Music

Apple nearing deal with record labels, iRadio on track for summer release

Cody Lee ∙ April 5, 2013

From what we've been hearing, Apple's been having major problems with its so-called iRadio project. The music service was expected to launch earlier this year, but a recent report claimed things were delayed due to a dispute with record labels over royalty terms.

It appears, however, that there's finally light at the end of the tunnel. According to a new scoop from CNET, Apple is very close to signing a deal with both Warner Music and Universal Music Group, and it's planning to rollout the Pandora-like service this summer...

Spotify is now compatible with Ford’s SYNC AppLink vehicles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

We love Spotify here at iDB as much as the next guy. Personally speaking, I rarely buy music files these days from iTunes and instead choose to pay ten bucks a month to stream my music. And with approximately twenty million songs available for streaming, Spotify pretty much has me covered.

With today's update, the popular Swedish music startup has become more useful, especially should you happen to listen to music while driving (who doesn't?) and own a Ford vehicle supporting the company's SYNC AppLink solution. Just like BMW's ConnectedDrive Apps platform, the AppLink platform from Ford allows iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices to run approved applications using the car's steering wheel buttons, radio or voice commands...

Court rules you can’t resell your iTunes songs

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

While it's legal in the US to purchase a physical CD or DVD and then resell it to someone else, that's not the case with digital media. The unauthorized transfer of digital music is considered to be illegal under the Copyright Act of 1976.

And that sentiment was reaffirmed this weekend by US District Court Judge Richard Sullivan, as he ruled in favor of Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records in its lawsuit against digital music reseller ReDigi for copyright violation...

How to re-enable background audio playback for Safari videos in iOS 6

Cody Lee ∙ March 30, 2013

Remember the good old days, in iOS 5, when you could listen to a video's audio in the background on your device while multitasking? All you had to do was double tap the Home button, swipe to the left to reveal the iPod controls, and press Play.

But for some reason, Apple disabled this feature in iOS 6, leaving us without a native way to do things like listen to YouTube videos in Safari while texting or browsing Twitter. But the good news is, we've come across a fairly easy way to get it back...

Apple reportedly pushing hard for summer iRadio release

Cody Lee ∙ March 29, 2013

There's been a lot of speculation over the last several months regarding Apple's streaming music service. Rumors of the company working on a Pandora-like service have been bouncing around for years, but late-2012 reports have rekindled the story.

It was initially believed that Apple's iRadio project would launch sometime in early 2013, but that plan was reportedly derailed by conflicts with record labels over pricing. There's a new report out today, though, that says the new goal is this summer...

Music HUD offers current track album art and more at a glance

Cody Lee ∙ March 27, 2013

Those looking to spice up the volume HUD that pops up when you turn your iOS device's sound up or down might be interested in a recently released jailbreak tweak called Music HUD.

The tweak, which landed in Cydia last week, has the ability to display useful information for the iPod app's currently playing track in the HUD box like album art, artist name and more...

Spotify could rival Netflix with own video service and original content

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 25, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwd3aCXYncM

Spotify, which recently updated its iOS client with a brand new biography feature in the artists view, is reportedly considering getting into video with a rumored streaming product meant to take on the likes of Netflix and HBO. Conveniently enough, the Swedish startup has kicked off its first-ever advertising blitz around music as it steps up efforts to sign up more people to its service.

Spotify battles Pandora and Rdio (and quite possibly Apple and Google soon) and has emerged as the most popular streaming music service out there. It offers two basic tiers that bring the best of both worlds, an ad-supported free desktop streaming and a $9.99 a month premium tier for unlimited ad-free music.

Though the firm does have lots of experience negotiating media deals and moving chunks of data through Intertubes, a full-blown video streaming service would be an entirely different pair of shoes, one marking a radical shift in strategy for the young company...

Apple blames high Aussie iTunes prices on content owners stuck in the old ways

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Why does digital content in Australia cost more than elsewhere? It's not our fault, one Apple executive told a government panel investigating the pricing disparity.

The company (rightfully) blamed "old-fashioned notions" held by content owners for markups as high as 61 percent on music and other digital media sold in the region.

Apple's Australian Vice President Tony King told the panel the company would prefer to offer music, movies, TV shows, along with hardware at lower prices, hinting that movie studios, record labels and other content owners are forcing the company's hand...

LSBackView: view the back of album art on the Lock screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 21, 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZPIWE5wljY

LSBackView is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that allows you to view the "back" of album art for music playing via the stock Music app. This rear view of the album art allows you to switch tracks within the same album when playing music using the Music app, but this feature is not available on the Lock screen. Of course, there are Lock screen controls, but those controls are linear, only allowing to you skip each track one by one. LSBackView, on the other hand, allows you to play the exact track you want to hear from an album.

The tweak can be activated using a simple double tap gesture on the album art found on the Lock screen. Another swipe brings you back to the main album art display. Although there's no solid ETA for LSBackView's release, I'd imagine that it will be soon, and it will be a free download. What are your thoughts?

GarageBand for iOS updated with support for inter-app communication via Audiobus

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

This is pretty interesting. Apple has updated its GarageBand for iOS app today with support for Audiobus—a third party app that allows you to connect multiple audio applications together to create an entire digital studio.

You can use Audiobus to play music from a synthesizer app, and record it live into a looper or multi-track recording app, all from your iPhone or iPad. And now, with today's update, GarageBand can get in on the fun...

Saurik’s new jailbreak tweak lets you queue up music in the stock Music app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 15, 2013

It's fairly rare when the mastermind behind Cydia decides to create his own jailbreak tweak, but when he does, the masses take note. That's exactly what happened when Cyueue was dropped in Cydia recently. Cyueue is a new jailbreak tweak from Saurik, which adds a new queueing option in the stock Music app.

If you're throwing a house party, then Cyueue is the perfect answer for you. It allows you to keep the current song playing, while still queueing up the records you'd like to hear next. Take a look inside to see how it works.

‘PodSwitcher’ available on Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWba_D_seEI

PodSwitcher is a jailbreak tweak available on Cydia's BigBoss repo for $1.49. The purpose of the tweak is to allow you to interface with the stock Music app via the iPhone's app switcher. PodSwitcher adds advanced controls that you won't find with the stock Music controls found in the app switcher. Along with the advanced controls, you can peruse your entire music library using various built-in animations like Cover Flow, Linear, Rotary, and more. If you've given PodSwitcher a try, share your experience with the tweak in our comments.