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iTunes Radio to promo pre-release albums
iTunes Radio was already a great addition to iOS 7, but now that the dust is beginning to settle on the new operating system, Apple has revealed a perk that the new iTunes feature will afford us: Full-length streaming albums before their release. As MacNN reports, Apple's senior VP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue revealed that iTunes Radio will soon host entire preview albums for users to enjoy ahead of their retail debut, which should prove to be a popular marketing tactic for both mainstream and up-and-coming acts. We reported earlier today about how Justin Timberlake's new album was made available on iTunes Radio just last week. This isn't the first time iTunes has offered previews of upcoming releases, but the integration with iTunes Radio should prove to be a more popular (and convenient) option for users looking to get a sneak peek at unreleased albums.
Eddy Cue discusses iTunes Festival and Apple's hopes for iTunes Radio
In an interesting interview with Entertainment Weekly, Apple's Eddy Cue took some time to discuss Apple's iTunes Festival and the company's ambitions with respect to iTunes Radio, Apple's take on Pandora. How do you gauge the success of something like the iTunes Festival? Is it audience reach? The level of artist that you get year after year? You can't measure it through the sale of a product or song or any of that. It works by the fact that that we have all of these customers in the U.K. that want to come to it-with the 20 million ticket requests that we've had, the millions of people that watch it on their iOS devices, on Apple TV, and the Web. And that's always been growing on a year-to-year basis. Notably, Cue explains that artists aren't paid for their performances at the festival. That, however, clearly hasn't stopped A-list performers from taking the stage. This year's festival featured artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Lumineers to Kendrick Lamar and Elton John. As for iTunes Radio, Cue not surprisingly relayed that for Apple the ultimate goal is to create quality music stations specifically tailored to the musical stylings of listeners. One point of interest is that Cue said that Apple, going forward, may try and leverage streaming album premeires to help with promotional efforts. This year, iTunes has been successful in converting streaming album premieres into impressive pre-orders and sales, how much influence did that have on iTunes Radio? We're leveraging it. For example there's a Justin Timberlake album that's on iTunes Radio as of [last Thursday] for the first time, so the first time we ever premiered an album on there. We certainly knew we would leverage it for iTunes Radio but the primary key to iTunes Radio was to create it custom for you. When you're talking premiering song, what we're doing iTunes Festival-wise, we knew iTunes Radio was a perfect place for that so it's perfect alignment. Just two weeks ago we reported that Apple has been looking to hire experts across a number of musical genres to ensure quality programming. On top of that, Apple has also been talking with music labels in an effort to attain their "heat seeker" lists which contain artists and songs that may be on the verge of blowing up.
Apple TV 6.0 update returns, likely with bug fixes in tow
Apple may have been too hasty in rolling out its Apple TV 6.0 update last week, but it's been quick to make amends. The company has just re-released the upgrade with a new build number -- and, presumably, fixes for the connectivity and reset issues from the initial rollout. Otherwise, the new firmware offers the same AirPlay from iCloud support, iTunes Music Store shopping and iTunes Radio streaming that we saw a few days ago. We haven't heard of any hiccups with this latest revision, but let us know if you encounter anything serious.
Daily Update for September 23, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Over 11 million users tuned into iTunes Radio since launch
All in all, it's a great Monday for Apple. Earlier today, the company announced that it sold 9 million iPhones over the weekend, nearly doubling their previous launch weekend record. And in early morning trading, shares of Apple are up nearly 5 percent. In keeping the good news train moving along, Apple also mentioned in its press release from this morning that more than 11 million unique iOS 7 listeners have tuned into iTunes Radio, Apple's own take on streaming internet radio. Over 11 million unique listeners have already tuned in to iTunes Radio since launch with the most listened to song being "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake. Just last week, we reported that Apple has been working with record labels to gain access to their "heat seekers" lists while also looking to hire music programmers with expertise in a wide range of genres.
