Google Play Music enables sharing with friends via Google Plus
Google has beaten its cloud rivals to the music punch by allowing users to store all their tunes digitally…and for free.
The new Google Play Music service, which comes to Europe on 13 November, will feature a Scan and Match option that will scan your library and save it to the cloud – making them all accessible from any Google device.
While the likes of Amazon and Apple will charge you £21.99 a year (or only let you upload 250 songs for free) Google Play Music will allow up to 20,000 songs stored online, and can be played back on any internet-connected device at up to 320Kbps quality.
Play, collaborate and listen
The new Google Play Music platform will allow users in Europe to purchase and download music for the first time, and will also enable sharing to your friends via Google Plus.
These 'social recommendations' will allow you to share the song with unlimited people and they'll be able to listen to it once before being given the option to buy it, too.
And the big news for unsigned artists is they'll also be able to get their wares up on Google Play Music, as well - joining the other big names like iTunes and Amazon in being able to share their sounds.
The Google Play Music release date has been set for 13 November, when the likes of the Google Nexus 4 and Google Nexus 10 go on sale, freshly baked with Android 4.2 from the outset. There's no work on the cost per track as yet, but it's unlikely to be overly expensive given how much the average cost of each song is for the US version of the portal.
Xbox Music, Microsoft's Spotify competitor raised from the ashes of Zune, will launch alongside Windows 8 at the end of the month.
Microsoft has held a nearly year long funeral for Zune in 2012. Now after months of rumors and vague announcements confirming the death of the Zune brand in favor of the name Xbox Music, Redmond is finally ready to unleash its latest attempt to secure a share of the shifting music market. The Spotify-style, advertising supported Xbox Music streaming service will open for business, free of charge, on October 26th. Right in time for the launch of a little operating system
At least, that’s according to sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans. Xbox Music will be available on all of Microsoft’s major consumer products, including Windows Phone, Xbox 360, and the company’s would-be Apple killer, Windows 8. Like the Windows Player app of old, though, Microsoft is aiming to get Xbox Music onto as many platforms as possible, with plans for the service on iOS and Android devices as well. Any adventurous iPhone 5 users gearing up to experiment with an alternative music service hosted by a massive multinational corporation will have to wait a bit though, as the iOS and Android Xbox Music apps won’t be available until an unspecified future date.
All Microsoft media apps will be updated to account for the new service.
As expected, the service will come in a variety of packages. There will be subscriptions for users looking for unlimited, ad-free access and existing Zune Music Pass subscribers will see their accounts transferred over automatically. There will also be a free version that offers ad-supported music a la Spotify.
Official pricing for Xbox Music subscriptions is still unknown. Users that received early access to the service claimed that the unlimited subscriptions would run around $15 per month and $145 per year. Like many media apps, Xbox 360 owners will have to have a premium Xbox Live Gold subscription, an additional $60 per year, to even access Xbox Music on the console.
Microsoft made the right choice killing the Zune brand. Over its six years in the market, Zune was never able to build any cache with users in the way that iTunes or even Amazon’s music and media services have. After eleven years, the Xbox brand is particularly strong, but if Microsoft can’t rely on it to automatically draw consumers. Xbox Live branded games haven’t made the Windows app market on Nokia Lumia phones a booming business after all. Microsoft also can’t expect the Xbox 360 audience to consider access to an advertising-based music streaming service a draw to spend on Xbox Live Gold. The sooner Microsoft realizes that the old Xbox Live Gold subscription model, giving access to basic services that are free on competing machines, is dead, the sooner it can really build a cross-platform strategy around Windows 8.
Apple might be breathing down Pandora's neck before long (credit: iTunes)
Rumors have been flying in recent weeks that Apple has been planning to take on Pandora with a music streaming service of its own - but those plans may have been scrubbed temporarily by a single music publisher.
According to reports published Friday, Sony/ATV Music Publishing has been named as the major holdout in moving the service forward.
Jointly owned by Sony and Michael Jackson's estate, industry sources claim Sony/ATV asked Apple to pay a higher per-song rate than competitors like Pandora.
The company recently bought EMI Music Publishing, granting it power over 2 million music copyrights for artists ranging from One Direction to The Beatles - rights Apple needs to offer a competitive playlist and a leverage point for Sony/ATV.
Opening Pandora's box
Generally, it looks as though Apple's music service, created in partnership with music labels, aims to be a more flexible alternative to Pandora, one that allows it to take users directly to the iTunes store while letting labels promote an artist, band, or brand at any given time.
Services like Pandora have traditionally paid music publishers a statutory rate for streaming web radio, rather than having to negotiate with each individual publishing company.
