iTunes Festival

iTunes Festival and Showtime Anytime channels launch on Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Two nice updates for Apple TV owners today. First, Apple has re-launched the iTunes Festival channel on the $99 media-streming box in time for the 2014 iTunes Festival, which kicks off on September 1 in London.

And second, the firm has also added the Showtime Anytime channel to the device.

Showtime is a premium cable network offering some free content to all users, in addition to live and on-demand shows and events to those who've subscribed to the network through a participating cable provider.

Additional content sources have been added to the Apple TV in select markets, as outlined after the jump.

Apple announces London iTunes Festival featuring Pharrell, Beck and others

Cody Lee ∙ July 21, 2014

Apple this morning announced its eighth annual iTunes Festival in London. The 30-day event will feature over 60 acts, and once again take place at the legendary Roundhouse throughout the month of September.

Headlining this year's Festival will be Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Beck and David Guetta, and Apple says that it will once again be streaming all of their performances to iOS devices, iTunes and the Apple TV for free...

Eddy Cue talks iTunes Festival in SXSW interview

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple's iTunes Festival kicked off last night at the Moody Theater in Austin, TX. The 5-day concert is the company's first in the United States, and is headlining South by Southwest—a set of film, tech and music festivals—this week.

As we noted this morning, Apple's SVP of Internet software and services Eddy Cue was on hand for last night's show, and reporter Jim Dalrymple was able to sit down with him. The two talked about iTunes Festival, SXSW and more...

Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller on hand for Apple’s SXSW iTunes Festival

Cody Lee ∙ March 12, 2014

Apple's SXSW iTunes Festival kicked off last night at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. The 5-day concert is the first that the company has hosted in the United States, and will feature performances by a number of high-profile musicians.

London Grammar kicked off the Festival last night, followed by the Imagine Dragons and Coldplay. And a couple of Apple execs were on hand for the show, including SVP of Internet Software Eddy Cue and SVP of marketing Philip Schiller...

Apple lets Vevo live-stream SXSW iTunes Festival

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Apple's iTunes Festival at SXSW in Austin, Texas is kicking off at 8pm Pacific / 11pm Eastern and the music video service Vevo just announced on its blog that it will live stream all of the performances through through its Apple TV channel and its free mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad.

Select performances will be available following each show, Vevo has noted. The five-day event runs from March 11 through March 15 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater.

In addition to Vevo, Apple itself will provide a free live and on-demand stream via the iTunes Store on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC devices, as well as in high-definition through the newly-refreshed iTunes Festival app, available free of charge for iOS devices and as a channel on the Apple TV media-streaming box...

Updated iTunes Festival channel added to Apple TV for SXSW

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Following the release of an updated iTunes Festival app for iOS on Thursday, Apple has rolled out a new TV channel for its Apple TV. For us, the icon is showing up in the second row of icons, right in the middle, so it's almost impossible to miss.

Clicking on the icon takes you to the Festival channel, where you can get the low-down on all of the major acts that are going to be playing at Apple's SXSW event this week. You can also view their concert dates and listen to samples of their music...

Apple updates iTunes Festival app with SXSW content and new iOS 7 design

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Apple has released version 5.0 of its iTunes Festival app this afternoon, updating the app with information pertaining to next week's Festival at SXSW and an all new iOS 7 design. The Festival takes place March 11-15 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, TX.

This will be the first time Apple has hosted one of its iTunes Festivals within the United States, and the lineup we've seen so far has been star-studded with musical acts like Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, ZEDD, Kendrick Lamar, Soundgarden and several others...

Apple to release iOS 7.1 ‘any day now’ with support for SXSW iTunes Festival app

Cody Lee ∙ March 4, 2014

The highly-anticipated iOS 7.1 update could be landing any day now, according to a new report by Daring Fireball's John Gruber. The long-time Apple speculator and dot-connector has in the past proven to have knowledgeable sources that work inside the company.

Gruber says that a 'little birdie' has informed him that the app for Apple's upcoming iTunes Festival at SXSW in Austin, which will be used for providing information and streaming live performances, will require iOS 7.1. Thus the update should ship any day now...

Kendrick Lamar to perform at iTunes Festival SXSW

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

As first noted by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, Apple has added Kendrick Lamar to its star list of performers at the upcoming iTunes Festival SXSW next month in Austin, Texas.

Support acts ScHoolboy Q, Isaiah Rashad, Band of Skulls and Capital Cities have also been added to the list of performers.

Lamar, 26, is a popular American hip-hop artist who first gained major attention in 2010, after the release of his fourth mixtape, 'Overly Dedicated'.

The Los Angeles based lyricist also delivered a flawless set during last year's iTunes Festival at London’s historic Roundhouse venue, where more than 400 artists performed in front of more than 430,000 fans, according to MTV...

Soundgarden will perform at iTunes Festival SXSW in Austin, Apple confirms

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Earlier in the month, Apple said it will be bringing the iTunes Festival to the United States, marking the show's first appearance on U.S. soil as iTunes Festival used to be a UK-only affair. But as Apple's influence grows and its brand gets more powerful, the company reckoned the time has come to bring iTunes Festival to the United States.

In addition to the previously announced acts, Apple on Wednesday added Soundgarden, the popular Seattle, Washington rock band, to its star-ladden list of performers. Soundgarden performing at the show will also mark the 20th anniversary of one of the band's best albums, Superunknown ($9.99 in the iTunes Store)...

Apple announces the very first iTunes Festival to be held in the US

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple this morning announced via a press release iTunes Festival SXSW, the very first iTunes Festival to be held in the United States. The music event will be held March 11-15, 2014 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, which is the home of Austin City Limits.

The lineup of stars includes Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, Keith Urban, ZEDD "and more to come". It gets even better as all five nights of the event will be available as a free live and on-demand stream via the iTunes Store on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC devices.

Additionally, music lovers will be able to stream the event in high-definition through the iTunes Festival app on iOS devices and the Apple TV set-top box...