TUAW Tip: iTunes Radio uncensored (video tutorial)
If you enjoy listening to music via streaming-music services such as Spotify, Rdio or Pandora, then you are going to get a kick out of Apple's newly released iTunes Radio. The service has been awesome over the last two months of beta testing, featuring a great mix of music and stellar quality playback. The one thing that had put a bee in my bonnet until the iTunes 11.1 update released today had been the butchering censorship of the music on iTunes Radio. Talking about this with fellow TUAW Blogger Steve Sande, he showed me how to fix this. I was so excited, I had to make a video to share with you. In iTunes 11.1, click on the Music icon under Library in the side bar and click the Radio tab. Under the station choose slider, you will find a toggle button to "Allow Explicit." Simply turn it on or off as you please. On iOS 7, while playing a selection from iTunes Radio, you will see an information "i" icon in the top-center of the screen. Tap the information icon and there you will find a similar "Allow Explicit Tracks" toggle. So whether you're listening to Jay-Z, Jay & Silent Bob or Jane's Addiction, you can now enjoy the music your mama wouldn't approve of just the way it was meant to be. try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-506467").style.display="none";}catch(e){}
An hour or so with iOS 7
Note: I'll be updating a few times this week as I get my feet wet with iOS 7. Here's the second. So I walked out of Tekserve and used Maps to find my hotel. I tried out iTunes Radio, but I was in a rush so I didn't have much time to set things up. Luckily Apple has asked some high-profile musicians to create some playlists under the "Featured Stations" section. I was worried I wouldn't know where to find iTunes Radio but the icon is pretty clear in the music player app. Soon I heard Jared Leto softly speaking in my ear, explaining his thinking behind the song choices on his playlist. His California playlist. Maps is virtually the same as it was before, and I was never given audio prompts for the walking directions I asked for -- which is tradition. Messages Another tradition on the streets of New York is me, walking along, texting to my girlfriend. I really like Messages now, although I can't exactly pin down why I like it so much better. From the text bubbles visibly popping up into the stream to the blur atop the stream when you scroll with the keyboard up, the whole thing needed a fresh coat of paint. Better still, everything seemed more responsive. When I got a message on my lock screen I could swear it was easier to swipe to unlock and reply. It's amazing how driven we are by our eyes. Keyboard Speaking of messaging, while I don't feel like the keyboard has had more than a new coat of paint, it does feel more responsive and accurate. iOS 7 didn't make the M key twice as big, however. I'm still mistyping things, but that is why we have Siri. I'd still like to use other keyboards, frankly. Siri Siri is so much better. When you first launch Siri, there are example phrases. Now you can finally do things like turn off Bluetooth from Siri! You can also see if Siri can even hear you! As we reported, Siri is no longer a beta. While the tech still isn't quite as good as Google in some cases, Siri is far more functional than before and I see using it a lot when I'm out and about. Safari I was never a big fan of CoverFlow, and Safari's new multi-page view is a meh for me. I liked the older view because I could see an entire page, but at these sizes why am I complaining? The somewhat-gimmicky parallax finally comes in useful here, however, as I could tilt my iPhone to see more of the pages as they were stacked. Nope, I totally won't look silly doing that in a coffee shop. FaceTime As for FaceTime, I thought I'd hate having a new app for this (especially when Cupertino decided to rearrange the furniture across my home screen), but I asked my girlfriend to test it and... she couldn't figure out how. So I think this will help a lot of people to get more familiar with the tech, and I must say the quality is crazy good. Background muting was outstanding, as her son was blasting a kid show, but FaceTime muted everything while I spoke. Music Now back to music. I didn't spend a ton of time mucking around in the music app, but I'm pretty sure the Create button at the bottom when you're playing a song wasn't there before. I would still like to see a drag-and-drop metaphor in the music player, allowing me to browse albums, artists and songs and just pull them into a playlist, but at least Apple has made making a playlist a little more obvious now. Needs Improvement Some bad parts I've found so far: - OK, the animations are bugging me now. Some are fine, but the swooping in of icons gets old within an hour. This is the new genie effect, and I can just hear jailbreakers planning to turn it off now. - Where did the list view in Calendar go? Apple, people do use these things and sometimes we do get tired of exercising our thumbs just to see our day. In particular, I am a visual organizer and like to see my entire day before me, not just slivers of it. - Dictionary? What Dictionary? Well clearly there's a Dictionary loaded into iOS, because autocorrect is on point. But when you select text and click Define it won't define the word. Any word. You have to tap Manage, then download one of dozens of available dictionaries. That seemed very un-Apple and I'm hoping it was a bug which will be fixed. Little touches everywhere Even with those issues (and I'm sure I'll find more), I have to say the little touches definitely added up. I don't even mind the battery icon, which appears briefly when you plug in, then disappears so you have to look up in the corner where the battery usually indicates charge. There are worse things in life, I guess. Still, from swiping anywhere on the lock screen to unlock, to Control Center and Siri allowing easy access to toggles (for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the LED light, etc.) all the way to the new FaceTime app and app switching in landscape view (how was this not a thing before?), iOS 7 is a worthwhile upgrade for me. I think it will be a good update for anyone with an iPhone. Note I said iPhone. I have yet to try iOS 7 on my iPad 3 thanks to some varying reports on its stability and speed. Now I'll be spending the night getting to know more about iOS 7, and report back tomorrow after I've spent an entire day with it.
