Jimmy Iovine may be departing Apple this year. Sources told Billboard that the long-time music executive plans to leave in August 2018 when his shares in the tech company have fully vested. Apple has declined to comment on the rumors. Continue Reading
Over the weekend TechCrunch broke news from undisclosed sources in Apple that the tech giant was close to acquiring market-leading music-ID platform Shazam — Apple confirmed the acquisition this morning. The enormously popular and influential Shazam has historically taken the role of Switzerland, standing in the midst of Spotify, Napster, Apple Music and others, offering to funnel ID’d songs to the user’s preferred listening platform. That could change. Continue Reading
Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio platform has launched its first Spanish-language show. “Trap Kingz” will air every two weeks, with a focus on the trap genre. Puerto Rican artist and trap specialist Bad Bunny will host the first six episodes of the program. Continue Reading
UK telecom Three has added Apple Music to its Go Binge data-free program. The streaming music platform will be added on November 27 for customers with an “advanced” contract or a SIM-only plan with at least 4GB of data. Continue Reading
Apple Music now has a bot for playback of full songs in Facebook Messenger. This is the first time a streaming service has been set up to allow users access to a complete track within that platform. Only Apple Music subscribers will be able to use the full-song functionality. Continue Reading
Apple Music has surpassed 30 million subscribers. That’s the top-line takeaway from Billboard’s recent conversation with the streaming service’s leadership. Jimmy Iovine, Zane Lowe, and Larry Jackson sat down with the publication to talk about their strategy for attracting even more paying listeners and expanding into all sorts of new exclusive content. Continue Reading
The latest results from MusicWatch found some positive data for Apple Music, pointing to continued growth for one of the newer players in the streaming music industry. A new survey showed that Apple Music is the most popular paid music subscription service for iOS users. Continue Reading
Apple has reportedly inked a new licensing deal with Warner Music Group. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the updated arrangement will see Apple paying a smaller share of its revenue. The tech company may also be near to a similar deal update with Sony Music Entertainment, although does not appear to have progressed in talks with Universal Music Group. Continue Reading
The first episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series aired on Apple Music this week. The show’s debut demonstrates an ongoing shift in Apple’s aspirations and in what the company’s place in the entertainment world will be. Continue Reading
Apple’s Q3 2017 financial results contained some surprises, including on-year revenue spikes in several segments. The services division, which includes Apple Music subscriptions and other digital content, posted a record high revenue of about $7.27 billion. CEO Tim Cook said the results marked “an all-time quarterly record for services revenue.” Continue Reading
Apple’s mobile devices have been keystones of its product family for much of its present-day business. In 2017, we are seeing the shifts in where Apple is putting its resources and what it views as trends for music, where the company has long worked to position itself as a leader. First, this year marked the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. Second, Apple has discontinued both the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. Continue Reading
Apple has announced two new talent developments within its Apple music streaming service. First, its has added the newest artist for its Up Next discovery program. Second, South African DJ and producer Black Coffee is joining the roster of Beats 1 hosts. Continue Reading