Music

You can now create mixes from Spotify tracks in Algoriddim’s djay for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Germany-based Algoriddim - which develops the popular djay software for the iPhone [$1.99], iPad [$9.99] and Mac [$19.99] - today announced a major partnership with Swedish startup Spotify, which operates the world's leading streaming-music service.

Spotify Premium subscribers and DJ wannabes can now mix any of the more than twenty million Spotify tracks, right inside djay for the iPhone and iPad. This seamless integration extends to such advanced features as Automix Radio, Spotify Match, desktop-class audio effects and pro-grade DJ hardware integration, to name a few.

The newly introduced capabilities are available via a major update to djay for the iPhone and iPad. Based on my brief hands-on time with djay for iPad, I can safely say that Spotify integration has just become a major selling point for these kinds of apps, here's why...

Spotify announces it now has 10 million paying subscribers, 40 million active users

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Spotify has announced that it's surpassed two new major milestones in recent weeks. The streaming service says that it now has more than 10 million paying subscribers and over 40 million active users, in 56 markets around the globe.

For context, Pandora said last month that its active user count for March was 75.3 million. It didn't say how many of those were paid accounts, but looking at its numbers from last year (2.5 million) Spotify may be close to passing it...

And now, a brief musical interlude

Sébastien Page ∙ May 21, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3h00M9dcj4

Facebook launches new audio recognition feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 21, 2014

The social networking behemoth, Facebook, has launched a brand new feature today which can identify TV shows, movies and music playing in the background.

Resembling content-matching services like Shazam and Sound Hound, this new capability is a staggered release via an updated App Store app on iPhone and a Google Play app on Android, according to multiple reports and Facebook itself.

Read on for the full reveal...

Steve Jobs biographer: Apple’s supposed Beats buy about video, not headphones and music

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2016

By now, everyone has already chimed in with their two cents on what Apple's rumored Beats buy might mean for Apple's reputation in music - even our own Cody Lee has summarized the more popular theories floating around out there.

It's commonly accepted that Beats Electronic, LCC. co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will be taking on senior roles at Apple after Beats buyout, with their grand introductions as Apple executives apparently set to take place at WWDC.

Bloomberg thinks Apple will keep Beats as a separate brand and improve its headphones design and another source speculated that the deal could lead to high-resolution music on iTunes.

But according to Steve Jobs's biographer Walter Isaacson, none of this is true as the deal is actually about video, not about headphones or streaming music...

Twitter to try the music thing again, this time by buying SoundCloud?

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 19, 2014

Twitter last month discontinued its poorly received Twitter #music app, but that doesn't mean the micro-blogging giant has given up on music.

According to a report Monday by Re/code, Twitter is considering a deal to buy Berlin-based SoundCloud, the increasingly popular service enthusiasts use to upload, record, promote and share their originally-created sounds.

With a rather cool iOS app available in the App Store and installed user base of over 250 million people (as of October 2013) who turn to SoundCloud to listen to music and audio for free, the service/app has a lot to offer but can it possibly make Twitter relevant in the music space?

Read on for the full reveal...

Rumor: Apple will tap Beats to introduce high-res iTunes music, improve In-Ear Headphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 13, 2014

Apple's purported acquisition of Beats Electronics, LCC has set the tongues wagging as pundits race to offer their armchair analysis of the grand strategy behind Apple's alleged $3.2 billion deal.

The latest in the Apple-Beats saga comes via the rather reliable Japanese blog Macotakara which earlier this morning asserted that Apple will use Beats to introduce support for high-resolution audio files in iTunes and the iOS Music app and also improve sound quality of its pricey pricey $79 In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic...

Bloomberg: Apple to keep Beats as a separate brand, improve headphones design

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2014

A report last Thursday by The Financial Times on Apple's alleged $3.2 billion purchase of Beats Electronics, LCC. - potentially Apple's most pricey acquisition to date - has taken the technology industry by surprise.

And as pundits continue to assess the rationale behind Apple's purported move, Bloomberg on Monday ran a revealing story explaining that the two firms share more commonalities than meets the eye, despite a world of difference in terms of corporate culture.

Moreover, Apple apparently intends to keep Beats hardware around while improving upon the design of the startup's pricey headphones...

Native iPad interface found in Google Play Music for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2014

Google's official Play Music app for iOS, in case you didn't know, is an iPhone and iPod touch only affair as the software does not support iPads natively. That could change soon because hidden inside the code of the iPhone app, a free download in the App Store, is a native iPad interface. This indicates Google may be putting finishing touches on the universal binary which will take advantage of the iPad's bigger canvas...

How to sync an iPhone with multiple iTunes libraries

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated May 12, 2017

Apple does not allow an iPhone to be synced with multiple iTunes libraries, presumably because users would simply share songs with each other and lower already declining music sales on the iTunes Store. When you sync an iPhone with another Mac or PC, a warning pops up on iTunes that an iPhone can only be synced with one library at a time.

If you proceed to sync your iPhone with the secondary computer, the contents of that iTunes library will automatically replace whatever media you had on your device in the first place. On a side note, that doesn't include things like contacts, calendars or settings. Those are safe, but any songs or videos are not. Fortunately, there is a solution for how to use an iPhone with more than one iTunes library. The method is explained in detail ahead…

WSJ: Apple playing ‘catch up’ with Beats acquisition

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

The disruptor has become the disrupted. Apple, the company that turned the music industry upside down with the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003, saw digital download sales drop for the first time ever last year. Why? Streaming music services.

The folks out in Cupertino failed to see the rise of the Rdios and the Spotifys, and thus have been forced to play catch-up. And according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, that's exactly what this rumored Apple-Beats acquisition is all about...

Dr. Dre seemingly confirms Apple’s Beats deal

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 9, 2014

The Financial Times newspaper yesterday reported that Apple is in the final stages of negotiating a $3.2 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, a startup behind the recently unveiled Beats Music streaming service and the maker of premium headphones and assorted audio accessories.

Dr. Dre, who co-founded Beats, has now seemingly jumped the gun on announcing the deal in a video published on Facebook, which has now been deleted because Apple - as I'm sure you know by now - is not fond of leaks...