Apr 06

Thanko Cassette Mate Looks Like a Walkman, Rips Your Tapes to MP3

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, MP3, MP3 Digital Audio, Retro, Today's Chili

Thanko Cassette Mate

If you’re like a lot of people who fondly remember the days of mix tapes, you probably still have a lot of old audio cassettes lying around, slowly deteriorating over time, crumbling into dust. If you’re like most people who have memories of those audio cassettes, you’ve always meant to do something about it but never really figured out what. 
Now Thanko, makers of strange and unique USB gadgets, has unveiled the Cassette Mate, which looks a lot like an old cassette player or Walkman, is about the same size, but when connected to your computer will rip the music from your audio cassettes and save it in MP3, WMA, or WAV formats. 
Admittedly, if you’re pulling music from an audio cassette and you’re worried about audio quality, file format may not be the first thing you worry about, but the important thing is usually to get the recording into a digital format and then you can work with it. 
The device does have some features in addition to ripping your audio: it will split tracks for you and allows you to pop in 2 AA batteries if you actually want to listen to those tapes on to go. Otherwise you’ll need to connect it to your computer via USB. The Cassette Mate is currently only available in Japan for the equivalent of about $35 USD. 
[via Wired]
No Comments
Apr 06

Grooveshark Pulled From Android Market

Posted in: Android, Google, Miscellaneous Tech, MP3 Digital Audio, Music, Today's Chili

grooveshark.jpg

Google pulled the Grooveshark app from the Android Market this week, in the wake of complaints from major label record companies. According to sources cited by CNET, label execs complained that the app was a violation of copyright law.

Google told the site, simple, “We remove apps from Android Market that violate our terms of service.” What those violations are, the spokesman wouldn’t say. 

The move comes at a time when the company is reportedly talking with labels ahead of the launch of a rumored music service that would compete directly with Amazon’s recently launched Cloud Drive and a yet-to-be announced revamped MobileMe from Apple.

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 05

Pandora Gets Slammed With Subpoena Over Apple App

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

 

pandora_logo.jpgA subpoena has been served to Pandora by the Feds, thanks to Apple. Pandora claims that the Feds believe that the service is selling user info to advertising networks. Here’s the official statement from Pandora,

We were served with a subpoena to produce documents in connection with a federal grand jury, which we believe was convened to investigate the information sharing processes of certain popular applications that run on the Apple and Android mobile platforms.

Apple and Google have yet to release a statement regarding the situation. Pandorahas yet to address the validity of the claims. 

Via Hot Hardware

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 05

David Bowie Offers “Golden Years” as Remixable iPhone App

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili
Bowie thin white duke.jpg

Fancy yourself a DJ of sorts, but not willing to plunk down the cash for turntables and professional software and all of that nonsense? Good news, you can get your remix on with your iPhone–granted, it’s only one song at a time, but heck, everyone’s got to start somewhere.

Thin White Duke David Bowie has given his thumbs up to a new iPhone app that lets users remix his 1975 single, “Golden Years.” The track has been separated into eight files: lead vocals, 12-string guitar, six-string guitar, bass, drums, percussion, harmonium, and backing vocals. 
Bowie’s label, EMI, is promoting the app with a streaming EP of four remixes of the song created by DJs at southern California public radio station KCRW. The app itself will hit iTunes on June 6th. It will join a similar app featuring the singer’s “Space Oddity” single. 
No Comments | Tags: ,
Apr 01

MOG: Mini Adds More Cloud-Based Audio Streaming

Posted in: Mini, MP3 Digital Audio, streaming, Today's Chili

Mini_MOG_P90074062_highRes.gif

Mini will be adding the MOG on-demand music streaming service via its Mini Connected application. For $10 a month, the motorist can choose the music that plays through his or her iPhone and then through the Mini’s head unit. It’s broadly similar to the Pandora streaming music service except Pandora provides cheaper music (free to $5 a month) without the ability to pick and choose exactly what plays. The required Mini Connected app is free at the iTunes store, but the hardware requirements add $1,250 to the price of a new Mini.

No Comments | Tags:
Mar 31

Amazon’s Cloud Drive Irk Record labels

Posted in: amazon, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

Thumbnail image for amazon_cloud.jpg

A day before Amazon launched its Cloud Drive online music locker, rumors resurface about Apple’s plan to revamp MobileMe with a similar feature. Apple would have offered up online music sooner, the rumor goes, only it was attempting to square some deals with major label record companies (similar rumors have surrounded the launch of a music service from Google). Amazon, apparently, did bother with any such safeguards.

