musicstreaming
Latest
Canada strengthens net neutrality with zero-rating crackdown
In a victory for net neutrality, Canada's telecom regulator has ruled against a carrier offering 'free' music streaming as part of a zero-rating scheme. Quebecor's 'Unlimited Music' allows premium Videotron subscribers to use select streaming apps, such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, without the data counting towards their monthly allowance. Many believe this type of scheme violates the principles of net neutrality, which argue all data should be treated equally. If certain apps are 'free' to use, others -- which could offer a superior experience, but simply don't have the cash to be involved in a carrier's program -- are put at an unfair disadvantage.
Spotify is limiting free streaming for its own good
It's no secret that labels and artists aren't thrilled that their music is available free on ad-supported streaming services. Taylor Swift famously pulled her catalog from Spotify due to its decision to give full on-demand streaming to customers who weren't paying for a monthly subscription. And she's not the only one. The debate over streaming royalties has been going on for a while now. That's on top of the issues free options raise -- chief among them is artist compensation. When it comes to Spotify's decision to cede on free streaming, it was a matter of when, not if, this would happen to appease the labels.
Streaming made last year the music industry's best since 2009
When the RIAA released its annual report last year tracking sales in 2015, it came with a significant milestone: streaming revenue had surpassed that of downloads, if only by less than a percent. But the subscription-based model continues to grow -- and make history. As the agency's newest report notes, retail revenue in 2016 grew to $7.7 billion, making it the best year for the music industry since 2009. And streaming services accounted for 51 percent of music money made in the US.
Spotify's latest show is basically 'Carpool Karaoke'
Apple already locked down a season's worth of James Corden's Carpool Karaoke, but Spotify isn't letting that stop it from developing a similar show of its own. The streaming service announced this week and it teamed up with Russell Simmons on Traffic Jams, a show that pairs a hip-hop artist and a producer who haven't worked together to create something new before they arrive at their destination. Oh yeah, they have to do so while sitting in rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles.
Tool may finally let you stream its brooding art metal
A number of artists who were initially opposed to streaming services wind up with their music available there for one reason or another. The music of both The Beatles and Prince is now available for streaming after both were holdouts for a long time. According to Bloomberg, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan may be the latest to change his mind.
Spotify might delay album releases for 'free' users
Spotify's deadlock with three of the largest music labels could soon come to an end. According to the Financial Times, the streaming company has agreed to 'window' important album releases to keep them on side. It would mean select records are only available to premium members for a period of time, incentivising subscriptions and boosting the revenue that trickles through to labels. The FT says nothing has been signed just yet, but stress talks have "picked up considerably" since the concession was made.
Google Play Music has a few new options for playback quality
After seemingly forgetting about Google Play Music for an extended period of time, the search juggernaut has been showing its music streaming app newfound love lately. The newest update across Android and iOS adds options for playback quality (low, normal, high and always high) over WiFi and for downloaded tracks. Previously, you could only adjust quality for streaming over mobile data. As 9to5 Google notes however, the selections don't say what bitrate each option corresponds to.
AmpMe's speaker-linking app adds access to your Spotify library
When AmpMe arrived in late 2015, the app that links phone and tablet speakers for a more robust audio setup only played tunes from SoundCloud. Shortly after launch, an update added the ability for users to access any locally stored music through the app. Now the company is piping in songs from the biggest streaming service of them all: Spotify.
Why is Sprint throwing money at Tidal?
Following reports last week that Tidal hasn't been honest about its subscriber numbers, Sprint kicked off the week by announcing that it's buying a third of the streaming service. It's no secret that Tidal has struggled to gain any ground on Apple Music and Spotify, even with a portfolio of artist exclusives. The company reportedly has financial issues to contend with as well, so a big influx of cash likely made the decision easy for Jay Z. However, there are no obvious benefits for Sprint.
Is Tidal being honest about its subscriber numbers?
It's no secret that Tidal is well behind the likes of Spotify and Apple Music when it comes to subscriber numbers. A report today from Dagens Næringsliv indicates that the Jay Z-led streaming service is even further behind than it's admitting. The Norwegian newspaper says it reviewed internal documents, including reports on payments to record labels, that show a big discrepancy between what the company was publicizing and the actual subscriber totals.
