At the end of last week’s iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event, Apple partnered with U2 to deliver the band’s latest album, Songs of Innocence, for free to the more than 500 million iTunes users around the world. It was an unprecedented move that made the award-winning Irish rock band’s latest offering the biggest initial album release of all time. The only problem? Some people really hate U2, prompting Apple Monday to release a method that disgruntled customers can use to remove the album…
The Vanatoo Transparent One Speakers Blend Powerful Bass and Crystal Clear Highs to Perfection
The Vanatoo Transparent One speakers, the first from the company, pack incredible sound quality into a relatively small package. Read on for our full review.
YouTube to Block Indie Artists Who Don’t Sign Up for Subscription Service
YouTube is reportedly planning to block the music videos of indie artists and labels who don’t agree to the company’s terms for its new paid subscription tier.
iTunes Radio Surpasses Spotify to Take Third Place Among U.S. Music Streaming Services
Apple’s iTunes Radio service – which provides free ad-supported streaming music via iOS, Apple TV, and iTunes – has surpassed Spotify to become the third-most popular music streaming service in the United States.
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New ‘Visual Album’ from Beyoncé Shatters iTunes Sales Records
Singer Beyoncé made headlines last week with the unannounced release of a self-titled iTunes-exclusive album. Apple quickly highlighted it in the company’s iTunes and iOS Music stores, as well as on its website. That extra promotion, coupled with Beyoncé’s popularity, has propelled the album to record-setting sales.
iTunes Radio Terms Revealed, Compared to Pandora
The terms between Apple and the record labels for the iTunes Radio streaming music service were revealed by The Wall Street Journal late Wednesday. The report includes information on the amounts Apple must pay along with special circumstances that are exempt from payment. The newspaper reportedly obtained the information from independent record labels, which have recently begun talks with Apple to join iTunes Radio after the Cupertino company had already secured the major labels prior to WWDC. The Wall Street…
Apple “Eager” to Launch iRadio at WWDC, Sony Lone Holdout
Apple’s long-awaited “iRadio” service may launch next week at WWDC, according to separate reports this weekend from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The tough negotiations that have plagued the company’s efforts to roll out its Pandora-like streaming music service continue, however, and sources say that only two of the three major record labels have signed on. From The New York Times: After months of stalled negotiations over its planned Internet radio service, Apple is pushing to…
Editorial: Rediscovering CDs in the Age of Music Downloads
The method by which I collect music has changed considerably over the years. At a very young age, I recorded my favorite radio stations to blank cassettes, then dubbed the songs I wanted to mix tapes. When I started to earn some money, I would buy cassettes, then CDs. Then of course came Napster and, so as not to incriminate myself, let’s just say I found that service “very interesting” during my cash-strapped college days. Once the novelty of Napster…
Twelve South BassJump 2: Improved Sound with Great Looks
The built-in speakers in Apple’s laptops and all-in-one Macs have never been bad but, as the company moves towards thinner and thinner designs, the sound quality has never been great either. There’s only so much that audio processing can do to enhance small, shallow speaker drivers. While Mac owners have always had the option of using a set of external speakers or quality headphones, neither are a perfect solution. External speakers can be bulky and require several additional cables -…
Google I/O 2013 Overview
Google held its annual I/O Conference today in San Francisco. The company made a number of major announcements related to its services, products, and Android. Here’s an overview of the latest news from Mountain View. Android Activations Google started the day with some positive news for Android. The free and open mobile OS has been activated on 900 million devices to date, and Android users have installed more than 48 billion apps. In comparison, Apple has sold over 500 million…