Epic! Your Spotify library now has no limits
Spotify has announced that it is lifting the content cap that previously limited the number of songs, albums and podcasts that could be added to a library.
Until today is was only high-profile Spotify Rockstars who were able to store more than 10,000 items in their Spotify libraries, but now you'll no longer see the message "Epic collection my friend. There's no more room in Your Library. To save more, you'll need to remove some songs or albums" when you reach this number.
Spotify now lets you hide songs from other people's playlists
If you've been looking for one more reason to cough up for a Spotify Premium subscription, the ability to hide songs in playlists could be it.
You may well have found a number of near-perfect playlists that other people have created, but there's a reasonable chance that there's at least one song you can't stand. Now, rather than having to skip the track -- or manually recreate the playlist yourself with the offending song removed -- you can simply tell Spotify to hide it.
Plex releases media server app Dash, and Plexamp player for Windows, mobile, macOS and Linux
If the phrase "it really whips the llama's ass" means anything to you, you clearly remember the heady days of WinAmp. Now media server and management company Plex has come up with its own take on the classic software.
Called -- slightly uninspiringly -- Plexamp, the player is available for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Linux. The company has also released a new app for managing Plex media servers: Plex Dash. This is great news for Plex users, but there's a slight catch in both cases.
Sonos CEO apologizes for device update fiasco
Owners of Sonos devices were disappointed when they were told by the company that as of May 2020, there would be no more software updates released for older equipment. Sonos offered customers two options for "legacy products": keep using them without updates, or brick them by putting them in Recycle Mode in return for a 30 percent discount on a future purchase.
There was an understandable backlash from Sonos' userbase, and now the company's CEO has been forced to pen a letter in which he assures customers that devices will work for "as long as possible". Patrick Spence concedes that "we did not get this right from the start". He continues: "My apologies for that and I wanted to personally assure you of the path forward".
YouTube Music launches a trio of personalized mixes
There are many music streaming services these days, such as Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music to name a few. Believe it or not, Google has two such services -- Play Music and YouTube Music. It is very confusing to have one company offering two competing options, but they will eventually be merged into one under the YouTube Music brand.
The problem? As of today, YouTube Music simply isn't up to par with any competitors -- it has a messy interface that can be confusing. While it is slowly getting better all the time, it simply cannot compete with Spotify or Apple Music -- the gold standards. Today, however, YouTube Music is gaining a pretty cool new feature -- personalized mixes.
Google makes it much easier to shift streaming music and video between devices
With more than one Nest device or Google Home speaker in the house, it can be a pain to manually switch music streaming from one speaker to another as you move from room to room.
But now Google has introduced a new feature that makes the process much, much easier. The "stream transfer" option can be accessed with your voice via Google Assistant, or using apps.
Garmin smartwatches get Amazon Music
I recently canceled Amazon Prime, as I found the subscription to be deficient -- especially at $129 per year. What was wrong with Prime? Many things, such as the video library being atrocious and the included Amazon Music service having a very small library (two million songs). Amazon makes you pony up even more money to have a larger music library (50 million songs). Not to mention, the Amazon Music interface is nothing to write home about -- overall, die hard music fans should look elsewhere, such as Apple Music or Spotify.
But OK, let's say you are a casual music listener that takes advantage of either Amazon Music or the pricier Amazon Music Unlimited. If that is you, I have good news -- your music service is now available on some Garmin smartwatches!
Genius.com uses clever entrapment technique and accuses Google of stealing song lyrics from its site
Ask Google what the lyrics to a particular song are and the chances are that the search results will display them in an info pane as well as links to lyrics sites. But where does Google get these lyrics from? Have Googlers sat and manually transcribed the words to songs ready or when people search for them?
No. Actually, there's a high chance that Google has simply scraped the lyrics from other sites, and one lyrics website says it caught the company red-handed. Genius.com used "Morse code" to catch the company lifting content directly from its lyric database.