Tidal now has an editing tool for tempo and song length
Tidal debuted its Masters feature which offers near studio-quality sound earlier this month. Now the streaming service is offering users a way to edit tracks. While playing a song in the Tidal app, you can change the length and speed with the new Track Edit feature from the options menu. To make any tempo adjustments, you will need to select a segment of a song before you can do so. The tool also allows you to make changes to how the song fades in/out.
Apple Music's 'Carpool Karaoke' features Alicia Keys and Metallica
We still don't know exactly when Apple Music's version of a popular Late Late Show segment will debut, but we do know some of the singers who will appear on it. During the first batch of 16 half-hour episodes of "Carpool Karaoke," Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Blake Shelton, John Legend, Metallica and Will Smith will all take a ride with rotating hosts. That's right, different people will be behind the wheel during the course of the first "season."
UK vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2016
We hardly need more convincing of vinyl's resurgence over the past few years, but a report from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) today details that more records were sold in the UK in 2016 than have been for the past 25 years. Based on Official Charts Company data, over 3.2 million vinyls were purchased in 2016 -- a volume the BPI predicted early last year -- representing a 53 percent increase over 2015 and the highest total since 1991. The death of several music icons no doubt helped (for lack of a better word), with David Bowie's Blackstar being the best-selling vinyl of the year.
Spotify isn't acquiring SoundCloud after all
Just a couple of months ago, rumors indicated Spotify was negotiating to acquire fellow music streamer SoundCloud. Now, TechCrunch reports hearing from a source that those talks have ended and Spotify is walking away. According to the Financial Times, Spotify has considered this deal twice before and ended negotiations because it couldn't agree on a price.
All Sonos owners can now use Spotify to control their speakers
Sonos announced back in August that it would allow Spotify users to control their music through the streaming service's app instead of having to use its own software. The feature rolled out to members of the speaker company's beta trial in early November, but now it's available to all. If you're a Spotify Premium subscriber, you don't have to use the Sonos Controller app to play tunes. Spotify Connect will allow you to select your Sonos gear from the Devices menu.
IHeartRadio app gets on-demand features through Napster partnership
Massive conglomerate IHeartRadio, which owns over 800 radio stations in the US, is getting into the on-demand music streaming market, just as it promised earlier this year. The company just added two paid plans to its iOS and Android app that bring many of the streaming features found in competitors like Spotify and Apple Music. First and foremost is the ability to search for and play any track you want, any time you want, without being beholden to whatever IHeartRadio's FM stations are playing. That music library will be powered by Napster, which had been operating in the US at Rhapsody until recently.
Prince estate sues Roc Nation over Tidal streaming rights
Jay Z debuted his version of Tidal after buying the streaming service for $56 million last year. In the months since he took over, the company has struggled to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music despite a list of high-profile exclusive releases. Now Tidal is locked in a legal battle with Prince's estate. The late artist's label and publishing businesses are suing Jay Z's Roc Nation over the music subscription service's streaming of Prince's entire catalog.
Sonos speakers can now be controlled through Spotify
While Sonos makes some decent speakers, many feel that its apps are lacklustre at best. If you fall into this camp, you'll be pleased to hear that Sonos hardware is now starting to play nice with Spotify Connect. If you sign up for the Sonos public beta, you'll be able to control your speakers from inside the Spotify app. That includes multi-speaker and multi-room setups -- change one or change the lot, it's your choice. If you have friends over that want to play DJ, they can also queue up songs and playlists from their own Spotify app, instead of downloading the Sonos equivalent.
Spotify launches in the world's second biggest music market: Japan
After protracted deal-making with the country's record labels, Spotify has finally launched in Japan. To sweeten the deal to prospective listeners, it's already putting particular focus on the service's lyric display feature -- and the karaoke possibilities that (vaguely) come with that. But what's another country in Spotify's empire? Japan is the second largest music market in the world; Bloomberg pegs it at around 300 billion yen (almost $3 billion). The country continues to sell physical music media like CDs well -- it's the country where Tower Records stores still lives on. Spotify Japan has launched both a free ad-supported service as well the typical 980 yen per-month ($9.70) subscription -- it's in invite-only beta for now.
Spotify's Daily Mixes use your listening habits to make playlists
Spotify has been keen on adding new discovery features to its service for a while now. Today, the streaming option announced yet another tool that keeps your playlists fresh. The new feature is called Daily Mixes and it compiles six different playlists that are constantly updated based on your listening habits. Each mix contains over a dozen songs and more tracks load as you listen so you don't have to worry about running out of material.
