With a major Apple Music refresh likely to be arriving at WWDC, there’s no doubting that Apple sees subscription-based streaming music as the way of the future. But where does this leave iTunes music downloads?
Despite Apple’s denials, according to “sources with close knowledge of the company’s plans,” the company continues to plan to “phase out” music downloads in a “just a few years” — depending on how this whole streaming music thing does, of course!
The battle between Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music for exclusive content from artists is about to get fiercer, thanks to a new hire from Spotify that has connections to some of the hottest musicians around.
Troy Carter, the guy who helped turn Lady Gaga and Meghan Trainor into pop superstars, is reportedly joining Spotify to help it scores more exclusive music deals to draw in subscribers.
Snapchat philosopher and hip-hop producer DJ Khaled is the latest celebrity to endorse Apple Music in a new series of ads that show Khaled living the life while introducing Naomi Campbell and Ray Liotta to Apple Music.
Along with dropping some major keys in the new ad, Khaled also dropped a fresh new song featuring Drake called “For Free” that’s available for free on Apple Music. The song is so hot it’s already the top song on iTunes.
Check out the funny new ads below:
Apple has begun inviting members of the press to its WWDC 2016 keynote on June 13.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT in the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco, and it should deliver our first sneak peeks at iOS 10 and Apple’s next major upgrades for watchOS, tvOS, and OS X.
Apple just added another bunch of playlists to Apple Music that will help you discover new music from your favorite genres. They’re called “Breaking,” and they’re filled with over two hours of the hottest tracks.
Concerns about the effect Apple’s massive Irish data center will have on badger and bat populations may have momentarily suspended the company’s plans, but Apple representatives have assured locals the $950 million project will be largely invisible.
Robert Sharpe, Apple’s senior director of global data center services appeared at a hearing in Galway County this week to address concerns about the 500 acre data center and revealed why it’s so important to Apple’s expansion plans in Europe.
Spotify has finally matched Apple Music’s awesome family plan, giving up to six users unlimited access for just $14.99 a month. Each user gets their own account with their own playlists and recommendations, and there are no restrictions or ads.
Never let it be said that Apple doesn’t go above and beyond the call of duty in troubleshooting problems for its users in the name of achieving customer satisfaction.
After James Pinkstone, director of design service Vellum, posted a terrifying story on his company blog claiming that iTunes Match stole his files, Apple sprang into action — sending two engineers to his house to troubleshoot the problem.
The power of bad publicity, eh?
iTunes music downloads still rake in millions of dollars every quarter for Apple, but they’re falling fast.
According to sources who claim to be actively working with the company, it is already mulling the idea of chopping music sales completely in as little as two years, and instead placing an even greater focus on Apple Music.
Is it a good idea for Apple to boot such a popular service in the same way it massacred floppy discs and FireWire, forcing users to stream all their music? Or should it keep iTunes alive until downloads die out naturally?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the future of the world’s most popular music store.
Taylor Swift is quickly becoming the face of Apple Music. The pop sensation has appeared in yet another ad for Apple’s streaming service in which she goes crazy for “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by British rock band The Darkness.
Update: Apple is denying a report that it plans to stop selling downloads within the next few years. “Not true,” Apple rep Tom Neumayr told Re/code Wednesday afternoon without elaborating.
Apple is planning to give iTunes music downloads the boot in as little as two years, according to sources currently working with the company.
With sales already falling, Apple will instead focus its efforts on persuading fans to stream tracks and albums through Apple Music.
Spotify might have been more than a little worried when Apple Music launched last June, but the rivalry has so far been beneficial for the streaming music pioneer. Spotify revealed today that it has grown even faster over the past year.
Drake certainly won’t regret making his latest album, Views, an Apple exclusive. The company helped rack up 1 million sales in just five days, with more than 600,000 of those coming within the first 24 hours of the record’s availability.
You’ve done it now, Apple Music-phobes. Now Snopes is involved.
The myth-busting website, which has ended several of my burgeoning Facebook arguments before anyone could call anyone else a Nazi, has turned its attention to this week’s claims that Apple’s streaming service is just reaching into your computer and absconding with your music. And it has good news for the people who are frantically clutching their tunes like virtual teddy bears.
