Thus far, two albums are being made available via Premieres: “Once I Was An Eagle” by Laura Marling, and “Wrote a Song for Everyone” by John Fogerty. Unlike a typical Pandora station, the pre-release albums are offered in an on-demand way, with users have the ability to select any track from the album to listen to as they wish. There’s no limitations on the order songs are listened to, or how many times they’re played.

Once the album is released for sale in stores, it will be removed from Pandora Premieres. According to the announcement, new albums will be featured on a weekly basis, and some of them will be accompanied by exclusive content, such as video interviews with the band or artist. The station functions mostly like other stations, with the ability to skip ahead to the next song. There’s no thumbs-up and thumbs-down options, however, and tracks can be selected individually from a list.

The purpose of the new station is multi-faceted. On one hand, users will benefit by getting access to albums before they hit stores, and artists will get exposure ahead of album releases that could help fuel sales and that will provide a unique type of exposure. Pandora says such an impact on the careers of artists is “one of the most gratifying parts of this exposure.”

In order to listen to the stations, users have to specifically hit up the Pandora Premieres URL at pandora.com/premieres, at which point it will be automatically added to your radio stations for future access. Have you checked it out yet? Let us know what you think in the comments!

SOURCE: Pandora

The mobile app looks to have all of the same features that we’ve seen in music streaming subscription services in the past, including personalized recommendations, featured music, and the ability to create radio stations out of the music that you enjoy the most. This gets based on a certain artist or song, similar to how Pandora creates different stations.

While a song is playing, you also have the choices of giving it the thumbs up or thumbs down, as well as the ability to rearrange future songs in the automated playlist, as well as swiping away the songs you don’t want to listen to. Google says that All Access is a music player “without rules,” meaning that you can have be as interactive as you want, or just let it do it’s thing.

Basically, it’s nothing that we already haven’t seen before in Spotify, Pandora, or Rdio, but there are a few minor features that music enthusiasts may enjoy greatly. Plus, if you’re already deep into the Google ecosystem, this could be a great addition to your app collection. And like Spotify, you can upload your own music to the app and have it appear right along side all the other content. All Access will also be available as a web app for cross-platform enjoyment. As for price, you’re looking at $9.99/month for unlimited access.

The information comes from sources who spoke to the folks over at The Verge, also reporting that Google has penned deals with both Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Such deals will provide the rumored subscription service with access to vast quantities of artists. This is in addition to deal with Warner Music Group reported by Fortune back on March 5.

While the rumor that surfaced earlier this year said that Google will be offering a free music streaming service, The New York Times has stated that its sources say that won’t be the case, with only a for-pay subscription model being offered. That is disappointing, but the subscription service – although no numbers have been dropped yet – is likely to be priced similar to its competition, meaning $10 or less monthly.

We still haven’t heard whether the service will only be available to those located in the United States or elsewhere as well. And while information on what, precisely, the service will be like is unknown, word has it the subscription model will compete with Spotify and similar other companies, meaning it will probably share some of the same functionality.

The information hasn’t been confirmed, with all three record labels declining comment and Google obviously having nothing to say on the matter. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to see if the sources pan out, with the announcement slated for tomorrow. We’re currently at the event, and will let you know as soon as we hear anything.

SOURCE: The Verge

It’s speculated that this recent acquisition has something to do with Twitter’s acquisition of We Are Hunted. Both companies are trying to drive people to stick with their services, so they are pulling out all of the stops to do so. While the music streaming industry is pretty saturated, many companies are still trying to break into the field in order to generate more revenue. To give you an idea of how much revenue music streaming can generate, Warner Music Group stated that it received 25% of its revenue from music streaming alone.

Tunigo is similar to Songza. It allows users to play and generate music playlists based on their mood. They can choose a playlist for when they’re working out, cooking, dancing, feeling nostalgic, and more. Tunigo piggybacks off of Spotify, generating music, playlists and more through the service. With the help of Spotify, it is able to keep track of all of the latest music additions, user recommendations and more to create specific playlists.

What we’re hoping is for Spotify to integrate Tunigo into its service somehow, instead of being like Yahoo and killing off its acquisition. The music streaming market is getting more and more competitive. Currently, the big dogs are Spotify and Pandora, however Apple plans on launching its own music streaming service called iRadio, which is speculated to launch over the summer. The industry is about to get tumultuous and these services will have to pull out all the stops to stay relevant.

