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Spotify goes live in the US, iOS app now available
As expected, Spotify went live in the US at 8 am ET. The free service which limits the amount of time you can listen will be available via invites which will roll out gradually starting today. If you don't want to wait, you can grab a paid Spotify plan right now. Subscribers in the US can sign up for either the ad-free, unlimited service (US$4.99 monthly) or the premium, mobile service (US$9.99 monthly). You can stream directly using your Mac or go mobile with the iPhone app which is now available in the US App Store.
Amazon Cloud Player now supports the iPad
Amazon partially embraced iOS by adding support for the iPad to its web-based Cloud Player. The tablet version of the web app looks and performs just like the desktop version. It lets you view your songs by title, album, artist or genre, play your songs in normal, shuffle or repeat mode, and create and listen to playlists. You can even add songs to your collection by purchasing new music via the Amazon MP3 store. Amazon also added unlimited music storage for both its free and paying customers. Customers who purchased a Cloud Drive subscription can upload as many MP3 and AAC files as they want. Free Cloud Drive users have unlimited storage for MP3 files purchased through the Amazon music store, but the upload of personal music is still limited by a 5 GB cap. Show full PR text Amazon Announces Storage Plans for Amazon Cloud Drive with Unlimited Space for Music, Free Storage for all MP3s Purchased at Amazon MP3 and Cloud Player Support for iPad SEATTLE – July 6, 2011 – Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced three enhancements to Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player: storage plans that include unlimited space for music, free storage for all Amazon MP3 purchases and Cloud Player for Web, now on iPad. "Customers are already enjoying Cloud Drive and Cloud Player and now for just $20 a year, customers can get unlimited space for music," said Craig Pape Director of Amazon Music. "Additionally, we are adding free storage for all MP3s purchased from Amazon MP3, and support for the iPad. Our customers love Cloud Drive and Cloud Player and we're excited to innovate these services on their behalf." Unlimited Space for Music Now, for a limited time, Amazon customers who purchase a Cloud Drive storage plan will receive unlimited space for their MP3 and AAC (.m4a) music files. This offer is available for even the lowest price plan: $20/year for 20 GB of file storage plus unlimited space for music. Customers can visit (www.amazon.com/clouddrive/manage) to purchase a Cloud Drive storage plan and receive unlimited space for music. Store all Amazon MP3 Purchases for Free Customers can now store all of their Amazon MP3 purchases for free in Cloud Drive, including future MP3 purchases as well as all purchases made before the launch of Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. MP3s purchased from Amazon MP3 and stored in Amazon Cloud Drive will not count against a customer's storage quota. Cloud Player for Web on iPad Also new, Cloud Player for Web on iPad. Cloud Player, combined with unlimited space for music in Cloud Drive, enables customers to play music stored in the cloud on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac, PC, and now on their iPad. Cloud Player for Web has been optimized to offer customers streaming playback of their Cloud Drive music using the Safari browser for iPad. To access Cloud Player for iPad, customers simply open their Safari browser and visit (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer) to start listening to their music. Storage for Music and More All customers automatically start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage to begin uploading their digital music library, and for a limited time, those who purchase any Cloud Drive storage plan will receive unlimited space for music at no additional cost. In addition to unlimited space for music, Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files, including photos, videos and documents which are stored securely and available via web browser on any computer. Customers who qualified for 20 GB of free storage from earlier promotions will receive the unlimited space for music at no additional cost. In March, Amazon launched Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive), Amazon Cloud Player for Web (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer), and Amazon Cloud Player for Android (www.amazon.com/cloudplayerandroid). Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloud and play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, and now iPad, wherever they are. Customers can easily upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their Amazon Cloud Drive for free.
Apple iCloud to halt backups, MobileMe email, when storage limit is reached?
Hey there, future iCloud power user, take a gander at the MobileMe email from MacRumors above -- that's what to expect when you approach the 5GB storage limit. Apparently, automatic backups and your MobileMe account's email traffic will pause until you delete some files or purchase more space via your iDevice or a computer -- for an undisclosed cost. That's one sliver of info which Apple's remaining tight-lipped about despite unveiling the mostly free cloud service weeks ago. Also worth noting, as TUAW points out, is that content purchased within the iTunes ecosystem won't impact your quota. Hey, those app downloads can sure make it easy to fill up a drive, ya know.
