Back in January, reports surfaced that Jimmy Iovine was planning to exit Apple later this year — four years after selling Beats to the company. The music exec issued a semi-denial at the time, stating that he was committed to his bosses and still “in the band.” The latest update to Iovine’s reported on-again-off-again relationship […]
View More Jimmy Iovine said to be transitioning to consulting role at AppleCategory: Apple Music
Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine is stepping down in August
Apple Music will lose one of its biggest stars this year.
Jimmy Iovine, the music industry veteran who produced albums for U2 and Stevie Nicks and cofounded Interscope Records, will step down from his role at Apple in August, the Wall Street Journal …
Apple Music now has 38 million paid members
Here’s another tidbit from Eddy Cue’s content-packed SXSW appearance yesterday. Along with a dive into Apple’s video content strategy, the company’s SVP offered up some insight into the health of its music streaming service. Cue noted that Apple Music has hit 38 million paid subscribers — an increase of two million since the company reported last month. It’s… Read More
Apple is ending the iTunes LP album format
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The iTunes LP format is on its last legs.
Apple has announced that it will no longer accept new LP submissions to the iTunes store after March 2018, in an email to music industry workers obtained by Metro.
An LP is an interactive album format that allows users to view multimedia elements as they play music. It was often used to bundle extra features into purchased content.
“Apple will no longer accept new submissions of iTunes LPs after March 2018,” the email reportedly reads.”Existing LPs will be deprecated from the store during the remainder of 2018. Customers who have previously purchased an album containing an iTunes LP will still be able to download the additional content using iTunes Match.” Read more…
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View More Apple is ending the iTunes LP album formatNew cars from Fiat Chrysler and VW will come with up to 6 months of free Apple Music
Two major car manufacturers, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Volkswagen, announced today they will begin to offer free Apple Music subscriptions of up to six months to customers purchasing new vehicles with CarPlay starting on May 1, 2018. The offers are meant to help boost Apple Music subscribers, and arrive shortly after rival Spotify filed to go public.
In the U.S., FCA will offer… Read More
Going public pits Spotify’s suggestions versus everyone
The secret to Spotify’s public market debut is actually an acquisition it made in 2014. The Echo Nest was powering music recommendations for Beats Music, Rdio, Vevo, and iHeartRadio too before Spotify pulled it out from under them by buying it for a reported $100 million — 90 percent in Spotify equity. That deal paid off big time. Today, in Spotify’s SEC filing to go… Read More
Even with double the subscribers, Spotify says Apple will always have an edge owning the app store
Spotify just filed for a direct listing in the U.S., sidestepping the traditional IPO process, and now we’re starting to see some of the true financial guts of the company — and some of the significant risks it faces from challenging services from Apple and Google. Apple, for example, charges apps a percentage of revenue for subscriptions processed through the App Store. Apple… Read More
Spotify may be building a smart speaker to compete with the Amazon Echo
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The smart speaker race has intensified since Apple threw its hat in the ring with HomePod, but a new competitor may be entering the fray — and it could be a game-changer.
Based on a series of job postings, it appears Spotify is making its own smart speaker.
“Spotify is on its way to creating its first physical products and setting up an operational organization for manufacturing, supply chain, sales & marketing,” reads a job description for an Operations Manager: Hardware Product on Spotify’s recruitment page. Spotify posted the job on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
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View More Spotify may be building a smart speaker to compete with the Amazon EchoSorry, Apple’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’ gets a second season
Despite its almost universally negative reception from critics, Apple has chosen to renew James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” series for Apple Music for a second season. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves announced the renewal on the company’s earning call this week, as part of its commitment to producing more original content, according to a report from Deadline. The series, which… Read More
Apple Music is expanding student memberships to 82 new markets
Apple Music is expanding its subscription music service to 82 new markets — or nearly all of the countries where the service is available, according to people with knowledge of the company’s plans. 79 markets launched today and an additional three markets will go live February 26. Some countries where students memberships — verified by UNiDAYS — are now available… Read More
Apple HomePod review: The best-sounding smart speaker yet
Apple’s HomePod comes with a long list of fine print. If you own an iOS device, subscribe to Apple Music, can live with Siri’s limited capabilities, care about music quality, and you’re OK with dropping $350 on a smart speaker, you’ll love HomePod. It…
View More Apple HomePod review: The best-sounding smart speaker yetSiri on HomePod is a master at trolling
We all know Siri. Most probably remember it as the digital assistant on their iPhone whom they once asked about the weather and then never talked to again. Others might know it as the colorful wavy lines that appear on the bottom of your iPhone scree…
View More Siri on HomePod is a master at trolling