Spotify

Apple Music Radio expanded its reach beyond its own app for the first time, partnering with digital radio platform TuneIn to distribute six curated radio stations to 75 million monthly active listeners starting Wednesday, according to a new report.

Apple significantly expanded availability of its Apple Music migration tool, bringing the service to the United States and eight other major markets this week after months of limited testing. It helps users transfer their music libraries from competing streaming services like Spotify.

A new tool from Apple will make it easier to import your playlists and library from Spotify to Apple Music. As part of a limited rollout, the company currently offers this feature in Australia and New Zealand.

Apple joined forces with SongShift, a popular playlist transfer tool, to bring this feature to life.

Spotify submitted a major app update to the App Store with several significant changes Thursday. The company moved quickly to capitalize on a judge’s Wednesday ruling that requires Apple to allow external payment links in apps effective immediately.

Update: Apple quickly approved Spotify’s update. The company formally changed its App Store rules Thursday to bring them into “compliance with a United States court decision regarding buttons, external links, and other calls to action in apps.”

Apple plans to challenge the ruling, which forces major changes on the company’s handling of the App Store.

During a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company strongly disagrees with the judge’s ruling. “We’ve complied with the court’s order, and we’re going to appeal,” he said.

A new battle brews in the tech world as major app developers band together to challenge Apple and Google’s control over the mobile ecosystem, according to a new report. Meta, Match and Spotify join forces against Apple and Google, forming a lobbying coalition aimed at influencing policy around age verification requirements and addressing long-standing grievances about app store practices.

Apple Music vs. Spotify: While Apple Music still lags behind Spotify when it comes to paying subscribers, in my opinion, Apple Music is the better service. It offers more advanced features like live lyrics, karaoke, lossless and spatial audio.

And for music aficionados, you can upload your own ripped recordings and MP3s. You have full control over your music library. Plus the Apple Music Classical app gives you a first-class experience learning and discovering classical music.

Here are the nine things keeping me on Apple Music — and why you should switch away from Spotify. You can also watch the video right here.

Spotify users can no longer control the volume of Spotify Connect devices using their iPhone’s volume button. Instead, they must use the workaround: an in-app volume slider.

The company is making this change because Apple discontinued the technology behind this feature.

In a significant shift in the podcasting landscape, YouTube has emerged as the leading platform for podcast consumption in the United States, surpassing long-time market leader Apple Podcasts and streaming giant Spotify, which is now in second place, according to recent studies. Meanwhile, former leader Apple Podcast loses market share, falling to third place. And that marks a turning point in how Americans access and consume podcast content.

You can find new music on the Apple Music Discovery Station, which gives you a tailored playlist to suggest new artists and jams you’ve never heard before but should like based on your personal musical tastes.

Personalized recommendations have long been a reason people cite for sticking with Spotify over Apple Music. But you can add the Discovery Station to my list of eight reasons you should make the switch. Apple Music offers personalized music picks, too, and the system works great.

I’ll show you where to find Apple Music’s Discovery Station and how to make the most of it.

Spotify and Epic Games have criticized Apple for its latest App Store fee and external linking changes in the EU. They claim Apple has again disregarded the “fundamental requirements” of the Digital Markets Act.

On August 8, 2024, Apple announced new EU App Store policies to comply with the Digital Markets Act. This follows the European Commission’s June ruling that Apple violated the act’s steering rules.

Following a price hike in the US earlier this month, Spotify has unveiled a cheaper streaming music plan for its users. The new “Basic” streaming tier costs $10.99/month, $1 cheaper than the Premium plan.

Spotify charged the same price for its Premium plan before increasing it in early June. That was the company’s second price hike in less than a year.

The streaming music service Spotify just increased its prices for new U.S. subscribers. The costs of most subscription options are now above those of its arch rival, Apple Music.

The new prices go into effect for current subscribers in July.

