It looks like Tidal co-owner Jay Z doesn’t think Apple Music and Spotify are cool any more because he pulled his albums from the streaming music services. It looks like just his original content is gone while collaborations with other artists are still available.
Apple Music
Kanye West Carries Streaming Music Across Another Milestone
Kanye West has carried the streaming music industry past another milestone. His most recent album, The Life of Pablo, was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). What’s new and different is that it did so through streams only. Pablo wasn’t made available as a digital download on iTunes or other online music stores. It was instead offered as a streaming product through first Tidal, and then Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, and other services. Pitchfork reported that Pablo has been streamed a staggering 3 billion times, with 1.5 billion of those streams in the U.S. It’s the U.S. figures that earned it Platinum status, and that certification did not include the copies of Pablo sold direct by Kanye. Streaming music—including Apple Music—are clearly the near-term future of the music industry. Earning Platinum certification through streaming only is symbolic of that tidal shift. It’s also further validation for Apple’s investment in Apple Music.
Apple Hires YouTube Exec to Refine Apple Music Video Strategy
Apple beefed up its original video content team by hiring former YouTube and Spotify executive Shiva Rajaraman. He will reportedly help refine the company’s video strategy for Apple Music.
Spotify Goes after Apple Music's 'Carpool Karaoke' with 'Traffic Jams'
Spotify must think Apple Music has the right idea with this original video thing because it’s doing the same thing. Variety reported Wednesday that Spotify has purchased a show called Traffic Jams. Clearly borrowing from Apple Music’s Carpool Karaoke, Traffic Jams puts hip-hop producers and artists in a car and asks them to make a song in the back seat. We Apple fans may be inclined to dismiss this show because it’s a blatant ripoff. Ignore that instinct, though—that’s the way the TV industry works. Folks copy ideas, and sometimes they build on them. Instead, Spotify—which is beating Apple on users—is effectively validating Apple Music’s approach of using original video content to boost its steaming music business. That’s very interesting to me.
Drake Crushes Apple Music Record with 89.9 Million Streams, Beating Spotify
Drake set a new record for first-day streams with his new album, More Life, which was streamed 89.9 million times on the first day. That was not only a record-setting debut, it crushed Spotify’s first-day totals for the album of 61.3 million streams. That’s significant, because that was itself a record for the larger streaming service.
Apple Recruits UK Students With Music Ambassador Program
Apple has started an Apple Music Ambassador program this week to enlist the help of college students. In exchange for promoting Apple Music, students receive perks based on how many people they can sign up.
Don't Fear The Wi-Fi – Mac Geek Gab 645
Inexpensive quasi-mesh Wi-Fi, cloud management for your videos, changing your Finder icons and upgrading your Mac’s Wi-Fi to the latest standards are just how this show starts out! From there it’s on to answering your questions about monitoring iOS data usage, looking at PDF data – all of it! – and then your geeks dive into the Wi-Fi danger conspiracy! We promise you’ll learn at least four new things!
Mac Users Can Expect More Malware and TV Shows Are Good for Apple Music - ACM 398
With state-sponsored hackers from Russia developing malware for the Mac, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet fear Mac users can expect more malware in the future. They also discuss the negativity that greeted Planet of the Apps, and argue that TV shows are good for Apple Music. Plus, they visit listener comments on Net Neutrality.
Eddy Cue Says Video is a Big Part of Apple Music's Future
The future of streaming music is streaming media, according to Apple’s Eddy Cue, which is why the company is behind shows like Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps. The “Apple Music is more than just music” message is one he’s already expressed, and it’s a sign Apple’s competition in the streaming music market is growing beyond Spotify and Tidal to more inclusive services like Amazon Prime.
Apple Music's Reality TV Plans - TMO Daily Observations 2017-02-14
Apple is making a push into original video content for Apple Music with Planet of the Apps and other shows. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at how reality TV fits in with Apple’s plans. They also look at the state of personal privacy with smart TVs and more.
