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Apple Music - page 23

Apple Music loses top exec to Uber

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Bozoma Saint John
Bozoma Saint John is in charge of hyping Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

This story has been updated to include comments from Bozoma Saint John.

Bozoma Saint John, one of Apple’s most entertaining keynote presenters, is leaving the company to work for Uber as the ride-sharing startup’s chief brand officer.

Her task? Fixing Uber’s tarnished image in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and other recent turmoil

Apple Music exec Bozoma Saint John may be leaving the company

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Bozoma Saint John
Bozoma Saint John joined Apple with the Beats acquisition.
Photo: Apple

Bozoma Saint John, head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music, may be on her way out of Apple, a recent report claims.

Saint John is probably best known to Apple watchers as the person who took the stage at last year’s WWDC event to show off Apple Music’s then-new user interface — which included attempting to get the crowd to somewhat awkwardly clap along to The Sugarhill Gang’s song “Rapper’s Delight.”

Apple Music boss enrages Twitter after Rihanna incident during NBA Finals

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Eddy Cue had the best seats in the house to watch the Warrior's comeback.
Eddy Cue has the best seats at Oracle Arena.
Photo: SF Chronicle/Twitter

The internet is furious at Apple Music boss Eddy Cue after the exec was supposedly spotted heckling singer Rihanna last night during Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, California.

Video of Cue at the game appears to show the Apple VP telling Rihanna to sit down. Rihanna had been doing a bit of heckling herself during the game, yelling at Warriors superstar Kevin Durant. Twitter immediately went in on Cue for going at Rihanna, but most people thought he was just your average court-side rich white guy.

WWDC over the years: How it became a tech juggernaut

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7630600426_e9f56e770d_k
WWDC has been home to some seismic announcements over the years.
Photo: Daniel Spiess/Flickr CC

As Apple’s longest-running annual keynote event, it’s no surprise that WWDC has played host to some absolutely enormous announcements over the years.

From strategies that changed the company’s course to the debut of astonishing new products, here are our picks for the most important ones. Check out the list below.

Tidal loses third CEO in two years

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Jay Z
Jay Z can't find a reliable CEO.
Photo: Flickr/NRK P3

Jay Z’s struggling Tidal music streaming service is saying goodbye to its third CEO in two years.

The company reportedly parted way with top executive Jeff Toig, though no replacement has been named. Tidal has had a revolving door of CEOs during its troubled history. Toig took over the reigns of Tidal just 18 months ago.

Jimmy Iovine says free music streaming is screwing artists

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apple-music
Apple Music doesn't have a free tier.
Photo: Apple

Jimmy Iovine wants people to pay for music again and he’s got a plan that just might work: make free music streaming suck.

The Apple exec and music industry legend sat down for a new wide-ranging interview, during which Iovine lamanted that artists aren’t getting paid enough for their music anymore. And it’s mostly Spotify and YouTube’s fault.

Rare Prince concert video might be Apple Music’s next exclusive

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apple-music
Grab the latest update from the Play Store now.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music may soon get exclusive streaming rights to an unreleased Prince concert that was performed as a surprise in Minneapolis just before the release of his iconic Purple Rain soundtrack.

If Apple does land the rights, the company may owe a big ‘thank you’ to its rival Spotify, which employs the executive negotiating the deal.

TV shows are coming soon to Snapchat

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Snapchat is taking TV serious.
Snapchat is taking TV serious.
Photo: Snap

Snap Inc apparently wants in on the hottest new trend among tech companies: TV shows.

Following the lead of Amazon and Twitter, Snapchat reportedly plans to start showing vertical short films in its app. Only instead of doing all the work on its own, the company is inking deals with some of the biggest names in media.

Trouble in China, iPhone slump and other Apple earnings surprises

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How will investors respond to Apple's relatively flat earnings?
How will investors respond to Apple's relatively flat earnings?
Photo: Ste Smith

Apple’s Q2 earnings report for 2017 just barely beat Wall Street’s expectations when the numbers were revealed this afternoon, but there are plenty of reasons to still be optimistic about AAPL.

During the company’s call with investors today, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri discussed some of the struggles the company experienced last quarter, from slumping iPhone sales to economic headwinds in China.

Here are the biggest takeaways:

Liveblog: Just how good (or bad) was Apple’s Q2?

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apple earnings
Apple's money-making machine is on a new level.
Photo illustration: Steve Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 this afternoon. And according to analysts, the numbers won’t be nearly as impressive as last quarter’s record-shattering results.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will run through all the numbers with investors today at 2 p.m. Pacific. As usual, Cult of Mac will be liveblogging the action with all the analysis and snark we can muster.

Come join the fun:

What to expect from Apple’s Q2 2017 earnings report

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Earnings call
Apple made a ton of money last quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is set to reveal its second quarterly earnings report of 2017 next Tuesday, and based on early estimates from analysts, Tim Cook might not have much to boast about.