[via AllThingsD]

Currently, Spotify has over 25 million users, where free users can stream up to 40 hours of music per week, while unlimited subscribers obviously don’t have a limit, nor do they have to deal with ads. Currently, Spotify has over 6 million paid subscribers, and we’re sure that number will grow now that more markets have access to the streaming music service.

Spotify says that they aim to be available anywhere, but expanding to that point will take time. The company ultimately wants to be available in Asia completely, with today’s expansion in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore a good start. The continent is a hotbed for internet users, where many online services report having the most users.

Of course, today’s expansions are merely just stepping stones for Spotify in their quest to become available all around the world, but it seems they’re confident in getting to that point in the foreseeable future. The same features are available to international users, including both free and premium subscription options.

[via The Next Web]

Songza has no audio ads that will interrupt your listening experience. It’s available for a variety of platforms, including your desktop, iOS devices, Android devices, and even specifically to Amazon’s lineup of Kindle Fire tablets. The service is great for discovering brand new music, and it is very easy to configure. While on Songza’s website, you start off by choosing a day and time of day, and then choosing the activity you’ll be needing music for. You are then given a selection of music genres to choose from. After choosing your genre, you are given a variety of playlists to choose from.

Songza one-ups other music streaming services by offering an ad-free listening experience. Also, Songza’s music playlists aren’t created by just any music listener. It says that its playlists are created by an “expert team of music critics, DJs, musicians, and musicologists”. However, even though it offers an ad-free listening experience, like other music streaming services, you are limited to only a small amount of song skips.

Being able to select playlists based on your mood, along with the ad-free listening experience, is what sets Songza apart from its competitors and makes it a dangerous rival to Pandora and Spotify. However, even Songza will have a tough time competing in the music streaming business once Apple’s iRadio service launches. Apple is rumored to be securing licensing agreements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music really soon, and is speculated to be launching iRadio sometime during the summer.

If the reports are true, then Apple will be well on its way to launching its iRadio service by its expected summer release date. However, there’s one thorn still in Apple’s side. The sources say that talks between Apple and Sony Music Entertainment, the 3rd label that Apple needs to secure its service, are still dragging along. Until Apple is able to secure a deal with Sony as well, its iRadio service will be at a stand still.

Apple will reportedly pay rates that go “neck and neck’ with the rates that Pandora currently pays for its music service. Previously, Apple requested that the labels charge it only 6 cents per 100 songs streamed, but it was unanimously rejected by all three labels. Pandora, who just hit 200 million users this week, will have some tough competition coming from Apple, which currently has 400 million active iTunes users. A media juggernaut like Apple will have no problem getting users to convert over to its service.

Apple is also one-upping Pandora by offering several on-demand features, with some rumors saying that it may offer on-demand streaming of music like Spotify. In order for Pandora to compete effectively, it may have to remove its 40-hour restriction placed on mobile devices, and it will have to offer similar on-demand services. Music streaming services all around will be seeing a very difficult opponent in the future.

[via The Verge]

Pandora shared even more statistics as well, boasting that users stream 1.5 billion hours of music every single month, and the service streams 200 million songs before 10 AM every day, proving that Pandora is a vital part of commuting to work in the mornings. Furthermore, listeners have personalized their stations with more than 25 billion “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” ratings.

Last month alone, Pandora played over 100,000 unique artists and more than 1 million unique songs, and mobile usage of the Pandora app is on the rise, with more than 140 million listeners having used Pandora on a mobile device. Streaming music on a smartphone or tablet is becoming more and more popular, so we can only guess that number will keep rising in the future.

Pandora announced last month that monthly listener hours were just below 1.5 billion, so more users are listening to more music through Pandora — that’s an increase of 40% from 1.07 billion during the same time last year, proving that music streaming is becoming more popular, and people are using Pandora to do it.

However, the labels are getting worried because Pandora is attempting to negotiate for lower royalty fees. Currently, it pays 12 cents per 100 songs, but it needs to have a lower rate in order to generate a profit. Despite it not generating a profit, Pandora’s 12 cents per 100 songs fee is much lower than the 21 cents per 100 songs recommendation provided by the Copyright Royalty Board. Even Spotify, with its millions of users, is paying 35 cents per 100 songs.

