spotify

Spotify unleashes new Android app

Spotify has unveiled its latest Android app, which now includes a faster, streamlined interface and higher sound quality than before.

The app has full support for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features a new tile-based, "slide-out" navigation with support for high-resolution art.

As far as playback features are concerned, the app includes crossfade and gapless playback, support for "Extreme" 320kbps files, and Last.fm scrobbling.

The app promises a deeper experience than before with enhanced support for friends playlists and profile pages, a "related artists" view, a playback queue, and folder support for better organization of playlists.… Read more

Microsoft unveils Xbox Music

Microsoft has unveiled a revamped music service, called Xbox Music, as it looks to better compete against the likes of Apple's iTunes, Pandora, and Spotify.

The company unveiled the service as part of its press conference at the E3 gaming event today. Microsoft said the service will include 30 million tracks available on the Xbox, as well as Windows 8 devices such as PCs and tablets.

The announcement is part of Microsoft's effort to turn the Xbox video game console into the entertainment hub of the home. It also likely signals the death of its Zune Music service, … Read more

Spotify suffers log-in issues; service now restored

Spotify suffered an issue that prevented users from logging in this morning, the company has confirmed both on its Web site and Twitter account.

"We can confirm that most users are unable to log in at this time," the company wrote on its Spotify Status Twitter page earlier today. "We are working on a fix. Watch this space."

In a subsequent update, Spotify said that it was working on the issues, and added that the problem also was affecting those who log in to its Web site. However, the company now says that the issue has … Read more

Sony releases Unlimited Music app for iPhone

Sony is taking on Spotify by releasing its first Music Unlimited app for iPhone this week.

The Music Unlimited app will launch by the end of the week after debuting more than 12 months ago on Sony devices.

At CES 2012, Sony initially announced the app would be released in summer.

The Music Unlimited app is only iPhone and iPod at the moment. Spotify released its official iPad app last month.

Other devices that currently feature Music Unlimited include Sony Bravia TVs, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Android tablets, and smartphones.

In January 2012, Sony said it had 1 million … Read more

Spotify launches in Australia and New Zealand

Spotify launched its streaming service in Australia and New Zealand today, bringing the total number of countries served to 15.

"Australians are massive music fans and we've created a service that we know they'll love", said co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek in a press release.

As in the US, customers in the Southern Hemisphere will be able to choose between a free account, Unlimited (AU$6.99) or Premium (AU$11.99).

Spotify has also announced localized apps including one from youth broadcaster Triple J and licensing deals with all four major Australian music labels, APRA (… Read more

Drop some beats with Turntable.fm

Fan favorite music-streaming and discovery service Turntable.fm is available on Android, and it does a great job of packing its full desktop experience into your mobile device.

The first thing you notice about Turntable.fm for Android is its absolutely stunning interface. The listening rooms look slick, with the DJ booth and speakers up top and the familiar rating controls on bottom. And of course, the hypnotic little avatars bumping their heads in rhythm fill out the rest. Tap an avatar to view that listener's vitals or hit the speech bubble to see what listeners in the room … Read more

How to scrobble to Last.fm from iTunes, Spotify, and more

Long before Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to found Facebook, Last.fm allowed music fans to keep an online record of the music they had been listening to in all sorts of music players, including iTunes, Winamp, and more. Last.fm's feature for this is called "scrobbling," based on the fact that it had acquired a company called AudioScrobbler in order to add it.

Now, Facebook does pretty much the same thing (except for with iTunes). All you have to do to send your playback history to your Facebook Timeline is use your Facebook identity to … Read more

Pandora: We're 150,000,000 music lovers strong

NEW ORLEANS--Pandora has surpassed 150 million users, according to CEO Joe Kennedy.

The Internet radio service remains the second most downloaded app in the history of Apple's App Store, Kennedy said during a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless conference here today.

Pandora recently faced stiff competition from latecomer Spotify, which has managed to capture some buzz from recent announcements, such as its move open up the service to third-party developers. Spotify said a few months ago that it has 3 million paying customers.

But Pandora believes it is at the early stages of the growth curve.

"We … Read more

The best way to discover new music

Finding new music has never been easier, and music podcasts are my favorite discovery path. I prefer shows with hosts that put music in context. That's why I like discussion and music sets, and occasional interviews with musicians and live performances. The shows listed below (for the most part) can be downloaded and played back when you're ready to hear them.

WNYC's John Schaefer has two daily programs, Soundcheck, which features a wide mix of music genres, interviews, and live-on-the-radio performances; and New Sounds, which, if anything, covers an even wider range of music styles. Each episode … Read more