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Electric Jukebox has a new music streaming karaoke machine
You might recall the Electric Jukebox, a wand-style microphone and streaming stick that let you sing along to a Spotify-style music catalog at home. The company is still around — in fact, according to Music Ally, its first device sold out five weeks after launch — and is back with a new version called the Roxi. The basic concept is the same: For £199/$199, you get all of the necessary hardware (you'll need your own TV, however) and a one-year subscription to its music library, which boasts "tens of millions" of tracks. Once the year is up, you'll need to pay £52/$52 every 12 months.
Spotify makes its long-awaited debut on Xbox One
Well, that didn't take long. Less than a week after members of the Xbox crew were seen spinning tunes from Spotify on the console, the streaming service is making its official debut. Reports last week indicated that the switch would flip before the arrival of the Xbox One X, but it looks like Microsoft wanted to make the leap before summer's end. Despite the long wait, the tie-in between Spotify and Microsoft is rather straightforward. Once you install the Spotify app on your Xbox One and input your account info, you'll be able to soundtrack gaming sessions with the music of your choice.
Alexa can find ‘baby making’ music on Amazon's streaming services
Amazon announced today that users of its streaming service Prime Music, which is free with a Prime membership, and its subscription-based Amazon Music Unlimited can now ask Alexa to find tunes appropriate for various activities. As of now, over 500 different activity-based requests are supported including music for meditation, partying and even "getting pumped." The new feature is available immediately to users with Alexa-enabled devices.
Spotify may finally make the leap to Xbox One this fall (updated)
Sony and Spotify have been pretty cozy for the past few years on PlayStation, but it looks like the streaming service is going to show Xbox fans some love soon too. Reddit's unblinking eyes spotted Xbox's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb using the app on Xbox Live. The Verge independently confirmed with its off the record sources that an app for the Swedish music service was being tested internally, with a wide roll-out planned before the Xbox One X's launch November 7th. Now to speculate whether Microsoft will abandon Groove Music for Spotify the way that Sony did its Music Unlimited service.
Google Play Music tweak adds a sidebar full of shortcuts
As a music streaming service, Google Play Music works well enough but its user interface leaves an awful lot to be desired. Following the mobile app's update that added persistent navigation buttons, as 9to5 Google spotted, Mountain View has added those to the web version as well. The dedicated icons for your music library, recent listening history and home tab reside on the left rail now, and hovering over the ellipses below those reveals top charts, new releases, radio stations and podcasts.
Tidal's redesigned app puts more emphasis on music discovery
Tidal's been in the news recently, as Jay-Z debuted his new album 4:44 as a Tidal-Sprint exclusive (which wasn't without some controversy, as last-minute subscribers to the streaming music service weren't allowed access to the album). Then, just a week later, the album was released to other streaming services (well, except Spotify). But now, Tidal has some non-Jay-Z related news: An updated version of Tidal's app is out today, and it's got a completely new layout. In fact, it looks a lot like Apple Music and Spotify.
Kanye's Tidal breakup is about ego, not money
The relationship between Tidal and Kanye West, one of the streaming service's original artist-owners, is seemingly coming to an end. According to various reports, which Engadget confirmed independently, 'Ye has decided to terminate his exclusive streaming deal with the company, claiming it owes him more than $3 million dollars. Most of that sum was allegedly supposed to be a bonus for him bringing in 1.5 million new subscribers with the release of his last album, The Life of Pablo, in 2016. Tidal is shutting down Kanye's claims and, per TMZ, doesn't seem to be too concerned with his threat to quit since he's still under contract. It's also been reported that, if he were to jump ship and join another streaming service, Tidal's prepared to take legal action.
SoundCloud will lay off 40 percent of its staff to stay afloat
SoundCloud has been having a rough go of it lately and today it told staff that 173 jobs would be cut, which amounts to nearly 40 percent of its employees. In a blog post, SoundCloud's co-founder Alex Ljung said that the company has doubled its revenue in the last year but that it needed to do more to remain independent. "And in order to do this, it requires cost cutting, continued growth of our existing advertising and subscription revenue streams, and a relentless focus on our unique competitive advantage — artists and creators," said Ljung.
Spotify's new series tackles topics like immigration and equality
Spotify's foray into original content began in 2016, with a documentary about the young days of legendary rock band Metallica, followed by a video series on Green Day earlier this year. Now the streaming service is getting ready to launch "I'm with the banned," an in-house initiative that will feature music, videos and a documentary inspired by issues like immigration and LBGTQ equality. The original series brings together artists such as Desiigner, Pusha T, K.Flay and X Ambassadors on six new pieces of music, all created with help from singers, songwriters and producers who are affected by Trump's controversial travel ban.
Jay-Z’s Tidal-exclusive ‘4:44’ went platinum in less than a week
Jay-Z's latest album 4:44 had a very exclusive release. It was available only on Tidal and new customers signing up to the streaming service days before the album dropped were also required to be Sprint customers in order to get access to 4:44. But despite those limitations, the album is the latest streaming-only release to go platinum. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tweeted the news today, meaning 4:44 hit the milestone in less than a week.
