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Recommended Reading: Why is 'Orange Is the New Black' so good?
'Orange Is the New Black' is Netflix's only great drama Alison Herman, The Ringer The fourth season of the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black starts streaming this weekend, and if you haven't watched your first episode yet, now's the time to catch up. The show is widely regarded as the best on the streaming service, or at least the best drama in the library. Alison Herman from The Ringer discusses that latter point and why Netflix's other dramas just don't stack up.
Apple Music redesign makes it easier to find the songs you want
Back in early May, rumors circulated that Apple was planning to unveil a big redesign for its music streaming service at WWDC. Those reports were indeed correct. During today's keynote, Senior Vice President Eddy Cue showed off a much-streamlined interface that should make using the service a bit less of a headache. The service, "redesigned from the ground up," features a black-and-white scheme, as rumored, with splashes of color that emphasize the album artwork. Oh, by the way: Apple Music now has 15 million paid subscribers, and Cue said it was the fastest music-streaming service to achieve that feat.
Chance the Rapper's streaming-only album hits Billboard chart
In late 2014, the Billboard 200 chart began to take into account both album sales and streaming plays for its rankings. When the list is updated this week, the first streaming-only album will be included on the chart. Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book debuted at number 8 on the list with 38,000 in equivalent sales since its debut on May 13th. The album is an Apple Music exclusive until May 27th where it has tallied 57.3 million streams so far. According to Billboard, there are no plans to make the album available for sale. When Billboard started including streams over a year ago, it announced that 1,500 streams from an album would translate to "an equivalent album unit."
Spotify's Family Plan now covers six people for $15 a month
While Spotify has offered Family Plans for some time now, rival music streaming services, particularly those from Apple and Google, have it beat in terms of price. Today, the company has addressed that issue, allowing up to six family members (or friends) to grab a Premium subscription for $15/£15/€15 a month. Previously, linking just five accounts would cost double the price it does today.
Apple says a bug in iTunes might be deleting users' libraries
Last week, a blog post by a designer named James Pinkstone made the rounds; in it, the writer claimed that Apple Music and iTunes teamed up to delete his 122GB of local music files and basically cause havoc with his library. This isn't the first time we've heard of oddness around how Apple Music plays with your local files, but it sounded more severe than most other reports. Now, Apple has confirmed to iMore that it is working on a patch to iTunes to fix the issue.
Apple Music is helping, not hurting Spotify
Apple Music arrived last June, offering a music-streaming alternative to the likes to Spotify, Google Play Music, Tidal and Rdio (RIP). You could reasonably assume that a big company with loyal users getting in the subscription game would put a dent in the top service's subscriber numbers over the last 10 months. Well, apparently it hasn't. In fact, it seems the exact opposite is true. Speaking with Reuters, Spotify VP Jonathan Forster explained that having Apple in the game is "raising the profile of streaming." He also noted that the company started adding users at a faster rate when Tim Cook & Co. joined the fray.
Apple Music's social features are reportedly taking a backseat
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that an Apple Music redesign is in the works and set to debut at the company's Worldwide Developer Conference in June. 9to5Mac is now reporting that the massive overhaul also includes less focus on Connect, the service's social feature that allows artists and fans to interact with each other. When Apple Music was first announced, the app's tools that would allow musicians to publish updates to listeners was a key part of the reveal. Connect was meant to be a place artists could share exclusive tracks, tour photos and more behind-the-scenes content. However, it doesn't look like the feature ever became popular among subscribers.
Apple Music's new student plan cuts subscriptions in half
Although it may soon give it a welcome revamp, Apple is finding new ways to lure new listeners to its Music streaming service. The company confirmed today that it has launched a new student membership in seven countries, which offers the same features as regular plans with at least a 50 percent discount. Users simply need to prove they're studying at an eligible college or university to take advantage of the new tier.
Apple Music could be getting a revamp in June (update: details)
As the one year anniversary of Apple Music approaches, a report suggests it could be getting an overhaul. Bloomberg claims the service will get a rebooted user interface, one that will likely bring the streaming and download offerings closer together. The report stops short of specifics, but it claims the changes are likely to be unveiled at this year's developer conference.
Apple Music for Android adds the videos iOS users already enjoy
Apple Music subscribers with iOS devices have been privy to the service's music videos as part of the monthly plan. Those visuals haven't been added the Android version of the app since it arrived last November, despite regular updates to deliver new features. After the additions of offline SD card storage and a handy widget, the Apple Music software for Google's OS now features videos. When you're browsing the list of what's new or looking for a specific artist, you'll now see the new additions as part of the search results.
