Music

The latest news and reviews of music.

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Apple's idea for music royalties could stick it to Spotify
The Copyright Royalty Board, a three judge panel that sets licensing rates, is trying to figure out what the statutory rate music download and streaming services will pay publishers between 2018 and 2022. Now, the New York Times and Billboard report that Apple has a suggestion on how to figure out those rates that oh-so-coincidentally would negatively impact services with free streaming options like Spotify (heating up their back-and-forth battle) and YouTube. The statutory rate is what services pay unless they make a direct deal with a publisher, and can shape negotiations between them.
Amazon finally lets Echo play Spotify or Pandora by default
Amazon's Echo speakers have a ton of smart capabilities, but until recently, playing music from any service other than Prime Music required telling the device which service to use each time. Now, users may have noticed an option to set Pandora or Spotify as its default music player. If you have one of the Alexa-connected devices, then you can go into its control app on the web or a mobile device and look under settings to switch the default away from Amazon. Once it's set, just talk normally to the speaker, "Amazon/Alexa play (artists/song/etc.)" and it will play from the proper service.
Spotify will make a playlist for your out-of-office message
Spotify has been churning out a number of new features for finding fresh tunes as of late, but its most recent tool aims to make your out-of-office email more musical. The streaming service has a feature that builds a playlist based on your destination that will appear inside the aforementioned message. Appropriately called OOO, the web-based interface takes into account the city you're traveling to, whether its for business or pleasure and the overall mood of the trip before compiling a collection of songs. The playlist is actually pulled from tracks that are trending in that location, so when I selected New York City, I got a good amount of show tunes and The Last Five Years soundtrack.
Deezer revamps discovery features to compete with Spotify and Apple
After getting on the Apple Watch in March and selling off its podcast app Stitcher last month, music streaming service Deezer is cleaning up its user experience. To compete with Spotify and Apple Music, they've freshened up their homepage in hopes that winning hearts and minds today requires discovery to be front-and-center.
Prince Online Museum revisits the musician's web history
The late, great Prince may have declared that the internet was over, but he was its biggest fan in some ways. His websites were frequently grand projects that pushed the limits of both web design and digital music. And now, it's easy to see this effort first-hand. Former Prince webmaster Sam Jennings has launched the Prince Online Museum, a timeline-based trip through some of the musician's websites over the past 20 years.
Bjork's VR album is a work in progress, just like the medium itself
Bjork Digital is almost Bjork: The Theme Park. The installation, which opened in Tokyo earlier this week, includes a movie theater featuring a two-hour-long showcase of the artist's videography. Around the corner from there, you'll find several tracks from the album Vulnicura have been transformed into VR experiences. Farther down the hall, you can play around with the album-turned-music app from Bjork's Biophilia album. The 18-day installation opened to the public this week, with Tokyo's Miraikan being the second stop on a world tour that also includes Europe and the US. I went for a visit and came away thinking that no other musical artist is pushing (or perhaps dragging) virtual reality forward more than Bjork. She's working on more VR tracks too -- this is really just the start.
WSJ: Apple in talks to buy Tidal
Jay Z could be the next rapper making a big sale to Tim Cook, as the Wall Street Journal cites anonymous sources saying Apple is in "exploratory" talks to buy Tidal, although a spokesperson for the music service said there had not been any talks. As to why Apple would buy, the answer could be Tidal's direct relationship with artists, something that could bolsters Apple Music's offerings. Exclusivity of high-profile album and mixtape releases has been a recurring theme lately, and buying out the service could arm Apple with more content that competitors like Spotify (which has its own issues with Apple) and Google Play can't offer.
Spotify: Apple is holding up app approval to squash competition
How do you catch up with the biggest music streaming service? Well, not approving app updates is one tactic, and Spotify says Apple is doing just that. The streaming service sent a letter to Apple's legal counsel this week claiming that the company is rejecting an update to Spotify's iOS app and it's "causing grave harm" to users by doing so. The letter explains that Apple won't approve the new version because Spotify doesn't use the company's billing method for in-app purchases and subscription services. Apple announced the changes to app subscriptions in iTunes just before this month's WWDC.
'No Man's Sky' soundtrack is going on tour around the world
It's not often a soundtrack associated with a video game, let alone one that's not been released yet, is taken on tour and played to audiences all over the world. That's exactly what's happening with British band 65daysofstatic's No Man's Sky soundtrack, with a world tour beginning in October in the Netherlands.
RZA teams up with Atari on a new video game-inspired album
RZA already made one big announcement this summer, and the member of the Wu-Tang Clan doesn't appear to be done yet. The rapper/producer announced this week that he's teaming up with Atari on a new album that takes inspiration from the audio in the company's video games. "I'm so excited to work on these iconic games to deliver what I believe will be one of my best albums," RZA told Billboard.