Three’s ‘Go Binge’ plans offer ‘free’ data for Netflix streaming
To better compete with EE, Vodafone and O2, Three is introducing a zero-rating scheme in the UK. The network operator has teamed up with Netflix, TVPlayer, Deezer and SoundCloud to offer inclusive streaming with select mobile contracts. So when you watch or listen to these services on the go, they won't count towards your monthly data cap. The move, while contentious for net neutrality advocates, will no doubt be welcomed by consumers. There is, however, a pretty big catch: to take advantage of the new perk, you'll need to upgrade to a "Go Binge" plan, which Three admits will be slightly more expensive than your current, equivalent contract.
Recommended Reading: Apple's original television aspirations
Apple Is a Step Closer to Making Its Own TV Shows David Sims, The Atlantic While the company's television aspirations remain largely a mystery, Apple hired two big names this week to help build its slate of original shows. Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, presidents of Sony Pictures Television, will make the move to Cupertino this summer with experience making hits like Damages, Breaking Bad, Justified and other series. The Atlantic offers a look at what this means for Apple and what we can expect from Eddy Cue & Co. in the months to come.
Tesla is reportedly trying to build its own music streaming service
Tesla has continued to one-up its achievements as a successful proprietor of safe, green and increasingly autonomous electric vehicles. But it might venture out from the niche its carved for a much more saturated market: Streaming audio. Music industry sources told Recode that Tesla has been in talks with major labels to create a proprietary service that it would bundle with its cars.
Apple eyes streaming terms on par with Spotify's label deals
Apple's iTunes and Apple Music agreements with record labels' are set to expire at the end of the month and both sides have been negotiating new terms. Today, Bloomberg reports that Apple is looking to reduce record labels' share of streaming revenue.
Samsung exclusives are the last thing Google Play Music needs
Back in April, Samsung used the launch of its excellent Galaxy S8 smartphone to make a small but important announcement about a partnership with Google. Google Play Music would be the default music player on all Samsung smartphones, and Google would develop exclusive features for the company's devices. That's good for Samsung and its customers: Now the company isn't wasting time building apps nobody wants that simply duplicate ones that Android already has. And it's a win for Google, whose music service is now the default on this top-selling Android phone. But we're now seeing the first signs that deal is going to be a bummer for everyone else using Play Music. Some enterprising Reddit users noticed a new Samsung-exclusive feature called New Release Radio: a personalized station that surfaces new songs every day. It's similar to Spotify's extremely popular Discover Weekly playlist and Apple Music's customized New Music Mix (also updated every Friday). But at least to start, this station appears to be exclusive to Samsung users. (We've reached out to Samsung and Google for comment on this, but neither company has responded yet.)
SiriusXM invests in Pandora to get into on-demand music streaming
Pandora made the leap to on-demand streaming back in March after building on the pieces Rdio left behind. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that the company was looking for a buyer. It didn't find one, but it was able to attract a big investor: SiriusXM. The satellite radio company announced today it's investing $480 million in Pandora, adding a portion of the à la carte music streaming service to its catalog of audio options. The deal gives SiriusXM a 19 percent stake in the company.
Spotify's 'Secret Genius' may help smooth things over with songwriters
Spotify announced the launch of Secret Genius today -- a global, songwriter-focused initiative that will highlight the contributions of those working behind the scenes in the music industry. It's a move that acknowledges members of the music world that Spotify has had a contentious relationship with in the past.
Spotify expands its AI arsenal for better music recommendations
Spotify's editorial selection and music discovery process are hard to beat (ahem, Google Play Music) and it might get a little better with the company's latest acquisition. The music streaming service has just picked up Niland, a Paris-based machine learning startup that focuses on music search and recommendations. "The team from Niland will join our New York office and help Spotify continue innovating and improving our recommendation and personalization technologies resulting in more music discovery, which benefits both fans and artists," a press release says.
Amazon's latest Prime incentive is exclusive music concerts
Not content with merely streaming music, Amazon is preparing to put on its own live shows. Prime Live Events will be ticketed and exclusive to Prime members, adding an extra incentive to its "all-in" subscription. The initiative starts on May 23rd with a Blondie performance at the Round Chapel in Hackney. Alison Moyet will then take the stage on June 12th, followed by a Texas set at Porchester Hall four days later. Finally, Katie Melua will be throwing a concert at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea on July 25th and 26th. Amazon says more shows will be announced in due course.
Galaxy S8 owners can upload 100,000 songs to Google Play Music
Samsung has historically been guilty of loading up its smartphones with apps that duplicate features already found in Android. The company's software game has definitely improved over the years, though, and Samsung appears to be focusing more on what it does best and leaving the software to others. To that end, Google just announced that its own Play Music service will be the default music player for the just-launched Galaxy S8. That's a smart move, as most customers will be better off with Google's player than things like the Milk Music service Samsung tried (and ultimately failed) to get Galaxy smartphone owners to use.