Spotify signs UMG, only Warner stands in the way of US invasion?
Six months ago, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek couldn't tell us when his subscription streaming music service might launch in the United States, and that won't change today, but apparently there's not much left keeping $10 unlimited monthly music away. All Things D reports that Spotify has signed Universal Music Group to a US distribution deal, the third of the four largest labels to agree, and anonymous sources say the last remaining holdout, Warner Music, may also soon cave. Mind you, one of Spotify's most intriguing new features just got shown up by iTunes in the Cloud, but when it comes to extra competition and consumer choice, we won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
iCloud named as successor to MobileMe, will be free service
Steve Jobs unveiled the new iCloud service at WWDC today. iCloud stores a user's content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes that content to all devices. The services will be free with no ads and be completely integrated with the apps found in MobileMe -- and they've all been rewritten from the ground up. Contacts and calendars that are created or modified on one device are pushed to the cloud, and the changes propagate on all other devices instantly. Calendars have also had sharing features added so that you can send them to friends or coworkers. iCloud also allows users to propagate app and iBooks purchases across devices. Purchase an iBook on your iPad, tap the new iCloud button, and the same book will be downloaded on your iPhone, for example. iCloud also features deep backup sets and automatically performs daily backups over Wi-Fi. Backups include music, books, apps, camera roll, device settings and app data. iCloud also features an app called "Documents." When you create a new document in Pages, Keynote or Numbers, that document is automatically pushed to all the devices the user has Pages, Keynote or Numbers on. The iCloud Documents APIs will be made available to developers so that they can build the feature into their apps. Another new feature: in the Photos iOS app there is a new album called Photo Stream, which allows any photos taken on any devices to be pushed to your other devices automatically. The last 1,000 photos will be stored on the cloud for 30 days and then be deleted from the cloud. In that time, you have the option of permanently saving any of those photos to any device you own. Finally, Apple has extended iCloud capabilities to iTunes. You can re-download (for free) any song you have previously purchased in iTunes on up to 10 devices that you own. "We're making it free, and we're very excited about it. So that's iCloud. It stores your content and pushes it to all of your devices, and it's integrated with all your apps," Steve Jobs told the packed theater at WWDC.
iCloud unveiled at WWDC, free for all 9 cloud apps, MobileMe RIP
Apple tipped its hat early, but now we have the details from the man himself. "iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices." And by "automatically," he means it: in addition to every day content, such as purchased music, iBooks, photos and videos, device settings, and app data that will be automatically backed up over WiFi, Documents in the Cloud will effortlessly sync Pages, Numbers, and Keynote data between all of your iOS devices. There will be no advertising (contrary to previous rumors), and calendar, mail, and contact sync is free (for up to five gigs). Also in store is the new Photo Stream cloud feature, which is essentially a gallery in Photos that exists on all of your iOS devices, Apple TV, your OS X and even your Windows PCs, and syncs through the cloud. Take a picture on your iPhone and it appears on your laptop and your iPad, and it's stored in the cloud for thirty days. And no, your Photo Stream pics do not count towards your 5GB total. iCloud will be released concurrent with iOS 5 this fall. If that isn't enough, Apple has announced iTunes Match, a $25 per year service that scans your iTunes library library and populates your iTunes in the Cloud account with any of your previously bought and ripped music -- in handy 256Kbps AAC, DRM-free files (as long as the titles already appear in the iTunes store). Last but not least, MobileMe is no more. If you're a current member, you can still access everything as usual through June 30, 2012 (according to Apple), but there will be no new enrollments. And if your subscription has auto-renewed recently? Well, we've received plenty of tips from readers who have received refunds this morning. So at the very least you have that to look forward too!%Gallery-125471% p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Lucida Grande'}
Apple's iCloud bags last major record label, will cost $25 / year to sign up?