The labels aren’t planning on lowering Pandora’s royalty fees however. They believe that the web radio industry is still growing, and that there will be other services that will be just as good as Pandora. They’re banking on Apple’s iRadio becoming a success. A source told The Verge that there is no doubt that Apple’s iRadio is coming, and that Apple has achieved a lot of progress with music labels. The sources say, “Apple is pushing really hard for a summertime launch”.

If Apple really is far into negotiations with music labels, perhaps the music labels were able to convince the company that a 6 cents per 100 songs royalty fee was too low. Regardless, with Apple’s power, its iRadio service would most likely be an instant hit, and it may deal incredible damage to Pandora’s business, especially since Pandora has just restricted its mobile users to only 40 hours of free music streaming per month. If the music labels offer Apple a better rate than Pandora, Pandora is expected to make a case in front of Congress with the Internet Radio Fairness Act (IRFA) bill. The bill, if approved by Congress, would lower Pandora’s (and other web radio’s) royalty fees so that they can generate a profit.

[via The Verge]

Both Pandora and Microsoft know that you’ve been waiting a long time for a Windows Phone 8 version of the app to come out, and they even announced plans to bring Pandora to WP8 during the platform’s launch event, so as a gift for your patience, they’re giving WP8 users an ad-free experience until the end of this year. This is a feature that only normally comes to premium subscribers of the service.

Furthermore, the app comes with Live Tile support, meaning that you can check out what artist and song is playing right from the home screen, and users can simply tap on the tile to go directly to the app. Microsoft and Pandora claim this as the app’s exclusive features, so if you were expecting anything groundbreaking in the actual app (besides the ad-free experience), you may be disappointed.

Along with the ad-free experience, however, users will also be able to play unlimited music. Pandora recently stuck a 40-hour monthly limit on its service for free users, but Windows Phone 8 users will be able to listen to all of the music that their hearts desire until the end of the year, after which you can spring for the monthly or yearly plans ($3.99 monthly or $36 yearly).

Amazon already has its own MP3 store and Cloud Player, so it has the means to start the service, but considering how saturated the music streaming market currently is, it might not be the wisest choice. Amazon has yet to enter any formal discussions with record labels, so it’s basically feeling its options out. Considering how large the online retailer is, it may be able to set itself apart from the competition, especially if it includes the music subscription service with its Amazon Prime features. Free music streaming could be a major draw for consumers to purchase an Amazon Prime subscription.

YouTube and Google are also reportedly planning their own music-subscription services. Both of the services would have a free version subsidized by ads, and they would both offer an ad-free version at a cost of course. Apple has been in talks of starting its own music streaming service for a while, however due to its low royalty rate propositions, it has been seeing a lot of rejection from record labels.

The outbreak of all of these “upcoming” music subscription services is a bit overwhelming. All of these companies will be tempting to subscribe to, and Spotify will definitely be facing some tough competition. These companies will all have to come up with exclusive features that will interest customers and drive them away from the rest of the competition. Having mobile access to their service would be a huge plus.

[via The Verge]

The new service will not be using an algorithm. The service has a designated team to help run it 24 hours a day. According to the VEVO’s Senior Vice President of Product and Technology, there will be a lot of heavy lifting occuring behind the scenes. The team has to keep track of the live feed by attaching “metadata” related to the content. Meaning they have to change and adjust information according to the content currently played so that users will be able to, for example, share the correct content to their social feeds and save the right content to their playlists.

VEVO TV is just a start of things to come. In the future, the service can expand to become multiple channels dedicated to a certain category. There could be a channel dedicated to only live music, another for new up-and-coming artists, and several for the various music genres like Rap, Country, Reggae, Pop, and more.

VEVO TV will not be limited to just the PC. Viewers will be able to access the live streaming service from a variety of devices like their Android, iOS, or Windows phones and tablets. The content will also be available through internet TV boxes like Roku, as well as game consoles. VEVO TV brings back the retro MTV, which used to be THE network for watching non-stop music videos.