Apple seeks music experts to ensure iTunes Radio doles out hits
One of the biggest features in iOS 7 is the introduction of iTunes Radio, Apple's own personal take on streaming radio. Modeled slightly after Pandora, iTunes Radio enables users to create their own personalized music stations based on their existing tastes. On top of that, iTunes Radio also comes with a number of pre-set and featured stations encompassing a whole range of genres. Like Pandora, you can indicate which songs you like and dislike, and over time, the musical selections chosen by iTunes Radio will more closely mirror your musical proclivities as the software "learns" your tastes. Now one of the great things about services like Pandora and iTunes Radio is that it provides a gateway for folks to discover great new music. While Pandora relies upon what it likes to call the "music genome project" to select which songs a user hears next, Apple is reportedly employing the talents of music experts to ensure an enjoyable listening experience. As part of Apple's effort to keep the hit songs on iTunes Radio a flowin', CNET reports that the company is working closely with record labels in order to gain access to their "heat seekers" lists. Apple has asked all the major music labels for their "heat seekers" lists. Those are the lists the labels keep of artists and songs they're betting are on the verge of breaking -- even though the data might not yet point to success. What's more, Apple is also interested in hiring music programmers with expertise in a number of different musical genres. At the same time, Apple has been staffing up and is looking to hire a range radio music programmers. These are people with deep knowledge in genres such [as] Latin, metal and alternative music who will be responsible for selecting and promoting songs out of the thousands of new releases each month. Apple has also been trying to poach people from the labels themselves. While it's unclear if the music experts employed by Apple will be working exclusively on Apple's pre-set and featured stations, it's seems apparent that Apple isn't solely relying upon its own algorithms in deciding which songs should spring up on iTunes Radio. This of course isn't entirely new territory for Apple. The company already employs music aficionados to keep an eye on what's hot to ensure that the splash page for the iTunes Music Store remains relevant, intriguing, and helpful.
iTunes Radio now rolling out in iTunes 11.1 update, brings Spotify-like streaming to the desktop
The release of iOS 7 is undoubtedly the big Apple news of the day, but there's another new product rolling out with it as well: iTunes Radio. The Spotify-like feature, which was announced during Apple's iPhone event last week, is part of the new iTunes 11.1 and allows users to create custom radio stations based on their personal music libraries or musical proclivities (e.g., genre, artists, track, etc.). Naturally, the service, like its competitors, is freemium, so you'll have to pony up $25/year for iTunes Match in order to keep the hits coming sans advertisements. The update should be hitting all Macs running OS X 10.6.8 and up now, so while you're frantically hitting refresh on that iOS update, you may as well check for this -- or head to the source below for the download link.
Pandora intros redesigned iPad app, hopes you'll skip that other big radio service
There's no doubt that Pandora is feeling the heat from iTunes Radio. The company isn't letting its competitor's launch go unanswered, however. It just unveiled a redesigned Pandora 5.0 app for iOS that gives iPad users several features that were previously iPhone-only, including deeper artist exploration, social music sharing and an option for more variety in stations. The release also makes better use of the big screen through a panel that helps listeners find related music without skipping a beat. Android tablets will get these perks later in the fall, Pandora says. The firm may still have a tough time luring iPad owners away from Apple's streaming service, but the new Pandora app is free to use -- it won't hurt to tune in.
Rdio teaming up with terrestrial radio giant Cumulus Media for new free ad-supported streaming
The New York Times is reporting that the subscription-based online streaming service Rdio has made a deal with terrestrial broadcast giant Cumulus Media to provide advertising and content. Cumulus, which runs 525 radio stations, will advertise Rdio on its own stations in addition to providing content for streaming on the service. It's a deal that works well for both parties, with Cumulus looking to enter the digital world as terrestrial radio's popularity wanes and Rdio looking to increase its own market share in the increasingly crowded streaming music market. Currently Rdio lacks a free streaming option, limiting its service to a tiered subscription option of either US$5 or $10 per month. As part of this new deal, Rdio is launching a free ad-supported option, with Cumulus selling advertising that will run alongside the programming. There is no word yet on which of Cumulus' syndicated programming will be included on Rdio in the deal, but they handle everything from the Mark Levin Show and Mike Huckabee Show to weekly country countdowns. The launch date for the new service hasn't been announced yet. Head over to the New York Times for the finer details of the deal. The news comes shortly before the official release of Apple's own streaming service, iTunes Radio.
iTunes Radio launches September 18th alongside the release of iOS 7
We heard rumblings a few weeks ago that Apple's streaming service was due to launch this month and now it seems those reports were true. The folks in Cupertino just announced that iTunes Radio will launch on September 18th in tandem with a redesigned iOS 7. The ability to create custom stations based on individual music tastes and personal iTunes libraries will hit Apple devices in a week's time. Of course, you'll need a $25-per-year iTunes Match subscription to keep listening to sessions ad-free, otherwise you'll be prone to regular interruptions of that Yacht Rock station every few minutes. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 'Special Event' 2013 event hub!
