Music

KORG launches ‘Gadget’ app – one synthesizer to rule them all

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

For those musicians out there that use the iPad for creating music with synthesizers, you’ll be happy to know that KORG has just put two of their most popular apps on sale for half off to celebrate the launch of their newest title.

KORG Gadget is a 15-pedal synthesizer for the iPad that covers 15 different classic instrument and genre sounds from the music company. Yes, the price tag is high, but KORG geeks will tell you it is worth every cent. They may also tell you to shut up or they will hit you over the head with their PolySix. You gotta watch out for those rabid fans…

How to remove the ‘Store’ button in the Music app on iOS 7

Joe Rossignol ∙ January 26, 2014

In an effort to generate iTunes sales on iOS devices, Apple has long placed a Store button in the top menu bar of its Music app. As you would expect, tapping on Store exits the Music app and brings you to the iTunes Store for everything from songs and albums to movies and TV shows. It's a convenient link from one app to another on iOS devices, but some users might not find use in it. If you're one of those people, a new jailbreak tweak called NoStoreButton7 is a quick fix for you…

iTunes Radio reportedly working for some UK users

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Good news for all of you folks across the pond. There have been reports coming in for the past several hours that [some] iTunes users in the UK and other countries have been able to access and listen to iTunes Radio on their iPhones.

Since its launch last fall, iTunes Radio has been limited to users in the United States. But Apple has said that it is a top priority to get the streaming music service into other countries this year, and it looks like they're preparing a roll out...

Musi lets you stream music and create playlists directly from YouTube

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Something that may not be well known to the general masses (although likely well known to iDB readers) is that you can listen to full albums for just about every popular musician if you know how to search for it on YouTube.

Musi is a streaming service that lets you listen to anything you can find on YouTube as an audio playlist. Now, you can listen to spaghetti western soundtracks all the live long day…

Beats offers to double length of free ‘Music’ trial following launch problems

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Earlier this week, Beats launched its highly anticipated streaming music service dubbed Beats Music. The service is entering into a crowded marketplace, several years late, but it hopes to differentiate itself from the Rdios and Spotifys with custom in-house curation methods.

But the launch isn't going as smoothly as the company would've liked. It's had a hard time dealing with the influx of users, and has had to shut down signups in order to work out the kinks. The good news, though, is that it's doubling the length of its free trial to make up for it...

Beats launches ‘Music’ streaming service for $10 a month, iPhone app now available

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

As promised, Beats launched its highly anticipated 'Music' service this morning, bringing the headphone-maker into the highly competitive world of streaming audio. And with a library of around 20 million songs available for on-demand play, it's certainly built to take on the competition.

But Beats is taking a different approach to its subscription service. Unlike your Rdios and your Spotifys, it doesn't offer a free ad-supported model and the company is putting a lot of focus on its custom radio stations and playlists that it says were curated by some of the best DJs in the world...

ColorFlow: colorize the stock Music app based on album artwork

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

ColorFlow is a recently released jailbreak tweak that colorizes the look of the stock Music app. The colors impact nearly every facet of the stock Music app, from the buttons, to the sliders; even the backgrounds aren't spared.

The colors are inspired and derived from the currently playing album artwork. ColorFlow is a gorgeous looking tweak that's a must try for iOS 7 jailbreakers. Have a look at our full video walkthrough after the jump.

Pluck 2 lets you pick songs to play directly from the Lock screen

Joe Rossignol ∙ January 20, 2014

I'm a big fan of listening to music, predominately while I am making the early morning commute to college on weekdays. As a Canadian citizen, however, fumbling with my iPhone to change the song while driving is illegal because of the distraction it presents to the driver. It's a good law, in my opinion, but one that can be understandably frustrating at times. And while a new jailbreak tweak called Pluck 2 isn't a full-stop solution for that problem, it is a useful extension that allows me to keep my eyes focused on the road…

Pandora adding personalized station recommendations to its mobile apps

Cody Lee ∙ January 16, 2014

With competition from services like Spotify and Apple's iTunes Radio increasing, and the Beats Music launch on the horizon, Pandora announced this week that it's rolling out a new feature to its mobile apps to help you discover music.

That feature is called 'Personalized Station Recommendations,' and it provides listeners with up to 6 suggested artist stations to listen to at a time. These suggestions are based on your listening habits and like/dislike thumb interactions...

Black Sabbath’s early albums finally selling on iTunes with limited exclusivity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

iTunes has scored another interesting win as the English rock band Black Sabbath and its publisher have finally relented and agreed to make the band's 1970s albums available on iTunes.

Although Black Sabbath's later material was available on Apple's online content store, this is the first time their 1970s work came to iTunes, including Paranoid and Masters of Reality albums.

Apple was also able to secure limited exclusivity as iTunes will get to sell the band's first eight studio albums, along with three compilations, during a short window of time before the albums hit other streaming services...

Vosis for iPad creates cool synthesizer effects from photos and live video

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2014

There's certainly no shortage of music-creation apps for aspiring musicians on the App Store, even if most of the available programs strive to perhaps dumb down the process of composing music. But every once in a while someone out there comes up with another great idea for music creation on the go.

Although ImageSonification‘s new iPad app called Vosis is not meant to compete with the likes of Apple's GarageBand and similar apps, I can easily see it used in the production and creation of live effects.

Now available in the App Store free of charge, Vosis creates cool ambient and synthesizer effects by analyzing greyscale image pixel data in your photos and live video feed. I've included a nice video after the break so do give it a look to learn what image and video “audification” is all about...

Beats Music coming January 21, here’s nitty-gritty on their ‘trusted curator’ concept

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Beats Music CEO Luke Wood told us last October to soon expect a brand new subscription music service, one not only making a difference to how we consume songs but also changing our perception of what streaming music services should be all about. Yesterday, Beats Music announced it will be definitely opening for business on January 21.

In an effort to drum up excitement ahead of the impending launch, the headphone manufacturer likened existing music service to "servers" that provide little more than access to a catalog.

But how the heck does Beats Music expect to stand out in the crowded space of streaming service? By curating music from trusted human sources like established industry magazines, that's how. They even hired professional DJs! "In our experience it’s always been a living, breathing human who has brought us that song we fell in love with," the company said.

What's in it for you? More than meets the eye. Read on...