[via TechCrunch]

Magic Radio utilizes a user’s existing music library, as well as the user’s various musical tastes to deliver a personalized music experience. The new service takes the user’s existing library and mixes it with with new songs of similar style from doubleTwist’s music catalog that consists of over 13 million songs.

doubleTwist says that, unlike Pandora, Magic Radio doesn’t base a station on a single song or artist, but rather a user’s existing playlists, favorite genres, and can even cater to a user’s mood. Plus, Magic Radio is launching with a 7-day free trial, and only costs $3.99 per month afterward, which is cheaper than most other music-streaming services out there.

The subscription will also get you ad-free listening and access to more than 13 million songs that doubleTwist says will be all about discovery rather than repetition. The service will even cater music towards specific keywords you mention (like “Woodstock” or “Coachella”) and you can even base a station off a specific tempo that you want. Magic Radio is a part of the doubleTwist Player for Android, which is available for free in the Google Play store.

Stitcher now has browser plug-ins customized for the Google Chrome web browser and Firefox. Stitcher says that fans can now listen to the streaming service any time on any browser thanks to the two new browser plug-ins. Using the new Chrome or Firefox plug-ins, users can stream their favorite programs along with over 15,000 shows using easy toolbar access providing full playback control.

Stitcher says that the web app will sync with your mobile application and grab all of the custom stations you have set up allowing you to resume listening on your computer where you left off on your mobile device. The web experience includes Smart Discovery allowing you to discover new shows you’ll probably like based on your listening activity. Users can also fine tune chosen shows for more personalized recommendations.

The browser plug-ins also support on-demand listening without the need to download content or synchronize. Users can also login using the browser plug-ins and create custom stations. The new plug-ins support Facebook sharing and allowing you to share your favorite shows on Facebook and discover what your friends are listening to as well. Both the Chrome and Firefox plug-ins are available to download now.

[via Stitcher]

Apple’s streaming service would be up against some big name competitors such as Pandora, which pays $0.12 per 100 songs it streams. Record labels aren’t happy with Apple’s initial royalty offer because it is about half that rate at approximately $0.06 per 100 songs streamed. This is an extremely low offer, and it has labels grumbling.

Pandora itself pays a royalty rate that is nearly 10 cents less than the suggested 21 cents per 100 streamed songs set by the Copyright Royalty Board. Labels are saying that Apple should pay no less than this rate. Many other services pay even more, with iHeart Radio shelling out approximately $0.22 per 100 streamed songs, and Spotify paying $0.35 per 100 songs.

This information comes from the New York Post, which got its information from unnamed sources, one of whom is said to be a “high-level executive.” According to these sources, in addition to a higher rate for streaming songs, labels also want Apple to pay an upfront fee, and to pay out a percentage of the revenue it makes from the ads that will be used with the streaming service.

[via New York Post]

This YouTube music streaming rumor comes only a couple of weeks after it was rumored that Google is planning its own music streaming service. We’re unsure whether or not the Google rumors and the YouTube rumors are the same thing, but according to CNN, Google and YouTube may be setting up their own separate, music streaming services that offer the same features. YouTube is said to have its own negotiating team and own operating unit for its upcoming music streaming service.

Even without the music streaming service, the company is the most widely used medium for listening to music. Most of the top videos viewed on YouTube are music videos, and over 64% of teenagers preferred using YouTube to listen to music compared to any other music platform. Companies are also realizing that music streaming is the new future for gaining revenue. Warner Music Group received 25% of its digital revenue from music streaming services alone.

If Google and YouTube do launch their own subscription-based music streaming services, they have a lot of competition. They’re entering a saturated market. Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and many others already dominate the music streaming space, so Google may have a hard time getting its foot in the door. But considering it’s Google, the name itself may be enough to steal away users from the other services.

A YouTube spokesperson commented on this rumor saying, “While we don’t comment on rumor or speculation, there are some content creators that think they would benefit from a subscription revenue stream in addition to ads, so we’re looking at that.” Considering its YouTube and the amount of influence it has, its most likely going to follow through with a subscription music service.

[via CNN Money]

However, the NPD Group says that P2P wasn’t the only illegal activity experiencing a decline. Music files burned and ripped from CDs owned by friends and family also fell by a whopping 44%, and the number of files swapped between hard drives and flash drives dropped 25%, with the volume of music downloads from digital lockers decreasing 28%.