Apple's rumored service apparently goes a step further than Pandora, enabling users to play a selected artist more times than Pandora-like services are allowed.
Part of its plan requires Apple to negotiate with each individual rights holder and not just with the major copyright holders - and that's where trouble came into Cupertino's planned paradise.
Turning down the volume
Music label honchos are reportedly none too keen on Pandora's business model themselves as sources claim the service doesn't provide them with much revenue and takes away from sales.
While the music industry has its issues with Apple, particularly over the legal scramble created when Apple first attempted to announce 90-second song samples in 2010, the industry also doesn't want to see Pandora become too big to topple nor have Apple create an identical service.
Apple, it seems, offers an attractive alternative to the dominate Pandora.
The new service was supposedly set to debut alongside the iPhone 5 earlier this month.
As talks continue, iOS 6's iTunes Match offers songs that are fully streamable for now - eliminating the need to download to a device first.
TechRadar has reached out to Sony/ATV for comment and will update this story if and when additional information becomes available.
Apple might be breathing down Pandora's neck before long (credit: iTunes)
Rumors have been flying in recent weeks that Apple has been planning to take on Pandora with a music streaming service of its own - but those plans may have been scrubbed temporarily by a single music publisher.
According to reports published Friday, Sony/ATV Music Publishing has been named as the major holdout in moving the service forward.
Jointly owned by Sony and Michael Jackson's estate, industry sources claim Sony/ATV asked Apple to pay a higher per-song rate than competitors like Pandora.
The company recently bought EMI Music Publishing, granting it power over two million music copyrights for artists from One Direction to The Beatles, rights Apple needs to offer a competitive playlist and a leverage point for Sony/ATV.
Opening Pandora's box
Generally, it looks as though Apple's music service, created in partnership with music labels, aims to be a more flexible alternative to Pandora, one that allows it to take users directly to the iTunes store while letting labels promote an artist, band, or brand at any given time.
Services like Pandora have traditionally paid music publishers a statutory rate for streaming web radio, rather than having to negotiate with each individual publishing company.
Apple's rumored service apparently goes a step further than Pandora, enabling users to play a selected artist more times than Pandora-like services are allowed.
Part of its plan requires Apple to negotiate with each individual rights holder and not just with the major copyright holders - and that's where trouble came into Cupertino's planned paradise.
Turning down the volume
Music label honchos are reportedly none too keen on Pandora's business model themselves as sources claim the service doesn't provide them with much revenue and takes away from sales.
While the music industry has its issues with Apple, particularly over the legal scramble created when Apple first attempted to announce 90-second song samples in 2010, the industry also doesn't want to see Pandora become too big to topple nor have Apple create an identical service.
Apple, it seems, offers an attractive alternative to the dominate Pandora.
The new service was supposedly set to debut alongside the iPhone 5 earlier this month.
Though talks continue, for now, iOS 6's iTunes Match offers songs that are fully streamable, eliminating the need to download to a device first.
TechRadar has reached out to Sony/ATV for comment and will update this story if and when additional information becomes available.
Sometimes we wish tech firms would compete using music and dance - imagine Steve Ballmer doing Gangnam Style.
But then reality comes crashing in and we find ourselves watching people sing about BlackBerry apps.
The video, starring several senior RIM execs, puts us in mind of the captain of the Titanic: "An iceberg, you say? Time for some soft rock!"
We're very grateful, then, that other tech firms are competing the old-fashioned way, by trying to make better products - and this week's line-up includes brand new entries in the form of the Nook HD and HD+ from Barnes and Noble.
The best bit is the price tag, though: at just £229 for the 16GB version, if the Nook HD+ is as good as it looks it could turn out to be a big seller.
While the HD+ is clearly gunning for the iPad and the ten-inch Kindle Fire, the £159 Nook HD is going for the jugular of Google's and Amazon's seven-inchers. Google for one doesn't seem to be scared of a fight: just hours after the Nook HD was announced, rumours of a super-cheap sixty quid Nexus began to circulate.
The Maps debacle rumbles on
While Google's fighting off rivals in the tablet space, it's also having a good old barney with Apple: in the wake of the iOS 6 maps debacle, it's emerged that all of the problems are Google's fault. Well, something like that anyway: Apple wanted Google to provide turn-by-turn navigation, Google demanded conditions Apple wouldn't meet, and so Apple gave Google Maps the boot long before its mapping contract had actually expired.
