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Drake smashes single-day Apple Music and Spotify records (again)
Drake is back to breaking streaming music records, although this time he's getting a helping hand. To start, Apple has confirmed that the man from the 6 smashed his own single-day record on its music service, with his album Scorpion resulting in over 170 million streams inside of 24 hours (More Life managed "just" 89.9 million streams). We've asked Spotify for its own details, but it did inform Variety that Drake did break the record. Estimates have the star racking up about 132.4 million chart-eligible streams on launch day, trouncing Post Malone's 78.7 million streams. At one point, Spotify revealed that people were streaming Scorpion over 10 million times per hour -- that's a high rate of Champagne Papi consumption by any standard.
Apple rumor points to a TV, music and news subscription bundle
Just three months ago, Apple purchased a company described as the "Netflix of magazine plans" and now The Information reports that it may have bigger ambitions. A plan it's considering, according to sources, is to integrate Texture's digital magazine plan with its own Apple News app, and then in the future offer a bundle that includes news, video content (like the kind it will get from Oprah) and Apple Music. While all of the items would still be available separately, it would offer an interesting package to cord-cutters willing to get their media from the same company that makes their phones, laptops, speakers and streaming boxes. If this is the idea, Apple would hardly be the only one going that route, as Amazon offers similar content under Prime, Google just refashioned YouTube premium plans to cover music and original video streaming, and there are indications Spotify will increase its focus on video. Meanwhile, just in video there's competition like Netflix, Hulu and traditional TV providers like Comcast or AT&T. Subscription rumors are nothing new for Apple, whether it's about video, news (from 2010!), or anything else. As usual, offering exclusive content is a way to increase revenue from its customers in between their hardware upgrades, and keep them tied in with its products. Nothing appears to be confirmed yet, but The Information's report follows a recent rumor from Bloomberg that said the news package could launch next year.
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.
Apple hires another BBC veteran in its bid to rule hip-hop music
Hip-hop is quickly becoming a key battleground for streaming music services: companies like Spotify and YouTube have been poaching influencers in a bid to become tastemakers and lure millions of listeners. And Apple is certainly no exception to the rule. Music Business Worldwide has learned that Apple has hired Ryan Newman, the Editor for the BBC's hip-hop and grime-focused Radio 1Xtra. He was responsible for creating and implementing the station's strategy, suggesting he'll have a similar role at Apple Music for its on-demand streaming, its Beats 1 station or both.
Apple Music makes it easier to see new albums that are on the way
Apple is releasing some updates to Apple Music today that will make it easier to see what new music is on the way and when it's set to arrive. MacRumors reports that a new "Coming Soon" section is rolling out to both the iOS and macOS versions of the music streaming service and it currently shows upcoming albums from artists like Florence + The Machine, Interpol and Gorillaz. To get there, go to the Browse tab, select New Music and then scroll down until you find the Coming Soon section. Tapping the albums listed will bring up additional information like the expected availability date and track listings.
Apple Music's web player now streams whole songs
To date, playing full songs on Apple Music has meant firing up iTunes or the mobile app. You could listen to samples on the web, but that wasn't much different than playing iTunes Store clips years ago. This appears to be changing, though. Reddit users have discovered that Apple Music's embeddable web player now plays complete songs as long as you sign in to your account. You can even add albums and playlists to your library without having to leave your browser.
Apple Music sets up publishing division as it chases down Spotify
Apple Music has been on its way to overtake Spotify in terms of subscriber base for a while now. The service got a new boss, Oliver Schusser, this past April, as well. Now, Schusser's first major initiative appears to be the launch of Apple's own music publishing division, headed by Elena Segal, previously the Legal Director of iTunes. As an unnamed source told Music Business Worldwide: "Oliver wants to underline the importance of publishing and songwriters to Apple. That's what this move is all about."
Apple Music has also unplugged R. Kelly from its playlists
Spotify and Pandora publicly banned R. Kelly's music from their own playlists while he faces allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, but Apple Music had already quietly done the same, according to Rolling Stone. While you can still find the artist's tunes on all three services, the trio has prohibited his songs from company-curated collections, including the popular RapCaviar.
Billboard weighs paid streams more heavily on its music charts
Since Billboard started using streaming data in calculating the country's most popular songs and albums in 2013, there's been a sea change in how music's popularity is quantified. Some artists, like Chance the Rapper, have had hits with streaming-only albums, while bigger names, like Kanye West with The Life of Pablo, can reach the Hot 200 summit primarily on streams. We've known since October that subscription streams will play a bigger role in shaping the Hot 100 songs and Hot 200 albums charts than free and ad-supported streams. The new rules go into effect on June 29th, and Billboard has revealed more detail on how it will calculate its charts going forward.