According to Snopes, the rumors we’ve heard are “Mostly False.” But here’s what that means.
Apple Music’s existing interface is quaking in its boots. In just one month, it could be given its marching orders as Apple looks to make way for a fancy new design that hopes to attract even more subscribers to its streaming service.
But does Apple Music really need a major revamp?
Some say its user interface is already familiar if you’re a long time iOS user — and even if you’re not, it’s arguably still prettier than those offered by rival streaming services. But others say it’s just not friendly enough, and too tricky to learn.
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over Apple Music’s rumored redesign!
The labels may have resisted music streaming early on, but Warner Music Group will be grateful it’s big business today.
So big, in fact, that thanks to services like Apple Music and Spotify, streaming music just raked in more revenue than anything else last quarter.
Apple Music has a not-unimpressive 13 million subscribers right now, but Apple is looking to expand the number of customers willing to spend money on the service by targeting a group that has historically been one of the company’s strongest customer bases: students.
With that in mind, Apple today launched a new Apple Music ‘student’ pricing plan which slashes the per month cost in half ($9.99 down to $4.99 in the United States) for anyone in higher education.
Apple Music has had a pretty rough first year. Despite gaining millions of subscribers and setting download records with some of its more high-profile releases, users still have plenty to stop them from quite clicking on that heart next to the service.
And that’s not just because nobody’s really sure what the hell Apple Music hearts do.
But one man has had such a bad experience that the Apple Support representative he spoke to gave him some advice that was almost certainly not in her training. And he’s shared his story online to warn others away from what has happened to him.
Apple’s big bet on Drake is paying off huge for both sides and shattering records in the process.
Drake’s new album Views is only available on Apple Music, but it’s already been streamed over 250 million times in its first week and his album sales are on pace to be the biggest release by a male artist since Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience.
With 13 million subscribers, Apple Music is pretty far from being a failure. At the same time, it’s fair to say that the service probably hasn’t been met with the rapturous applause which greeted, say, the launch of the iTunes Store back in 2003.
That’s about to change at WWDC, however, with Apple rumored to be using the developer conference to unleash “sweeping changes” to its streaming music service.
An Apple-sponsored exhibition featuring dozens of weirdly wonderful gowns — some produced using 3-D printers, lasers and other exotic techniques — should challenge people’s assumptions that handmade items are inherently better, according to Jony Ive.
Apple’s chief design officer talked up the power of machine-powered manufacturing when he took center stage at this morning’s press preview for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Manus x Machina exhibition. The show, which opens today in New York City, explores the relationship between fashion and technology with a gallery of more than 150 unique couture gowns from designers such as Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Dior, Miuccia Prada and Yves Saint Laurent.
Whether it’s hosting a show on Beats 1, sporting a vintage Apple jacket, or having his music tirelessly promoted in Apple Music ads, Drake’s about as established a part of Cupertino these days as Eddy Cue’s collection of Hawaiian shirts.
No surprise then that everyone’s favorite Canadian Degrassi actor-turned-bad-boy-rapper just chose iTunes and Apple Music as the place to debut his new, fourth studio album Views.
Apple has released a major update for Apple Music for Android that adds support for music videos to the app. The app, however, continues to remain in beta.
As news of Prince’s unexpected death spread today, shocked fans hoping to stream his tunes on Apple Music came up empty.
In the streaming era, the incredibly prolific musician — best known for his string of hits and Grammy Awards in the 1980s — is practically a ghost.
Kanye West tricked fans into subscribing to Tidal, claims a new class-action lawsuit against the rapper for backtracking on his commitment to make ‘The Life of Pablo’ a Tidal exclusive.
Yeezus originally proclaimed that his highly anticipated new album would be available exclusively on Tidal and would never go on sale. In a Twitter rant a few days after the album’s release, West told fans the album would “never ever be on Apple,” only to turn around a month later and put it on Apple Music and Spotify.
It looks like it’s about to all fall down on Kanye, Jay Z and Tidal, now that some gold diggers are claiming it was all just a ploy to boost Tidal’s subscribers.