Apple posts job listings for iAd team positions in advance of iTunes Radio
With the impending release of iTunes Radio, Apple is preparing for its entry into the world of streaming music by expanding its iAd division. Apple currently has three positions open on their official jobs board for the iAd division, all in the design field. And those are just the jobs on their official job board. As reported by Ad Age earlier today, Apple has posted a plethora of openings on LinkedIn, looking for professionals in a wide range of fields. Business analysts, producers, build and release engineers, program managers, creative design managers and account coordinators are all being sought in the 31 current job listings for iAd Apple over at LinkedIn. Apple has already lined up some major advertisers for the iTunes Radio launch, including McDonald's, Pepsi, Nissan and Proctor & Gamble. With a minimum buy-in of around US$1 million for each advertiser, the company has a lot riding on making sure its advertising is exactly what it needs to be. Head over to the jobs board or LinkedIn for the openings that are currently available.
Pandora drops 40-hour free listening limit ahead of iTunes Radio launch
On its earnings call yesterday, Pandora CEO Mike Herring said the company would be dropping its 40-hour free listening limit on mobile devices, which it instituted in February. The limit saw users having to pay for Pandora's annual subscription fee of US$36 if they went over 40 hours of free listening a month on their mobile devices. Many in the industry think the reversal of the 40 hours of free listening cap is a sign Pandora is nervous about Apple's upcoming iTunes Radio, which is set to launch next month. However, Pandora says the reversal has nothing to do with that. Instead, according to Pandora, the change was prompted by increased advertising revenue and improved cost control measures that are now in place. And as for iTunes Radio, here's what the Pandora CEO told AllThingsD about how he thinks it will affect Pandora's business: "We've now been around for eight years. We've seen competitors large and small enter the market and, in some cases, exit the market. I've never seen an analysis that identifies an effect from any competitor ... we don't see the picture changing." In all honesty, that kinda of reminds me what Palm CEO Ed Colligan said when rumors of an Apple smartphone appeared to be coming to fruition: "We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in." We'll find out soon enough.
Big names -- McDonald's, Pepsi, Nissan, Proctor & Gamble -- sign on for iTunes Radio ads
With iTunes Radio set to hit the ground running once Apple releases iOS 7 to the masses sometime this fall, Apple has been busy signing up number of big-name advertisers to help bankroll the company's first foray into internet radio. According to AdAge, some of the advertisers already on board the iTunes Radio train include McDonald's, Pepsi, Proctor & Gamble, Nissan and others. The report relays that: The deals range from the high single-digit millions of dollars to tens of millions of dollars and include a 12-month advertising campaign to run within the streaming music service for each of the participating brands. In addition to basking in all the publicity that comes with a heavily-anticipated Apple product launch, the launch partners get exclusivity within their respective industries through the end of 2013. Come January 2014, however, ads on iTunes Radio will become widely available, provided an advertiser agrees to the minimum buy-in of around $1 million, according to sources briefed on the product. Advertisements on iTunes Radio will reportedly take on three forms; audio ads, video ads and interactive ads. As for how often advertisements will rear their ugly, but necessary heads, AdAge notes that audio ads will be played once every 15 minutes while video ads will be served about once every hour. While not available yet, the report states that advertisers will soon have the ability to target ads to specific iOS devices, a welcome option for advertisers looking to calibrate ads in an effort to maximize effectiveness and impact. For instance, it stands to reason that an iOS user with a newly minted iPhone 5S may have more expendable income than a user with an old iPhone 4, or the rumored lower-cost iPhone. Ads on iTunes Radio, however, will not be exclusive to mobile devices. Note that any device running iTunes Radio, including desktop devices and the Apple TV, will be subject to ads. Also of note is that some advertisers may be given the option to assemble, or perhaps "sponsor" is a more apt descriptor, their own playlists that will feature fewer advertisements than the five ads per hour described above. "These branded stations will not be labeled with a brand name," AdAge reports, "but will likely involve a short ad saying that brand was sponsoring a user's block of free listening." If you're interested in the nitty gritty of Apple's advertising efforts vis a vis iTunes Radio, the full post from AdAge is chock-full of interesting information and worth checking out in its entirety. While Apple's previous advertising efforts -- I'm looking at you iAds -- haven't exactly met Apple's expectations, the inherent interest in streaming internet radio suggests that Apple's foray into the music space will be worthwhile. After all, Pandora, though one of the more popular iOS apps, still has to be proactively downloaded by iOS users. iTunes Radio, on the other hand, will be integrated into the iOS Music app right out of the gate, giving it an extremely large built-in userbase right from the get-go. Lastly, consumers who sign up for iTunes Match will be able to experience iTunes Radio completely ad-free.