We'd heard that Universal was the only holdout, and now CNET says the deal is done -- Apple has reportedly signed all four major record labels for its upcoming iCloud service. We'll be bringing you all the confirmed details on June 6th, but while you wait, here's some food for thought: the Los Angeles Times says that Apple will eventually charge somewhere around $25 a year for a subscription to the cloud. That will help supplement the 58 percent piece of the pie it's planning to take from the music industry for songs distributed though the network, and possibly some ad revenue as well. 30 percent will reportedly go to the labels, and another 12 percent to publishers, who will apparently be signing their own agreements with Apple tomorrow. Update: There's actually an interesting discrepancy between the two sources here: the LA Times reports that Apple's taking that nice, juicy 58 percent, but CNET says that the labels will take 58 percent while Apple claims its traditional 30 percent instead. We're investigating. Update 2: The LA Times has updated its piece, with different percentages still -- reportedly, Apple will take 18 percent, publishers get 12 percent, and labels 70 percent of the proceedings.
Apple's iCloud music service will automatically mirror your iTunes library using 'high-quality' tracks?
There's been so much chatter about Apple iCloud that you'd think the streaming music service had already been announced and the deals inked. But it's still just a rumor until an Apple executive takes the stage and unleashes the Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music competitor in a spate of superlatives. That hasn't stopped Businessweek from stepping up with a good summary of all that is "known" thus far, while giving us some insight into the particulars of how the service will work and the motivations to make it happen. One revelation, sourced from three people in the know, claims that Apple will scan customers' iTunes libraries (hello, LaLa) and quickly mirror the contents on Apple's own servers -- no massive DSL-choking upload required. And Apple will do you the solid of "replacing" any low bitrate tracks with the "high-quality" versions it stores in its fully licensed music locker for streaming to your connected devices. Of course, this value-add won't come free and will certainly require a subscription fee. The cost to the consumer, though, is still very much unclear as is the service's integration with Apple's $99 per year MobileMe sham. And you know those rumors about MobileMe being offered as a free service? We wouldn't be surprised if it stays at $99 with iCloud being announced as a "free" feature update; aka, an $8.25 per month music subscription that also provides web access to your synced bookmarks, contacts, email, and calendar. Regardless, it's this subscription model that has the major labels so enthusiastic as it will finally allow them to extort fees for all that pirated audio you may have stumbled upon since Napster was loosed on an unprepared music industry a decade ago. All signs point to WWDC for this to get official but we're sure to hear more -- much more -- before the event kicks off on June 6th.
Spotify and Facebook partner up, send Europe a friend request?
Spotify may still be in tough negotiations with record labels to bring its streaming music service to the US, but the Swedish company has managed to score a powerful stateside ally, reportedly striking a partnership with Facebook. Neither party is dropping any cash on the deal -- set to be called either "Facebook Music" or "Spotify on Facebook," according to Forbes's anonymous sources -- which will let members of the social network stream songs at the same time as friends and share their listening habits with those in their social circle. The service is reportedly currently in testing and could be launched in a fortnight, but its arrival in the US still hinges on those ever important label deals. In the meantime, we'll all have to share our listening habits the old fashioned way: by posting on our friends' walls.
Sonos now streaming MOG music at 320kbps
If you live in the US and own a Sonos whole-home audio system then the world of streaming audio truly is your oyster. You'd be hard pressed to name a single major domestic audio service not available to your S5 all-in-one or ZonePlayer setup. Today Sonos adds the MOG music service with high-quality 320kbps streams available on-demand or via customized artist-only radio stations. Better yet, you can sample the 11 million song library for free over the next 14-days before being asked to subscribe to the $9.99 per month Primo offering.
Apple patent application suggests partial storage of music to speed up streaming
Could Apple's forthcoming cloud-based music service have a leg up in speed compared to its competitors? It might if a recently published patent application from the company actually pans out. It suggests that just a snippet of the beginning of a song (or movie, for that matter) could be stored locally on a device, and then be synced to the complete version in the cloud, which would let you begin playback "immediately" rather than having to wait for the usual buffering to take place. The patent application also explains that the streaming playback could be adjusted based on the type of communications network, and that there would naturally be various means to authenticate your device and ensure that you actually own the music you're streaming. Of course, there's no guarantee that such a system will indeed be a part of Apple's seemingly imminent streaming service, but the patent application was filed way back in November of 2009, which certainly means it's had plenty of time to implement it if it chose to.
