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Will Tidal's artist exclusives ruin streaming music?
Tidal, the Jay Z-led music-streaming service, recently relaunched at the end of March with a roster of high-profile celebrity backers, like Madonna, Rihanna and Kanye West. The event was much more than an obvious photo-opp; it was a statement: In addition to a ceremonial pact signing, the group of over a dozen artists pledged to tackle fair compensation and improve the current state of streaming affairs for consumers and musicians. Part of this strategy involves offering content exclusive to Tidal. And while extra content is nice, it becomes worrisome when the exclusive bits take the form of much-anticipated full album releases. That seems to be Tidal's plan to lure and retain subscribers. It's a business plan that could very well kill the streaming-music vibe for everyone, especially when we've become used to an all-you-can-stream listening habit.
Tidal Discovery will allow independent artists to upload directly
While Tidal didn't have too much to say about independent artists during its relaunch a couple weeks ago, the company is lending a hand now. In an interview with Smashd, Tidal's Chief Information Officer Vania Schlogel discussed the upcoming Discovery feature for the service -- the ability for indie acts to upload music directly. Why is this a big deal? Well, for the likes of Spotify, those musicians have to go through a third-party service like CD Baby or TuneCore to get their music in the apps. Since record labels typically handle licensing deals with subscription services, if you're unsigned, you have to find another middleman. What's more, all artists will have access to Tidal's dashboard, where they can see exactly who's listening to their music and get contact info for each person. That's how Jay Z and Jack White were able to offer those thank-you calls last week.
Jay Z is calling Tidal users to personally thank them for signing up
In addition to signing on a roster of big name artists to help lure new subscribers, Jay Z is handling some of the customer service duties as well. Mr. Carter is calling folks who signed up for Tidal's music streaming service to personally thank them. It sounds odd, but the company confirmed to us "that's 1000% true." He's not the only one, though, as Tidal executive Vania Schloge told Business Insider that Jack White and others are calling subscribers, too. Using one of the services' features, artists can log in and see exactly who is listening to their music alongside contact info for those people. It's certainly a personal approach, but one can wonder if that star-packed relaunch didn't provide the boost in new subscriptions the company hoped. The company also announced today that it replaced CEO Andy Chen with Peter Tonstad, who was in charge before Mr. Carter & Co. took ownership. Of course, being a part owner of the project is certainly motivation to get more involved. I just wonder if Jay Z used a video phone. [Image credit: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images]
Spotify ads cater to the mood of your music
Targeted advertising isn't a new concept, and Spotify is looking to examine your playlist habits before serving up those messages. The streaming service offers a library of curated mixes based on genre and mood, and eager advertisers can now leverage a listener's state of mind to sell their products. Playlist Targeting is the official name of the feature, with collections of tracks for Chill, Party, Workout, Romance, Sleep and more providing the opportunity for brands to woo would-be customers. Spotify says 41 of its top 100 playlists are context related (like the mood options), and users spend an average of nearly 2.5 hours listening a day. That's a lot of time for Trojan ads during the Bedroom Jams playlist.
Tidal offers easy playlist transfers to lure new users
It's no secret that Tidal has an uphill climb ahead of it before catching up with the likes of Spotify. That's not stopping Jay Z & Co. from doing their best to get you to switch, with the promise of exclusive content and more. Today, Tidal announced yet another attempt to lure you from your current service: easy playlist transfers. Thanks to a partnership with Soundiiz, you can bring over saved playlists from Deezer, Rdio, Spotify, Xbox Music and more. It'll even handle those collections you've built with files you own. It sounds pretty simple, too. Select the services where you've saved the curated lists, and then a drag and drop interface allows you to place them with the new choice. Of course, you'll still have to hand over $10/month for the Premium option or $20/month for the HiFi tier. [Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For Roc Nation]
WSJ: NBC is working on a streaming service for comedy fans
Standalone streaming apps continue to surface, and it looks like NBC has one in the works just for comedy-loving cord cutters. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the network is building a subscription service in hopes of reaching younger viewers. The streaming option will serve up comedy content, like full episodes of Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, in addition to a library of outside material. There's said to be original series in the works, as well as "exclusive content" from the stars of its shows. What about pricing? Well, the report indicates that NBCUniversal is looking at a monthly rate between $2.50 and $3.50. WSJ says that NBC also considered genre-specific services for family, faith and horror, but at the moment, comedy is the sole focus.
