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Lil Baby, Taylor Swift winners in second Apple Music Awards

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2020 Apple Music Awards Lil Baby
Lil Baby has been named Apple Music's Artist of the Year.
Photo: Apple

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.

I want my Apple Music TV: Cupertino’s latest concept is fascinatingly retro

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MTV shirt
Is Apple reanimating the corpse of MTV?
Photo: Chris Benson/Unsplash CC

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?

Idris Elba is just one of the many DJs to have a new playlist on Apple Music

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Idris Elba inked a deal with Apple TV+.
Not just an actor, Idris Elba is also a talented DJ.
Photo: Green Door Pictures

Feeling like you missed out on proper summer vibes this year due to coronavirus, and it’s now too late to dream of soaking up some beach rays? Apple Music feels your pain, and has some appropriately party playlists to take you back to the 2020 summer vacation that never was. Including one by everyone’s favorite Luther star.

New playlists added to Apple Music include DJ sets from independent dance label Defected Records. One is from recent Glitterbox Virtual Festival and includes the likes of Idris Elba (yes, he DJs as well as acts), Jellybean Benitez, and Boys Noize. The other includes sets from Ibiza in 2019, featuring Roger Sanchez, Gorgon City, Sam Divine.

Apple One subscription isn’t fazed by different Apple IDs for Apple Music and iCloud

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An Apple One bundle might be announced in September. Or October.
Apple One is the Amazon Prime-style bundle for all your services in one.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Apple One subscription bundle service promises to make your monthly Apple subs easier by rolling them into a simple, one-off payment. But what if your existing subscriptions, such as Apple Music and iCloud accounts, are tied to different Apple IDs?

Fortunately, Apple’s longest-serving employee, Chris Espinosa, says that poses no problem. “It manages that,” he wrote in response to a question on Twitter. “I just double-checked.”

Apple One is the Prime-style bundle that will lock us into Apple services

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Amazon Prime video
Can Apple follow the Amazon Prime formula?
Photo: Morning Brew/Unsplash CC

Apple One, which bundles several of the company’s vaunted services together, is a genius move. At best, it saves you money. At worst, it looks like it does.

I think it’s going to be a massive hit for Apple, and will provide a much-needed boost for struggling services like Apple News+ and Apple Arcade. However, it might cause some big headaches in Cupertino, too.

‘Apple One’ services bundle might have just been confirmed

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An Apple One bundle might be announced in September. Or October.
An Apple One bundle might become an option to save money on Apple services.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A rumor that Apple plans to offer discounts on bundles with iCloud, Apple Arcade and other services may have been confirmed Thursday. Mentions of the “Apple One” subscription bundle reportedly turned up in the code for Apple Music for Android.

EE’s new iPhone plan includes unlimited Apple Arcade, Music, TV+

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EE Full Works plan for iPhone
You can sign up for a Full Works plan today.
Photo: EE

U.K. carrier EE today introduced a new cellular plan that gives iPhone users full access to some of Apple’s best subscription services.

Full Works includes Apple Arcade, Apple Music, and Apple TV+ for the length of your contract. It also offers unlimited data, the option to upgrade your handset at anytime, and 5G connectivity.

EE says it’s the first time a carrier has struck this kind of deal with Apple.

Porsche’s electric Taycan comes with 3 years of Apple Music included

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Porsche Taycan
Apple Music comes baked in.
Photo: Porsche

Porsche’s forthcoming electric Taycan will offer three years of free Apple Music streaming. No tethered or wireless iPhone connection needed.

The system will rely on its own in-car dash. Drivers and passengers can use a touch screen and custom Porsche AI voice assistant to select albums, songs, or radio stations. Streaming data costs included.

Lady Gaga will host a new Apple Music show starting Friday

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Gaga Radio
Coming soon to an Apple Music show near you.
Photo: Lady Gaga/Apple Music

The song “Radio Ga-Ga” gave Lady Gaga her stage name, and now, years later, she has her own radio show. And it’s debuting this week on Apple Music.

Gaga Radio will premiere at 11 a.m. Pacific on Friday, and run every Friday for the whole of August. In a tweet announcing the new show, Gaga invited listeners to hear her and her Chromatica collaborators “talk about the inspirations, making the record & more!”

Spotify hits 138 million paying subscribers

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Spotify iPhone
Spotify continues to go from strength to strength.
Photo: Cezar Sampaio/Unsplash CC

Spotify’s Q2 earnings showed largely positive growth, although the streaming music giant suffered a 21% decline in ad revenue and a 48% rise in operating costs due to deals like its $100 million licensing deal for The Joe Rogan Experience.

Total monthly active users on the platform grew to 299 million, while paid subscribers increased to 138 million. Apple Music, which does not operate a free listening tier (outside of Beats 1 radio), last reported 60 million paid subscribers in June 2019 when it had passed 60 million.