Wall Street has been in love with Apple stock the last few months, sending it to all-time highs since the last earnings report came out. But with the holiday shopping season over and a lack of new products to boost sales, Apple’s numbers may look a bit flat.

These are the key areas to watch for:

Apple inks deal with social video app Musical.ly

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Musical.ly
Apple wants to appeal to tween and teen users.
Photo: Musical.ly

Update: Musical.ly’s partner 7digital denies that it is being replaced by Apple Music, with CEO Simon Cole saying it “just signed a renewal agreement with Musical.ly” and has “in no way ended our working relationship.”

Apple has reportedly teamed up with Musical.ly, a popular music-themed app for video creation, messaging and live broadcasting.

Starting today, Apple Music will be the service that supplies songs for the social network app, replacing joining existing provider 7digital.

Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy documentary will be an Apple Music exclusive

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Diddy's movie is coming to Apple Music.
Diddy's movie is coming to Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music is set to premiere an all-new exclusive documentary this summer and this go around it will be all about hip-hop legend and business mogul Sean P. Combs (aka. Puff Daddy, aka P. Diddy).

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story will make its official debut exclusively on Apple Music starting June 25. The documentary chronicles Diddy’s rise to become one of the most prolific producers in the mid-90s as well as the trouble he faced putting together last year’s 20th anniversary Bad Boy reunion show.

iOS 11 will bring new focus on original videos from Apple Music

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Carpool Karaoke
Enjoy Carpool Karaoke without an Apple Music subscription.
Photo: Apple

iOS 11 will deliver a new Music app with a focus on original videos, according to Jimmy Iovine. The Apple Music chief says the service could add many as 10 original video series by the end of this year, including Carpool Karaoke and will.i.am’s Planet of the Apps, while Apple is also in talks to secure content from J.J. Abrams and R. Kelly.

Apple postpones launch of CarPool Karaoke

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Carpool Karaoke
Enjoy Carpool Karaoke without an Apple Music subscription.
Photo: Apple

The first original TV series created by Apple won’t be out this spring as previously promised.

Apple revealed today that its Carpool Karaoke show has hit some speed bumps. The show is being created as an adaptation from James Cordon’s popular segment, but you’ll have to wait until later this year to watch it.

Spotify job listings hint at hardware ambitions

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mighty-spotify-streaming-player
Could Spotify make a modern iPod?
Photo: Mighty Audio

Apple’s biggest competition in the music streaming business may be preparing to become a hardware rival, too.

Jobs listings posted by Spotify indicate the company is planning to make a hardware play. Spotify says it’s working on a “category defining product,” but based on what the company compares it to, Apple might not have much to worry about.

Apple slashes commissions for App Store referrals

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App Store
Apple is cut affiliates' pay.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has decided to lower the amount of money it pays affiliate who funnel customers to buy apps and in-app purchases from the iOS App Store.

In an email update sent out today to members of its affiliates program, Apple says its cutting commission rates by more than half, leaving companies and websites with less money from what can be a valuable revenue stream.

Apple Music snaps up documentary about legendary music exec Clive Davis

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Clive Davies
Star-studded documentary is the latest Apple Music acquisition.
Photo: Tribeca Film Festival

Apple bought new music documentary Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, revealing the acquisition prior to the film’s opening night screening at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The documentary is based on the best-selling autobiography by Davis, the legendary music exec who played a key role developing artists from the 1960s through the rise of hip-hop.

Apple Music is hooking up with Facebook Messenger

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apple-music
Grab the latest update from the Play Store now.
Photo: Apple

Facebook is aiming to make its Messenger app the go-to spot to talk about music with a new update that makes it easier to share songs with friends.

During the company’s F8 developers conference this morning, Facebook unveiled a new way for third-party apps to integrate with communications platform. And Apple Music is one of its first partners.

Pandora’s Apple Music rival is now available to all

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Pandora
Get your mitts on Pandora Premium today.
Photo: Pandora

Pandora’s fight back against Apple Music officially begins today, with Pandora Premium, the on-demand streaming service, now available to all.

Priced at $9.99 a month, the subscription grants access to millions of tracks and albums that you can listen to ad-free, as often as you like. It also boasts a couple of neat features you won’t find elsewhere.

Apple Music launches intimate concert series on YouTube

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apple-music
Grab the latest update from the Play Store now.
Photo: Apple

One of Canada’s most famous music interviewers, George Stroumboulopoulos, is coming to Apple Music where he’ll host concerts featuring some of the biggest names in the industry.

Unlike the large-scale Apple Music Festival concerts hosted every year, Stroumboulopoulos (aka Strombo), will be hosting the acts at his tiny house in Toronto, giving fans an intimate concert experience unlike any other.

Apple takes another step toward killing iTunes brand

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apple-music-itunes
iTunes is ready to die.
Photo: Apple

The iTunes brand is being slowly carted off to the Apple graveyard.

On Thursday morning, Apple made a very subtle but profound change to the way it markets podcasts. From now on, they’re no longer called “iTunes Podcasts” — they’re called “Apple Podcasts.”