Music

The latest news and reviews of music.

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Apple reportedly strikes new licensing deal with Warner Music
Apple Music users will be able to enjoy tunes from Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars for the foreseeable future. Fresh off its recent deal with Spotify, Warner Music has signed off on an agreement with the tech giant, according to sources that spoke to Bloomberg. The deal is Apple's first with a major label since the launch of its streaming service two years ago.
Facebook offers to pay labels for music in homemade videos
You've probably seen more than one homemade Facebook video that uses a popular song to spice up an otherwise plain clip. How many graduation videos have Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" blaring in the background? That soundtrack isn't legal, however, and Facebook reportedly wants to fix this. Bloomberg sources claim that the social network is offering labels and publishers "hundreds of millions of dollars" to clear songs for use in video uploads. You wouldn't have to worry about a copyright takedown ruining a precious moment, in other words.
Mercedes-Benz is giving all its customers a year of Tidal HiFi
Tidal has had a rough few months, what with Kanye leaving in a huff, having to find a third CEO in two years and exclusives like Jay-Z's 4:44 being held back from new subscribers. The streaming service continues to stay relevant, though, perhaps through corporate partnerships like the one with Sprint, which can net you six months of free Tidal HiFi service (usually $20 per month). Now Mercedes-Benz has its own Tidal promotion. Beginning in 2018, if you're a member of Mercedes' Me in-car automation and entertainment service, you will get 12 months of Tidal HiFi for free, which will revert to a regular paid account after your year is up.
Apple ends its annual music festival after 10 years
Apple's London music festival (first the iTunes Festival, later the Apple Music Festival) has practically become a fixture of the entertainment scene since it got started in 2007. Like it or loathe it, though, you're going to have to say goodbye. The company informs Music Business Worldwide that it's no longer offering the annual London concert series. We've asked it to elaborate on the decision, but it appear to be a reflection of Apple's shifting priorities in the streaming music era.
Yamaha's smart pianos work with Alexa and teach you how to play
Of the many things we expected to see at IFA 2017, cutting-edge instruments weren't one of them. But Yamaha is using its time in Berlin to showcase the Clavinova all-electric smart pianos, which use an iOS device and LEDs above each key to teach you how to play. With the Smart Pianist application, which will also be available on Android next year, you can learn how to play tracks in real-time thanks to blue and red lights that will come on every time you're supposed to hit a key. (Red LEDs are placed above white keys, blue above the black ones.) Not only that, but if you can read music, there's a chord chart being displayed on the iPad in real-time for whatever song you're playing.
Alexa can brief you on the latest in music news
Alexa's Flash Briefings can help start your day by telling you about the latest headlines from various news sources and podcasts. Now, the voice assistant can also tell you what's going on about your favorite musicians. Amazon has launched "Today in Music" to provide you updates about the newest music news, releases, events and music-related Prime and Unlimited features, as well as to dole out music trivia and to hear exclusive commentary from artists. Everything will be curated by "the experts at Amazon Music," who'll also squeeze in tidbits about the playlists or stations they've just launched.
Vevo is working on a 'TRL-style' live show
Vevo's Watch Party app was a weird sell at first. Use it to watch music videos with online friends and C-list artists, and chat with them. Well, that's because we didn't know the end goal for it at the time. Now we do: A Total Request Live-style show. Variety reports that Vevo has been testing the show, dubbed "Vevo Live," over the summer and that a broadcast from last Friday with Fifth Harmony (above) netted some 3 million viewers across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. That's in addition to a live studio audience. Put it in Times Square and it all starts sounding a bit familiar, no?
Kid Koala drops the beat in 'Floor Kids' for Switch this fall
Floor Kids heads to Nintendo Switch this holiday season, featuring badass breakdancing moves, hand-drawn art, and music by Kid Koala, a member of legendary hip hop group Deltron 3030 and one of the DJs behind Baby Driver's soundtrack. The game's characters first appeared in 2007 within a series of short, animated films that were incorporated into Kid Koala's concerts. But, this year, they'll become a fully fledged video game.
Deezer now streams high-quality audio to more than just Sonos
Deezer Elite brought high-quality music streaming to Sonos speakers back in 2014, but until now, the service wasn't available on audio gear from other companies. Starting today, you can access the renamed Deezer HiFi tier from Chromecast Audio or any speaker that has Chromecast built-in. That opens up the options to devices from the likes of Sony, Samsung, Bang & Olufsen, Onkyo and Pioneer -- just to name a few.
iRig Keys I/O packs in a full audio interface for $200
IK Multimedia has years of experience making audio products and software for the mobile musician. From microphone preamps to audio mixers and MIDI interfaces (and more), the company seems dedicated to its niche. The music device manufacturer has just announced a brand new entry, the iRig Keys I/O: a compact, travel-ready MIDI controller with a built-in 24/96KHz audio interface. It comes in two compact models; you can pre-order the 25-key version for $200 and the 49-key configuration for $300 right now. The final release is set for October of this year.
Celebrities are vanishing from social media to make a statement