Apple gets cozy with EMI, Universal, and Sony over cloud music licensing (updated)
Ah, so it's all coming together now. Following a report on Warner Music inking a cloud streaming deal with Apple, CNET is back with fresh information that sees three more major record companies jumping on board. Citing "multiple music industry sources," we're told that EMI is the latest addition to Apple's cloud music portfolio, while Universal and Sony are close to sealing the deal to permit this rumored iCloud service. If true, such endorsement will no doubt add pressure on Google and Amazon over their cheeky, license-free cloud streaming offerings -- not a bad way to fend off competition, though it's not clear how much money's involved. Guess we'll know more at WWDC next month. Update: Bloomberg is citing multiple source who claim that Sony has inked a deal with Apple leaving only Universal to play coy. Two sources claim that Apple's cloud music service won't require users to upload their music.
Sony and Library of Congress launch streaming National Jukebox, ready to DJ at your local speakeasy
Who's better, Sammy Hagar or The Great Caruso? We know you have every track the Red Rocker ever laid down, but if you haven't upgraded your gramophones of the great Italian tenor, today is the first day of the rest of your life. The Library of Congress, working with Sony, now streams a collection of 10,000 historical recordings, including Caruso and other pre-1925 greats. This "National Jukebox" is a bit of a hodge-podge, including everything from early jazz to poetry to yodeling, but digging through the archive is half the fun. But while access to this material is great for sound preservationists, commenters on BoingBoing point out that it's not truly public domain work: thanks to our spaghetti-tangle of copyright arcana, Sony still owns the rights. It's allowing users to stream but not download, and technically could revoke its gratis license at any time. So get your Caruso fix while you can.
Apple cloud music will be better than Google or Amazon says industry source
A music insider told CNET that Apple's cloud music service will be better than Google's recently announced Music Beta or Amazon's Cloud Player. The source did not elaborate on the differences between the music services, but did say the two competing services would not have the "same range of options" as Apple's iCloud service. Apple is reportedly working with music labels to secure licensing deals for its streaming service, while Amazon and Google launched without the backing of the recording industry. Apple may already have an agreement in place with Warner Music, and it's in talks with several other labels. Presumably, these deals could let Apple stream content from a large online library rather than rely on user uploaded tracks. Users could also share their favorite songs and playlists in an online version of Ping. The music streaming service could be introduced as early as WWDC in June.
Google Music Beta versus the titans of the streaming music space: a chart
It feels like just yesterday we charted the streaming music landscape, but it's already changed in a big way -- Google is muscling in on the likes of Rhapsody, Pandora and particularly Amazon with its Google Music Beta. Being able to take 20,000 of your personal tunes, stream them over the web and cache them locally on your device isn't functionality to sneeze at, so it's time we updated our charts. After the break, see how the big streaming services stack up.
Google Music Beta to stream 20,000 songs for free, official! (updated)
It's not quite official but there's little doubt that Google will launch its Google Music service at its big I/O event later today. While the Wall Street Journal couldn't get a Google spokesman to admit it, Peter Kafka over at All Things D got Jamie Rosenberg, Director of Android Product Management, to spill the details a bit early. Google's service will essentially mimic the music locker functionality of Amazon's Cloud service, albeit without the ability to sell songs direct to consumers. Ouch. Unfortunately, Google's plans to launch a more feature-complete service were derailed when discussions with the labels broke down. According to Rosenberg, "A couple of the major labels were less focused on the innovative vision that we put forward, and more interested in an unreasonable and unsustainable set of business terms." So, rather than putting the service on hold, Google will launch its music service with the ability to store up to 20,000 of your own uploaded songs for free which you can then stream over the web to your desktop or Android phone or tablet -- any device that supports Flash (don't worry iOS users, your time will come). Amazon's service, by comparison, offers just 5GB of free storage for about 1,200 songs stored at a mediocre bitrate. Google will also best Amazon with a feature that automatically creates playlists. Google expects to roll out the service to its US users within "weeks" with Music Beta invites going out later today to Verizon Xoom owners (others will be able to sign up at music.google.com). Keep it right here because we'll be bringing you the announcement live. Update: And it's officially official, called "Music Beta by Google" at this point. There's a simple presentation with artists, albums, and easy playlist creation. You can manually create them, or there's a feature called "Instant Mix" that will make you a playlist based on any single song. It'll automagically pick 25 different tracks to build a "truly ingenious mix." You know, kind of like another, similarly intelligent service. All of this syncs to the cloud, which means no wires needed to download anything. But, more importantly, songs can be cached locally. You can pick any song, album, or playlist to download onto storage, at an unknown quality. It's the same pinning idea that's in the new movies feature. That and more is demonstrated in the video below. The service is launching in beta today, allowing 20,000 songs, and it'll be free -- "at least while it's in beta." Also, the updated music app is available now, which will work with any music on your phone and any phone running Android 2.2 or above. To get full-featured you can request a beta and get in line, but if you happen to be reading this from I/O you're in the beta. Congrats, you lucky bums! %Gallery-123222%
