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Apple refutes survey that says Apple Music users are jumping ship
Apple Music's panoply of bugs, cluttered user interface and overall instability has given the service a bit of a bad reputation in its first few months, but that doesn't appear to be driving away users. In a statement given to The Verge, Apple says that 78 percent of users who signed up for Apple Music are still using the service. This statement was meant to refute a study from research firm MusicWatch. According to the company's survey of 5,000 US consumers, 48 percent of those that tried Apple Music had stopped using it, despite the fact that it's free through at least September.
Apple's rebranded Music Festival will be livestreamed on Beats 1
Apple's iTunes Festival is coming back to London with a new name and a slightly different format. For starters, it's now called Apple Music Festival -- an obvious move to promote the recently launched music streaming service. It's still being held at the city's Roundhouse venue, but this year the company is opting for a 10 night run (September 19-28) rather than its usual month-long affair. That could put extra pressure on its free and seemingly randomised ticket allocations, so Apple will also be streaming the festival through Apple Music. Everyone will be able to watch the performances both live and on-demand, with coverage on Beats 1 and social media snippets on Apple Music Connect.
EU finds that Apple and labels didn't conspire to end free music
Apple Music is facing its fair share of scrutiny over concerns of possible anti-competitive behavior, but it's not going to get that much flak from Europe. According to both Mlex and Recode's sources, the European Commission has found no evidence that Apple or major music labels conspired to stifle free music services like Spotify. While the regulator is going to keep its eye on the music market as Spotify renews its label deals, it's now doubtful that you'll see a repeat of the EU's crackdown on e-book pricing.
Dr. Dre's 'Compton' is an Apple Music exclusive
If you want to listen to Compton: A Soundtrack by Dr. Dre before it arrives on Friday, Apple Music has you covered. Cupertino's streaming service will offer an "exclusive" stream of Dr. Dre's new album starting Thursday at 9 PM ET and running to 12 AM ET when it's officially released. Compton was inspired by Dre's work on the N.W.A. film Straight Outta Compton that hits theaters August 14th. When it arrives on August 7th, the album will be an iTunes/Apple Music exclusive, making it one of the first high-profile releases for Tim Cook & Co. Of course, since Dr. Dre officially works for Apple now, having a show on Beats1 and all, it's no surprise that his new project would only be available through the service.
T-Mobile will swap your iPhone 6 for the next model at no extra cost
If you've ever had to upgrade an iPhone months after launch, you've likely felt some anxiety: you need a new device right now, but you know you'll feel buyer's remorse when the next model shows up in September. T-Mobile thinks it can set your mind at ease, however. It's launching a promo that lets you swap the iPhone 6 for its successor while locking in the $15 per month JUMP On Demand lease price -- so long as you buy the existing handset by September 7th, you just have to trade it in to upgrade. You'll also get first dibs on the next iPhone if you order it from the carrier within the first two days of availability, so you shouldn't be waiting for days simply because you ordered a few minutes too late.
Apple Music faces scrutiny from the FTC
It's been reported even before Apple launched its Music streaming service that the company's facing antitrust probes in the US. Now, Reuters says the FTC has begun looking into Cupertino's "treatment of rival streaming music apps" to make sure it's not violating any antitrust law. See, iTunes also offers those competitor apps for download, and Apple gets a 30 percent cut per subscription paid through the program. That forces the companies to choose between charging extra on top of their $9.99 per month service (making the total $12.99) and accepting the loss to match Apple Music's pricing.
Spotify tells iOS users how to avoid iTunes charges and pay less
Spotify isn't happy that its iOS customers have to pay an additional $3 for a premium subscription if they make the purchase through the App Store. That's why it's planning to send them instructions on how to apply for a subscription straight from the company's website. The Verge got its hands on a copy of the letter, wherein Spotify made clear that "the normal Premium price is only $9.99, but Apple charges 30 percent on all payments made through iTunes." That ups the total to $12.99, which is only $2 away from Apple Music's six-person family plan. That email, if you haven't gotten it yet, contains links that make it easy to cancel Spotify's auto-renew on iTunes and redirect you to the service's website. You'll have to wait until your current month ends before you can re-subscribe, but after you do, you can enjoy the same service without Apple's added fee.