The European Commission fined Apple more than 1.8 billion euros Monday for “abusing its dominant position on the market for the distribution of music streaming apps.”

The ruling follows complaints by music streaming service Spotify. In a lengthy response to the fine, Apple said Spotify pays absolutely nothing for the array of services Cupertino provides. Apple also said it will appeal the EC’s decision.

Independent record labels say Apple’s recent promise to pay 10% more for Dolby Atmos tracks in Spatial Audio will take money away from them and give it to major labels and their stars, according to a new report Friday.

“It’s literally going to take the money out of independent labels and their artists, to benefit the biggest companies in the marketplace,” said a senior executive at one of the bigger independent record companies.

Even if you only hear a snippet of a tune on TikTok, now you can add the whole song directly to Apple Music or another music-streaming service.

TikTok’s new Add to Music App launched Tuesday in the United States and the United Kingdom. It works with Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and other music streamers.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Not all iPhone rumors prove exciting. In fact, a big one this week — possible iPhone 15 price hikes — sounds downright depressing. But it’s not all bad news. The “normie” iPhone 15 might get some trickle-down camera tech that could make it easier not to go Pro this year.

Also on The CultCast:

• Think of all the interesting ways you could use an Action button like on Apple Watch Ultra’s on an iPhone. Well, the iPhone 15 Pro might get in on that action.
• Apple’s Vision Pro loaners for developers come with some absolutely ridiculous restrictions.
• We’ve got an Apple Watch tip that we bet you don’t know — how to get the time with a tap on your wrist. Perfect for those long, boring meetings when you don’t want to peek at your watch.
• Hang around for the great Apple Music versus Spotify debate of 2023.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

The streaming music service Spotify just increased its prices across the board. The costs of most subscription options are now the same as the prices of its arch rival, Apple Music price increase 2024.

These increases are occurring in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and many other countries around the globe.

All Spotify subscribers who’ve been paying for the music streaming service through the App Store are being switched to a free, ad-supported plan whether they want to or not.

Those who wish can switch back to a for-pay plan, but can not pay for it through Apple’s app payment system.

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Spotify is offering a three-month free trial to new subscribers for a limited time. The music streaming service typically has a one-month trial period.

If you are a former Spotify Premium user, you can resubscribe by paying just $9.99 for three months.

Apple on Wednesday confirmed a significant change to its App Store policy that finally allows “reader” apps like Netflix and Spotify to link to their own websites for things like creating and managing accounts.

Until now, including an external link for this kind of purpose was prohibited, and would have resulted in App Store expulsion. That meant a poor user experience for a whole bunch of popular services on iPhone and iPad.

That’s finally changing, but of course, Apple plans to make it as complicated as possible for developers to enjoy it.

Cue the lights, strike up the music and let the garden party begin. Ikea’s got a new outdoor lantern coming. What’s interesting is that it doubles as the first Bluetooth speaker on the market with Spotify Tap built in.

The one-touch Spotify functionality isn’t the only music streaming service you can use with the lamp, called the Ikea Vappeby. But it’s handy.

Google on Thursday confirmed that it will give “a small number of participating developers” the ability to implement third-party payment methods in their Android apps as part of a pilot program called User Choice Billing.

Spotify, first to take advantage of the change, will offer Google Play’s billing system as well as its own. The move puts even more pressure on Apple, which has been fighting hard to block third-party payment systems on iOS.

Spoiler alert: For the seventh year in a row, Apple topped consumers’ lists as the most relevant brand to their everyday lives. Seems like the Cupertino tech giant can’t lose in this particular race.

You have to wonder who placed 293rd. That’s how many companies the annual survey evaluated, in 27 categories.

Apple Music has launched a huge Neil Young promotion just days after Spotify began pulling all of the singer’s content from its platform.

Listeners will today find a “We Love Neil” section under the “Browse” tab that features albums, interviews, and playlists. Cupertino has also send out tweets and push notifications that call Apple Music “The home of Neil Young.”