Music

The latest news and reviews of music.

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Spotify is close to offering lossless-quality music
Tidal's lossless-quality music streaming was its original selling point over big name rivals, but it might not have that advantage for much longer. Both The Verge sources and Reddit members have discovered that Spotify is prepping its own lossless offering, Spotify Hi-Fi. Much like with Tidal, paying $20 per month would give you audio befitting your premium headphones. There's no word as to when Hi-Fi would arrive -- Spotify isn't commenting beyond acknowledging that it's "always testing new products." However, it certainly appears to be getting close.
Akai brings its iMPC music production app to Android devices
Akai's iOS-friendly iMPC app has been giving musicians and producers a much more mobile version of its MPC (Music Production Center) hardware for a while now. During MWC this week, the company is announcing a version for Android devices. There's a catch though: For now, it's only available on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. Despite that caveat, you can expect the same 1,200 samples, 80 editable sequences and 50 editable programs the iOS version offers.
Dance moves turn into music with BeatMoovz
There are plenty of gadgets out there for making music on your mobile device, but they're relatively sedentary affairs. BeatMoovz turns things arounds with a music tool that gets you up and dancing: instead of moving with the music, you dance and create a soundtrack using your steps, spins and sashays.
Play a piano duet with Google's AI partner
When Google tries to educate public about its AI research, it often releases tools that playfully explain the grittier, technical corners of artificial intelligence. Like, say, neural network software that looks at objects through your device's camera and spits rhymes about everyday objects. But they also launch fun tools, like AI Duet, an interactive web-based app that accompanies your piano plinking.
Chance the Rapper wins the first Grammy for a streaming-only album
This year is the first time streaming-only albums were eligible to win at the Grammys and Chance the Rapper took full advantage. The hip hop artist won for Best Rap Album Sunday night, notching the first win for a collection of songs that weren't released as a physical album or sold digitally. Back in May, Coloring Book was the first streaming-only album to hit the Billboard 200 chart. Chance also took home Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for the song "No Problem."
After Math: Baby come back
This was a week of many happy returns. Stanford students brought back 5,000 year old Chinese beer, Prince's catalog has reappeared on streaming services not owned by Jay Z and a pair of classic Hot Wheels cars are coming out of retirement to make their Rocket League debut. Numbers, because how else will we know how long you've been gone?
Prince's music returns to Spotify and other services this weekend (updated)
Prince removed his music from every streaming service except Tidal in July 2015, but the artist's catalog returns this Sunday. Spotify and HeartRadio have confirmed the return of works like 1999, Purple Rain and Diamonds and Pearls. You can see all the albums that Spotify will offer right here. Engadget has learned that Amazon Music will also offer the tunes and BBC reports Prince's music will be available on Apple Music and Napster as well. However, there's still no word from Google or SoundCloud as to whether their services will offer the artitst's discography.
AmpMe's speaker-linking app adds access to your Spotify library
When AmpMe arrived in late 2015, the app that links phone and tablet speakers for a more robust audio setup only played tunes from SoundCloud. Shortly after launch, an update added the ability for users to access any locally stored music through the app. Now the company is piping in songs from the biggest streaming service of them all: Spotify.
Pandora's radio data now included in Billboard Hot 100
Despite recent layoffs and the fact that it only launched a streaming service last month, Pandora is a giant player in the internet radio market. Billboard unveiled a partnership with the service for its Hot 100 chart, and says it immediately impacted 35 songs. It pushed nine of those up by five or more spots in the rankings, including Sex With Me from Rihanna and Rob $tone's Chill Bill, which leaped 10 places. Lady Gaga's Million Reasons, meanwhile, is now on the Hot 100 thanks to Pandora, Billboard says.
Vinyl record production gets a much-needed tech upgrade
Ever wondered why you sometimes have to wait months after an album's launch to get the music on vinyl? It's not necessarily because the label hates vinyl -- in many cases, it's because the decades-old manufacturing process can't keep up with the format's resurgence. Relief may be in sight for turntable fans, though. Viryl Technologies is producing a pressing machine system, WarmTone, that should drag vinyl production into the modern era.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 26: The Sounds of Science