Connect all your streaming audio content between platforms [Deals]

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FreeYourMusic
Easily transfer unlimited music playlists from one streaming platform to another: Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Deezer and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

In the internet age, we get our music from all kinds of places. A song might be on YouTube but not on Spotify, or maybe you can’t remember whether you bought it on Apple Music or Tidal.

Luckily, there’s a way to cut through the digital musical chaos. This app connects all your streaming services, so you can get the music you want anywhere, any time.

Snoop Dogg will battle DMX on new Beats 1 and Apple Music show

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Snoop Dogg Wiki
The SN double-O P is coming to Apple Music.
Photo: Gcardinal/Wiki CC

Music battle series Verzuz, in which two artists or producers take each other on by playing their hits, is coming to Apple Music and Beats 1.

The first session, pitting hip-hop legends Snoop Dogg against DMX, will air Wednesday, July 22 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. Considering how popular the series has been on Instagram Live, this could be a major coup for Apple.

Former Apple Music marketing boss Bozoma Saint John joins Netflix

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Bozoma Saint John
Bozoma Saint John on stage at an Apple event in 2016.
Photo: Apple

Bozoma Saint John, the former head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music, is joining Netflix as its new Chief Marketing Officer, Deadline reports.

Saint John joined Apple with the Beats acquisition in 2014. She left Apple in 2017 to join Uber as its Chief Brand Officer, before jumping to Endeavor to become its CMO.

iOS 13.5.5 beta hints at possible Apple services bundle

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Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+
Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+ could all be part of 'Apple Prime.'
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple seemingly hasn’t abandoned its possible plans for an “Apple Prime” service that combines all its subscriptions into one single package. In a report published late Wednesday, 9to5Mac discovered references in the iOS 13.5.5 beta code to a “bundle offer” and “bundle subscription” that didn’t previously exist.

The idea could be to offer a services bundle combination of Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple TV+ and, potentially, Apple Arcade, at a lower price than buying each individually. Whether it happens, of course, is another matter entirely.

Apple Music shows solidarity for black communities on Blackout Tuesday

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Blackout Tuesday 1
This message appears on Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music has joined Blackout Tuesday, a music-industry-wide initiative seeking to raise support for Black Lives Matter following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death, captured on camera by onlookers, sparked protests and riots across the United States.

Doing its part for the day, Apple Music canceled its Beats 1 radio service on June 2. The service also changed its “For You” tab. Both redirect to a “For Us, By Us” stream playing music by black artists. A regular voiceover says that it is designed to “stand in solidarity with black communities everywhere.”

Banish lockdown boredom with big savings on Fire TV devices

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Fire TV Edition Smart TVs
Now with Apple TV support!
Photo: Amazon

Amazon is helping us all say entertained during COVID-19 lockdowns with generous savings on its own Fire TV devices. You can pick up a Fire TV Stick for as little as $29.99, and Fire Edition TV sets from just $139.99.

All Fire TV devices now support Apple TV+ — as well as a host of other streaming services, including Netflix and Disney+. These are limited-time savings, so enjoy them before they disappear.

Billie Eilish’s new me & dad radio show hits Apple Music today

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Billie Eilish and her father kick off a new radio show called
Billie Eilish kicks off a new radio show with her dad on Apple Music today.
Photo: Lars Crommelinck Photography/Flickr CC

American singer and songwriter Billie Eilish is continuing her connection with Apple Music listeners with the release of a new radio show featuring she and her father, Patrick O’Connell.

Her new show, me & dad radio, will debut Friday on Apple Music at noon Pacific time with six episodes planned.

Spotify had massive 130 million paid subscribers at the end of Q1

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Spotify app now playing screen
Spotify still has a commanding lead in the streaming music wars.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Spotify has 163 million free, ad-supported users, and an impressive 130 million paid subscribers, the streaming music giant announced Wednesday in its financial earnings for Q1 2020. These premium subscribers are up 6 million from the end of the previous quarter, and 30 million year-on-year.

While Apple hasn’t released updated Apple Music subscriber figures for a while now, it last announced 60 million paying customers last summer. Although Apple Music has reportedly experienced a nice bump while people are stuck home during lockdown, that suggests that Spotify is still enjoying a comfortable lead in the streaming war.

Lil Wayne will host new radio show on Beats 1 for Apple Music

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Young Money Radio 1
And you don't have long to wait, either.
Photo: Lil Wayne/Apple Music

Hip hop luminary Lil Wayne, one of the most well-known and respected rappers of the 21st century, is headed to Apple Music!

No, Lil Wayne (or Weezy F. Baby as the kids call him) isn’t debuting an exclusive new album on Apple’s streaming music service. Instead, he’ll be playing host on Young Money Radio, a new show debuting on Beats 1 Friday, April 24 at 7pm EST/4pm PT.