The annual iHeartRadio Music Festival will be here before you know it, guess who's on...
When, meteorologically speaking, the calendar hasn’t yet flipped to summer, it may be tough to switch your mind and consider an event that takes place in some distant future known as autumn. But, hey, music has no season, right?
For the past several years internet music darling iHeartRadio has held a huge multi-day music festival in Las Vegas. 2019 will be no exception, and now the online giant is announcing some of the performers that are lined up for this go-around..
Apple explains what the closure of iTunes means for you and your music
At WWDC this week, Apple not only unveiled the new Mac Pro and an insanely expensive monitor stand, but also confirmed that iTunes is going away -- for Mac users, at least.
This did not come entirely as a surprise, but it has left iTunes users wondering just how the transition to the new Apple Music app will work, and what will happen to their music, playlists, credit and so on. Now Apple has explained how the whole process will work.
SoundCloud Go+ expands its European footprint
There is no shortage of music services available to choose from and there really doesn’t seem to be a clear industry leader. Spotify is up there, but so is Apple Music. It really comes down to the features that each of us wants, the music selection and availability.
The latter is key for many people as not everything can be heard from every location in this great big world. If you reside in the UK, but plan to spend time in Kenya, for example, then you’ll want services that work in both countries.
Creative announces extremely affordable USB-powered Pebble Plus 2.1 speakers
Creative's Pebble speakers are very popular with budget-focused shoppers. Over on Amazon, it has 4.5 stars with over 500 reviews. It's not hard to see why that is -- for a mere $25, you get a respectable 2.0 audio experience from a well-known brand. No, they aren't audiophile quality, but at this price, you should know that. They should be better than your laptop's built in speakers, however. One of the coolest aspects of the Pebble speakers is they are USB-powered -- you don't need an AC adapter when connecting them to your computer. You do need to simultaneously connect a 3.5mm audio cable, however, as audio is not transmitted over USB -- only power.
One of the big drawbacks to Pebble is a lack of bass. This really shouldn't be surprising, as they are small 2-inch speakers, and they don't have a subwoofer. Well, Creative heard the user feedback loud and clear and decided to bring a little boom to its budget offering. Called "Pebble Plus," it is the same stereo speakers, but now with a small subwoofer added. Amazingly, the price is barely higher than the non-plus variant. Seriously, folks, the price will shock you.
Apple and Beats designed Powerbeats Pro wireless earphones are coming in May
Beats by Dr Dre has revealed details of its soon-to-be-released Powerbeats Pro wireless earphones. Scheduled for release in May, the earphones combine the engineering talents of Apple and Beats to create AirPod alternatives for music lovers and athletes alike.
Smaller and lighter than its predecessor, Powerbeats Pro provide both audio quality and comfort, and have been designed to withstand rigorous workouts. Available in four colors -- Black, Ivory, Moss and Navy -- the earphones deliver "powerful, balanced sound with dynamic range and noise isolation for a premium listening experience".
Oops! MySpace has lost 12 years' worth of photos, videos and music
MySpace -- that forerunner of the social networking phenomenon -- appears to have had a bit of an accident. In the process of migrating servers, it seems that the site has managed to lose 12 years' worth of uploaded music and other data.
The slip up means that photos, videos and music uploaded between 2003 and 2015 have been lost forever. This is not a case of data being temporary unavailable; MySpace has lost it, and -- almost unbelievably -- has no backup.
Spotify spreads its streaming services to India
Having enjoyed huge success in other parts of the world -- and despite currently fighting a legal battle with Warner Music Group over licensing -- Spotify has now launched in India.
To cater for the various tongues spoken in the country, the recommendation engine can be set to multiple languages. Subscription pricing has also been tailored to the Indian market, and while it is not possible to make direct comparisons across currencies, a year's subscription costs 1,189 rupees (under $17).
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
BetaNews, your source for breaking tech news, reviews, and in-depth reporting since 1998.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.