According to reports from record industry insiders, the company opted to just go ahead with Cloud Drive, letting labels know as late as March 24th (just days before the service was launched) about its plans. Now the record companies are taking a close look at the service to determine whether Amazon is breaking copyright law or licensing agreements,

The labels are reportedly biding their time, waiting to see how Amazon amends the situation. The site apparently told the labels it planned on negotiating licenses during its prelaunch meetings.

No Comments | Tags:
Mar 30

Digital Music Sales Will Overtake CDs in 2012

Posted in: itunes, MP3, MP3 Digital Audio, Music, Today's Chili

iTunes Gift Cards

According to a recent study by Strategy Analytics, a market analysis firm that helps companies identify trends and market data, next year will be the first year that digital music sales will overtake CD music sales in the United States. If you’re asking yourself “people still buy CDs?” you’d be surprised to know that traditional CD sales in the US brought in $3.8 billion in revenue last year, and is expected to drop to around $2.7 billion in 2012. 
Clearly there are still people buying CDs, and lots of them: the market isn’t going anywhere. At the same time, digital music sales are on the rise and have been for years, but the firm predicts that next year digital music sales – with Apple’s iTunes Music Store leading the way – will top $2.8 billion. 
The report also notes that for all of those billions of dollars, music labels are still “struggling,” as the overall music market is still shrinking overall. Fewer people are buying music in general, and the report notes that the entire industry will shrink from $6.2 billion in total sales in 2010 to $5.5 billion in 2012. They note that digital sales, while growing, aren’t growing as fast as music labels would like. 
The cause of the overall shrinking is up for debate: the RIAA and industry groups claim piracy is to blame, while other groups note that streaming services that offer free ad-supported music on demand are taking the lead, and still other groups blame the death of the traditional album: more people are spending $0.99 for individual songs they want instead of spending $20 for the entire album because the individual song wasn’t available on its own. 
No Comments
Mar 29

Amazon Beats Apple, Google Launches Music Locker

Posted in: MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili
amazon_cloud.jpg

A day after we reported rumors about Apple’s plans to incorporate cloud-based music storage into its rumored revamp of MobileMe–and the week after rumors swirled around a Google music streaming service–Amazon swoops in and launches its own music locker, in the form of Cloud Drive.

Users can stream music downloaded from Amazon via the service via the Cloud Player and can upload their existing terrestrial music collection to Cloud Drive. The program is currently compatible with computers and Android handsets. 
It’s US-only at present, and is free to every with an Amazon account up to 5GB. If you buy an Amazon MP3 album, you’ll get upgraded to 20GB (albums purchased through Amazon won’t work against your storage cap). For $20 a year, you can upgrade to a larger plan.
Says Amazon VP Bill Carr, “Our customers have told us they don’t want to download music to their work computers or phones because they find it hard to move music around to different devices. Now, whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere.”
No Comments | Tags: ,
Mar 15

Bon Jovi Blames Steve Jobs for Music Industry Woes

Posted in: itunes, MP3 Digital Audio, Music, Today's Chili, Weird News

Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi has a bone to pick with Steve Jobs. He wrote in the Sunday Times Magazine that Jobs is “killing” the music industry, that iTunes is to blame for the death of the album, and that no one experiences albums anymore the way artists intend to them to be experienced. 
The argument is far from a new one, a number of musicians blame digital music stores and services for killing the album, and blame digital music in general for the “death” of the music industry, but considering iTunes rakes in money from music sales and controls over 66% of the online music market, it’s doubtful the industry is going anywhere anytime soon.
Bon Jovi says that kids today aren’t getting the experience of buying music in a music store based only on album art the way their parents did, and they’re missing the experience of listening to an album end-to-end as a story. At the same time, both of those issues: the trend towards buyers wanting to preview music before they buy and the desire of music fans to not spend money on an album that contained one or two songs they wanted both pre-date iTunes, or digital music sales entirely. 
Still, Bon Jovi also bemoans the end of the neighborhood music store as more people take their purchases online, and the end of physical distribution of music, both of which can – directly or indirectly – be at least partially attributed to digital music sales. 
[via TUAW]
No Comments | Tags:
Mar 14

Zune May Actually Be Dead

Posted in: Microsoft, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

zunes.jpg

After years of sluggish sales and a new Microsoft mobile platform that aims to make the Zune irrelevant, it appears Microsoft has officially ordered the end of production of Zune hardware.

According to a Bloomberg report, the music player is officially dead but the Zune name may live on. Windows Phone 7’s operating system interface looks quite similar to the Zune, and Microsoft also offers a “Zune” music service on the Xbox 360.

The days of dedicated music players are numbered.

Via Ars Technica

No Comments