Doppler 2 was released today. It's a major update to the desktop-class music player for the iPhone with several interesting improvements like wireless transfer and import support. Doppler is an alternative to Apple's Music app, with many interesting and unique features.
Some new statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) got me thinking about how streaming has utterly transformed the music business, and my own personal relationship with music. 80% of recorded music industry revenue now comes from streaming services, compared with 7% a decade ago. Streaming has reshaped the music industry, and it's also reshaped our personal relationship with music.
Services like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music and others have tremendously surged in popularity in the past decade, growing from a meager seven percent market share in 2010 to a whopping eighty percent of the music market in the United States a decade later.
Through New Year's Eve, you can get a six month subscription to Apple Music for free when using Apple's Shazam app. Apple's running a special promotion for Shazam users in the US, UK, and Canada - and they're even giving an incentive for folks with lapsed Apple Music memberships. Here's how the deal works.
Shazam is the app that identifies what music you're hearing. It's great for figuring out which tracks are playing in movies, advertising or when you're out and about and you hear a song you really love. Apple announced plans to acquire Shazam in 2017. Since then the software's been updated with new features and even went ad-free.
As reported by Macworld UK, this isn't the first time Apple's used Shazam to promote Apple Music - in fact, this promotion is similar to one that Apple offered over Black Friday. And just like then, if you've had an Apple Music subscription but you let it lapse, you can resubscribe and get three free months.
How to get six free months of Apple Music1) Download and install Shazam from the App Store.
2) Tap on Shazam to open it.
3) Tap on the Library icon in the upper left hand corner.
4) Look in Recent Shazams for "Limited Time Only: Get up to 6 months free of Apple Music."
5) Tap on the Try Now button and sign up.
6) Tap on Try It Free. Tap on Confirm.
Bear in mind that you won't see the promotion if you're already an Apple Music subscriber, so if you're currently using Apple Music and you don't see this in your Recent Shazams library or anywhere else in the app, it's because Apple already knows you subscribe to Apple Music.
There's a loophole, however: If you cancel your subscription and then fire up Shazam, you should see the promotion, and then be eligible for the three-month restart deal. It's worth a try if you'd like to save yourself almost $30.
After the promotional period, Apple Music returns to its regular price: $9.99 per month, or $14.99 per month for a family subscription.
So did you get the free deal? Is it incentive enough for you to restart Apple Music after letting lapse? Sound off in the comments and let me know what you think.
One of the best ways to discover new music is by finding out what others are listening to. And who better to turn you onto something you might like than your pals?
With Apple Music you can easily see what your friends are listening to, on both iOS and Mac, and we’ll show you how.
Using a music streaming service to discover new content is one thing, but if you want a friend's perspective things might not be that simple.
MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci has created an awesome new shortcut for iPhone and iPad comprising 800+ actions that enhances your Apple Music subscription and allows you to control AirPlay 2 media streaming and your HomePod speaker with ease.
Apple flexes its muscles as tastemaker on its own burgeoning entertainment services. The company also tries to iron out some maddening hardware inconsistencies with new Macs and iPhones. And the federal government stepped in to tech consumers' lives a few times this week with useful and not so useful legislative and regulatory action.
Earlier this week Apple recognized pop music's newest teen sensation, Billie Eilish, as Apple Music's artist of the year. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Apple is now set to pay Eilish $25 million for exclusive rights to an already-produced documentary that tracked the making of her smash hit album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?.
Apple on Tuesday officially announced its first-ever Apple Music Awards with artists Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Lil Nas X taking the top honors in 2019.
Apple's advertising slogan "There's an app for that" for the App Store was so catchy because it was true, so how about an app for all you iPod classic fans out there?
In a judgment Monday at the Northern Court of California, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup dismissed a $5 billion class action complaint over alleged sale of Apple Music data.