Platforms like Instagram and Twitter have taken the relationship between celebrities and fans to new heights. Those who follow famous people on social media feel closer to them than ever before, since these networks act as a window into the lavish personal lives of individuals they admire. Celebs can share anything from selfies and family pictures to random thoughts about topics they feel strongly about. But, as we've seen with Kanye West, Solange Knowles and Taylor Swift recently, that online presence doesn't last forever. Some vanish for unknown reasons (West), while others do it because of the current political climate (Solange) or as a marketing scheme to promote a fresh music album (Swift). And if you're Rob Kardashian, well, you just get banned for revenge porn.
Recommended Reading: Netflix's heroes return in 'The Defenders'
'The Defenders' Is Thrilling Superhero Team-Up Entertainment Mark Hughes, Forbes Netflix's last Marvel series, Iron Fist, didn't quite offer the same thrills as its previous three original series. Its fourth installment that unites all four heroes debuted today, and so far, the reviews are mostly positive. Forbes details how the streaming service returns to form with The Defenders miniseries. Even though the latest show may not be the best of the Marvel options on Netflix thus far, it's an improvement after the disappointment of Iron Fist and shows potential for future team-ups with the foursome.
Shazam brings its music-recognition skills to Samsung TVs
Samsung and Shazam have partnered up to put an end to the head-scratching torment of hearing an unidentifiable song on TV. Samsung's newest update for its 2017 smart TV platform will give viewers access to Shazam at the click of a button, allowing them to identify the title, artist and lyrics of a song playing on screen. This can happen live, or via content delivered through HDMI. Viewers can also speak "what is this song?" into the Samsung One Remote to access information, plus stream the music they identify and create playlists that can be accessed without running an external app.
Facebook's Messenger AI will sniff out Spotify tracks for you
Facebook Messenger integrated Spotify into its chat extensions back in April of this year, then added a way to create group playlists within the chat app a month later. Now, the music streaming service is showing up in M, Facebook Messenger's AI assistant. The virtual helper monitors the words in your conversation, then pops up with hopefully relevant responses like "you're welcome," "no problem," or suggestions like "send birthday greetings" or "save bookmark." Now, though, when you mention playing music in a chat, you might find a new little popup that says "Find Music" next to the Spotify logo.
Amazon's US ticket sales talks stall over customer data
Are you hoping that Amazon will sell event tickets in the US and put an end to the dominance of giants who charge endless hidden fees? You might not want to hold your breath. Reuters sources back previous claims that Amazon is in talks with American venues to sell their tickets, but add that negotiations are stalled over access to customer data. Venue owners reportedly want the info to help target their artist bookings and social networking campaigns, but Amazon has "yet to budge." Amazon has even talked to Ticketmaster as a possible partner, but that too has run aground over control of customer info.
Coldplay's Chicago concert will stream live in VR on August 17th
If you weren't already convinced that live VR concerts are hitting the mainstream, you might be now. Samsung is partnering with Live Nation (which is no stranger to the concept) to offer a Coldplay concert in VR on August 17th at 9:30PM Eastern. If you have a Gear VR headset, you can watch Chris Martin and crew take to the stage in Chicago with an extra level of immersion. There will also be a replay available "for a limited time" afterward if it clashes with your schedule.
B&O's $40k speakers look surprisingly normal
Bang & Olufsen (B&O) has announced its latest aural offering, the BeoLab 50, which is available for an eye-watering $39,170 (£22,930) per pair. It's billed as the company's first 'loudspeaker', although this is simply the term B&O use to describe any speaker that's larger than its usual fare, such as the BeoSound 1 or BeoLab 3.
Google Home plays Deezer tunes at the sound of your voice
Google Home doesn't have a huge range of on-demand music services on offer (Google's services and Spotify are your biggest choices), but you can add one to the list today. Deezer has launched Home support for its streaming music service, giving listeners in several countries a hands-free music source if they're not fans of the larger providers. The stand-out is voice control over Deezer's semi-automatic Flow playlist -- you can tell Home to "play your Flow" and get a highly personalized playlist with very little effort.
Spotify makes its long-awaited debut on Xbox One
Well, that didn't take long. Less than a week after members of the Xbox crew were seen spinning tunes from Spotify on the console, the streaming service is making its official debut. Reports last week indicated that the switch would flip before the arrival of the Xbox One X, but it looks like Microsoft wanted to make the leap before summer's end. Despite the long wait, the tie-in between Spotify and Microsoft is rather straightforward. Once you install the Spotify app on your Xbox One and input your account info, you'll be able to soundtrack gaming sessions with the music of your choice.
Neil Young prepares a giant online archive for his music
Neil Young has come a long, long way since he dismissed streaming music services. The singer-songwriter has unveiled plans for a huge online archive of his work that, naturally, will tie into his streaming music service (Xstream Music). The focus is on a timeline that highlights his music from 1963 onward, complete with playback and a "Filing Cabinet" that offers video, memorabilia and other content attached to each song. Think of it as an album box set with very, very extensive liner notes.

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