To Apple, Google was saving the best mapping features for Android, putting Apple at a disadvantage, but in the short term at least that means the iPhone's maps aren't as good as they could be - and the Maps app isn't the only problem being reported. We're hearing tales of a "purple halo" camera glitch, scratches and light leaks, and while some concerns are the usual griping you get with any new gadget release there's no doubt that Apple's getting a much rougher ride than it usually does, especially over the iPhone 5's lack of NFC.
We asked for your suggestions for the iPhone 6, and the results make interesting reading - especially if you're Samsung, whose Galaxy S3 phone just happens to have many of the features you've been suggesting.
Samsung's got its own problems
However, while Samsung's been placing attack ads targeting potential iPhone 5 customers, it hasn't had the easiest week itself: this week it emerged that multiple Samsung handsets including the Galaxy S3, S2 and S Advance were vulnerable to "killer code" that could remotely wipe their handsets. Samsung has identified a solution and made it available as a software update.
So is the iPhone 5 better than sliced bread, or is it worse than an RIM rock video? There was only one way to find out: give it to our very own Gareth Beavis and force him to write the most exhaustive review imaginable. "Is the iPhone 5 a good phone?" he asks.
"Of course it is… a smart evolution of a decent handset is always going to be a quality device. But is it enough to warrant the fervour of the claims of record sales and 'the best thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone'?" It's a good question, and the answer is "er...". It's the best iPhone ever, but it comes with flaws: an ageing OS, the problematic Maps and a hefty price tag.
It's good, then, but is it good enough to take the top spot in our chart of the best mobile phones in the world today? We'd hate to spoil the ending, so here's just a little clue: no. You'll have to read the article to find out why - and what two phones we think are even better.
There may even be a free option to challenge Spotify (credit: Engadget)
Supposed new leaks from the latest Xbox 360 dashboard update beta and the Windows 8 music app have revealed potential pricing and cloud playlist details for Microsoft's Xbox Music service.
There's been little word of it since, though, and Microsoft has remained mum on the details, as those are likely still getting ironed out.
But now it seems as if Xbox Music could cost as much as $146 (UK£89,AU$141) for a year's subscription, if the leaked pricing info turns out to be accurate.
Pricing, cloud playlists, and other details
Microsoft required Xbox 360 dashboard update beta users to legally promise not reveal anything about the service to the media, but it appears someone didn't take that agreement seriously.
Images of the Xbox Music app on Xbox 360 were sent to Engadget, and they reveal that a year's subscription could cost $146 (UK£89,AU$141), while per-month subs looks to cost around $15 (UK£8.99,AU$14). Free 14-day trials will be offered as well.
The words "Save as a Playlist" underneath an icon resembling a cloud suggest something about cloud playlists as well, a smart addition considering the Xbox Music service will span the Xbox 360, Windows PCs and tablets, and Windows Phone devices.
Meanwhile, the Windows 8 Music app corroborates those rumored prices, which also happen to resemble the pricing structure for Microsoft's Zune music service. But will those be the only options?
Backing up the pricing info (Credit: SlashGear)
Xbox Music could challenge Spotify as well
A user of the gaming forum NeoGAF spotted another tidbit that reveals that Xbox Music could also offer an ad-supported free option, as reported by Slashgear.
This model would challenge Spotify for no-charge, ad-supported music-streaming dominance, and with so many Xbox 360s already plugged into living room speakers, Microsoft may be onto something here - if this rumor pans out, that is.
Either way, Xbox Music is sure to aid in Microsoft' ongoing quest to dominate living rooms with every form of entertainment, possibly including original TV-style Xbox programming in addition to music, internet, streaming video, and more.
Oh, and don't forget that the Xbox 360 still plays video games, as well.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the leak, simply remarking that Xbox Music will be Microsoft's "definitive music service" and promising to reveal more information as soon as it's available.
Many Xbox Music features will be ported from Zune Music, and based on the Xbox dashboard update for beta testers, the same applies to the cost of the service.
No surprise here: Microsoft’s leaked Xbox Music service pricing model is no different from every subscription music service out there. Unlimited streaming music on Xbox will cost £8.99 (about $14.50) per month, or you could elect for a slightly discounted upfront cost of £89.90 ($145.15) per year.
With the intention of letting select Xbox owners try out the new Windows 8 interface, Microsoft accidentally leaked the pricing model with the dashboard update, according to The Verge. From what could be determined based on photos taken of the interface, users will be offered a 14-day free trial (Spotify offers 30 days of its premium service for free, for the record) and it also looks like Microsoft will offer a free, ad-supported version of its music service. But in order to use Xbox Music on your console at all, beta testers are reporting that you’ll be required to own a subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold.
