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BBC announces Playlister music discovery service (video)
Remember when the rumors were that the BBC was launching a streaming service providing access to the highly-desirable archive recordings trapped in its archives? No such luck, friends. Playlister may now be real, but it's also just a way to find tracks you've already heard broadcast. It works by letting you collate playlists of recently-aired tunes, before pushing them to the audio / video service of your choice. For instance, you could pull a track from Radio 1, 2, 3 and 6 each before pushing them out to YouTube, Spotify or Deezer for listening. The service will also offer curation from notable DJs like Jo Wiley and Zane Lowe, and while the first edition will be browser-based, Auntie promises that more services and platforms will be added along the way.
Deezer music service expands as it launches on Philips and Panasonic Smart TVs
Deezer's currently competing with the likes of Spotify and Rdio to win over the streaming souls of the world, so it knows how important it is to be available in as many countries and on as many platforms as possible. Taking that into account, the music service announced it has inked a deal with Panasonic and Philips which will bring its web-based tunes to Smart TVs made by those companies, similarly to what it did with other manufacturers earlier this year. What's more, Deezer also (quietly) updated its app on LG and Samsung television sets with improvements to search, an easier way to manage the music library and an option to access your friends' playlists. Of course, this all only applies to places where Deezer is present -- in other words, folks here in the US of A need not to power on their Smart TV and look for the app. One day, perhaps.
Stream Nation goes global, offers private video sharing with no playback limits
At some point, competition and catch-up should iron out many of the differences between rival cloud storage platforms. For now though, each option focuses on slightly different things, and Stream Nation's main specialism is private video streaming, which it has just made accessible to users in the US, UK and elsewhere. Unlike Flickr Pro or Dropbox, for example, there's no limit to the length or file size of a video clip that can be streamed to someone else's browser. The service's founder, Jonathan Benassaya, who also co-founded Deezer, says he originally designed it to help him share vacation videos with his family. Then again, there are few hold-ups to consider: you need to install an uploader application to store photos and videos, unless you're grabbing them from Dropbox or elsewhere on the web, and from our experience the whole process is rather slow -- it took a good 20 minutes to encode a 90MB clip we brought over from Dropbox. Furthermore, you can only share a video with people who are also registered on Stream Nation, and you have to pay for anything over 2GB (or suffer the indignity of inviting all your Google contacts, which nets you a bonus 8GB). So yeah, this won't suit everyone, especially if they need unlimited space or if their friends and family are savvy enough to know what to do with a Dropbox link, but it might just come in handy.
Deezer launches on Windows 8, streams music with Charms and Snaps (video)
Deezer has had an obsession with new apps lately, redesigning its Android app and kicking off its mini-app platform on mobile devices. It's only fair that Windows 8 users get to join in with a new Deezer app of their own. The software offers the same mix of curated and on-demand streaming music as elsewhere, with a few accommodations for Microsoft's universe: listeners can use Charms to search or share their music, and multitaskers can rely on Snap to keep an eye on their tracks. Early Windows 8 adopters have free, ad-backed access to music for up to a full year, which is as good as incentive as any to give the app a whirl if they live in a Deezer-friendly territory.
Deezer for Android gets redesign, predictive search function in new beta version
With services like its own App Studio, Deezer's already presented how it feels about mobile as the way forward. And, in order to keep the trend going, the music streaming service is now releasing a beta version of its Android application, giving that ever-growing subscriber base quite a few nifty features to enjoy before going completely mainstream. In this beta form, Deezer for Android sports an all-new design which, as the outfit notes, is laid out to make it "faster than ever before" to discover new artists. Furthermore, Deezer added a built-in, fixed mini player that provides music controls while outside of the app's main interface, and there's now also a predictive search trait which, you guessed it, anticipates what's about to be typed in hopes of making it easier to find the artist / song you're looking for. Like to think of yourself as an early adopter? Well, look no further than the source link below if you're looking to increase your reputation as such.
Deezer App Studio goes mobile, brings apps to Android and iOS listeners
As much as we like extending our music universe through apps within the likes of Deezer and Spotify, that wider experience hasn't usually carried over to mobile. Deezer, at least, thinks it can put those apps inside our pockets. App Studio now supports building add-ons for both Android and iOS devices, giving travelers music and social components beyond what Deezer can provide on its own. The company isn't relying just on phones and tablets to pad its customer base, though. It's also improving the behind-the-scenes framework to bolster gaming through its API, and an affiliate program will pay social app creators every time one of their users subscribes to Deezer. Us listeners will just have to wait for developers to implement App Studio and the API changes before we reap any potential rewards.
