Last year, T-Mobile added a benefit for their customers that no other mobile provider had tried: data used for music streaming services doesn’t count against their data allowance. Since the launch, Big Magenta has taken suggestions from their users for new services to add, and now they’re up to a total of 33 services that are part of the program. [More]
apple music
Apple Music Is Worse Because You Can’t Delete It From Your iDevice
By 7.24.15
My friend Gretchen has a folder on her iPhone’s home screen called “Crapple.” It’s where she sticks all of the apps that Apple adds to her device that she doesn’t use. As Apple has forced apps for their smart watch, HealthKit, bookstore, a separate podcasts app, their own maps app, and now their streaming music store on users, all of these come with apps that you can’t get rid of. [More]
Sen. Al Franken Calls For Federal Investigation Into Apple Music
By 7.23.15
In response to concerns arising from the recent launch of Apple Music, U.S. Senator Al Franken called on both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the possibility that the tech giant may be creating an anticompetitive environment in the streaming music market. [More]
It’s Not Just You: Apple’s Streaming Music, App And iTunes Stores Are Down
By 7.21.15
We all got through last week’s brief Instagram outage together. Today, it’s not just you: some Apple cloud services, including the mobile and desktop App Stores, iTunes store, streaming music services except Beats, OS X update, and iBooks are down for, according to Apple, “some users.” [Apple System Status] [More]
iTunes Ditches Free Music Downloads Again
By 7.16.15
You, iTunes user! What use do you have for free downloads when you have the glorious streaming library of Apple Music to enjoy? Earlier this year, iTunes appeared to discontinue their free music download of the week, a decade-old feature. We speculated that Apple was doing away with the feature because of their acquisition of Beats, which has a music streaming service. Now that Apple Music has arrived, the free music downloads are gone again. [More]
Spotify Wants iOS Users To Skip Apple’s App Store, Save $3
By 7.8.15
Apple’s new streaming music service costs $10 per month. So does competing service Spotify, but if you subscribe through the Spotify iPhone app, they charge you an extra three bucks because of Apple’s 30% cut of every subscription sold through apps on their devices. However, Apple’s rules for what’s okay to put in an app mean that Spotify can’t actually tell you this, so they sent an e-mail to users explaining how to change your subscription. [More]
How To Make Sure Apple Music Doesn’t Automatically Charge You After The Free 3-Month Trial Ends
By 7.1.15
What’s that you say? You don’t like paying for things unexpectedly and automatically? Then if you’re trying Apple Music during the three months that it’s free, you’ll want to make sure to prevent it from charging your credit card when the trial is over. [More]
Musicians Will Get More Than $0 During Apple Music Trial, But How Much Is That?
By 6.23.15
Maybe Taylor Swift doesn’t wield as much power over the world’s largest corporations as we thought. Yesterday, it seemed that her open letter to Apple was influential in convincing the company to pay royalties to song owners and performers during customers’ trial period for their forthcoming Apple Music service. There’s a catch, though: artists won’t be getting 70% of zero, but they may not be getting the full royalties, either. [More]
Apple Music Changes Its Tune, Will Pay Artists During 3-Month Free Trial
By 6.22.15
Breaking news: It appears that musicians would like to be paid for their work. After Apple announced it’d be giving customers a free three-month trial of its new streaming Music service, artists and others who contribute to making music weren’t too pleased to find out they’d be receiving royalties of 70% of nothing for that time period. The company has now changed its tune, and says it will pay musicians after all. [More]
Apple Music Offers Musicians Royalties Of 70% Of Nothing During Free Trial
By 6.15.15
Apple’s streaming music service is coming to a device near you at the end of this month, since it’s likely that there’s some kind of device with iTunes on it near you right now. Yet while Apple is promising musicians over 70% of the revenue from the service as royalties, that also means musicians will get around 70% of nothing for the first three months of Apple Music, since the service will be free to users. [More]
Is The iPod’s Disappearance From The Top Of Apple Website A Sign Of Its Impending Doom?
By 6.12.15
Well, that was quick: Only a few days after Apple announced its new subscription music service, Apple Music has replaced the iPod at the top of the company’s site. Here’s where everyone starts checking the deathwatch clock. [More]
Two States Probe Apple Music Over Antitrust Concerns
By 6.10.15
When Apple moved into the e-book market several years ago, the company colluded with the country’s largest book publishers to fix prices and gain a foothold in the market. Now as Apple jumps into the subscription streaming music business, at least two states are asking whether the company may be repeating itself. [More]
Pandora CFO Not Worried By Apple Music Announcement
By 6.9.15
Yesterday’s Apple Music announcement was seen as a long-overdue swipe at streaming music services like Pandora and Spotify that have dominated the market that Apple helped to create with the introduction of the iPod and iTunes, along with the iPhone and iPad mobile devices that people listen to the music on. Given Apple’s ability to instantly reach the large swath of iOS users, you wouldn’t fault these competitors from being frightened, but the Chief Financial Officer of Pandora doesn’t seem terribly worried. [More]
Apple Music Combines Streaming, Radio, Social Media For $10/Month
By 6.8.15
As expected, Apple has announced a new subscription music service intended to replace the Beats service it acquired when it purchased Beats Audio in 2014. Apple Music will be a combination streaming service, online radio station and social media platform for musicians. [More]