Holiday music exclusive battle: Apple/Eminem vs. Tidal/Lil Wayne
While many in the US are relaxing for the July 4th holiday, the folks at Apple Music and Tidal are hard at work trying to push their respective subscription music services. Apple has already announced plans for a Dr. Dre radio show on Beats 1 that will debut Saturday night, after airing shows hosted by artists Q-Tip and Run the Jewels on Friday. Just to add on, Apple Music revealed it nabbed the exclusive for Eminem's "music film" Phenomenal. Not to be outdone, Tidal came through with a surprise exclusive drop of Lil Wayne's new album, FWA, aka the Free Weezy Album. Whether or not those match your personal taste, it's evident both are gunning hard for the current subscription streaming leader, Spotify, to power the playlist at your barbecue this weekend. As far as Spotify and the rest, well, at least they have AC/DC too.
Dr. Dre will debut a Beats 1 radio show on Apple Music tomorrow night
Days after Apple Music launched to the public, it's becoming clearer where Dr. Dre fits. The hip-hop mogul, who joined Apple after the company bought up Beats, announced today that he's about to launch a regular radio program exclusive to Apple Music. The hour-long show, called "The Pharmacy," airs its first show tomorrow night on Apple's live Beats 1 radio station, and will focus on "West Coast music," according to the Associated Press. Tune in at 6pm ET if you're curious, and thereafter you can catch it every other week. [Image credit: Andy Kropa /Invision/AP]
Apple kills Home Sharing for music in iOS 8.4
The arrival of Apple Music has been much-celebrated, but for it to live, the company appears to have killed-off Home Sharing from iOS. The feature enabled you to stream tunes from your desktop (i.e. where your collection is) over your home network to a local iPod, iPhone or iPad. Unfortunately, as AppleInsider reports, that offering has now been pulled, so you'll have to postpone any impromptu kitchen parties that you had planned. Interestingly, the change only affects music playback, since you can still share video to nearby iDevices.
A closer look at Apple Music: feature-packed, but a bit disjointed
Apple Music is here. Finally. Now that the company steered the streaming service to a successful launch, it now has to prove to the world that it's actually something worth paying for — after all, there are like 80 other streaming-music services (maybe not, but it feels like it) fighting for the subscription revenue in our wallets. Apple's master plan: Make Apple Music a one-stop shop by kitting out it with gobs of features. We'll follow up with a longer write-up once we've had more than a few hours to play with it, but for now, let's take a quick peek at what Apple came up with.
Beats Music iOS update provides a transition to Apple Music
Now that Apple Music has arrived, Beats Music is on its way out. To help with the transition from the old to the new, the Beats Music iOS app was updated to lend a hand. Subscribers can take playlists and any saved music over to the new service without having to reconfigure everything after the switch. As you might expect, making the change can't be reversed as Beats Music credentials turn into new Apple Music accounts. If you've been paying for Dr. Dre's streaming service, you'll be privy to the same three-month free trial as the masses, and you'll receive iTunes credit for any remaining balance you may have already paid. Once the three months are up, the regular $10/month or $15/month plans will kick back in. Of course, some of the features from Beats were held over for Apple's new release, so you should feel somewhat at home. If you've yet to make the jump, the update that'll help make the swap smooth is available in iTunes now.
How to avoid being charged by Apple Music after the free trial
Apple Music is finally here, along with a free three month trial to let anyone give it a listen. But what if you don't want to be on the hook for a $10 a month subscription fee on September 30? Or, what if you opted into Apple Music by mistake (which is surprisingly easy, since it's the first thing that pops up when you launch the iOS Music app)? Well, you can just disable auto-renewal, just like any other iTunes subscription. To do so, tap the "Account" icon on the top left of the Apple Music app and navigate to View Apple ID (alternatively, you can get there from the iOS Settings app and heading to "iTunes & App Store"). Once you're at your Apple ID settings screen, tap "Manage" under subscriptions, then "Your Membership" and untick the auto-renewal checkbox at the bottom. You'll still be able to test out Apple Music for the next three months, you'll just avoid any surprise charges.
Apple Music is now available on iOS and the desktop
Apple's entry into the music streaming fray has arrived. Apple Music is now available for download via the iOS 8.4 update for mobile devices, and you'll be able use it on the desktop on both Mac and Windows machines, too. In addition to iTunes' library of over 30 million tracks, you'll also be able to stream Beats 1: Apple's 24-hour internet radio station that'll be driven by Zane Lowe, St. Vincent, Drake and others. Like Beats Music, the app will serve up suggestions based on your preferences alongside curated playlists from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and more.