Nickelodeon's standalone streaming service is coming in February
With networks announcing new streaming options on the regular, Nickelodeon is set to reveal a standalone service of its own. During an investor call this morning, Viacom chief Philippe Dauman said the kid-friendly channel will announce its subscription plans in February, targeting mobile devices. Details are scarce for now, but we should hear more soon, as the first of the month is imminent. HBO and CBS have already revealed their plans for cord cutters, and both AMC and ESPN are rumored to be mulling similar models, too. Of course, Nickelodeon will have to compete with the likes of Amazon and Netflix who already offer dedicated streams for younger viewers, included with subscriptions that parents are already paying for. [Photo credit: Shearer/Invision/AP]
Do you like watching German-language TV? Then this post's for you.
When we, at Engadget, indulge in the occasional use of the German language, it's usually to fire off Deutschland's version of our favorite four-letter word (hint: it rhymes with sh-high-zuh!). Instead, we're rattling off this mouthful: ProSiebenSat.1 Welt. Gesundheit is right. The German-language TV channel has big news for its US-based fans: a subscription-based streaming service for the web and mobile. Interested parties that can, you know, understand German are welcome to test it free for a week before going all in on those monthly payments of 7.90€ (about $11 USD). It's pretty much your best bet to catch up on the latest episodes of Der letzte Bulle, Ladykracher and Pastewka, one of which we assume has to be the German equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Don't make that face. We've all watched it at one time or another. Oh, and Bitteschön. [Image credit: Peter Bischoff/Getty Images]
Beats Music adds new options for enhanced personalization
Some of the main items that Beats Music claims set it apart from the competition are its personalization and curated content. Looking to boost both of those areas, Apple's pending purchase has tossed in a few tweaks. First, if you're familiar with the service, you know that upon launching the app for the first time, you're prompted to select a few of your favorite artists and genres to give Beats a clue to your audio sensibilities. Those selections are now editable, making adding and deleting easy for evolving tastes. You're also able to access a list of recently played tracks from the handy Sentence feature -- just in case you forgot to mark 'em for later. More playlists have also been added to the Just for You section, increasing the amount and range of recommendations. All of the recent additions are available now through the service's mobile and web apps.
YouTube's own subscription music service reportedly won't show up this year
While rumors of its existence have increased in the last few weeks, reports of YouTube's still-unofficial music service as been doing the rounds since, well, March. According to AllThingsD, however, the launch has been pushed back into early next year. While YouTube has all the licenses it needs to launch a sub-based music service, it's apparently not quite satisfied with how it all works at the moment and what was once an almost certain 2013 launch has now been rescheduled to Q1, say ATD's sources. However, if or when it is ready for rollout, it'll battle not only the likes of Spotify and Rdio, but also the video service owner's very own All Access streaming service, which already sells a similar monthly-billed music offering. C'mon -- a bit of sibling rivalry never hurt anyone, right?
Rhapsody announces Napster launch in 14 countries across Europe
As part of its Napster (and Napster International) acquisition from a while back, Rhapsody promised it would spread the music service across more places worldwide, with one of the many focuses being to have a stronger presence in Europe. Well, staying true to its word, Rhapsody's announcing today that it's bringing the ripened Napster to more countries in The Old Continent, such as France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and more. For those Euro folks interested, the Napster membership is set to cost €9.95 per month, which includes, among other things, offline features and unlimited streaming of over 20 million tunes on both desktop and mobile apps. But, hey, if you'd rather see how it stacks up against similar services first, then maybe you oughta take up Rhapsody on its 30-day free trial offer at the source link below. Psst... you'll find the full list of new countries where Napster's now available in the PR past the jump.%Gallery-190196%
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 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.
