:32 am PT

0 Comments

The Spotify iOS app receives an updated today that brings a few new features along with version 0.9.0 of the iPhone and iPad app.

The first new feature is the addition of touring details and concert dates in the Artists view. It’s a feature that Spotify recently teamed up with Songkick to offer through its web interface.

In addition, Spotify says it has improved search with new instant results as you type and “the ability to search playlists and user profiles.”

The app has also added a number of new languages including full support for Japanese, Russian, and Indonesian.

Full list of what’s new below:

What’s New in Version 0.9.0

New: Never miss a gig! Artist views now feature touring details.
New: Spotify now speaks Japanese, Russian and Indonesian.
New: New Search rolling out now. Get ready for instant results, and the ability to search playlists and user profiles.
Fixed: Many bugs conquered.
Fictitious: This app shot the sheriff.