Much like Google, streaming music service Spotify is increasingly turning its attention to advertising. Announcing what it refers to as "programmatic buying", the company reveals that it is launching a targeted advertising program.

Advertisers -- or "buyers" in Spotify's nomenclature -- will be granted access to not only demographic data about users, but also access to information about playlists.

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Most US consumers may not be familiar with Deezer and for good reason. While it is one of the oldest players in the music streaming industry, having launched nine years ago in France, the service has only been offered alongside some audio products and carrier subscriptions so far.

That is about to change though, as Deezer is now, finally, widely available in US. Just like its main competitors, it can be sampled on all the major platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, with customers getting unlimited access to the "world's largest music streaming library", live radio, news, and podcasts.

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Many artists loathe music streaming services that have proved so popular with music fans. While they offer a platform to showcase music, the returns can be low and the way in which payments are calculated is endlessly complex.

Apple has put forward a proposal to simplify the royalty payment system which would not only see artists getting more money, but would make life more difficult for the likes of Spotify. Keep artists happy, harm the competition -- two birds with one stone. A government filing in conjunction with the Copyright Royalty Board suggests a royalty rate of $0.091 per one hundred streams.

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Last year we reviewed the Rock Jaw Alfa Genius V2 earphones and they impressed with their adjustable filters, offering a premium listening experience at a mid-range price.

Even so, not everyone is prepared to spend more than $60 on a pair of earphones, so now British company Rock Jaw is targeting more frugal listeners with the new Clarito.

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Researchers from Microsoft and the University of Washington managed to store a high-definition music video by OK Go into a DNA strain. This is actually much more serious than it sounds.

A team of scientists and researchers stored 200 megabytes of data on a molecular strand, and thus set a new record. A bunch of data was added, including digital versions of works of art, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in more than 100 languages, the top 100 books of Project Guttenberg and the non-profit Crop Trust’s seed database. Knowing IoT and Big Data are on the way, having a long-lasting and reliable data storage solution is essential.

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As a Tidal subscriber, I welcome Apple acquisition—assuming lossless tracks are made available through the fruit-logo company's music services. Not that anyone should seriously believe the rumors. But one can hope.

Merger talks are typically silent affairs. When they're serious, you don't hear about them until there is a deal. Reasons are many, with regulatory being among them when public companies are involved. Acquisition rumors often mean something else: Principal party leaks information about preliminary or ongoing discussions to gauge customer and shareholder reaction; one side or the other is dissatisfied with progress/terms and seeks to apply pressure.

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VideoLAN today releases the first public beta build of VLC for Windows 10. Now a universal app, it comes with the same core feature set as the Android and iOS apps but also a few platform-specific extras. VLC 2.0.0 is compatible with all the common Windows 10 devices, including smartphones.

The main features that VLC 2.0.0 brings to the table are the vast audio and video format support, the ability to view and download subtitles and synchronize audio and video, and a network sharing browser. Additionally for Windows 10 users, it also plays well with key features like Cortana and Continuum.

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"Son and heir", not "sun and air". Excuse me while I "kiss the sky", not "this guy". If you've ever struggled to interpret the lyrics to a song, you've probably scurried online to look up what is actually being sung. By teaming up with LyricFind, Google just made this much quicker and easier.

No more jumping from site to site. No more ad barrages. Now Google will display song lyrics directly in search results from the world’s largest lyric licensing service. As well as making things easier for searchers, the deal means that artists get paid royalties as their lyrics are viewed.

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Taking more than a little inspiration from Game of Thrones, music streaming service Rhapsody has announced a rebranding. 'Napster is coming', proclaims the Rhapsody blog. This is a name that should be very familiar, particularly to old-school pirates.

Napster is a name deeply entrenched in P2P history, but turned its back on its naughty ways following its acquisition by Roxio and then Best Buy. Five years ago, Rhapsody swallowed up Napster and now the company feels it's time to revive the name.

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If you are looking for an outdoor speaker for this summer then you want something proven to withstand the elements. iHome is a premier maker of such devices and is now announcing a new line that it claims is perfect for outdoor use.

The Weather Tough line is being called "military grade" portable Bluetooth speakers. They were announced back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, but are just hitting the market now.

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The world has lost many greats of late including Prince and Muhammad Ali. Now it loses one more, though perhaps a bit less known to the older generation, but that makes the story no less sad.

Christina Grimmie, who amassed fame on YouTube with over three million followers, and then went on to become a finalist on The Voice working with Adam Levine, was playing a concert last night in Orlando, Florida.

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Wireless speakers are hardly new -- there are probably more Bluetooth variants than people nowadays! If you search on a site like Amazon, you will be hit with a deluge of these speakers, many from no-name companies, and at rock-bottom prices. Many of them are terrible, offering both poor sound and build quality.

To stand out among these wireless speakers is hard, but Grace Digital has managed to do just that, with its all-new CastDock X2. Rather than use Bluetooth, it leverages Google's Chromecast Audio dongle, making it a Wi-Fi speaker.

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Over the past few years Inateck has made a name for itself with good value audio kit including headsets and Bluetooth speakers.

Its latest offerings are in the closely-contested earphone market, so how well do they measure up to more established players?

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Amazon Prime has become hugely popular, and it's easy to see why. For $99 per year, customers get free two-day shipping, streaming video, streaming music and Kindle lending library. Sonos is less adopted because of the price, but if you've invested in it then you have a great whole-house audio system.

Six months ago, the two came together in the US to add to your musical enjoyment and today Amazon Prime Music will be debuting on Sonos in the UK and filling British homes with tunes.

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Back in the 90's, buying CDs was a passion of mine. Not only would I be knowledgeable about all of the release dates for my favorite artists, but I would go to midnight store-openings to buy them. Then, alone in my bedroom, I would listen to all of the discs and drift away.

Nowadays? Not so much. While I still adore music -- especially hip-hop tunes -- physical media is not part of the equation. Streaming media services are my gateway to music, and it is largely very satisfying. Apparently, I am far from alone in my love for streaming. Today, Pandora -- a very popular streaming service -- announces it has generated more than $2 billion in royalties for artists and songwriters. Yes folks, streaming is legit.

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