Articles about Music

The battle for your hard earned money in the music streaming business is heating up, which seems to be a statement I make regularly these days. This time, the offering comes from an unexpected source. While YouTube is a go-to for music videos, it isn't generally thought of for a streaming music source. Or perhaps I'm old.

YouTube is unveiling its new service, Music Key. "You’ve asked us for ways to listen to music without ads, to keep playing music videos even if you lock the screen or start using another app, and to play music even if you’re not connected to the Internet. That’s why today we're introducing YouTube Music Key beta, a monthly subscription service".

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Despite a little spat with Taylor Swift, Spotify seems to be mostly improving all the time, adding updates and content on a regular basis. The latest update aims to marry your computers to your mobile devices via new, and rather unique, remote app.

The company is announcing a new feature for Premium subscribers, allowing users to access Spotify on their computer using remote control from the phone or tablet.

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Music streaming has become the norm. When did you last buy a CD or, gasp, cassette or album? And we will not even discuss the 8-track tapes. That made yesterday's news cycle a bit baffling. Artists should be falling over themselves for ubiquity, not heading towards obscurity. But some apparently simply don't get it.

It has been revealed that Taylor Swift, a vastly popular singer, has pulled her music from Spotify. The artist seems to be worried about piracy, something that seems of little concern to most musicians today.

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When he's not busy fronting Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor has plenty of solo music projects to work on, as well as countless collaborations with other artists. Talking to Billboard about -- amongst other things -- his upcoming fiftieth birthday, Reznor revealed that he is currently working with Apple on a music venture of some sort. He was unable to give much in the way of detail but we do know that it is "in the world" of music delivery.

Apple is famously secretive about yet-to-be-released products and services, so the fact that Reznor is being tight-lipped at this stage is not surprising. Throughout the course of the Billboard interview he makes several references to music streaming, and it's fairly safe to assume that the up-coming service is in this area.

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The world of streaming music is dominated by just a few names. Deezer is a relatively new entrant to the US market, and it is now stretching its wings by purchasing Stitcher, the radio and podcasting service. Deezer currently has roughly 16 million users scattered across 180 countries, and this represents great growth potential for Stitcher.

The seven-year-old internet radio service carries content from 40 countries, giving it a catalog of more than 35,000 shows. Diversifying in this way could be Deezer's ticket to success in a somewhat crowded market, where a unique selling point is needed to stand out from the likes of Spotify.

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Bluetooth speakers can be a mixed bag, audio-wise. I have a Cambridge Audio speaker which I’m very happy with, but I may be tempted to stray now that B&O PLAY has launched the BeoPlay A2.

The stylish new speaker is designed be carried and has a leather strap/handle on the side. It features Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound and delivers 180W power, with True360 omni-directional performance so the audio should sound good no matter where you are in the room. It has two speaker drivers on each side -- a 3/4-inch tweeter and a 3-inch full range driver.

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Microsoft is pushing music fans towards Music Pass by cutting off one supply of free streaming music. On December 1st, the free streaming feature of Xbox Music will be no more, leaving Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and web users looking for new ways to satisfy their music streaming cravings.

In an announcement posted on the Xbox website, Microsoft explains that it wants to encourage music fans into signing up for a paid Xbox Music Pass. The posts explains that there is a free 30 day trial available, but once this is up, the charge is $9.99 per month. Is this likely to fly with users who have been enjoying music for free? That remains to be seen...

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I love me some music, and I love me some Google Play Music All Access. For real though, I use the search-giant's music service for multiple hours every day. Whether it is on my desktop, smartphone or tablet, I consume many songs with the service. Sure, other services like Beats Music and Spotify are good too, but All Access couples its large selection with an unrivaled visual style that makes the entire experience awesome. Heck, starting today, Android app begins using the super-sexy material design.

Unfortunately, with all streaming music services, media discovery can be tricky, as I often find myself listening to the same songs over and over again. While Google's genre-based and curated stations are a good way to discover, even that can be limiting. Today, Google turns it up to 11 and finally integrates features from its Songza acquisition into All Access. The result? Better discovery, plus music that matches a mood or task.

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The music streaming business continues to grow and actually buying tracks seems to be heading for the distant memory pile. Spotify is one of the top competitors in this growing industry. The competition forces each business to differentiate itself and today Spotify does that.

The streaming service is announcing a new Family Plan. This option brings tunes to up to four people, all under one monthly bill. Each of the people on the account will be able to keep their playlists, history and recommendations completely separate.

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Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen these days, as they are convenient and, depending on brand model, can offer very good sound quality. With that in mind, brands set out to separate themselves in a very competitive marketplace by offering certain stand-out feature that get them noticed. That's the case with the Braven BRV-1.

The company touts several interesting features on this model. Some do exist on rival models, but it's enough to set  the little speaker apart from others.

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As a Hip-Hop head, I have spent many hours consuming the latest rap tunes. While I am a fan of several artists, none have had an impact as large as the Wu-Tang Clan. Back in 1993, when New York first started getting a taste of the rap group, it was unlike anything fans of the genre had heard. You see, the production by group member RZA was unique and immediately changed the course of Hip-Hop.

Unfortunately, as of late, the Wu-Tang Clan's music has been rather uninspired. RZA's production is lazy and the solo albums from the members have been average at best. Still, the group deserve its props; as a celebration of their 20 year career, RZA has partnered with Boombotix for the Boombot REX 20th Anniversary Wu-Tang Edition speaker.

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Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen, nowadays. Quite frankly, it is hard to get excited about them. While they can be used with a desktop at a workstation, the true allure is portability with a smartphone or tablet. You see, there is typically a trade-off of quality for convenience, and the average audiophile would likely turn up their nose at using them.

While I have heard some great Bluetooth speakers like the UE BOOM and JBL Flip, they ultimately were not enough to replace my desktop speakers, the Logitech Z-2300. Those desktop speakers are quite phenomenal and hard to beat. I recently tested the Cambridge Audio Minx M5 and found them to be wonderful, but they do not offer a wireless connection. Today, I am looking at the Grace Digial aptX Bluetooth Speakers, which work as both wired and wireless.

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As someone who was in high school during the 90s, alternative rock was a very important part of my life. Bands such as Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins made big impacts, but Radiohead was the true soundtrack to many of our lives. Whether you were depressed, or just wanted to emote, their music was sure to help, as it conjured emotions from the soul.

The frontman of Radiohead, Thom Yorke, released his debut solo album, The Eraser, in 2006, and it was just as magical as his prior group efforts. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting a new album from the artist. Today, BitTorrent announces that his new album is being released digitally as an exclusive paid torrent "Bundle".

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Amazon continues to grow the ecosystem for its set-top box, the Fire TV. While its portfolio of offerings hasn't yet reached Roku level, the platform is much newer and still getting its legs under it. Today it expands a bit more with the addition of Spotify.

The music steaming service launched today on the Amazon box, though it does require users to have a Premium subscription, which will set you back a few dollars per month.

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At the end of its iPhone 6/6 Plus/Apple Watch launch last week, the tech giant kindly gave everyone a gift -- a free U2 album. Songs of Innocence is the first album from the Irish band in five years, and Apple made it instantly available to all 500 million plus iTunes registered users. Which was a nice thing to do, after all who doesn’t like a free gift?

It turns out quite a few people were less than pleased to discover U2's new album appearing in their music collections whether they wanted it or not. If you’re one of those people unhappy about the presence of the album, and despite hunting for an easy way of removing it, still haven’t found what you’re looking for, don’t worry -- Apple has released a new tool for the job.

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