Apple Music announced that it is incorporating acoustic fingerprinting into the platform in an update to its technology for accessing cloud-based music libraries. The streaming service had been using traditional metadata to match songs in a local library with the related iCloud Music Library. Continue Reading
Apple has proposed a new royalty structure for streaming music, one that would be simpler but could create a financial pinch for freemium services. In a proposal to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board, Apple recommended a system where all on-demand streaming services would pay songwriters a statutory rate of 9.1 cents per 100 plays. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Today: Bob Lefsetz thinks Apple Music should have free access and Chris Price thinks singles charts should count radio play. Continue Reading
Apple has entered into discussions with Tidal about a potential acquisition. The Wall Street Journal reported that the two parties have been in talks, citing unnamed people familiar with the proceedings. On the surface, this seems like a reasonable pairing. Both Tidal and Apple Music have been focused on creating artist-friendly services, each securing some coups in exclusive releases over the past month. But digging a little deeper, Tidal’s recent accomplishments might cast doubt on the tie-up. Continue Reading
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gave a speech about business competition with some pointed remarks about three of the top tech companies in the U.S. She criticized Google, Apple, and Amazon for using their size and clout to limit inroads from other companies, particularly smaller upstarts. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Norm Pattiz preaches podcasting in Cannes; Content is key in Apple Music strategy; “I hate the person my music algorithm thinks I am;” public radio leader lays out radio’s creative disruption. Continue Reading
Two Apple Music news items today. First, the messaging service WhatsApp is running beta tests of an integration with the Apple streaming service. The second development is that Apple Music is nearing a launch in South Korea. Continue Reading
Apple Music is one year old today. At Apple’s WorldWide Developer’s Conference (WWDC), the company announced that the music membership platform had accrued 15-million subscribers. That number is high or low, depending on perspective. ALSO: a much-needed redesign of the Apple Music experience. Continue Reading
Apple Music has added some sports content to its radio options. NBC Sports Radio can now be streamed in the tech company’s Music app on iOS and via iTunes on a laptop or desktop. Continue Reading
In its April rankings, comScore found a strong month for Pandora. The online radio platform ranked No. 23 in the list of the top 50 multiplatform properties with nearly 85.3 million unique visitors. Pandora also made the list of top 15 smartphone apps. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: One ex-radio career news specialist decries the downfall of an award-winning station; pirates interfere with licensed radio; Microsoft kills off its in-phone radio tuner. Continue Reading
Apple Music is expected to get an overhaul to its user experience, and now the rumor is that there will be changes to the Connect social feature. According to 9to5Mac, Apple may lose its prominent place as a standalone tab in the new redesign. Continue Reading