Apple CarPlay is one of the most interesting connected-car initiatives. Pioneer plans to offer an aftermarket solution to existing cars, via updates to its AV Receiver models. The update is firmware, which means software downloaded into the unit and permanently installed. It’s really an operating system upgrade to installed Pioneer audio units, that includes Apple’s CarPlay software. Continue Reading
We spotted a tweet from media licensing attorney and RAIN Summit participant David Oxenford, indicating that an operating-system push from AT&T turned on the FM chip in his trusty Q10 phone. He sent us his review, which includes raves for ultra-fast tuning and good reception. Continue Reading
“We know what you’ve come for: Music, and lots of it.” For no-nonsense, straight-ahead alt-rock with touches of top-pop, Chicago-based Wide Radius is a good choice. Today we’ve been nodding to The Imagineers, Braid, Everclear, Lorde (there’s the pop), Garbage, Audioslave, All That Remains, and more. Continue Reading
Research firm BIA/Kelsey released a sponsored report called The Internet Radio Revolution Has Arrived, describing the growth of Internet radio and projecting its future. Using its own research supplemented by other sources (Edison Research, eMarketer), the report is a white paper that documents consumer uptake of Internet radio and identifies the growth drivers Continue Reading
During RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas, I found myself on a balcony overlooking Caesar’s, sharing drinks with Cheryl Lucanegro, VP of Sales at SoundHound (formerly with Pandora), and talking about her app. One unique SoundHound feature is singing or humming into the app to identify a song. Continue Reading
Pono Music completed a wildly successful Kickstarter funding campaign, raising nearly eight times the $800,000 goal. How important is high-quality music reproduction to you, when listening through a portable device? Important enough to carry a new gadget in addition to your phone? Vote your opinion! Continue Reading
According to an executive at the British office of OMD, the global ad agency, Apple is prepping the agency on iAds in iTunes Radio, presumably for a soon-to-be U.K. launch of the Internet radio service. Hannah Allen of OMD tweeted a visit from Paul Wright, who runs Apple’s ad platform in Europe. Continue Reading
Last week we received a tip from a U.S.-based reader who reported accessing the Deezer music service on his computer. Deezer is not officially available in the American market. Eagerly envious, we tried it ourselves, but got the usual “unavailable in your country” message. We asked Deezer to comment. Continue Reading
ESPN Audio has started a new section called ESPN Perspectives, leveraging the growing podcast category while extending its iconic sports brand with longer-form focus on in-depth audio journalism. The new line of shows launches on the one-year anniversary of the Boston marathon terrorist attack. Continue Reading
At RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas, Tom Webster of Edison Research gave an informative and entertaining special presentation called “The New Curators.” He included new, previously unpublished information from The Infinite Dial 2014, a joint project of Edison and Triton Digital. Also: “Eyeglasses, dresses, Gnutella, and the most embarrassing record in my record collection.” Click for video. Continue Reading
Pono Music, the nascent high-fidelity portable music player and download store founded by Neil Young, brings its Kickstarter campaign to a close today having nearly octupled (if that’s a word) the original goal of $800,000. The current tally is $6.1-million with three hours to go. Impressive, but still probably a niche product. Continue Reading
All indicators point to mobile for nearly all Internet activities, and especially for listening to music. Pandora is the fifth most-downloaded mobile app, according to comScore. Which is a shame for advertisers who buy the full-screen treatment on Pandora’s browser experience. The big, full-screen ads on Pandora are like album art for advertisers. Continue Reading