Amazon Cloud Player streams tunes to iOS, following silent upgrade (updated)
Amazon Cloud Player has been laying low following its scuffle with Sony Music, but that hasn't kept the company's developers from rolling a crucial new feature out -- support for Apple's iOS devices, which it didn't have on day one. Despite running in the Safari browser window, we've confirmed that songs will indeed play. If you've got a device handy, give it a try yourself; otherwise, we'll update with impressions a little later this evening. Update: Great news -- we ran the Cloud Player on an original iPad and iPhone 3GS without a hitch. In fact, there was very little (if any) lag or time delay when buffering a new song, and were able to refresh playlists and other information quickly. The interface of the Cloud Player is almost the same as -- if not identical to -- the page that loads up on your computer browser. Even better, the Cloud Player works flawlessly with the multitasking controls in iOS; the usual forward/pause/volume options are all usable as you play Angry Birds. Sadly, there is just one bump in the road that keeps the process from being perfectly smooth: mobile Safari prohibits you from doing drag-and-drops, which adds a couple extra steps to the process of adding songs to your playlists. Take a look below for some screenshots of the Cloud Player in action. Sean Hollister contributed to this post. %Gallery-123051%
Streaming music breakdown: how Google Music and iCloud will impact today's options
Gone are the days of going to the music store, finding a vintage CD or cassette tape, happily unwrapping it and thoroughly perusing the cover art as you listen to your new album for the very first time. In a want-it-now world, that simply takes too long -- and we have the internet to thank for the change in pace. As preferences seem to shift in the music consumption universe, it feels as if tastes are centered around consuming the largest amount of music possible. And thanks to the sudden proliferation of online streaming services, satisfying those desires in record time has become a reality. Unsurprisingly, competition is mighty fierce -- consumers have options for user-made radio stations, on-demand streaming content, and cloud-based multimedia. But if you've been hearing the word on the street, Apple and Google could soon make their way onto the scene by offering streaming music options of their own. Almost everything these two tech giants touch turns to gold (emphasis on almost -- we don't think Ping and Buzz built the best reputations), so there's reason to believe that these oft-rumored services will become automatic front-runners the day they're released. Head on past the break to see some of the lucky / unlucky contestants planning to give Google and Apple a run for their (near-limitless) money, replete with a breakdown of what they offer and how hard they hit the wallet.
Pandora gets a case of the giggles, now offers comedy stations
Pandora is letting its hair loose, expanding beyond the realm of music-based radio stations into the world of comedy. The streaming music service will offer more than 10,000 clips from over 700 comedians, and will be loaded and ready to go sometime today. If you're already familiar with the service, this brand-new genre will work the same exact way as any other Pandora station: create new radio stations based on your favorite comedians and you can still give the thumb up or down for those tracks you feel strongly enough about. The press release is no laughing matter, but it's available for your reading pleasure after the break.
Apple's cloud streaming service to be called iCloud?
Okay, so if you had to guess a name for an Apple service that exists in the cloud it's pretty safe to say you'd pick "iCloud," right? Good, now that we're past the obvious, there are some slightly more compelling indicators out there that this may indeed be what Apple is going to call its (presumably) soon-to-launch music streaming service. We received anonymous tips about this name in the past, and now Om Malik is reporting some interesting history, that the domain iCloud.com is owned by a company called Xcerion, which recently re-branded its cloud-based storage service from iCloud to CloudMe. TechCrunch reached out to the company and got a beautifully-worded non-denial talking about how the new name better embraces the company's cross-platform approach. That it does, but the timing is interesting. Obviously nothing is confirmed, but with Warner and at least one other of the big four record labels signed on, we'd guess the real name for this service should be drifting into view any time now. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
