Apple has begun testing iTunes Match with a limited portion of the Apple developer community. The service, which scans your library and provides 256 Kpbs copies of the tracks it finds for download on up to 10 devices, also includes music streaming, according to early reports. Read more »
Bolstered by the success of its partnerships with services such as Pandora, Rhapsody, Rdio and Spotify,consumer electronics maker Sonos now wants to launch an API that would allow any music service to integrate with the Sonos platform. To me that seems like a great idea. Read more »
One thing that iTunes has over Spotify’s online music service is its wireless connectivity to the Apple TV. But it is actually possible to get the same kind of connectivity with Spotify, and use it from any room in your house. Here’s how. Read more »
The second quarter of 2011 was a fast-paced one for the connected consumer segment, with every sector of the digital media landscape — music, e-books, online video and gaming — experiencing significant events and changes. Media consumption, purchase and management continued its shift towards the cloud, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Spotify, one of the most popular music streaming services in Europe and other regions, today launched in the U.S., as expected. But mobile users will have to pay for the Premium plan, a $9.99 monthly subscription. What features do you get and is it worth it? Read more »
HP hasn’t introduced the rumored music store and streaming service for its line of webOS devices, but it does have an application that currently syncs music to the HP TouchPad tablet and Veer smartphone. HP Play, for Windows and OS X, shows promise and works well. Read more »
Amazon’s online music storage and streaming service sounds great on Android devices or a desktop browser. Apple devices have been left in the cold until now however: here’s a first look at Amazon’s Cloud Player for the iPad’s browser, which despite a few shortcomings, shows promise. Read more »
Last week Om broke a big story on Facebook’s plans for music. But is music Facebook’s next billion-dollar business? It will be hard for the company to cash in big on music. Here are three reasons why. Read more »
Pandora finally went public last week, and with its focus on radio, the company has a better chance for mass adoption than most other digital music services. While it may be losing money now, here are a few steps it could take to raise revenues. Read more »
While you’re outdoors this summer, you may want to share your music with those around you. There are lots of portable boom boxes, but here are a few unusual ways to turn your iPod or iPod touch into a music machine to share with friends. Read more »
Even under the best of circumstances– standing desks, ergonomic keyboards, customized chairs– typing can be a major pain. Voice recognition technology startup SoundHound hopes to eventually be a part of the solution by allowing people to simply talk to our computers rather than type. Read more »
Google announced its new cloud music service Wednesday, and Amazon revealed its own Cloud Player in late March. At this point, Apple is really the last major player to make its move. But judging by the offerings so far, that might work to Apple’s advantage. Read more »
Rdio, the social music subscription service built by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, is one of the later entrants to the digital music space. But it’s working hard to catch up by tapping developers to make its service widely available. Read more »
Hot music startup Spotify may have won over millions of users in Europe, but it still hasn’t launched in America. That hasn’t stopped it trying to take on Apple, however, by making a surprise move to try and replace the increasingly-bloated iTunes. Read more »
In the four years since CBS bought online radio service Last.fm, the site hasn’t changed radically. Now, however, the London-based music service is looking for its second act — and product chief Matthew Hawn tells GigaOM what that might mean. Read more »
Hewlett-Packard will reportedly offer both a music service and movie store for its upcoming TouchPad tablet, due out within the next few month. The music solution will reportedly manage media smartly, by ensuring tracks most likely to be listened to will be stored locally. Read more »
Those of you out there with a vinyl collection may at some point want to preserve your collection digitally. I set out to capture the highest quality music my Mac Pro could provide. Here’s how I create 24bit 96kHz Apple Lossless files from my albums. Read more »
CNN reported last week that Apple is in talks with major labels to offer 24-bit copies of songs in place of the current 16-bit versions. Even if the music isn’t truly lossless, this would still be great news for audiophiles who use Apple’s music store. Read more »
It was home to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, but EMI is on the block again after a takeover by Citigroup. It’s the final proof that the sprawling record label is dangerously outmoded — but there’s little suggestion the industry can really learn from its mistakes. Read more »
Nearly two-thirds of web users are purchasing digital goods, subscriptions and access to premium content. The real surprise is on how few of those purchases are for e-book titles and mobile software applications given record sales of e-reader devices and the growing demand for smartphones. Read more »
New and most existing customers of Mobile Roadie’s app maker platform are deploying on Android equally with iPhone, though most are having difficulty making any thing close to the money they make from iPhone apps, said Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie. Read more »
Amid talk surrounding the epic Apple-Google app store battle, many have overlooked Apple’s main advantage going in: the direct billing relationship with consumers thanks to iTunes. But Google now sees a new entry point to your wallet which hits right at the core strengths of Apple ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Planning on buying any music anytime soon? If you are, you may want to keep an eye on the new counter Apple is running over on its web site. You can find it by visiting the special 10 Billion Song Countdown contest page the company has […] Read more »
Apple’s updated digital music strategy will reverse commitments to desktop software and ownership of music files. Here are five ways its acquisition and integration of Lala reflect a paradigm shift in the way mainstream consumers will listen to music in the coming decade. Read more »
Exits for digital music investments are far from strong these days and as such, while VCs aren’t giving up on them, they are starting much smaller. At least that was the sentiment expressed during an afternoon panel concerning venture funding at yesterday’s SF MusicTech Summit. Read more »