NYT: AC/DC's dirty deeds coming to Apple Music, Rdio and Spotify
Seeing as how it's impossible to write a three-chord intro with words, this sentence is just going have to do for now: AC/DC is coming to Spotify and Apple Music. The Australian rock group's catalog will go on the aforementioned streaming services in addition to others like Rdio and Deezer starting today, according to The New York Times. In case you've sworn off classic rock radio, Brian Johnson and Angus Young's tunes should help fill in the gaps between Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd in your playlists. Just think, there's a very real chance that you'll be able to shake it off all night long.
Apple Music will play on Sonos speakers by the end of the year
When Apple Music showed up, one of the biggest questions was whether or not it would get at least the same level of third-party hardware support as Beats. Will you have to chuck your Sonos speakers in favor of some Apple-blessed streaming audio gear? Not at all, apparently. The team at 1 Infinite Loop says that Sonos devices will play Apple Music by the end of this year -- "ASAP," as the iPhone maker's Ian Rogers puts it. There's no word of compatibility other hardware, but it's evident between this and Android support that Apple is more interested in having a Spotify-like ubiquity than locking you into its ecosystem.
Apple Music arrives June 30th at 11AM Eastern, Beats 1 an hour later
Determined to try Apple Music and its accompanying Beats 1 radio the very moment they're available on June 30th? The streaming service's senior director, Ian Rogers, is happy to help those early adopter impulses. He says that iOS 8.4 (and thus Apple Music) will be available at 11AM Eastern on that day, and Beats 1 will go on the air one hour later. It's not clear what you'll hear if you tune in to the station right away, but the first slate of programming will include an interview with Eminem as well as appearances from everyone from Cara Delevigne to (unsurprisingly) Beats brand co-founder Dr. Dre.
Taylor Swift brings '1989' to Apple Music after all
Taylor Swift demonstrated her power in the entertainment industry when she wrote an open, widely publicized letter to Apple slamming the company for not paying artists during Apple Music's three-month trial period for each new customer. Apple quickly reversed that policy, promising to pay every artist, even indies, during the trial period. It seems Swift is ready to forgive and forget -- today, she announced that her newest album, 1989, will be available on Apple Music. "After the events of this week, I've decided to put 1989 on Apple Music... and happily so," Swift tweeted.
Apple and indie publishers are still ironing out Music deals
Apple recently gave in to indie labels' demands for proper compensation during its three-month Music trial, thanks in part to Taylor "Catastrophe" Swift. Now, Billboard and The New York Times have revealed some pertinent details about the deal: Apple has apparently promised to pay royalties worth $0.002 or 0.2 cents for each song streamed during the free trial period, which is on par with Spotify's free tier rate. Music publishers (songwriters and composers) will also get a tiny piece of the pie, which could be around $0.00047 per stream. Those rates apply to all labels, but it's a bigger victory for indies, which reportedly didn't even get a copy of Apple Music's terms until the day it was announced -- major labels had been in talks with Cupertino way before that date. That said, the two factions' negotiations aren't over yet.
Apple says it will pay artists during Music's free trials (updated)
Taylor Swift has a lot of clout in the streaming music world, it seems. Just hours after the singer railed against Apple for declining to pay royalties during Music's 3-month trials, Apple's Eddy Cue has promised that his company will pay musicians "even during [the] customer's free trial period." That includes indie artists, he says. It's not clear what prompted the apparent change of heart (beyond the obvious public relations problem), but it wasn't hard to see turnaround as a possibility. Apple has been positioning Music as a sort of anti-Spotify that courts the artists who don't like the streaming status quo, such as Swift -- it wasn't going to succeed if those same performers jumped ship, whatever the reason. Update: Cue tells Recode that Swift's letter, and pressure from other artists, prompted the change. He reached out to Tim Cook to make the change, and told Swift herself about the new policy. As for how Apple is compensating artists during trials? Cue isn't divulging the exact rate, but he says that it's a per-stream payout rather than the usual revenue percentage. About the only thing up in the air is whether or not Swift and indie labels will offer their full catalogs to Apple Music. If you ask Cue, it's simply too soon to know.
