Apr 08
The new Nord Lead 4 is the latest monster synth from the legendary Swedish instrument makers Clavia. And now my ears are melting. More »
Apr 08
JVC isn’t a huge name in the headphones market — they’re best known for their camcorders — but they’ve been making headphones for quite awhile now too. The company just launched five new pairs of headphones that will be added on to the company’s current line of Xtreme Xplosives headphones, which feature over-the-ear and in-ear models.
Three out of the five new headphones (HA-MR77X/HA-MR55X/HA-SR44X) include a one-button remote and a microphone that works with iPhone, as well as Android and BlackBerry devices. The remote allows users to play, stop, and skip music tracks, as well as answer and hang-up phone calls. The remote and the microphone are built inline with the headphone’s cord.
The two remaining models — the HA-M55X and HA-S44X — come without the remote and microphone, but they deliver comparable audio quality to the other three models. Besides the built-in remote and microphone, there’s not a lot of differences design-wise between the five pairs of headphones, although each pair includes a different driver for different audio needs.
The HA-S44X and HA-SR44X are priced at $30 and $40, respectively, and both come with a 1.57” (40mm) driver. The HA-M55X and HA-MR55X are priced at $50 and $60, respectively and come with a 1.97” (50mm) driver. The HA-MR77X cost $100 and include a 2.24” (57mm) driver. JVC claims these headphones are focused on getting the best bass sound possible, and if you want in on these new cans, they’re available now.
JVC adds five new headphones to Xtreme Xplosives line is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 08
Not Safe For YouTube: How Google Draws the Line Between Porn and Art (NSFW)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Last weekend, YouTube yanked a popular music video from Robin Thicke, which featured a number of topless models prancing to the rather upbeat track. The video for “Blurred Lines” had garnered more than one million views before it was found to be in violation of the video sharing service’s community guidelines regarding Sex and Nudity. A few days later, the VEVO upload of the same uncensored music video was pulled down about 30 minutes after we first noticed that it was still available on YouTube. More »
Apr 07
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Sacrilege
Posted in: Today's Chili
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ fourth album, Mosquito, is coming out on April 16th. But their new single “Sacrilege” is already here. The video, starring Lily Cole, is pretty creepy. It involves a masked man, some ritual sacrifice and a handful of sketchy townspeople. Oh, and the story unfolds in reverse. Was that a spoiler? Whatever, it’s great. The band played on The Late Show With David Letterman on Friday and brought the Broadway Inspirational Voices gospel group along to keep everyone honest. So ready for this album. More »
Apr 06
The digital music revolution continues at a frenetic pace — we’d only just turned in our CDs for MP3s when streaming services came along to upturn the apple cart again. There are now a whole host of streaming apps to choose from, but the original pioneer Spotify remains the biggest and the most well-known. More »
Apr 05
You may know Nokia Music as the resident DJ on many WP8 handsets, and now the app’s looking to play sets at some larger venues. It’s popped up on the Windows Store for Windows 8 or RT hardware, and looks pretty similar to the WP8 version, albeit formatted for bigger screens. It doesn’t just serve as a front-end for accessing your personal music library — you’ll also find artist info, genre-specific mixes for online streaming and offline listening, as well as the option to create mixes of your own. The software will push tunes to compatible smart TVs or DLNA-equipped kit, and you can plug in your Nokia Music+ subscription details or check out the free seven-day trial for some extra features: better quality songs, unlimited skips and offline mixes, as well as synced lyrics where available. Currently, the app is only available in Australia, the US, the UK and Ireland, but will be coming to everywhere Music+ has launched over the “coming weeks.” Windows 8 or RT users can head to the source link for the download. If you need us, we’ll be off memorizing Bieber lyrics.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Internet, Software, Nokia
Via: My Nokia Blog
Source: Windows Store, Nokia
Apr 04
UK’s online music royalties generate more cash than radio for the first time
Posted in: Today's Chili 
The UK’s Performing Right Society has announced that the cash generated from online music licensing has surpassed that of radio for the first time. The society’s 2012 report reveals that digital royalties brought in £51 million ($76.7 million) from stores, ringtones and subscription services, compared to the £47 million ($70.6 million) generated by folks listening to the wireless. The rest of the motherland’s music industry, however, has less to celebrate, thanks to big drops in physical media sales, people shunning pubs and clubs as well as big falls in live music events. You know, it’s almost as if it won’t be long before you’ll only be able to buy music online.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet
Via: The Guardian
Source: PRS (.PDF)
Apr 04
BBM Music may only be roughly a year and a half old, but BlackBerry announced in an email to subscribers that it’ll be put out to pasture on June 2nd, and April is the last month they’ll be charged for it. For those who aren’t familiar with BBM Music, it lets users keep up to 50 songs hand-picked from a larger selection in a playlist, and listen to tunes that friends keep in their own collections. Come May, tracks will appear greyed out and become unplayable as BBM contacts stop using the app. Of course, there are other ways to get your music fix. The company formerly known as RIM went so far as to recommend Rdio, giving folks a voucher code for a 30-day pass in the email.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: CrackBerry (1), (2)
Apr 03
Come this summer, Blackberry Music will be no more, with Blackberry announcing that the service will be retired on June 2. The information comes via an emailed statement that went out to Blackberry customers with a BB Music subscription. Less they be left completely high and dry, Blackberry is offering those subscribers a free 30-day trial to Rdio premium, which it says will fill the BB Music void.
According to the email, current subscribers will be billed in April, and will then begin to see songs turn grey in May; once grey, the song will no longer be playable, with the entire service going dark on June 2. These dates could change, per a postscript in the message. Users should begin making their transition the service this month.
Says the email sent to subscribers today: “BBM Music service will be discontinued as of June 2, 2013*. For paying customers, April is the last month that you will be billed. In May, as your BBM contacts stop using the service, songs in your playlists will begin to turn grey and will no longer be available.”
Once Blackberry Music is no longer available, you won’t have any use for the BB Music app, which is why removal instructions were provided. Users can make the transition more comfortable by taking advantage of the Rdio offer, which can be redeemed by following directions also included in the email, which you can read in full here.
[via Crackberry]
Blackberry Music will be shutdown June 2 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 03
Amazon launched its AutoRip service back in January, allowing you to get a free MP3 version of a music CD that you bought from Amazon, going back as far as 1998 with the purchase history. Now, the e-tail giant is offering vinyl record owners the same deal. If you’ve ever bought a vinyl record on Amazon in the past, the company will give you a free MP3 version for your digital needs.
Just like with CDs, the offer applies to vinyls that you’ve bought from the website since 1998 (how many people were really using the internet to buy vinyl records back then?), and any customers who purchases a vinyl record that is eligible for an AutoRip MP3 version in the future will receive a digital copy that will be automatically added to the user’s Cloud Player library.
Just like with CDs, AutoRip only supports a certain number of vinyl records. In other words, it only goes as high as Amazon’s current catalog of MP3 music that they have available. The company currently boasts 50,000 tracks and counting that are eligible on Amazon’s AutoRip, all of which come with 256kbps quality.
Sales of vinyl records have been making a comeback as of late. They were obviously a popular format back in the 1970s, but many audiophiles argue that vinyl records offer a better quality sound than CDs and even high-bitrate MP3s, thus marking the rise in popularity. Many modern musicians and bands still release their albums in vinyl record format to this day.
Amazon AutoRip now supports vinyl records is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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