Deezer teams up with LG, Samsung and Toshiba to bring its music service to smart TVs
We were already well aware of Deezer making its way toward some LG Smart TVs in the UK, but now the streaming service has announced it'll be coming to many, many more savvy television sets in the very near future. The digital tunes provider let it be know that it's struck a deal with Samsung, Toshiba and, yet again, LG, one that's bound to make the Deezer application available to a "potential audience of at least 600 million people across more than 150 countries." There's a slight caveat, however, as the recently announced deal comes with somewhat of a limited scope -- namely the fact Deezer's set to only be usable on Samsung smart TVs in Europe that were produced from 2011 onwards, while the same goes for LG's but with the exception of a worldwide availability. Toshiba, on the other hand, will be able to bring the music offering to its 2011-range in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, as well as the company's new 2013 smart TV lineup to users all around the globe. This, naturally, excludes us folks in the good ol' US of A, since, as you may know, Deezer is still trying to figure things out this side of the pond.
Deezer looking for a D.E.A.L. to R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Deezer's been making a fair amount of noise around the world over the past week, and now the French company is looking to bring its block rockin' beats to the States. That news comes straight from the mouth of the company's chief executive, Axel Dauchez, who told The Wall Street Journal that Deezer's "looking for a partner in the US" to help the music streamer pick up a significant number of subscribers and justify the "unbelievably high" cost to enter the market in this country. According to Dauchez, the company has been in talks about such a deal for months now, in order to compete on a more level playing field with the likes of Spotify, Rhapsody and Rdio.
Deezer, Eurosport and Napster coming later this month to LG Smart TVs in the UK
Over the past few months, we have seen LG slowly but surely increase the amount of entertainment content in its Smart TV platform, with apps such as Verizon FiOS (in the US) and Disney rentals among the latest inclusions. Today, the Korean outfit announced there are more of applications coming to its 2012-range television ecosystem, although these newcomers won't be available worldwide -- that said, owners in the UK will soon be able to enjoy what Napster, Deezer and Eurosport have to offer from the comfort of their own couch, which should make a nice addition to LG's current app repertoire. All three new applications are said to be available in "mid-December," so you should expect 'em to show up on that sleek TV of yours any moment now.
Deezer announces 'App Studio' for developers, 'App Centre' store and Echo Nest partnership
Deezer may not be the number one player in the music streaming game, but it's looking to gain ground on its biggest rival with the release of its "App Studio." In addition to an "App Centre" for showcasing software that integrates the service's catalogue, developers "can now place feature-rich apps inside Deezer.com." The company also hopes that a partnership with Echo Nest should make it easier for devs to use music in their projects. A modest 8 items will be available in the App Centre at launch, including the edjing app for mixing Deezer tracks on virtual decks, and the cheeky Spotizr app for importing your Spotify playlist. The French streaming outfit has also been busy improving its social aspects in Facebook and through updates to its Android and iOS apps. Check out the PR below for more info on recent news, details on how to get developing, and the full list of launch-day App Centre wares.
BBC in talks to build Playlister, a streaming music service for its own music archive
The BBC is home to a massive archive of highly desirable music that, sadly, due to licensing reasons, remains gathering dust in is enormous vaults. The Telegraph is reporting that the corporation's music head, Tim Davie, is trying to put some or all of that material online for users to enjoy without additional charges. He's said to be in talks with Spotify, Deezer and Apple to help build a service called Playlister, using the trio's bulk-deals with the record labels to get around the long-winded wrangling that would otherwise be required. If successful, it'll launch in 2013 free to license-fee paying Brits in a similar fashion to the wildly successful iPlayer -- although we'd pay a little extra if Fearne Cotton was excluded from the catalog.
Deezer starts streaming tunes in 35 Latin America countries, Mexico and Puerto Rico included
Music streaming service Deezer unveiled its global expansion strategy late last year, and what better way to stay true to your word than by launching in 35 countries all at once. Deezer announced earlier today it's going live in a whole bunch of Latin American nations starting today, including markets such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Uruguay, Colombia, Bermuda and Jamaica. The service will offer a variety of different plans to choose from; one of which is a "Discovery Mode" that allows users to have access to over 18 million tracks but limits the jams to 30-second clips -- or, there's also a gratis 15-day trial if you're looking for the full-on experience. Additionally, the Premium and Premium+ plans are set to range anywhere from around $4 to $9, all depending on what country you're in. Speaking of, be sure to peruse the PR right past the break to check out the full list of nations involved in the rollout.
Deezer music streaming service rolls out offline mode, still not available in the US
While Stateside folks are still waiting for the service to land, tune-streaming Deezer is keeping itself and its current groupies occupied. During today's London Web Summit, the company announced a new feature simply dubbed "off-line mode," which will be up for grabs to any Premium+ subscriber. The fresh bit allows paid subs to download their tune collection onto a desktop or laptop machine and have access to it offline, something rival Spotify's been doing since its beginnings. Worth noting is the feature will only work on the Big G's browser during its initial launch, though support for others is said to be coming "very soon." Enjoy. We'll just have to keep awaiting.