Grooveshark circles back again, swaps app for HTML5
It's hard to keep up with whether Grooveshark is in the Google Play store, or out again, but now it doesn't matter. The music streaming service has decided to ditch its yo-yoing app, and instead opt for a flashy new HTML5 website for all devices. It's gone live in the US with an international launch "in the coming months", although this London-based editor didn't have any trouble using it. If you've been missing your favorites list, then jump over to Grooveshark.com and get listening -- after all, you might see it disappear again soon if a fresh lawsuit from EMI has any impact.
Nokia Music free streaming service comes to US, available exclusively for Lumia handsets
Nokia Lumia owners on the other side of the pond have been rockin' out to the company's streaming service ever since Music launched during last year's Nokia World, but users in the US of A are about to get access as well. The Windows Phone handset maker just announced that Nokia Music will be available for US-based Lumia devices beginning today, with a US-based team of "musicologists" running the show. Users will have access to more than 150 playlists that span all major genres as part of an all-you-can-eat pro bono offering. There's also an option to create custom playlists with a Pandora-like feature that pulls in songs based on a selected artist and plays them back in random order, without advertisements popping in every few minutes. Playlists can be downloaded for offline listening as well. Officially, the app supports Lumia 900 and 710 handsets, and it can be downloaded from Marketplace today. Full details are in the PR after the break.
Grooveshark app nowhere to be found, suddenly disappears from Google Play again
Oh poor, poor Grooveshark. Not long after surprisingly making its way back to the Android Market Google Play store, the streaming service's Android application appears to be long gone yet again. If you'll recall, the music app was pulled from Mountain View's shop a few months back; this due to many claims from labels which suggested Grooveshark was allowing users to download tunes at no cost. Still, mum's the word on why the app has been nixed out of Google Play this time around -- especially after the service announced it had worked closely with the Android maker to get the official app reinstalled. For what it's worth, however, word on the internet is the application can still be installed via the Grooveshark site, but we'll have to leave that dicey decision up to you.
Verizon's Viewdini appears on iOS: works on any network, hunts video from 11 sources
The Viewdini streaming metasearch service launched a few months ago for Verizon's 4G LTE-laden Android hardware, and now it's finally available on iDevices. While the droid app is exclusive to those with a 4G plan on Big Red's network, anything running iOS 4.3 and up can now make use of Viewdini, independently of carrier ties. As the screenshots above show, you're also good to go on 3G, although you better watch that data allowance to avoid any nasty surprises. Interestingly, the iOS version currently only digs through the catalogues of 11 content providers compared with 18 on the Android version, but you're still getting access to various big names like ABC, Crackle, Hulu Plus, Netflix and Verizon's own video service. More providers should be added to the list soon, and if you'd like to give Viewdini a try, it's available at the App Store now.
Rdio Android app updated with playlist and search improvements, puts new releases in grid view
Much like its desktop counterpart, Rdio's Android app is constantly being tweaked -- adjusting its style, adding features and generally doing the whole mobile update dance. Among a slew of standard bug fixes, the streaming music service's latest app update promises playlist editing improvements, including the ability to jump directly from a song in a playlist to its parent album, clickable activity stream URLs and more complete search results. The update boasts some user interface improvements as well, placing new releases in a grid view. Ready to upgrade? Hit up the Google Play at the source link below.
Government-backed movie streaming service coming to China in Q4, bringing Paramount titles along
Government-helmed China Movie Channel's site M1905 announced this week that it's joining forces with Jiaflix -- a consortium comprised of Hollywood-types like former Columbia exec Sid Ganis -- to launch a movie streaming service in China. The still unnamed offering is set to stream both Chinese and international films, including a deal struck with Paramount that will bring the studio's back catalog and future releases to the service. The fruits of the partnership are set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, bringing streaming to a number of platforms, including smartphone and tablets. Jiaflix and China Movie Channel added that they'll have a plan in place to combat potential piracy through the service, but have yet to spell out what such a plan of action would entail.
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.