NPD attributes the drop in illegal music activity mostly to free music-streaming services like Spotify and Rdio. They say that nearly half of those who stopped illegally downloading and sharing music said it was because they started using free and legal streaming services as their primary music outlet.

NPD also says that P2P file sharing actually peaked in 2005, when one out of every five internet users aged 13 and older (approximately 33 million users) used such illegal means to download music. However, with the advent of free music streaming, users have had fewer reasons to illegally download music, and the music labels and artists are still making their share of royalties from the streaming services.

Ford has been leading the charge on getting entertainment inside our vehicles to enjoy tunes on the highway, and today this is one of the biggest announcements for SYNC yet. With many options already available for those using the SYNC AppLink application, Spotify brings the largest library of music and artists front and center to a Ford dash console near you.

Importantly, this is Spotify’s first direct collaboration with an auto manufacturer, instead of third party apps and systems accessing their streaming capabilities. This ensures the most user friendly and seamless experience using the Ford AppLink and Spotify system for your entertainment needs. Users will be able to enjoy Spotify songs and playlists all through simple voice commands. Which means drivers will be keeping their hands on the wheel, and eyes on the road.

Drivers will be able to use the stock audio controls, as well as steering wheel controls all with Spotify. Top playlists, the music library, similar music, starred songs, recently played music genres and radio stations are all accessible using simple voice commands. Saying commands like “Similar music” will bring up a feed of similar music for instant streaming.

Ford SYNC now works with Spotify, Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, iHeartRadio, Amazon Cloud music, Pandora and more to deliver the most options for those who choose Ford. Alternatively Spotify is now available for our PC’s, mobile phones and tablets, home entertainment, and now our automobiles using Ford SYNC AppLink. Stay tuned for more details and we’ll be searching to deliver some hands-on coverage of SYNC with Spotify.

The Verge reports that “several music industry sources” are saying that Spotify is already in negotiations with Warner Music about lowering fees and changing rights to its music, and Spotify is said to begin similar negotiations with Sony and Universal soon. If such negotiations are successful, Spotify would see a growth in profits, as well as the ability to give more users access to free content.

Spotify’s free offering only gives users access to the desktop app with advertisements, but paying the monthly $9.99 fee will get rid of ads and allow users to access their Spotify library on their mobile devices. Even though, Spotify boasts 20 million users, 5 million of which are paying subscribers, the company is currently breaking even financially.

While free access to Spotify’s mobile offerings would certainly be fantastic, it’s hard to say if the negotiations with the music labels will go well. Streaming music services have a tense relationship with music labels and even individual artists. Several major artists, including Coldplay and Adele, have refused to allow their music to be streamed by Spotify because of extremely low royalty fees and rights to the music.

[via The Verge]

Slacker says that they have 10 times more music than Pandora does when it comes to live streaming music, and they have over 200 special genre stations used for music discovery, something that should get Spotify a little nervous at this point. Slacker even said that its shuffling capabilities are much more advanced than Pandora’s, noting that users will noticed less repetition.

The site’s overhaul is mostly cosmetic, though. The new look is presented in a blue and grey combo, and the site’s navigation is much quicker and easier this time around. Overall, everything’s larger: larger icons, larger text, and simple easy-to-find controls to fine-tune your music to the level that you desire.

Slacker has 13 million songs in its catalog, which puts it right up there with Pandora and Spotify, but with only 500,000 paying subscribers, Slacker is looking to bolster its user base, and this redesign and new brand may just do the trick. By going directly after the big competitors, Slacker may just create a stir and get avid music listeners to switch over.

[via The Next Web]

Nokia says that Music+ is “the only smartphone music service out there offering access to millions of songs out of the box without the need to sign up, sign in, or suffer adverts.” Yes, that’s right, Nokia’s music service has never been ad-supported, so you’ll be able to browse in piece for roughly the price of a Starbucks coffee per month.

Currently, Lumia owners are stuck with Nokia’s free Music app, which came to the US back in September. It’s certainly not an awful service by any means, but having the ability to skip songs an unlimited number of times is always fantastic, as well as downloading music and having access to various features like lyrics and desktop use makes it all worth the cheap monthly fee.

