Apple Music - page 6

Apple pays out $163 million in ‘unmatched’ royalties for Apple Music

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Apple Music TV
These royalties are for historical payments to artists whose information was harder to find.
Photo: Apple

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 Music Replay 2021 is your own personal hit parade

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Replay
Replay is the easy way to check out your most listened-to tracks.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Apple

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.

Apple doubles Apple Music free trial for students in higher education

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Apple Music student deal
Apple Music
Photo: Apple

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.

Use Shazam on Dolly Parton’s 5 to 9 ad to get 5 free months of Apple Music

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Listen to Dolly Parton in ‘5 to 9’ for 5 free months of Apple Music.
A new version of Dolly Parton’s 5 to 9 gets you an extra-long Apple Music trial.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

David Hockney paints Beethoven on iPad to celebrate composer’s birthday

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David Hockney's iPad image
David Hockney has been creating art on iPad for years.
Photo: Apple

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.

Animated album covers bring a splash of cool to Apple Music

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iPhone user on Apple Music
This is a nice touch for Apple Music users.
Photo: Daniel Cañibano/Unsplash CC

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.

You can now listen to Apple Music on Google Nest speakers

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Google Nest smart speakers
A new place for you to listen to Apple Music.
Photo: Google

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.

How to get your Replay 2020 mix and stats on Apple Music

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How to get Apple Music 2020 Replay mix
Find out which artists you've enjoyed most in 2020.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

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!

New playlists reveal what Apple Music subscribers were listening to in 2020

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2020 in Apple Music
How your tastes compare?
Photo: Apple Music

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!

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.

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.