Deezer announces ambitious global rollout, ignores US and Japan
Deezer added a few notches to its music streaming belt yesterday, with the announcement of its long awaited rollout to (nearly) every corner of the globe. The launch, confirmed at Le Web in Paris yesterday, has already brought the service to both Ireland and the Netherlands, with plans to expand across Europe by the end of this month. Users in Canada and Latin America can expect to receive the French service by the end of January, Australia and Africa should see it by the end of February, and everyone else by the middle of next year. Conspicuously absent from that list are the US and Japanese markets, both of which have been passed over "due to market saturation and low growth forecasts," as well as the fact that the two countries comprise "only" 25 percent of worldwide music consumption. Le sigh. [Thanks, Paulo]
Deezer goes global, streaming music service coming to over 100 new countries
Many folks here in the good ol' US of A are familiar with streaming music services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Spotify, but may not be aware that Deezer dishes out tunes to those across the pond. Just last month it launched a mobile service on Orange, France's largest carrier, and now the company's looking to gain a far larger geographic footprint. Deezer plans to launch in over 100 more countries in the near future, and is in the process of partnering up with a bunch of other telcos to do it. It's taking an unusual approach to expansion, going for aurally under served areas instead of joining the fray in the biggest music markets in the US and Japan -- Indonesians and Brazilians gotta get down on Friday too, you know. The reason for doing so? Acquiring rights in the US is difficult (and expensive), but global licenses are easier to come by, which lets the Deezer diaspora occur by the dozen. So rejoice music lovers around the world, you'll soon be able to get your Deezer on.
Orange / Deezer strike mobile music streaming deal
When it comes to music subscription services, Spotify isn't the only game in town -- but you knew that already. Here in the States we've got Rhapsody and Rdio to name but a couple, and in Europe, Deezer has been making a bit of a name for itself over the past few years. The French service will likely be expanding its reach in the UK, thanks to a deal struck with Orange. Deezer is now available as part of the carrier's Panther plan -- Orange customers on other plans will have to pay £9.99 a month to get their stream on. Press release after the break.
WD TV Live media players gain Blockbuster on Demand, USB wireless keyboard support
It's not like anyone could predict the media streamer war that would erupt in 2010, but it looks like Western Digital's taking things pretty seriously. The company has just issued a somewhat major overhaul for its WD TV Live Plus and WD TV Live media players, adding Facebook support while also giving US-based users the ability to instantly rent or purchase movies via Blockbuster on Demand. Post-firmware update, users will also be able to tap into Deezer (an on-demand music service), Flingo (another internet TV portal) and AccuWeather (a place that "forecasts" what's happening in our "atmosphere"). Potentially more important than all of that, however, is the addition of USB wireless keyboard support -- simply plug in a USB wireless dongle that ships with most every wireless keyboard out there, and you'll be free to update your Facebook status or search for "Bed Intruder Song" through YouTube, all from the comfort of your sofa. Huzzah!
Sonos 2.8 adds Deezer Radio to multi-room systems in Europe, updates iPhone controller
After plunking down a grand for Sonos' impressive 2-room bundle, it's always nice to see a freebie or two arrive via software updates. While not quite as big a release as version 2.7 was for Sonos' wireless (or wired) multi-room audio system, 2.8 does add free Deezer Radio service to Sonos users in 30 countries across Europe -- think Last.fm's artist smart lists with the ability to skip tracks only better dressed and with a knowledge of geography. Sonos is also updating its free iPhone / iPod touch controller application by extending native language support (Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish added to English) and granting access to the sleep timers and wake-to-music alarms you've setup using the Sonos software controller running on your desktop. This update brings the features of the iPhone Controller up to par with Sonos' own dedicated controller and thus makes the €399 price for the CR100 all the more ridiculous.Fortunately, for a limited time (until May 31st) Sonos is heavily discounting its €399 Sonos Controller as long as you buy it bundled with a ZonePlayer -- a box required for adding new speaker zones. The ZP90 and Sonos Controller combo is available for €599 (a savings of €149) while the amplified ZP120 and Controller combo is available for €699 (a savings of €199). The offer seems bent on preventing you from purchasing a relatively fragile but multi-purpose €219 iPod touch with onscreen keyboard to control your whole-house audio instead of Sonos' rugged and water-resistant CR100 Controller with scroll-wheel QWERTY. Try harder Sonos, even Apple learned to ditch the scroll-wheel. A few more interface shots after the break.
