David Bowie dominates the digital download and streaming charts
It has taken a while to sink in, but on 11 January the world became a sadder and duller place following the death of David Bowie. As fan around the world struggled to come to terms with the tragic and untimely loss, they turned to the one things they all have in common -- Bowie's music.
At turns an artist, actor, poet, digital pioneer, style icon, and cultural behemoth, Bowie was predominantly a musician. His (as it turned out) final album, Blackstar was released just days before his death, and the lyrics and video for the second single from the album -- Lazarus -- took on a new, beautiful and heart-wrenching meaning. Bowie meant a lot to people the world over, and the level of affection felt for the ever-inventive musical chameleon can be seen by the surge in digital downloads and streams of his albums on the likes of Spotify and iTunes.
Spotify reveals numbers after 3 days of Beatles music availability
'Twas the night before Christmas and....the Beatles came to streaming services everywhere, making the rounds quicker than old Saint Nick. Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, Google Play Music and several others were the lucky recipients of this amazing catalog of tunes.
Now Spotify is revealing just how successful this launch has been, and the numbers revealed prove the band is still relevant 45 years after the members parted ways.
Spotify lets you create your year in music
As the year winds down it becomes time for retrospective thoughts. There will be a lot to look back on 2015, some of it pleasant, some sad, some just plain scary. Moments are sometimes defined by music -- you remember what was popular when you were in high school, for instance.
Now Spotify would like to provide you with some reminders of the year that's almost gone. This is your year in music and it's tailored to each individual user.
There are just 6.5 million paying Apple Music users
Apple Music has managed to retain just 6.5 million subscribers willing to pay for the service four months after launch. Tim Cook has revealed that there are 15 million users in total at the moment, meaning that 8.5 million are making use of the free trial period.
Apple has previously claimed that it was managing to hang onto 79 percent of free trial users, converting them to paid subscribers, but these latest figures -- direct from Cook -- are at odds with this. But the real question is, how many of these paying subscribers simply forgot to cancel their subscription at the end of the trial period?
Spotify for Chromecast is music to your ears
Music streaming services seem to be a dime a dozen these days, with plenty of choices and new ones cropping up all the time. But how do you pipe that sound through your home entertainment system? There are a number of options, but the latest is Spotify for Chromecast.
The streaming service is arriving on Google's tiny HDMI dongle, which was just recently updated. Spotify claims this was highly requested and now users can have it.
Google unveils Chromecast Audio and faster, redesigned Chromecast
While much of the attention was focused on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P at Google's event today, these were far from being the only announcements. Last year, the original Chromecast took the world of media streaming by storm, introducing a low-cost entry point into streaming, and now Google has two new Chromecast devices to show off.
The new-look Chromecast has something of a different appearance to the first generation. This time around, the device is circular and features a short, flexible HDMI cable rather than the rigid design from last year -- this should make the dongle easier to plug into TVs with restricted space. There's also a new product in the form of Chromecast Audio which can be used to stream music to just about any set of speakers.
Ultimate Ears announces UE BOOM 2
Listening to music on a smartphone speaker is passable, but to truly enjoy your tunes you should invest in good headphones and/or a Bluetooth speaker. While I enjoy bobbing my head while wearing my Beats Solo 2 headphones, sometimes I want to relax on my couch, lawn chair, or bed with nothing on my head. For this, I connect to one of my favorite portable Bluetooth speakers, the UE BOOM.
Today, Ultimate Ears announces a successor to that portable Bluetooth speaker -- the unimaginatively named UE BOOM 2. Yes, this popular speaker is getting an upgrade. The best part, however, is that the price stays exactly the same. Sweet!
Spotify publishes new, clearer privacy policy following complaints
It's only a couple of weeks since Spotify last updated its privacy policy, but the wording was such that many users were upset at the access the company appeared to be asking for. The backlash was so bad that the company was forced to apologize and now it has gone a step further and published a new, reworded version of its policy.
Spotify again admits that the previous version of the privacy policy led to some "understandable confusion", before launching into plain English remodeling of the document. With a new policy that is now more intelligible, the company will no doubt be hoping to claw back those users who were driven away.
Spotify says sorry for confusion over its privacy policy
We reported earlier today that streaming music service Spotify had upset a lot of users with changes to its privacy policy. In particular sections concerning what information the company is allowed to collect have sent some users into a spin.
Evidently stung by the reaction, Spotify has been quick to respond. In a blog post by CEO Daniel Ek it says sorry and explains more about what the changes actually mean.
New Spotify privacy policy angers users and drives some away
Spotify has updated its privacy policy, and a lot of users are now very unhappy. The change was prefaced a few days ago on the Spotify blog and the new policy started to roll out on 19 August. As it starts to hit accounts around the world, users are sitting up and paying attention; many are not happy with what they see.
What are people so upset about? Spotify might now access your Facebook likes and posts, photos and contacts you have stored on your phone, and even the speed at which you are traveling. The company says that the changes have been made as part of a move to "be as open and transparent as possible", but it has left large number of users questioning motives, and many have been pushed to quitting the music service completely.
President Obama arrives on Spotify and creates playlists for everyone
Do you want to hear music chosen by President Barrack Obama? If you use Spotify then you'll be in luck. The company is one of the leading music streaming services in the increasingly competitive market. Now it has scored a big win, landing one of the world's most well known leaders.
Spotify announces the arrival of POTUS and seems quite excited about the arrival. You can't really blame them, it's not everyday that the President adopts your service.
Spotify meets IFTTT to make your music a bit more fun
Spotify is one of the top music services in business today. It's a tough market, with a growing field of competitors aiming to get your money. It can be good, and many people love it, but how could it become even better?
How about adding If This Then That (IFTTT) support? The service has added a new channel that allows you to utilize its capabilities for many functions associated with your music.
Apple Music, Neil Young, and Taylor Swift will drive honest people to piracy
Nowadays, most people don't buy physical media; they pay their little $10 a month for Spotify premium, or similar service, to support the music industry. Apple's exclusivity approach, however, won't just disrupt the streaming market, it will severely harm consumers and lead to piracy. Hell, it could kill streaming music altogether.
Piracy is a really heinous crime. It causes artists to lose money, and make no mistake, it is stealing. With that said, more people will be doing it because of Apple Music. Exclusives from Dr. Dre, Pharell and Taylor Swift may lead to increased torrent downloads. Sadly, the artists have no one to blame but themselves.
FTC could probe Apple Music over legality of 30 percent cut from streaming rivals
The launch of Apple Music has been one of the most controversial for some time. After complaints about the free trial period not generating income for record labels -- a problem seemingly sorted out by the intervention of Taylor Swift -- attention turned to how little the music streaming service paid artists the rest of the time.
Now Apple has a new problem, bringing Apple Music into the limelight for the wrong reasons once again. The Federal Trade Commission is currently considering whether to probe the company for antitrust violations. Reuters reports that the FTC could be on the verge of launching an investigation into the legality of the 30 percent cut Apple takes from other streaming music services such as Spotify.
Save $3 on Spotify Premium account by ditching Apple's App Store, company urges
As the music streaming space intensifies, participants are becoming increasingly aggressive to rope in users. In the latest episode, Spotify has started to notify its iPhone customers about a workaround to save money.
The company is emailing its customers who use an iPhone to let them know about the 30 percent cut Apple takes on all the payments made through the App Store. The result of which, as Spotify notes, is that users have to pay $12.99 per month instead of Spotify's official $9.99 per month charge.
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