The pricing model is similar to Microsoft’s existing Zune Music Pass service, which currently charges $9.99 per month or $100 per year, and it’s likely that the U.S. subscription cost to Xbox Music will be structured similarly. Like Spotify, it could be a possibility for the service to offer additional tiered pricing models based on the amount of access that you’d like.
Microsoft is clearly looking to compete in the music streaming market, with Xbox Music replacing the Zune brand that’s soon to be canned. Xbox Music is essentially a big rebranding effort of an existing service that Microsoft hopes will reenergize its foray into music, a sector that the company has been falling behind compared to its competitors.
From what we know so far, our expectation is that many of the Zune Music Pass features will be ported to Xbox Music. Users will be able to access Xbox Music across multiple devices, including the Xbox, desktop PCs, smartphones, and tablets that are running the Windows 8 operating system, and the service even includes Zune Music’s “Smart DJ” function, which plays a mix of similar music based on the songs in your collection. It also appears that the ability to sync your playlists with other devices will make its way from Zune Music to Xbox Music.
Although the music streaming industry is crowded enough as is with just about every major tech company — Sony, Samsung, and Google all have streaming products, and you can’t discount popular services like Pandora, Rdio, Last.fm and Spotify. And it should be noted that none of these services have yet to debut a Windows 8 specific app, making Xbox Music the de facto music streaming service for Windows device owners once its launched.
The launch date of Xbox Music has yet to be announced by Microsoft.
Has Research In Motion finally lost the plot? Or is it merely showing everyone it has a sense of humor? A new music video starring company executives thanks BlackBerry developers for sticking with its mobile platform, promising better days ahead.
Research In Motion (RIM) may be experiencing the toughest time in its 28-year history, but it hasn’t forgotten how to have bit of fun.
At its BlackBerry Jam developer conference in San Jose on Tuesday, the mobile company decided to entertain its attendees – or possibly horrify a few of them – with a slickly-produced music video featuring three RIM executives singing a developer-focused version of the classic REO Speedwagon hit, Keep on Loving You.
The video is apparently RIM’s way of expressing its appreciation for developers that have stuck with the BlackBerry platform.
“This video is a thank you to all developers supporting the BlackBerry platform. Your Developer Relations, Alliance and Developer Tools teams appreciate your enthusiasm and loyalty! We’re Going To Keep On Loving You,” reads the accompanying blurb on YouTube.
The three-and-a-half-minute production kicks off with the lyrics:
We’ve all seen these are challenging times, baby,
‘Cuz we’re in transition.
A whole new mobile computing platform may be
one tough proposition.
So don’t be misled,
The launch is just ahead,
We’ll have BlackBerry 10 both in full touch and QWERTY editions.
In a message to BlackBerry developers, vocalist Alec Saunders – RIM’s VP of developer relations and ecosystem – sings, “We’re gonna keep on loving you,” at the same time reassuring them that “our updated SDK is really cool.”
Check it out at the end of this piece and let us know: epic fail or good laugh?
Besides serenading the developers, RIM is also hoping to hold on to existing ones, or even attract new ones, by offering $10,000 per BB10 app submitted to its app store, provided it meets certain quality requirements.
The video was screened on the same day that RIM boss Thorsten Heins announced some better news for the Ontario-based company. Against expectations, BlackBerry subscriber numbers rose to 80 million for the quarter ending September, an increase of two million from earlier this year.
RIM’s future rests heavily on its next mobile operating system, BB10, which is set to launch early next year, together with a number of new handsets. Hopefully the Keep On Loving You video released on Tuesday won’t have scared off too many developers, and the phones can come to market with plenty of BB10 apps to choose from.
While the iPhone 5 was the big announcement, Apple's ever-present music store got a sizable redesign as well. Both iOS and application versions of iTunes have new looks coming soon.
While the big news to come from the Apple press conference was the highly anticipated iPhone 5, Apple also snuck in an update to its iTunes music store. After hyping up just how great the product already is, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Eddie Cue, told the crowd at the Cupertino headquarters that the “number one music store in the world” was going to get better — or at least different.
After realizing that two thirds of all iTunes purchases have come from iOS devices, Apple started with a redesign of the mobile app, according to executives. The new look is more streamlined and consistent throughout the store, from music to books and videos. The screenshots show a banner of featured content at the top of the store, followed by rows of new and popular items below it. The store is promising to yield better search results and improved performance. You’ll also be able to preview products while browsing, a handy feature for anyone that actually likes to try — or listen — before buying. The App Store also got a new layout that prominently features Facebook integration. You will be able to “like” and share your favorite apps through the Store. The iTunes iOS app will be available September 19 along with iOS 6.
