Spotify’s third fiscal quarter figures show that it is growing considerably faster than Apple Music.
“We continue to feel very good about our competitive position in the market,” the streaming giant noted in a statement. “Relative to Apple, the publicly available data shows that we are adding roughly twice as many subscribers per month as they are. Additionally, we believe that our monthly engagement is roughly 2x as high and our churn is at half the rate.”
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Apple employs a team of people “listening to music and transcribing the lyrics,” says Oliver Schusser, head of Apple Music.
“We don’t get [lyrics] from the usual sites,” Schusser says, explaining that Apple doesn’t trust crowdsourcing to give it the right answers for its new synced lyrics feature.
Apple is reportedly mulling offering all its entertainment services in one giant bundle as a sort of “Apple Prime.” If true, then a single subscription would include the company’s music, video, and gaming services
This news is apparently leaking from music-industry executive who aren’t thrilled with the idea.
Apple Music for Android today sees a big update that adds a new dark mode, Chromecast support, and more.
The latest release brings the Android version of the app in line with its counterpart on iOS. Here’s what you have to look forward to.
Apple has launched a new “Lyrics to Live By” video series. The video series features artists explaining the meaning of some of their best known lines.
It accompanies iOS 13’s new real-time lyrics feature which turns Apple Music into a karaoke experience. It lets users view scrolling song lyrics for the music they listen to.
A Spotify executive described as “one of the most senior and best connected figures at Spotify’s UK HQ” has jumped ship to Apple.
Former BBC Radio 1 and Spotify employee Austin Daboh will act as the new Head of Editorial for the UK & Ireland at Apple Music’s London HQ. Daboh will shape Apple Music’s UK editorial and playlist ecosystem. In particular, he’ll be focusing on promoting new British artists.
Amazon has launched a new lossless tier of its music service, called Amazon Music HD. The new HD tier costs $14.99 per month or $12.99 per month to Amazon Prime subscribers.
Amazon Music HD offers more than 50 million high-resolution tracks at CD quality and higher, courtesy of 16-bit files and sample rates of 44.1kHZ and above. It also promises “millions of tracks” in ultra high-def for the true music quality connoisseur.
Apple launched a new web player for Apple Music today, allowing pretty much any PC, tablet or smartphone to access the music streaming service.
Over the summer, Apple Music hosted a series of seven exclusive concerts at global Apple Stores. The concerts featured artists Bad Bunny, Omar Apollo, Khalid, King Princess, Daniel Caesar, Ashley McBryde, and Lewis Capaldi.
Anyone who missed them can now check out these rising stars in concert, courtesy of Apple’s “Up Next Live” EPs. Now streaming on Apple Music.
Stay calm and remix on.
Taylor Swift is partnering with Apple for a new Today at Apple session that will teach attendees how to remix her latest single “You Need To Calm Down.” Unlike some of the other Music Labs though, this special session will only be available in select stores.
Spotify is now matching Apple Music’s generous three-month free trial for new subscribers.
The offer is available to eligible individual and student users who sign up for any Spotify Premium plan, starting today. It will be extended to support Duo and Family Plans in the coming months.
Streaming giant Spotify’s history shows a company that rose from nothing to take on Apple — and won. Well, kind of. At least, that’s the story that may be told in a new screen adaptation of Spotify’s rise to prominence.
While it’s not yet in production, the UK division of Swedish film and TV company Yellow Bird (the company behind the Swedish Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) just acquired the adaptation rights to the recent book Spotify Untold.
Think of it as The Social Network, only about the world of streaming music.
Apple Music subscribers in Germany can now stream their favorite tracks on Amazon Echo speakers. You’ll need to add the Apple Music skill via the Alexa app to get started.
Porsche and Apple have brokered a deal to allow the new electric Porsche Taycan can stream Apple Music directly in-car.
“It’s about innovation,” said Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “…It’s about brand values that we share. And that’s why we were really excited when the project started.”
Apple Music boasts some 50 million songs in its catalog. That’s the equivalent of almost two miles if it was a heap of CD-based albums piled on on top of the other.
To help make sense of all of this, Apple hosts a wide variety of hand-selected playlists. Now, thanks to two of the hottest clubs in EDM capital Ibiza, they’ve gotten some more. It’s like a vacation in your pocket!
Apple might be ready to agree to a truce with Spotify that would allow iOS users to control the rival music streaming service with Siri.
iPhone users have been unable to use Siri and Spotify together even though you can do it with Apple Music. Reports of the negotiations come as Apple is facing more intense scrutiny for anti-trust practices, with Spotify being one of the loudest dissenting voices.
Think about your music library for a second. Which of the songs in your library come from Apple Music? Which ones did you add to the library yourself? And which ones have you added to iTunes Match, but haven’t actually made it to your iCloud library yet?
These things are a little confusing. The beauty of Apple Music, and the iCloud Music Library, is that all of your music is there, in one place. But this simplicity also makes it hard to see what’s going on. Happily, iTunes is still more than up to the task, and can even split these songs into individual playlists. Let’s check it out.
This may seem like a frivolous how-to. But seeing as I couldn’t work out how to switch off shuffle Apple Music tracks on my iPhone in iOS 12, I think it’s worth a look — if only so dummies like me can look it up.
BTW, you can find the Apple Music repeat and shuffle controls in iOS 12 by swiping up on the Now Playing panel to reveal the buttons at the bottom, if you need to know.
So, let’s take a look at how Apple changed things in the iOS 13 Music app.
Apple Music for Android is getting a brand new dark mode and time-synced lyrics support.
The two new features, which are scheduled to debut on iOS this fall, are available to those testing the beta version of the Android app.
Music producers will bring sweeter sounds to the discriminating Apple Music user thanks to a new digital masters initiative for Apple’s burgeoning streaming service.
As Apple phases out iTunes with the launch of a new macOS, it will fold in all Mastered for iTunes tracks and high-definition Apple Music songs into one catalog.
Amazon is making on-demand music more affordable than ever for students.
Its brilliant new deal provides access to Music Unlimited for just $0.99 a month. Students enjoy exactly the same service as other Music Unlimited subscribers for a fraction of the cost.
AT&T is ready to sweeten the deal for some of its monthly subscribers by offering free Spotify premium as of its new entertainment perks.
The carrier revealed its new entertainment perks today that also gives customers the option to choose HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz or Pandora as their free entertainment options. Even if you don’t have a qualifying wireless plan, you can still get some other Spotify perks.
Apple is continuing its low-key rebranding of Apple Music playlists. Its latest move is to change the name of its name of its “The A-List: Alternative” alternative music playlist.
This comes a couple weeks after Apple switched the name of the “A-List: Hip-Hop” playlist to “Rap Life.”
Move over Madonna. Apple is bringing in pop teen sensation Billie Eilish for the second session of its Remix Music lab.
Eilish, whose song “Bad Boy” has been tearing up the music charts all summer. Now you’ll be able to visit an Apple store to learn about her song “You Should See Me in a Crown” and learn how to remix it.