Music

Apple could terminate iTunes music downloads within two years [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Apple is preparing to completely terminate music downloads in the iTunes Store, reports Digital Music News. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet says an aggressive, two-year timetable to switch completely to streaming music is gaining traction within the company.

Hedging on its claim, the site also says other shutdown plans are being considered, including one that would see the iPhone-maker offer music downloads for another 3-4 years. Regardless, executives have agreed that keeping downloads running forever is no longer on the table.

Spotify will be launching a dozen original shows this summer and fall

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

According to Bloomberg, the popular Swedish music startup Spotify will be introducing as many as twelve new original video shows on its platform later this summer and fall as it works to diversify its offering and keep customers coming back for more.

Starring the likes of actor Tim Robbins and Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, the new shows will be available to both free and paid Spotify users in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden, with individual episodes ranging from a few minutes to fifteen minutes.

Audicy lets you import media to your iPhone without iTunes

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 7, 2016

Audicy is a great new jailbreak tweak that lets anyone running a jailbroken installation of iOS 7.0 to 9.1 import media from various sources to their stock media apps. These include the Music, Podcasts, and Videos apps that come pre-installed on your iOS device.

In this review, we'll talk about how Audicy works and show you how it'll come in handy for quick, on-the-go media importing without having to tether yourself to a computer to use iTunes.

Dedicated Connect tab is going away in iOS 10’s Apple Music overhaul

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 6, 2016

Apple is going to pull plug on the dedicated Apple Music Connect tab when iOS 10 launches this fall, if a new report from 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman is anything to go by. Citing sources familiar with the upcoming Apple Music overhaul, the publication claims that the Connect tab will be “demoted,” its functionality integrated into the For You recommendations section.

“Connect will still exist within applicable artist pages as it does today, but its demotion from the set of Apple Music tabs indicates that the feature has not lived up to Apple’s expectations from last year,” reads the article.

$4.99 Apple Music subscriptions now available to eligible students in seven countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 6, 2016

As first reported by TechCrunch, Apple's begun offering half-price Apple Music subscriptions to students who are enrolled in an eligible college or university.

Costing just $4.99 per month in the United States with the same features as the regular $9.99 per month plan for consumers, the fifty percent discount is now available to students in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The company is working with UNiDAY, a student verification technology provider, to ensure that students who sign up are actually enrolled in classes.

What to do if music, videos, and other content disappear after an iTunes update

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated October 25, 2022

It's not that uncommon for the music, videos, and other content in your iTunes folder to disappear after updating iTunes. It doesn't seem to happen to everyone, but as many internet stories will tell you, it does occur to a number of users on some occasions.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to get your iTunes music, videos, and more back when you notice it has gone missing after installing an iTunes app update.

Overhauled Apple Music to integrate lyrics, offer a new Browse section and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2016

9to5Mac's Mark Gurman has added some color to Bloomberg's report this morning which described an upcoming overhaul of Apple Music in broad strokes. According to Gurman's sources, the new-look Apple Music section within the stock Music app will be part of the overall iOS 10 refresh and include, among other things, lyrics integration.

The end-to-end overhaul includes ditching the colorful look in favor of a simpler, black and white design which emphasizes text. For example, the appearance of the albums view will no longer change based on the color of a particular album’s art.

How to convert text into a spoken iTunes track on Mac

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 3, 2019

Whenever you want to save a block of important text to your Mac, you probably copy and paste it into the Notes app or into a text editor to save it as a text document. But, did you know you could save any body of text on your Mac as a spoken iTunes track instead?

In this tutorial, you will learn how to convert any highlighted body of text into a spoken iTunes audio track.

Apple promotes Apple Music API for developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 28, 2016

Apple's Affiliate Program Newsletter has started promoting a new Apple Music API, which the Cupertino company introduced alongside iOS 9.3. With it, third-party developers can implement in their apps interesting functionality for Apple Music subscribers, including playing tracks, adding songs to a user's library and queuing up tracks for playback.

Supported apps can also see if a user is currently a member, in which country the users account is based and provide other features for members of Apple Music.

Control your music from anywhere in iOS with TinyPlayer [jailbreak]

Anthony Bouchard ∙ April 28, 2016

Music lovers, whether you're using Apple's stock music app or a third-party music app like Spotify or Pandora, you are probably used to either opening Control Center or the app you're listening from to control your music.

If so, you can benefit from a new free jailbreak tweak called TinyPlayer Lite, which makes controlling your music a little easier.

How to transfer your liked songs and playlists from Spotify to Apple Music

Ankur Thakur ∙ Updated October 30, 2022

This tutorial shows you how to move your songs and playlists from Spotify to Apple Music and vice versa. These steps to transfer music also apply to several other music streaming services mentioned below.

How to allow only age-appropriate apps and media on child’s device

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2025

Are you worried that your child may download an app, watch a movie/TV show, play a song, see a news story, or read a book that is not suitable for them? Learn how to block your kid’s access to explicit, vulgar, gambling, violent, or inappropriate apps and media on their iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.