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Amazon Music is the latest streaming service to add podcasts
It'll have exclusive shows from hosts like Will Smith, Becky G and DJ Khaled.
The best deals we found this week: Mario games, iPad mini and more
We saw a number of good deals this week, with one of the highlights coming from Mario Day—or "Mar10" Day in Nintendo lingo. Some of the most popular Mario-verse games are still on sale, dropping them to prices that are rarely seen outside of the holiday shopping season. Also, you can still get $50 off an iPad mini 5 at Amazon and Best Buy. Here are the best deals from this past week that you can still get today. Nintendo Switch Mario games Nintendo's annual "Mar10" day celebration of Mario is still happening. Through March 14, you can snag a number of popular Mario games for Nintendo Switch at discounted prices. Key among them are Super Mario Maker 2 for $40, Super Mario Party for $40, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 for $40 and Yoshi's Crafted World for $40. These sale prices are available at Nintendo's eShop, Amazon, Best Buy and other retailers, but since the sale is nearing its end, some retailers may be sold out of certain games. Also, check out Nintendo's eShop for additional, non-Mario games on sale including Just Dance 2020 for $20, Monopoly for $10 and Child of Light for $5. Buy Super Mario Maker 2 on Best Buy - $40 Buy Super Mario Party on Best Buy - $40 Buy Mario & Sonic at the Olympics on Amazon - $40 Buy Yoshi's Crafted World on Amazon - $40
Streaming now accounts for 80 percent of the US music market
Streaming has completely reshaped the face of the music industry over the last decade, with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music proving to be overwhelmingly popular with music fans. The Recording Industry Association of America has revealed some stats that underline the mammoth sea change. The organization says streaming accounts for 80 percent of the US music market, compared with seven percent in 2010. Streaming subscriptions rose from about 1.5 million to around 61 million between 2010 and the first half of 2019, according to the RIAA.
Amazon Music HD expands 3D audio library with Warner Music Group tracks
Echo Studio, one of Amazon's latest smart speakers, might sound great, but until now it offered a limited library of 3D audio through Amazon Music HD. However, if you picked up the speaker and signed up for the hi-res streaming plan, you now have more 3D music options. You can listen to tracks from across the Warner Music Group empire in Dolby Atmos starting today.
Garmin adds Amazon Music to its fitness watches
After adding support for Spotify last October, Garmin is expanding the music streaming services its wearables support to include Amazon Music. What's more, this time around the company is doing a broader rollout. Not only is Amazon Music available on Garmin's high-end devices like the Fenix 5 Plus series, you can also download the app on affordable models like the Vivoactive 3 Music. Also included in today's rollout are the Forerunner 245 Music, Forerunner 645 Music and Forerunner 945, as well as the ritzy MARQ collection.
Comcast is bringing Amazon Music to Xfinity X1 and Flex
Amazon Music might be coming to a TV near you soon. Comcast is bringing the music streaming service to Xfinity X1 over the next few weeks. It says it's the first time you'll be able to access Amazon Music on a TV via a pay-TV provider. You can say "Amazon Music" into the remote to access the service's library and playlists, or find it in the Apps section of the system.
Nvidia's Shield TV gains Amazon Music streaming
Android set-top box Shield TV has already added Alexa and a fully-featured version of cloud game streaming service GeForce Now, but it's making room for another significant update in the lead up to Christmas. Chief among the new additions is an Amazon Music app, which joins the growing list of music streaming platforms (Spotify, Google Play Music, Tidal, Pandora) already on the streamer.
Xbox One mouse and keyboard support is available now
If you're tired of Microsoft drumming up hype for the Xbox One's mouse and keyboard support, we have good news: that feature is finally here. Install the November 2018 Xbox Update and your One S or One X will have PC-like input for compatible games, including Fortnite and Warframe. Don't expect every game to offer a mouse-and-keyboard option -- it'll typically be limited to games where it both makes sense and won't provide an unfair advantage in multiplayer modes.
Amazon's Alexa and Echo launch in Mexico
Amazon's Alexa is available in numerous countries, but there are still major expansions left to go -- case in point, Mexico. The company has launched both Alexa and its Echo range of smart speakers in the country, complete with a new voice, Mexico-oriented Spanish, local knowledge and the Alexa skills to match. Amazon Music (including both Music Unlimited and Prime Music) is arriving in the country, too, providing millions of tunes as well as locally curated playlists and stations.
