One of the neatest features in Apple Music is the For You tab. Specifically, the New Music Mix and My Favorites Mix playlists, which update every week with a whole new set of songs. But what if you dig one of these playlists so much that you want to save it? You can’t. Or at least you can’t unless you use an app like Music Launcher, which has a great kinda-hidden feature that saves Apple’s transient playlists in a permanent form.
Zane Lowe: ‘We had just three months to build Beats 1’
This month marks the second year of Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio station. To mark the occasion, Apple DJs Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and Julie Adenuga have given an interview with High Snobiety, in which they look back at the successes and challenges faced by Apple Music over the past couple of years.
Apple Music won’t have to wait long for Jay-Z’s new album
Jay-Z snubbed rival music streaming services when he dropped his new album last week, making 4:44 exclusively available to Tidal subscribers. But that exclusivity won’t last long.
According to one report, 4:44 could hit Apple Music as early as this week.
Jay Z takes shots at Jimmy Iovine and Apple Music on latest album
The new album from Jay Z is nearly impossible to stream through legal methods this week, but if you are one of the lucky few that gets to listen to it, you’ll hear the Jigga Man taking shots at one of his biggest rivals: Apple Music.
On one of the tracks for his album 4:44, Jay Z — owner of the struggling music streaming service Tidal — calls out Apple Music boss Jimmy Iovine and talks about his beef with Apple saying he wants more than what Apple offers artists.
Why doesn’t Jay Z want anyone to hear his new album?
Jay Z’s new album 4:44 has landed, but good luck trying to hear it.
Not only has the rap superstar blocked it from the likes of Apple Music and Spotify, but he’s even restricting its availability on Tidal, his own music streaming service. You can’t listen if you weren’t signed up before the album launched.
Apple shares inspiring ‘Portrait of Canada’ in latest iPhone ad
Apple published a new video to celebrate Canada’s inclusive spirit today as the company’s latest ad for its ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign.
The inspiring commercial was created by three Canadian artists with the help of iPhone owners across the country. Like many of Apple’s other ‘Shot on iPhone’ ads the new ‘Portrait of Canada’ spot features a montage of short videos and photographs captured by iPhone.
The evolution of iOS: From iPhone OS to iOS 11
The operating system that powers the iPhone has undergone radical changes since Apple launched the device 10 years ago.
As part of Cult of Mac’s collaboration with Wired UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, we took a look at the evolution of iOS, from a simple touchscreen operating system lacking key features into a true computing behemoth with more tools than any one user could possibly need.
Apple Music’s new playlist feature will make you super-chill
Apple Music and chill, anyone? Apple has started rolling out a new Apple Music feature called “My Chill Mix,” designed to select music from the songs and genres you dig and present them to you in a calming playlist.
Tesla wants to create an Apple Music rival for its cars
Tesla is considering launching its own streaming music service, and it’s already in talks with players in the music industry about doing so.
According to a new report, Tesla has held conversations with all the major music labels about launching its service — which would come bundled with its cars, as opposed to being a standalone service like Apple Music.
Apple wants records labels to take smaller cut of streaming revenues
Negotiations for new Apple Music deals are currently underway with record labels and this time around Apple wants to come away with a much bigger cut of the revenue after overpaying for the last two years.
The company is likely to get its wish too, according to a new report that reveals the labels are supposedly open to the possibility of taking a smaller share as long as Apple Music is able to continue growing.
Spotify plans to put ‘sponsored songs’ in your playlists
In its quest to turn a profit, Spotify is searching for new revenue streams and it may have just found a winner: sponsored songs.
The streaming service began testing its new Sponsored Songs feature, which lets record labels promote tracks by automatically adding them to listeners’ playlists, this week. The feature is supposed to only affect users of Spotify’s free tier, but some paying subscribers report that it’s happening to them too.
Apple Music gets new $99 annual subscription tier
Apple is finally ready to give music fans a killer deal on the Apple Music streaming service with an all-new option that lets you pay for a full year’s subscription at a discounted rate.
Apple Music will miss out on Jay Z’s upcoming 4:44 album
Jay Z will release his new 4:44 album at the end of this month, but if Apple Music is the only streaming service you subscribe to, you’re going to miss out.
Apple hires Sony execs who helped bring Breaking Bad to the screen
As part of its renewed focus on original programming, Apple has hired two Sony Pictures Television presidents, Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, for positions overseeing worldwide video-related work for the company.
“Jamie and Zack are two of the most talented TV executives in the world and have been instrumental in making this the golden age of television,” said Eddy Cue, who the two new recruits will report to. “We have exciting plans in store for customers and can’t wait for them to bring their expertise to Apple — there is much more to come.”
Spotify’s free tier still dominates Apple Music
Access to free music continues to make Spotify a much more popular platform than Apple Music. The company now boasts more than 140 million active users worldwide, with its free, ad-support tier growing more than 50 percent year-over-year.
Apple teases upcoming hip-hop documentary Can’t Stop Won’t Stop
Apple has dropped the second trailer for its latest hip-hop documentary, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story.
The documentary chronicles Sean P. Combs (a.k.a. P Diddy’s) rise to become one of the most notable record producers of the 1990s, as well as detailing the challenges he faced staging last year’s 20th anniversary Bad Boy reunion show. It will debut on Apple Music on June 25.
Apple yanks controversial Planet of the Apps ad from Twitter
The debut of Apple’s first original TV series, Planet of the Apps is getting off to a rocky start. Early reviews have been profoundly negative and the show’s ad campaign certainly isn’t winning over any new fans.
Apple’s Twitter account for Planet of the Apps sent out a new ad today that caused an uproar among fans who slammed it for being anti-family and promoting workaholism. The ad features one of the show’s app developers bragging about how he rarely sees his kids. It was quickly pulled but not before someone snapped a screenshot.
Take a look at the tone-deaf ad:
Apple Music loses top exec to Uber
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
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
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
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.
Apple’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’ finally gets a release date
Apple Music subscribers will finally be able to watch the company’s first TV show, ‘Carpool Karaoke’ later this summer, according to a tweet from Apple media boss Eddy Cue.
Tidal loses third CEO in two years
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.
App Store switches to local currencies in 9 new countries
Apple has begun transition App Store currencies from the U.S. dollar and euro to local alternatives in nine new countries. The change brings small savings for customers in certain markets.
You now have to pay for Apple Music trials in some countries
Apple has begun charging a fee for its Apple Music trials in some countries.
New users could previously enjoy the service for three months before having to hand over any cash, but those in Australia, Spain and Switzerland must now pay 99 cents.