Apple Music fans who are super-excited about the just-announced lossless audio option should be aware that it won’t work with AirPods or HomePod. Not even the $549 AirPods Max.
But Apple’s headphones and smart speaker do support Spatial Audio for songs mixed in Dolby Atmos, another new feature of Apple Music.
Apple Music is going lossless — at no extra cost to subscribers. Apple revealed the free upgrade Monday, a day ahead of its rumored launch. The company said Apple Music will bring lossless audio to more than 75 million tracks starting in June so listeners can hear songs “the way the artists created them in the studio.”
In addition, Apple Music will add Spatial Audio support for songs mixed in Dolby Atmos. That means customers who own AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max and Beats headphones featuring an H1 or W1 chip — or using the built-in speakers in the newest iPhone, iPad and Mac — will be able to hear certain songs in the immersive format.
Apple is teasing a special announcement regarding Apple Music is “coming soon,” possibly referring to a new Apple Music HiFi lossless audio tier. And Apple believes it’s going to send shockwaves through the industry.
The “coming soon” tease can be seen in the Browse section of Apple Music. There is a short animation showing the Apple Music logo spinning around, getting closer and closer to the camera as it does, with multiple copies appearing as it does.
A message accompanying the video notes that users should, “Get ready – music is about to change forever.”
Apple Music Hi-Fi, a version of the streaming music service offering higher-quality audio, could debut “in the coming weeks,” according to an unconfirmed report.
What the new streaming rate will be is unclear. But it will have to take an on improved version of archrival streaming service Spotify.
The European Commission accused Apple on Friday of wielding an unfair advantage over Apple Music rivals because of Cupertino’s tight control of the App Store’s commission system.
“By setting strict rules on the App Store that disadvantage competing music streaming services, Apple deprives users of cheaper music streaming choices and distorts competition,” said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a statement. “This is done by charging high commission fees on each transaction in the App Store for rivals and by forbidding them from informing their customers of alternative subscription options.”
Today is Earth Day and, to celebrate the occasion, Apple’s introduced a plethora of “Earth Day programming” across its various platforms, including the App Store, Apple TV+, and Apple Watch. For today, at least, no matter where you go for your Earth Day reminders, Apple’s got you covered.
Apple’s music service pays musicians double what archrival Spotify does to stream each song to subscribers.
This amount doesn’t directly affect users of either service, but it might make some people consider using the service that sends artists more money.
Apple is investing millions of dollars in UnitedMasters, a music distribution platform for independent artists. The company makes an app that’s designed to help indie musicians release music to streaming platforms.
UnitedMasters lets users upload their music to platforms like Apple Music within seconds. They can then get paid royalties through PayPal.
Apple will highlight the contributions of women to society in many ways during Women’s History Month, including suggesting relevant outstanding books, podcasts and apps. It also plans virtual Today at Apple sessions led by female creators.
Plus, there’ll be an International Women’s Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge for March 8, and there’ll be other ways of observing this day.
iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 offer the ability to share lyrics directly from Apple Music for the first time. You can use the feature to send snippets from your favorite tracks to social media, messaging apps, and more.
We’ll show you how to use it on iPhone and iPad.
Apple has paid out a massive $163,338,890 in “accrued historical unmatched royalties” for Apple Music. That’s more than any other streaming music service, including Spotify, which currently leads the overall global market share.
The Mechanical Licensing Collective received a total of $424.3 million in these historical royalties. Variety notes this means some songwriters and publishers will receive a big “windfall.”
Apple launched its Replay 2021 playlist on Monday, giving Apple Music users a way to easily see a ranking of their most listened-to songs.
Unlike Spotify’s ultra-popular Wrapped feature, which summarizes annual listening, Apple updates its Replay feature constantly throughout the year. Updated rankings show up every Sunday.
With the global pandemic causing many students to rely on remote learning, it’s not a great time to be in higher education. But there is one small bright spot: Cupertino just doubled the free trial period for Apple Music for students in select countries.
Instead of the standard three-month trial, students in higher education can now get six months before they must shell out a monthly fee. The extended trial, only available to new Apple Music customers, runs through April 30.
Apple turned to country music legend Dolly Parton, Squarespace and the Super Bowl to promote Shazam and a new deal on Cupertino’s streaming music service.
You can use Shazam when listening to Parton’s just-released 5 to 9 advertisement to get five free months of Apple Music. That’s two months more than the usual offer.
The recently released iOS 14.5 beta gives iPhone and iPad users the ability to change their default music player for the first time. Third-party apps like Spotify and Tidal are supported, and switching is super-simple.
We’ll show you how.
Apple Music teamed up with the iconic British artist David Hockney to create a portrait of Beethoven for the artist’s 250th birthday.
Hockney, whose painting “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” is the most expensive work of art by a living artist to ever sell at auction, created the Beethoven image using his trusty iPad.
Remember how cool it was the first time you used Apple’s Cover Flow feature to flip through artwork for albums you bought on iTunes? More than a decade after Apple introduced that feature, Apple Music is rolling out a cool update: animated album covers.
Apple added the feature in the beta versions of iOS 14.3 and macOS 11.1. As you might expect, the animated covers are not available across the board on day one. So far, they’re just starting to appear for certain artists — with beta users starting to find them and share them online.
Apple Music subscribers can now use Apple’s streaming music service on Google Nest smart speakers, thanks to an update. It means that users can access the Apple Music catalog with voice commands on their Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max and Nest Mini.
Google’s smart speakers supports various streaming audio services, such as Spotify. However, Apple Music was not among them. In order to listen to Apple Music, users previously needed to use an Amazon Echo device or Apple’s own HomePod.
It’s almost the end of 2020 (hallelujah!) which means it’s time to start looking back at all the things you’ve enjoyed this year. All the vacations, parties, social events … okay, maybe not those things. But what about the music?
If you have Apple Music, it’s easy to check out all the artists, tracks, and albums you’ve enjoyed this year with your 2020 Replay mix. You can even see how long you’ve listened to your favorite artists and played your favorite albums. We’ll show you how!
Do “certified freak, seven days a week” or “Pour up the whole damn seal, I’ma get lazy” mean anything to you?
If you’re anything like other Apple Music listeners around the world, they certainly do. That’s because they’re from Cardi B’s “WAP” and Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” two of the songs atop the newly released “Most-Read Lyrics of 2020” list on Apple’s streaming music service. And there’s more data where that came from!
Apple has confirmed the winners of its second annual Apple Music Awards. Lil Baby, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, and others have been honored for their achievements across five different categories.
A celebration kicks off on Monday, December 14, with a week of special performances, fan events, interviews, and more.
Apple now has its very own music channel, dubbed Apple Music TV, that streams music videos and more 24 hours a day. You can watch it on any Apple device (as long as you live in the U.S.) absolutely free.
Here’s how — and what you need to know.
What’s old is apparently new. With Apple Music TV, the new streaming channel that plays music videos 24 hours a day, Cupertino created a 21st-century version of MTV that looks a lot like the 1980s.
The service — which is free to everyone in the United States, not just Apple Music subscribers — launched out of the blue Monday. More than a quarter century after the original MTV’s heyday, this is going to be fascinating to watch. Can it possibly work?
Apple Music TV is now available in the United States, streaming live music videos 24 hours a day. The surprise new channel, which is free to all, promises “exclusive new music videos … live shows” and more.
Politicians in the UK are opening an investigation into the streaming music giants to find out whether the likes of Apple and Spotify pay artists fairly when it comes to streaming.