Alexa can tell you when your favorite artists release new music
If you're an Amazon Music subscriber in the US, you can receive notifications when your favorite artists drop new music, simply by asking Alexa to follow them. All you need to do is say something like "Alexa, follow Anderson .Paak on Amazon Music" or "Alexa, tell me when Imagine Dragons has new music." You can also follow an artist through their page on the Amazon Music iOS or Android apps or web player.
Amazon Music Unlimited is now available in Canada
Today, Amazon announced the expansion of its Music Unlimited service to Canada. Listeners can sign up for a free 90-day trial; after that period has passed, Prime members will pay CDN $8 per month or CDN $79 per year to continue service. The family plan costs CDN $15 per month, whether you have a Prime membership or not. It's CDN $149 per year for Prime members. Non-Prime members will pay CDN $10 per month. Subscribers can also opt for a single device plan for CDN $4 per month, which will allow Unlimited subscribers to listen to their music on one Echo device.
Amazon snags exclusive Jack White documentary and EP
Amazon will soon be the home for some exclusive Jack White content, the company announced on Tuesday. The musician will release a documentary on Prime Video that centers on his concert at The Anthem in Washington, DC -- part of his Boarding House Reach tour -- as well as White's time spent exploring the nation's capital. Additionally, Amazon will release an EP featuring six live recordings from the concert through Amazon Music. It includes four songs from White's most recent album along with the title tracks from Blunderbuss and The White Stripes' Icky Thump.
Send tracks from Amazon Music to Alexa devices with Alexa Cast
Today, Amazon announced that users listening to music through the Amazon Music app can now cast their tunes to any Alexa-enabled speaker from their phone. The feature is called, unsurprisingly, Alexa Cast.
Researchers find Amazon is selling white supremacist products
A pair of watchdog groups reported that despite Amazon's policy against the sale of racist or 'hatred-glorifying' goods on its platforms, white supremacist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and homophobic goods are still sold on the sites. That allegedly includes products in its online store along with material on its publishing and music outlets.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Tidal exclusive lasted less than two days
Beyoncé did a Beyoncé thing (along with her husband Jay-Z) over the weekend and released her (their) new album on Tidal with no prior warning. The pair are part-owners of Tidal, which was also the exclusive home of her previous album, Lemonade. But Tidal's sole dominion over the Carters' Everything Is Love didn't last long; it's already available to stream on Spotify Premium, Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. The album will hit Spotify's free tier in two weeks.
Amazon grabs streaming rights for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony
Amazon Prime's video-on-demand service just unlocked a musical milestone: it will be airing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's induction ceremony for the first time ever. HBO has been the Hall of Fame's conventional broadcasting home, but from July 1st, devotees will be able to watch the event in over 30 countries and eight languages on any device supported by Amazon's streaming service.
Amazon Music app now offers hands-free control thanks to Alexa
Amazon Music's mobile app introduced Alexa voice control back in September, but there was a catch: you still had to tap a button to take action. Why couldn't you just talk to it like you would an Echo speaker? You can now. Both the Android and iOS apps just received hands-free Alexa control, with many of the same commands that you'd use with other Alexa devices. You only have to start talking to listen to a favorite playlist or queue up a song you don't remember by name.
Spotify’s challenge is to prove it’s a real business, not a fantasy
Three months after quietly filing to become a public company, Spotify finally made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. It was a big day for the Swedish music-streaming giant, to say the least, and it ended up exceeding expectations from Wall Street analysts on its first day of trading. But for many investors, Spotify may not be the safest bet. In its IPO filing, it disclosed that it has incurred significant operating losses over the past few years, warning investors that it may be a while before it's able to generate profits on a sustained basis.
Amazon says it has ‘tens of millions’ of paying Music Unlimited users
As Spotify goes public, it's only natural that competing services might want to tout their own success stories in the streaming business. According to Billboard, Amazon Music reports "tens of millions" of paid customers and that Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions have more than doubled in the past half year. That puts them in range of Apple Music and Spotify, with 36 million and 70 million reported subscribers, respectively.
Alexa can now play that song you heard but can’t remember the name of
Sometimes you want to listen to a certain song but you can't quite remember what it's called. Other times you might just want to listen to some of your favorites that you haven't heard in a while. Now, Alexa can find those tunes for you. While listening to Amazon Music, you can now ask Alexa in very general terms to find music you listened to earlier or play something you haven't heard recently. You can do so with specific artists by saying, for example, "Alexa, play that Kendrick Lamar song I was listening to yesterday," or, "Alexa, play Rihanna songs I haven't heard in a while." You can also ask for genres, but you can get even more general than that by asking Alexa to just play something you haven't heard lately.
