Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s long-rumored internet radio service didn’t materialize as quickly as some thought, but we’re getting a sudden rush of hints that it may be close at hand. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal both claim that Apple has just signed a music licensing deal with Warner, giving it two out of the big three labels it needs to start streaming — Universal being the first, Sony being the holdout. Despite lacking one of the necessary deals, Apple is reportedly optimistic that it could unveil the radio feature as soon as WWDC. We’re not counting on any music news from Apple execs when they take the stage next week, but it’s good to be prepared… you know, just in case.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Apple

Comments

Source: New York Times, Wall Street Journal

It’s hardly a new tactic — teasing music lovers with a stream of a new album prior to its on-sale date — but Pandora’s getting into that business in an official way today. Not content with letting iTunes drink the whole of said milkshake, Pandora Premieres will allow users to preview upcoming album releases in their entirety before they go on sale. The new station will reportedly feature both mainstream and emerging artists, with albums to hit the Pandora airwaves “up to one week prior to the scheduled US launch date.” Listeners can enjoy these early album releases simply by adding the Pandora Premieres station, which will be updated weekly with new releases. Better still, users will be able to replay it as much as they’d like, or listen to bits of pieces of it as they choose. If you’d like to give it a look, head to your Pandora player and search for “Pandora Premieres.”

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

Comments

Source: Pandora

Nearly two years ago to the day, Google introduced Music Beta at I/O 2011. But in reality, it was little more than a gigantic cloud to store 20,000 of your favorite tracks. Despite a plethora of rumors that the search giant would beat Spotify to the punch by launching a subscription-based music service in the United States, we got a digital locker that has done little to distract most listeners from giving Rdio, Pandora, iTunes and other like services at least a piece of their heart. Fast forward to today, and Google’s finally joining the bandwagon… in majorly limited fashion.

Google Music All Access is presently only available for mobile as an Android app, and only to users in the US. Moreover, it costs $9.99 — the exact same sum as practically every one of its rivals. Rivals that have multi-year headstarts in terms of mind and market share. (Yes, it’s $7.99 per month if you sign up prior to June 30th.) Google has landed deals with the same “major labels” as everyone else, but even product manager Paul Joyce affirmed to us here at I/O that All Access doesn’t have access to any exclusives. In a post-keynote meeting with Joyce, he noted that this is only the start for the product. Naturally, Google’s going to do its finest work on its own platform, but it’s certainly odd to see iOS users left out in the cold given Google’s acknowledgement of its importance just minutes earlier.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Google

Comments

Source: Google Play

After years of fighting against the digital tide, the RIAA announced it’ll now factor online audio and video streams when considering tracks for its Digital Single Award. The certification has heretofore been given to digital tracks that have gone Gold or Platinum, but only for downloads: 500,000 for Gold, 1,000,000 for Platinum and 2 million-plus for multi-Platinum. But under its new policy, 100 streams count as one download, meaning that it could reach those thresholds with a mix of streams and downloads, not just the latter. The new approach is “an approximate barometer of comparative consumer activity; the financial value of streams and downloads were not factored into the equation.”

All told, these include streams from services like MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify and Rdio along with video sites like VEVO, YouTube and MTV.com. Under the new system, 56 titles have already gone Gold and beyond, with 11 receiving their first ever digital song cert. A couple of first-timers include Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” which went Platinum and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” that went multi-Platinum. While we can’t say if music services will make everyone happy, it’s clear streaming’s here to stay. Hear that, iTunes?

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Via: The Verge

Source: RIAA

Deezer has had an obsession with new apps lately, redesigning its Android app and kicking off its mini-app platform on mobile devices. It’s only fair that Windows 8 users get to join in with a new Deezer app of their own. The software offers the same mix of curated and on-demand streaming music as elsewhere, with a few accommodations for Microsoft’s universe: listeners can use Charms to search or share their music, and multitaskers can rely on Snap to keep an eye on their tracks. Early Windows 8 adopters have free, ad-backed access to music for up to a full year, which is as good as incentive as any to give the app a whirl if they live in a Deezer-friendly territory.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Comments

Source: Windows Store