Bandsintown integrates Apple Music for in-app streaming
If you're like me, looking at your local concert listings is usually accompanied by blasting the music of the bands you encounter along the way. That task typically requires multiple apps, but live music discovery company Bandsintown now offers Apple Music subscribers the ability to stream tunes directly inside of its mobile software. When you visit an artist's tour dates page, you'll see a play button up top. Tap it and a selection of songs will begin. You can also tap an EQ icon in the bottom right corner of the app to browse other tracks.
A first look at Spotify’s redesigned free mobile experience
As rumored, Spotify today unveiled a redesigned app that's geared toward users of its free music-streaming service at an event in New York City. The new mobile experience is all about personalized on-demand listening, with 15 playlists that are curated by Spotify based on your listening habits. That includes sets like the Daily Mix, which feature songs you've "hearted" (aka liked) and Discover Weekly, which is designed to help you expand your music taste with artists and tracks you may not be too familiar with. The Release Radar playlist, meanwhile, will let you keep up with all the new music popping up on the service. Spotify says that the more songs you "heart" or "hide," the smarter its playlists will get and others will begin to populate as a result.
iHeartRadio offers curated playlists to free users
iHeartRadio added on-demand music streaming powered by Napster to its broadcast radio-centric service in 2016. The company later added curated activity-, era- and genre-based playlists for paid subscribers since then, too. Now the company is bringing this Playlist Radio feature to all of its users, including free members.
Spotify lures away Apple Music's head of hip-hop programming
The war between Apple Music and Spotify is clearly heating up. Variety has discovered that Spotify recently poached Carl Chery, Apple Music's Head of Artist Curation for hip-hop and R&B programming. It's not certain when he's leaving or what he'll do next (we've asked both Apple and Spotify for comment). However, it could be a big coup -- Chery has been influential not just at Apple, but in the music industry at large.
After Math: The golden age of streaming
We're winding down a freaky week of bad omens, unconvincing congressional testimony and sterling new streaming services. While most eyes were fixated on Mark Zuckerberg doing his best real boy impression, GTA IV lost most of its Russian tunes, ESPN debuted a new mobile app and vinyl got a high tech upgrade that nobody asked for. Numbers, because how else are you going to stretch your entertainment dollar?
Apple Music celebrates 40 million subscribers with a new boss
Apple Music has been reported as growing faster than Spotify in the US, adding five percent to its subscriber base each month, as compared to Spotify's two percent growth. Now Apple's streaming service has hit a new milestone: 40 million subscribers, according to a report at Variety (which was also hinted at by a European Apple Music employee last week). The company also announced the that long-time Apple executive Oliver Schusser will take over as vice president of Apple Music and International Content. He'll report directly to Eddy Cue, who hired Schusser 14 years ago.
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.
Apple Music puts all its music videos in one place
In January, Apple released a rundown of some of the features that would be released with iOS 11.3, a list that included Apple Music becoming a "home for music videos." Well now, ahead of the iOS 11.3 launch, Apple has incorporated a section in Apple Music that's dedicated to music videos. You can get to it through the "Browse" tab in the Music app and once there, you'll find sections for new music videos, exclusives, curated playlists, videos by genre and spotlights on particular artists.
CDs and vinyl are outselling digital music downloads
Digital music downloads began to outsell physical media since 2012. It took four more years for digital music revenue to surpass those from physical media as well. Then streaming happened, and last year generated more money in the US than all the other formats. Now, digital downloads are coming in dead last, with fewer sales than CDs, vinyl or other physical media, according to the latest annual report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Jimmy Iovine reportedly plans reduced role at Apple Music
In January, rumors surfaced that Jimmy Iovine would be leaving Apple Music later this year, but he denied the reports, saying there was still more he would like to do in the music streaming business. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Interscope Records and Beats co-founder will be scaling back his involvement with Apple Music starting in August. Sources close to Iovine say that he'll transition to a consulting role and will no longer be involved with daily operations.
Paste Music and Daytrotter made a free app for live music lovers
You have a few options when it comes to streaming music and whether you're subscribed to Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or something else, there's a lot of music right at your fingertips. But live recordings offer their own sort of listening pleasure, and while you may find some on those streaming services, Paste Music thinks you should have access to a ton of them all in one spot. Together with its sister site Daytrotter, Paste Music has just launched an app that brings together hundreds of thousands of live recordings for you to enjoy including concerts, comedy performances and interviews. And similar to what NPR did with its One app, Paste Music and Daytrotter's lets you take their sites' offerings with you on the go and personalize your listening experience.
