Tag archive: online music

According to the official Spotify Terms of Service, unlimited free music streaming will disappear at the end of next week for early adopters that started using Spotify in the United States on the launch date. Specifically mentioned in the ToS, it states ” The Spotify Service can be accessed as an ad-supported free-to-the-user service having no monthly cap on listening hours or a cap on number of plays of a unique track during the first 6… Read More

We recently heard that Google is planning to launch its own MP3 store as part of its Music Beta efforts. Google has notoriously struggled with record labels over its music streaming service, which has been responsible for much of the lag. While Music Beta from Google received ample attention at launch, it’s since had to weather the storm of competitors (Spotify being chief among them) that have stepped up their game in the form of intense… Read More

There have been endless consequences from the digitalization of the music industry. The technology has changed, and with it so has the business model, as well as artists’ production methods. There have been benefits and there have been consequences for this market—but one clear winner has been consumers. Being able to pick and choose individual titles instead of entire CDs is more affordable, and subscription models with social features have… Read More

There are rumblings that suggest that music subscription service Spotify is planning to move ahead with a stateside launch at some point this week. Earlier this month, Spotify confirmed that it was indeed planning on coming to the U.S., but didn't provide any specific time references for a launch. Now, according to Mashable, Spotify plans on launching its service this week here in the U.S., but will do so in an invitation-only format (à la… Read More

Apple has now signed all four major music labels to deals to deliver music through a forthcoming cloud-based music service. According to a CNET report, Apple has recently inked a licensing deal with Universal Music Group to complete a lineup that already included Sony, EMI and Warner Music Group. Apple announced earlier this week that it will unveil the long-awaited iCloud during its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), which is set to begin… Read More

Overview For those who haven't heard about Google's Music Beta yet, here's a quick overview of what the service is aiming for. Essentially, Music Beta is a cloud service for storing and streaming your personal music library from multiple devices. Say you are running your music library on iTunes on your home computer and you have 10,000 songs. Unless you use the same computer for work and home, chances are you can't… Read More

Europe-based streaming music service Spotify has announced that it has signed up its one millionth paying customer. It's the second big milestone for Spotify in less than a year. Note that's one million subscribers who are paying for the service. Just about six months after launching two years ago, Spotify celebrated one million total members. The service is available as both a free and as a paid subscription service. Spotify's… Read More

The slow death of Myspace continued this week with the president of Myspace Music, Courtney Holt, stepping down from his post, reports AllThingsDigital. The news of Holt's departure comes amid rumors that Myspace parent company News Corp. has kicked off the process of selling the failing social media site. According to a memo to the Myspace staff written by Myspace CEO Mike Jones, Holt will transition to a “key advisor”… Read More

When Apple made a deal with record label EMI to offer the label's catalog on iTunes in DRM-free format a year and a half ago, it was heralded as a major shift for the music industry. Consumers were fed up with the hassles of DRM schemes, there was no evidence they hindered piracy in the slightest, and predictions abounded that all online music would be soon offered in DRM-free format. Although some of the DRM-free optimism has proved to… Read More