SoundCloud serves up new music based on your listening habits
Nearly every music streaming service has a feature that gives you new music to listen to based on audio habit. Spotify has Discover Weekly, Pandora compiles a custom station and Apple Music is making recommendations a big part of its redesign for iOS 10. SoundCloud is looking to offer a similar tool with its new Suggested Tracks section. The company says the picks come from its "state-of-the-art machine learning algorithm" that keeps tabs on your likes and plays on the web and through the mobile apps. While SoundCloud doesn't specify how often the list is updated ("frequently"), it did explain that there's a good chance the some of the new music won't be found on any other service.
Taylor Swift and 179 artists urge Congress to update copyright law
A group of 180 artists and musicians, including Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Vince Staples and Kings of Leon, want Congress to take action on the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you're not familiar, the copyright legislation essentially allows so-called safe harbors where you can upload content to be exempt from any infringement lawsuits based on the actions of its users. Those companies, apps and websites have to respond to takedown notices from the folks who actually own the copyright, but they can't be held liable for the offending video or music. This group of artists wants the government to reform the policy though, signing a petition in hopes of inspiring action.
Spotify racks up 100 million active users
If there was any doubt that streaming music is here to stay, Spotify just removed it. The service has confirmed that it now has over 100 million users who listen at least once a month. That's not bad considering that it had 75 million a bit over a year ago. As the Telegraph notes, that amounts to adding 1.8 million new users every month. However, the question is whether or not these figures are as good as they sound -- they may be bittersweet.
Microsoft Groove builds smart music playlists around your tastes
Smart music discovery playlists are all the rage right now (just ask Spotify), and Microsoft knows it. It recently introduced a Your Groove feature to Groove Music that automatically creates playlists suited to your taste. It'll generate track listings for your existing OneDrive music collection based on your listening habits, moods and artist activity, so you can revisit a favorite band when it's on tour. However, the real party starts when you have a Music Pass -- Groove will throw new songs into the playlists to expand your horizons.
Shazam's background listening feature comes to Android
Shazam can build you a Spotify playlist, help you discover new tunes and identify magazines, but song recognition is still at the heart of the app. Even with this core feature getting faster and quicker to start up, sometimes it can still be a race to ask for Shazam's ear before the DJ drops the next track. In the latest update to its Android app, though, Shazam has added the 'Auto' background listening feature so you never have to let a hot beat pass you by.
Rhapsody now goes by Napster
Ah, Napster: the brand that just won't go away. In fact, you're likely about to hear the name a lot more often. Rhapsody revealed today that it would use the Napster moniker going forward in a brief blog entry. The company did say that nothing about its music streaming service would change, other than the name and logo inside its apps. If this sounds a bit odd, you might've missed the news that Rhapsody bought Napster back in 2011. The latter had transitioned from a peer-to-peer file-sharing hub to a full-on (legal) subscription service following its shutdown in 2001, changing ownership on more than one occasion.
Apple Music redesign makes it easier to find the songs you want
Back in early May, rumors circulated that Apple was planning to unveil a big redesign for its music streaming service at WWDC. Those reports were indeed correct. During today's keynote, Senior Vice President Eddy Cue showed off a much-streamlined interface that should make using the service a bit less of a headache. The service, "redesigned from the ground up," features a black-and-white scheme, as rumored, with splashes of color that emphasize the album artwork. Oh, by the way: Apple Music now has 15 million paid subscribers, and Cue said it was the fastest music-streaming service to achieve that feat.
Amazon reportedly working on a standalone music streaming service
CNBC is reporting that Amazon plans to launch a free-standing streaming music service, according to sources within the company. The as-of-yet unnamed service will reportedly launch in the late summer or fall, after the company finalizes its licensing agreements, and should cost $10 a month.
Stream Bonnaroo sets from J. Cole, M83 and more this weekend
Didn't feel like making the trip to Manchester, Tennessee to catch the annual Bonnaroo music festival in person? Don't worry, Red Bull TV has you covered. Although the event started yesterday, the streaming app will offer three channels of coverage throughout this weekend, wrapping up with Dead & Company and Ween on Sunday night. As far as the livestreaming is concerned, performances from acts like J. Cole, CHVRCHES, M83, LCD Soundsystem, Grace Potter, Father John Misty and many more are also scheduled to be available through the app.
Dato Duo is a simplified synthesizer for kids of all ages
Simple synthesizers are great for kids who are interested in music, and a pair of Dutch designers have built another instrument that does just that. The Dato Duo is two-panel synth features an 8-step sequencer on one side with the sound controls and effects on the other. It seems a bit odd at first, but the idea is to have one person control each to enhance the collaborative efforts. There's also no wrong way to use the device, so even the youngest noise makers can get started with ease. And it doesn't hurt that the Duo sounds pretty good either.

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