Music+ will be available to users sometime “in the next few weeks” according to Nokia, and while they say that pricing wil differ by territory, most customers can expect to pay around €3.99, which is slightly more expensive than Pandora One, but it’s also under half the cost of Spotify Premium, which is a great deal by any means.

Last.fm began charging for its internet radio service back in 2009 in all countries except the US, UK, and Germany. Last year, they began charging users for mobile app privileges. The company blames “licensing restrictions” on the cutbacks, as well as “various factors” that affect the service “differently in parts of the world.”

However, not all hope is lost. Paid subscribers in countries where Last.fm will no longer be available in will still be able to access ad-free browsing on Last.fm’s website, as well as access to demos and other features that the company says it’s working hard to add. Of course, those are measly features compared to getting a full-blown internet radio experience, but it’s certainly better than nothing.

However, we don’t think those paying subscribers will continue paying for much longer, so we’re not sure how Last.fm will cope with losing so many of their customers, unless of course the service wasn’t proving to be lucrative in the first place. Last.fm says that the real value of the service has always been their huge database of music, rather than the services it offers to users.

[via The Next Web]

In a profile of Reznor in the most recent issue of The New Yorker, Reznor details plans on a new music-streaming service he’s working on in partnership with Beats by Dre. Dubbed “Daisy”, the service is planned to launch early next year and will be nothing like traditional music-streaming services that users are used to, according to Reznor.

Reznor says that Daisy will use “mathematics to offer suggestions to the listener” and it will also “present choices based partly on suggestions made by connoisseurs, making it a platform in which the machine and the human would collide more intimately.” It seems that the new service will rely on better ways to music discovery than just traditional algorithms.

Reznor even compared his upcoming service with Spotify, and said that while Spotify offers over 16 million songs, “you’re not stumbling into anything. What’s missing is a service that adds a layer of intelligent curation.” He says that services that have been using traditional alogrithms to match up users with music they might like have “begun to feel synthetic.” Reznor describes Daisy as “having your own guy when you go into the record store, who knows what you like but can also point you down some paths you wouldn’t necessarily have encountered.”

Reznor is the man behind the soundtrack for several films, including The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as video games such as Quake, and most recently Call of Duty Black Ops II. Of course, he’s also been around the music scene since the late 80s with his most well-known project, Nine Inch Nails.

[via Pitchfork]

We’ve seen the most major billboards in Time’s Square showing off no less than the logo for this app and a blast-faced Madonna looking over the landscape. Does that make a great app? Sure, why not? And while the developers behind this app were at it, they updated the software as well – might as well!

What we’re seeing here is an update that makes the app for mobile devices resemble the web browser-based environment, this bringing the whole family together for a fun party. You’ll see an extremely large back-library of artists still sticking around through this update – essentially the same as Spotify with 18 million. While it would appear, according to TechCrunch’s figures, that Spotify is the more popular of the two services, Rdio may well be coming up quick.

The new Rdio app update will certainly have you thinking twice about updating past that free trial you get when you first sign up. If on the other hand you’re in the mood for free music at home, you’ve got lots of choices beyond Rdio – lots with advertisements backing them up, of course. Rdio remains the same as it was when it launched all those months ago – free trial to pay-to-use only – and no advertisements anywhere.

This app is available for download in the iTunes App Store now. It’s also available in a slightly different iteration for Android in the Google Play app store right this minute!

While 20 million listeners registered on iHeartRadio seems like a lot, Clear Channel says that users don’t need an account to use the service, meaning that millions more people are using the service. iHeartRadio was launched 13 months ago at the inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival back in September 2011.

Brian Lakamp, President of Digital for Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, says that “iHeartRadio has experienced unprecedented growth,” and the service “truly creates unmatched promotional power that is unique to Clear Channel and allows [them] to be wherever [their] listeners are with the products and services they expect.”

iHeartRadio provides instant access to over 1,500 live broadcast and digital-only radio stations across the US from 150 cities, and by signing up for an account, you can get access to user-created Custom Stations inspired by a variety of favorite artists and songs. The iHeartRadio App is available across multiple platforms including on the web, and on iOS and Android devices.

While this is certainly good news to Spotify loyalists, the music streaming service emphasized that the beta will only be available for a select number of users, but they didn’t say how many or what the criteria was for selecting the group of beta testers. The company was pretty vague in their confirmation, saying only “a small number of users” will be testing out the web app.