Planet of the Apps Trailer Teases Spring Premiere
Apple’s reality TV series Planet of the Apps is coming this spring and the first trailer giving us a glimpse into the show is out. It features Jessica Alba, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gary Vanderchuk, and Will.i.am teaming up with app developers who make it through an escalator pitch phase to work towards landing US$10 million in funding and a featured spot on the App Store. Planet of the Apps will stream on Apple Music without commercials, and could give us an interesting behind-the-scenes look into the app development process. Still, based on the trailer—and keep in mind I’m not the reality TV demographic—Carpool Karaoke sounds a lot more interesting.
Prince Joins Apple Music, Ends Tidal-only Streaming
The rumors about Prince’s works coming to Apple Music during the Grammys proved to be true. His albums joined Apple’s streaming music service on Sunday, finally letting us party like it’s 1999.
Apple Music Trailer for Carpool Karaoke with Will Smith, Metallica, Ariana Grande, More
Apple has pushed the first trailer for Carpool Karaoke, the spinoff series being produced for Apple Music by James Corden and CBS. It features, “James Corden, Will Smith, Billy Eichner, Metallica, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Seth MacFarlane, Chelsea Handler, Blake Shelton, Michael Strahan, John Cena, Shaquille O’Neal, and many more.” It’s super fun, and builds a song with short samples from many episodes of the first season. Carpool Karaoke has been a huge hit for James Corden and The Late Late Show, and news broke late in 2016 that it would be spun off as a standalone show for Apple Music. My guess—especially after seeing this trailer—is that it’s going to be a huge hit for Apple Music, too.
Steve Savoca Leaves Spotify for Apple Music
Steve Savoca, Spotify’s former vice president of Content, is now part of the Apple Music team. He joined Apple in January and is serving the in same role for Apple Music.
Prince Coming to Apple Music, Spotify
It looks like Prince may be streaming on Apple Music and other services soon. An industry insider says deals are in place for the iconic artist’s work to stream on more than just Tidal starting on February 12.
Apple's Services Business Hits Fortune 100 Level
Apple is a hardware company, a media company, and now it’s a serious services company, too. Company CEO Tim Cook said the company’s services business is on track to reach the size of a Fortune 100 company in 2017, and the goal is to double the division’s growth over the next four years.
Listener Comments on Consumer Reports, Apple Music Goes Pop Culture - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-16
TDO listeners have plenty to say about how Consumer Reports rates laptops, so today dive into their comments. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to respond to listener comments, plus they share their thoughts on Apple Music becoming a pop culture nexus.
Apple Music Wants to be Pop Culture Central with Music and TV Shows
Apple Music front man Jimmy Iovine all but confirmed last week’s report that Apple is on the hunt for original scripted TV shows for the subscription service. He said Apple is looking for ways to set the streaming music service apart from Spotify, and that Apple Music is going to be a big part of the pop culture experience.
Apple's TV Series Hunt, Pennies in Macs - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-12
Apple is out shopping for original TV shows for Apple Music, so John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to talk about what impact that’s going to have on the company. They also talk about the future of Apple TV, mysterious coins showing up inside some Macs.
Apple Shopping for Original TV Shows for Apple Music
We already see the Netflix and Amazon logos at the beginning of original shows on TV, and soon we’ll see Apple’s logo, too. Apple is reportedly on the hunt for premium television content on par with the quality we’re seeing from Netflix and Amazon to entice more people to subscribe to Apple Music.
Apple Music's Carpool Karaoke Will Feature Different Celebrity Host for Each Episiode
Apple Music’s spinoff version of James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke will feature 16 episodes per season, each with a different celebrity host. Announced in July and teased further in August, the news that each episode would a different host was announced by Mr. Corden and the executive producers of the show.
Apple Shares Best of 2016 Video For Content
A few weeks ago, Apple released its annual ‘Best Of’ lists to showcase the most popular content for the year. Today the company shared a quick video to show top content across all of its categories. We’ll share the video and break down each category.
Apple Music tops 20 Million Users
Apple Music just topped 20 million subscribers, only three months after hitting the 17 million mark. That’s a 15% increase, but Apple wants to see even more growth.
Students in 25 More Countries Can Now Save 50% on Apple Music
Is your college pen pal jealous of your Apple Music student discount? Well, there’s now a good chance that they, too, can get in on the money saving action. Apple this week expanded the availability of its Apple Music student pricing to 25 additional countries.
