Apple’s universal distribution of U2’s new album — the controversy that won’t die. As the dust slowly settles, we’d like to know how it shakes out for you, whether you’re an Apple device user or not. Was the free (and forced) album a huge blunder? Or is all the complaining a waste of bandwidth? Vote your opinion! Leave a survey comment, too — as always, selected comments will be published with the poll results. Continue Reading
At RAIN News we prefer facts to rumors. But rumors can anticipate reality. Whether they do or not, well-sourced rumors are interesting, and point to underlying issues. This rumor started with a TechCrunch article, circulated by other publications, and was quickly denied by Apple. Another recent Apple acquisition might provide guiding light. And no matter what happens to the Beats Music brand, important questions surround Apple’s role in music and listening. Continue Reading
Apple’s free and forced distribution of U2’s new album is the gift that keeps on giving. The epic pushback by Apple users has turned the incident into a meme with hilarious side effects. Click through for a few minutes of Friday fun — Apple’s imaginary damage control solution from Conan O’Brien. Continue Reading
Four days after our initial coverage of Apple’s forced distribution of U2’s new album, the controversy continues to swirl. A good deal of media punditry has concluded that the marketing gambit, in which Apple put the band’s new album, Songs of Innocence, into the music collections across the iOS mobile landscape, was an outright failure. But 33-million people listened to the album, making the experiment a large success. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Tim Cook talks Beats with Charlie Rose; infographic illustrates long history of music sharing; local Argentinian tax on foreign online subscription services; physical music sales up at CD Baby. Continue Reading
Apple’s music platforms — iTunes and iTunes Radio — have issued innumerable album previews and exclusive releases. Promotions of those events seek to drive sales in an era when streaming is eating into music ownership. Taking the concept a step further, Apple bundled U2 released U2’s new album, Songs of Innocence, globally, by dumping the album directly into iPhones, iPods, and iPads throughout its vast user base. Much gnashing of teeth ensued. Continue Reading
Apple didn’t share any big streaming-centric news at its product reveal yesterday, but the music updates that did come out of the major tech event still serve as a sign of the trends to look for both on- and offline. U2 was the musical guest at the event, and the band closed the performance by announcing that its new album would be available for free to all iTunes customers. The other big development was a silent change that didn’t take place on stage: Apple discontinued the classic iPod. Continue Reading
Sources said that Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers will be overseeing iTunes Radio going forward in addition to his leadership of the Beats streaming service. The Wall Street Journal reported that having Rogers at the head of both the iTunes Radio and Beats Music could help keep a cohesive feel across the two services. Continue Reading
Apple issued an official welcome to Beats Music and Beats Electronics, indicating that the acquisition, announced in May, is now finalized. “Music has always held a special place in our hearts, and we’re thrilled to join forces with a group of people who love it as much as we do,” the statement on Apple’s website read. Continue Reading
As part of its acquisition, Apple has allegedly let go of some Beats employees who were in redundant roles. Reports suggested that Beats Electronics would lose 200 jobs, although the impact on the streaming side of the business, Beats Music, was not clear. Apple’s rep later gave clarification about the rumored job cuts. Continue Reading
On Monday we reported a possible sale of Swell Radio to Apple for $30-million dollars, citing unnamed sources talking to Re/code. That rumor has been substantiated now by thoday’s shutdown of the Swell site. The iOS app fails to connect to Swell servers, except for a brief audio message thanking listeners for using Swell. Continue Reading
The European Commission has cleared Apple’s purchase of Beats. The trade regulator determined that while both companies do have overlap in goods and services sold, they don’t have a strong enough joint presence in Europe to cause competition concerns. However, the news isn’t all good for Beats and its likely new owner. Continue Reading