Drake's new album only an Apple Music exclusive for a week
We had an inkling that Drake's next album, Views From the 6, would hit streaming services other than Apple Music but didn't exactly know when. The truth is you'll only have to wait a week after its initial release before you can hear it on other platforms, according to Buzzfeed News. That exclusivity window is pretty brief, and compared to how Kanye West and streaming service Tidal handled The Life of Pablo, refreshingly straightforward. Pretty sure I'm not the only one who's disappointed that the news didn't come via an ill-advised tweetstorm though.
Drake's 'Views From the 6' album is an Apple Music exclusive
Music-streaming services are relying on exclusive content to outdo each other. And whether we like it or not, it doesn't look as if that's going to change anytime soon. Now, Drake has revealed that his fourth studio album, titled Views From the 6, will release April 29th exclusively on Apple Music. Oddly enough, the Canadian rapper tweeted the announcement Saturday night, but he's since deleted that tweet and replaced it with another which doesn't mention the deal with Apple. Nevertheless, the Cupertino company confirmed the exclusive to Pitchfork.
Kanye West album will top charts after Tidal exclusive ends
If you guessed that Kanye West's short-lived decision to make The Life of Pablo a Tidal exclusive would hurt the album's chances... you guessed correctly. Music industry forecasters now expect Kanye's latest to top the Billboard charts for April 23rd, which will include the first results from other streaming music services as well as purchases from both Tidal as well as the star's own website. The data suggests that Tidal just isn't big enough to support a major album at this point, even if it did lead to many people signing up (however temporarily) when they wouldn't have otherwise.
Kanye West's new album arrives on Spotify and Apple Music
You can finally listen to Kanye West's new album, The Life of Pablo, on a streaming service that isn't Tidal, including Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music. The much-anticipated record has been a Tidal exclusive since February, although since then the rapper has been quietly tweaking and refining many of the headline tracks. It's rare for an artist, especially one as big as Kanye, to fine-tune an album in such a public manner. Notably, The Life of Pablo is also available to purchase now -- something the broke superstar had previously promised would never happen.
Kanye West's new album may hit Apple Music, Spotify tomorrow (update)
Anyone who's familiar with Kanye's antics knows to always take his words with a grain of salt. Back in February, after releasing The Life of Pablo exclusively on Tidal (a music service he owns a stake in), West tweeted that the album would "never never never be on Apple [Music]." But, thankfully for some of his fans, it looks like that statement won't hold true. According to reports from Mashable and Recode, citing sources familiar with the matter, TLOP will be released on Apple Music and Spotify this Friday, April 1st. Shocker.
Apple Music gets an Android widget
Apple Music on Android is pretty much identical to its iOS counterpart, but its latest update adds a unique feature for the platform: a widget. You can now add an Apple Music widget on your home screens if you want quick access to the service. Like any other standard music widget, it gives you a way to pause, play and skip tracks without having to launch the app itself. There's a heart that you can tap to let it know that you like what's playing, but if you need to access other features, you'll just have to go into the app.
Apple made a documentary with 'Vice' for its Music service
Apple has joined forces with Vice for a six-part documentary called The Score that puts a spotlight on different local music scenes across the globe. If you'll recall, Cupertino is rumored to be making its first original show starring Dr. Dre for a TV service. The company hasn't confirmed that yet, but perhaps making this docu-series is a way to test things out. The first episode, which is already available, focuses on the Native American (specifically the Ojibwe tribe) hip hop scene in Minnesota.
Streaming is now the US music industry's biggest money maker
It may have just been a matter of time, but it finally happened: streaming music is now the biggest cash cow for the American music industry. The RIAA's latest year-end sales report reveals that streaming accounted for 34.3 percent of US music revenue in 2015, barely edging past the 34 percent of downloads. Physical sales, meanwhile, were down to 28.8 percent. And despite concerns about free listening hurting the bottom line, paid subscriptions were the star of the show. While ad-based streaming pulled in 30.6 percent more cash versus 2014, paid subscriptions jumped 52.3 percent -- suddenly, forking over $10 a month for unlimited music wasn't such a far-fetched idea.
Apple Music gets previously unlicensed remixes thanks to Dubset
When it comes to remixes and mashups, music licensing deals and royalties become tricky business. Thanks to a new deal with Dubset, though, Apple Music will gain an entire collection of the tunes. Dubset's MixBANK distribution platform ensures that both artists being sampled and the DJs creating the mixes get their share of the royalties. The company does this by using MixBANK to identify any copyrighted music in a remix and clearing its use with the proper labels and publishers.
Sonos announces layoffs, refocuses on streaming and voice tech
Sonos has announced that it will be "letting go of some employees,"; part of reshaping the company in a new direction. In an (admittedly vague) blog post, CEO John Macfarlane doesn't say exactly how many jobs are going to be cut, but he says its's a consequence of the still in-transition music industry. "Everyone in the ecosystem is adjusting to a world of streaming services," he added, citing the addition of The Beatles back-catalogue across the top music streaming services.