Managing editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Nathan Ingraham join host Terrence O'Brien on the latest episode. First Dana and Nathan face off in the latest installment of Flame Wars, tackling the latest news around Google Voice, struggling streaming service Tidal and the Note 7. Then all three will try to unravel the first week of Donald Trump's presidency and what it means for science in particular.
Classic FM to host weekly show on orchestral video game music
Final Fantasy. Skyrim. The Legend of Zelda. These and so many other video game franchises offer beautiful, sweeping scores for players to get lost in. Unfortunately, however, they're not always known or appreciated by people outside of the gaming community. Recognition is improving through live concerts and awards, but there's still a long way to go. The latest effort to champion and broaden its appeal is a new radio show on Classic FM. It'll be hosted by Jessica Curry, co-founder of British game studio The Chinese Room and composer of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and focus on symphonic video game music in particular.
Why is Sprint throwing money at Tidal?
Following reports last week that Tidal hasn't been honest about its subscriber numbers, Sprint kicked off the week by announcing that it's buying a third of the streaming service. It's no secret that Tidal has struggled to gain any ground on Apple Music and Spotify, even with a portfolio of artist exclusives. The company reportedly has financial issues to contend with as well, so a big influx of cash likely made the decision easy for Jay Z. However, there are no obvious benefits for Sprint.
Cassette sales actually went up in 2016
We're barely a month into the new year, but it's already clear some of us still want to live in the past. Case in point: US cassette tape sales actually grew in 2016, with a whopping 129,000 copies sold. That might not be as many as the number of vinyl albums sold in the same year (13.1 million!), but it's an impressive 74 percent increase from the 74,000 sold in 2015.
Sprint buys a 33 percent stake in Tidal's music service (updated)
Well, this was somewhat unexpected. Sprint just bought a 33 percent stake in Tidal, giving the carrier a significant (though not controlling) influence over Jay Z's streaming music service. They're not discussing the terms of the partnership, but it'll take Tidal's fondness for exclusives one step further. Tidal will offer exclusive content that will only be available to Sprint subscribers -- yes, even being a loyal listener won't be enough. you'll hear more details on offers and promos "soon," Sprint says.
Hip-hop's most influential sampler gets a 2017 reboot
The impact of Akai's MPC series on hip-hop cannot be overstated. The first model -- the MPC60 -- hit the market in the late 80s, perfectly timed with hip-hop's culture of borrowing and reinventing classic beats and melodies. The MPC's iconic pad-based design and relatively accessible price opened up music production to a whole new audience.
Sammus is somewhere between nerdcore and afrofuturism
Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo used to get the same question every time she set down the mic and stepped off the stage. She came to expect it after performing in crowded bars, big music festivals or comic book stores, and the question usually came from a well-meaning stranger or new fan of her music. "Who makes your beats for you?" This would happen right after she'd screamed into the mic that she was Sammus, a producer and rapper, and that everything she just did on stage was her work. The question would come in different forms -- "Where's your boyfriend?" was another staple -- but the sentiment was the same. People assumed Sammus didn't produce her own music.
Korg's new ARP Odyssey is a full-size remake of an iconic synth
At NAMM two years ago, Korg first revealed its modern take on the classic ARP Odyssey synthesizer. Despite touting that model as a "faithful recreation" of the original, the reissue was a smaller version with 37 keys. During the music industry's big trade show this year, Korg is showing off a full-size option: the ARP Odyssey FS. Available in each the original's three color schemes, the new instrument offers a standard keyboard and more space on the slider panel to make sound adjustments.
Tidal now has an editing tool for tempo and song length
Tidal debuted its Masters feature which offers near studio-quality sound earlier this month. Now the streaming service is offering users a way to edit tracks. While playing a song in the Tidal app, you can change the length and speed with the new Track Edit feature from the options menu. To make any tempo adjustments, you will need to select a segment of a song before you can do so. The tool also allows you to make changes to how the song fades in/out.
Teenage Engineering's new pocket synth is its most versatile yet (updated)
Teenage Engineering debuted its first trio of pocket-sized $59 synthesizers almost exactly two years ago. In 2016, the company followed those with a second set of three Pocket Operators featuring the sounds of the '80s. Now the company is back with a third installment: the PO-32. Like the half-dozen different options that are already available, the PO-32 remains a compact drum and percussion synth that runs on a pair of AAA batteries. However, there are two new key features that set this new model apart from the rest.

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