iTunes Radio reportedly launching next month with audio ads every 15 minutes, video once an hour
This September, Apple's expected to flip the switch on iTunes Radio, the music service announced at WWDC in June. But how exactly will Cupertino fund its pricey new streaming venture? Ads, and lots of them -- according to AdAge, Apple will serve up an audio advertisement every 15 minutes, while video ads will play every hour, and only at times that users are likely to be looking at the display, such as right after hitting play or jumping to a new song. McDonald's, Nissan, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble are all on board as launch advertisers, with each deal bringing many millions of dollars in revenue. Only free users will have to deal with frequent disturbances, however. Users paying $25 per year for an iTunes Match subscription will have ad-free access to Radio, letting them stream tunes continuously without interruption.
Apple requesting cover art from internet radio stations for iTunes Radio
Apple has sent a letter to internet radio stations requesting they provide cover art for iTunes Radio, reports MacRumors. From the email: Dear Internet Radio Provider, Cover Art The iTunes Store now requires cover art for Internet Radio stations. The cover art files must be 1400 x 1400 pixels in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image URL must end in ".jpg", ".jpeg" or ".png". To add cover art to your station, send an email to itunesradio@apple.com including your contact name, station name and cover art file. Cover art should avoid pixelation. Any text should be legible at reduced image sizes on small devices. Note that Internet Radio cover art is not currently displayed. Questions about iTunes Radio? Check out iTunes Radio here. Regards, The iTunes Internet Radio Team iTunes has long offered internet radio stations on its Mac and PC desktop app. What this letter suggests is that Apple will begin offering these internet radio stations on iTunes Radio on iOS when it launches this fall. If true, users will have an incredibly wide selection of radio music from both Apple's new offering and traditional streaming internet radio channels.
iTunes 11.1 beta seeded to developers with radio feature
When iOS 7 finally becomes official later this year, it'll be accompanied by a brand new iTunes, complete with a much anticipated streaming radio feature. iTunes Radio, the oft-rumored, and finally announced Pandora competitor will launch as part of an updated music management app and will have deep hooks in the major mobile OS revamp currently under way at Cupertino. If you're one of the many that maintain a developer account with Apple, you can download the beta at the source link. If, in your travels, you dig up any more dirt on the updated music app let us know in the comments.
WSJ: Apple courting smaller labels for iTunes Radio (Updated)
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is looking to bring smaller music labels on board with iTunes Radio. Apple has reportedly offered deals to several labels, some of which are more generous than what competitor-to-be Pandora is offering. The Journal says that Apple's payout to artists will be a combination of how often their songs are played (.13 cents per play) as well as 15 percent advertising revenue generated by Apple. In the second year, those numbers will jump to .14 cents and 19 percent respectively. According to the Journal, Pandora pays out .12 cents per play. Update: The correct amount as reported by the WSJ was .13 cents, not .13 dollars. We apologize for the error. Apple, of course, had no comment. The forthcoming iTunes Radio was announced during WWDC 2013, and will offer customized, streaming radio stations to users for free. Apple plans to launch it this fall.
WSJ outs Apple's iTunes Radio terms, says many are 'more generous' than Pandora's
According to a document obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Apple will pay 0.13 cents and 15 percent of advertising revenue to major labels for every song played on iTunes Radio in its first year, climbing to .14 cents and 19 percent in year two. In comparison, Pandora currently pays 0.12 cents per song, and WSJ added that Apple is offering publishers more than double Pandora's rate for royalties. There are some exclusions to Apple's offering, however: it won't need to pay for songs streamed for 20 seconds or less, those that are already in your iTunes library or certain promoted tracks. For its part, Pandora said that comparing the two is unfair, since varying features between the services could trigger royalty payments differently. It also addressed recent controversy about those royalties in a detailed blog post (see the More Coverage link after the break). In addition, insiders say that Apple's primary aim is to encourage listeners to buy more tracks on iTunes, in turn boosting hardware sales. Still, the new service will no doubt reap the benefits of Apples new iAd mobile advertising platform, so it's likely that Cupertino will have its cake and eat it, too.
