Music

In a sign of growing consolidation in the digital music business, Google announced on Tuesday that it had bought Songza, a three-year-old app that competes with Pandora and others in making customized playlists of recommended songs. The price was not announced. But a person briefed on the deal, who was not authorized to speak about Continue Reading →

On Tuesday, news broke that YouTube would begin blocking videos from artists on indie labels that had not signed on to its new terms, a set of contracts it’s making partners agree to before it launches a paid streaming service later this year. Fans and artists were understandably upset, but YouTube insisted that the majority Continue Reading →

There’s been some brouhaha about YouTube blocking a huge swathe of music videos before launching its paid Spotify rival. The truth, however, is a little more nuanced. Labels who haven’t signed up to the website’s new terms, the majority of which are independents like XL Recordings, will have their artist channels blocked in the next Continue Reading →

T-Mobile has decided to set music streaming services free. The “Un-carrier” said it will offer subscribers unlimited access to the top six music streaming services including Pandora, Slacker, iHeart Radio and Spotify without incurring data charges on their 4G plans. Samsung’s Milk Music and the forthcoming Beatport music app from SFX – will also be Continue Reading →

Wi-Fi LED lightbulbs are cool — I’m currently enamoured with a pair of LIFX bulbs I’m testing for an upcoming smart home post, along with those from competitor Philips. But you know what might be even cooler? Lightbulbs that double as wireless multi-room and music-reacting speakers. That’s the premise of Whome Bulb from London/Shanghai-based WaveBomb, Continue Reading →

YouTube will launch a new subscription music service, the company acknowledged Tuesday after being dragged into a public dispute over royalties that will result in the blockade of some independent artists’ music videos. The Google Inc.-owned video site said in a statement that it is “adding subscription-based features for music on YouTube” and that “hundreds Continue Reading →

It’s official: Google is about to ruin YouTube. A company exec told the Financial Times it will start blocking videos from record labels that refuse to sign licensing deals for its forthcoming premium service, YouTube Music Pass. This is the dumbest thing Google could do, and it threatens the very heart of what has always Continue Reading →

Where do you listen to music online? Chances are good it’s at iHeartRadio, which announced on Tuesday that it passed the 50 million registered user milestone, and did so faster than any other streaming music service — and even faster than Facebook or Twitter. Second only to Pandora in terms of overall adoption, iHeartRadio’s 50 Continue Reading →

A team of three young coders has come up with a way to turn your iPhone’s speakers into a wireless surround-sound system, thanks to a mobile app called Audibly. The app, which is perfect for parties or for blasting music when decent speakers aren’t readily available, uses technology found on newer devices (running iOS 7 Continue Reading →

Amazon Prime is indeed adding music to the mix. On Thursday, after much speculation, the online retailer is launching a streaming service called Prime Music, at no additional cost for Prime members who pay $99 a year. Those members will automatically gain access to more than one million songs, including what Amazon says are tens Continue Reading →