While the iTunes app got a nice revamping, the desktop application also got its share of changes. The new iTunes comes with an edge-to-edge design will make the browsing and viewing experience more immersive, as options from your library and the store sprawl across the length of the screen. Clicking on an album cover will cause the album to expand in line, revealing the tracks of the selection. It’s very much a design cue from iOS. A new feature called “In the Store” will show top songs and albums from an artist, allowing you to finish off your discography of your favorite musicians.
Browsing the new iTunes library by artist will allow for some artist-to-listener sharing. For instance, when you look at Coldplay’s library, you can also see pictures that the band is sharing with their followers. It feels like a feature borrowed from the ill-conceived Ping music network.
If you’re playing music from a playlist or a full album, the music player will have a drop-down menu called “Up Next” that will show songs that are next in the queue. The pop-out mini player also got a redesign. It’s smaller, sleeker, and has the same handy drop-down feature. The mini player displays a small clip of the album art with the name of the song and artist currently playing. The same area becomes the control panel for when you want to change songs. You can also pull up the search bar, which now provides a live preview of your search term, including album covers.
Movies received an overhaul similar to the music department within iTunes, with the edge-to-edge view of all your video collections. Because iTunes has full iCloud integration, films you were watching on your iOS device can now be continued on your desktop or other computers running iTunes with the iCloud. The iTunes 11 download will be available late October.
Nokia Music is Nokia's second attempt with launching a free music streaming service, this time offering curated playlists and zero cost of entry for Lumia owners.
Nokia has been building hype around its Nokia 920 and 820 debuts tomorrow at Nokia World. To add to the flames, Nokia has announced that it will be launching a playlist-style, free music streaming service in the United States.
This won’t be its first foray into tunes: Nokia once boasted a now defunct music streaming service, Ovi Music Unlimited. The service had the support of music from EMI, Sony Music, Universal Music, and Warner Music, and with the purchase of select Nokia smartphones, owners were offered a free 12-month subscription to the service. Unfortunately for Nokia, with Spotify, Pandora and other streaming services, Ovi Music Unlimited never took off.
The new steaming music service, Nokia Music, will be made available completely free of charge for its users, and can be downloaded onto the Nokia 900 and 710 from Marketplace. It will be absent of subscriptions and registrations and users won’t find a hint of advertising on the service. Other music streaming services typically require users to pay a small fee to rid of the advertising. In addition to these perks, users can listen to music offline.
There’s even a geolocation feature that has been integrated into the service. Based on a user’s current location, the platform will discover live concerts, gigs and other shows that are happening around their position.
“The USA is the most vibrant and competitive digital music market in the world — by a wide margin. We have worked extra hard to ensure our service meets the expectations of the demanding, active and inspired music fans in the USA,” Jyrki Rosenberg, VP of Entertainment at Nokia, said in a statement.
The service has its limits however. Most notably, users will not be able to select specific artists, or songs. Instead, Nokia Music users will have to resort to listening to music from among the 150 playlists that are curated by Nokia’s expert music staffers in the United States and musicians like Lana Del Rey, Lady Gaga and Rhianna.
Nokia has a lot riding on the success of its smartphone business. The Nokia 900 phone, its first Windows Phone, wasn’t exactly the smashing success Nokia expected and needed. Now with its stock prices dropping into penny-stock territory, much of its future in the smartphone business is rides on the success of the 920 and 820. Whether incentives like Nokia Music will lure Android iPhone users to these new devices remains to be seen.
Get ad-free streaming music on you Lumia smartphone
Nokia has unveiled a new free music service for the US, aptly called Nokia Music and available now.
The core of Nokia's free service provides over 150 playlists to browse, curated by a group of US expert "musicologists." Along with the expert selection, playlists created by various artists will also be available from the likes of Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, and Rihanna.
Users hoping to put a more personal touch on their music selection can also use the Nokia Music create feature to generate a playlist based on a particular artist, drawing from millions of songs in the Nokia Music library.
Nokia makes streaming music local
Nokia is making a good case for users to try out its Spotify rival, making the service available both for free and ad-free with the ability to still access playlists offline.
Nokia Music also offers a "gig finder" feature, using location data to discover live music shows and concerts happening nearby.
"The USA is the most vibrant and competitive digital music market in the world - by a wide margin," said Nokia VP of entertainment Jyrki Rosenberg.
"We have worked extra hard to ensure our service meets the expectations of the demanding, active and inspired music fans in the USA."
The only catch is that Nokia Music is exclusive to the company's own smartphones, currently only running on the Lumia 900 and Lumia 710 handsets. However, the imminent onset of Windows Phone 8 devices next month should bring a slew of new Nokia Music capable smartphones to take advantage of the streaming service.