The confirmation of a Spotify web player shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. We heard whisperings about a possible browser-based music player back in September, and it was only a matter of time before the company released one anyway, considering that one of its main competitors, Rdio, has a browser-based music player of its own.

Spotify says that we’ll hear more info about their web app later “next year,” which sounds like a ways off, but next year is actually only a couple months away. Hopefully Spotify will hit us with an official launch of a web music player first thing in January. Until then, we’ll have to rely on our desktop apps for now.

[via The Next Web]

Don’t own a Samsung smart TV? You won’t be left out in the cold, as the joint announcement says that Spotify will be coming to Samsung’s Blu-Ray players and home theater systems as well. All you need to do is downloaded the Spotify app on you smart TV or Blu-Ray player, log on, and you’ll have access to Spotify’s library of 18 million songs. That is, provided you’re a Spotify premium subscriber.

Yes, it sounds like this app will only be available to those who have a Spotify premium subscription, but if you’ve yet to shell out the cash for a premium membership, you’ll have the opportunity to test it out with a free trial. There’s no word on how long this trial period will last, but we’re willing to assume that it will last just long enough for you to integrate Spotify into your day-to-day life before it cuts you off. That isn’t to say that signing up for Spotify premium is a bad idea, as premium members will have their playlists synced across their devices and get to enjoy ad-free listening.

Hopefully this is the first of many partnerships that see Spotify launching on a variety of devices. There’s no word on a solid release date for this app, which comes complete with an interface designed for large screens, but Samsung and Spotify say that it will arrive later this year. Considering there are only two months left in 2012, that means European users should be getting the app relatively soon. Stay tuned.

According to the reports, the BBC music streaming service will be called Playlister. Reports indicate that the music streaming service will be a pay offering and will provide access to hundreds of thousands of audio tracks without any additional fees. The reports aren’t exactly clear on how the music streaming service would work.

It seems unclear exactly which route BBC will take for the rumored music streaming service with two different possibilities mentioned. One of the possibilities is that BBC is designing a service to make its own archive of music recordings available to subscribers. The other indication is that BBC may work with Spotify, Deezer, or iTunes to get around having to set up its own licensing deals.

BBC has also reportedly hinted at a third possibility. BBC commented, “The BBC is regularly in conversation with digital music providers about how we strengthen radio’s position as the number one place for discovering music in the UK.” That sounds a lot like something that would tie into BBC’s radio station efforts. The BBC has a press conference set for October 8 where we hope more details will be offered.

Details are still yet to be figured out completely, but it’s said that the service will be similar to that of Spotify and Rdio, where users will be able to stream music online. The BBC has talked about the idea of creating their own streaming music service in the past, but they’ve had trouble getting the rights to do so from various labels. However, it’s said that the company will be talking with Spotify, Apple, and other music streaming service providers to see if they can avoid this problem.

While Playlister is still in the discussion stages, it’s scheduled to launch either later this year or early next year. And if everything goes smoothly, hopefully the new service will see the same success that iPlayer is currently earning. iPlayer has been a huge success for BBC, and it’s actually changed the way a lot of people watch television.

iPlayer was used more than 196 million times in a three-month period this year. The London Olympics alone accounted for as many as 51 million requests per week. Playlister could easily see the same success. However, just like with iPlayer, the upcoming music service will probably not be expanding outside the UK any time soon.

[via The Telegraph]

The BT Connect receiver lets users of the iPhone, iPod, or iPad stream music wirelessly from their device to audio systems that lack integrated Bluetooth connectivity. The device has 10 hours of playback per set of AAA batteries and is designed to be small and compact for clean and simple installation.

This device remembers Bluetooth connections after pairing for easy connectivity and will sell for $59.95. The BT Home Connect is a Bluetooth audio receiver designed to be used with your favorite home speakers allowing the streaming of AAC quality audio with no wires. This device ships with a 3.5 mm to RCA converter for use with a variety of speaker systems and audio receivers.

Once paired with your device the BT Home Connect remembers your connection for easy access in the future. This device also sells for $59.95. The main difference between the two devices is that the Home Connect doesn’t offer a battery power option. Additional details on both devices, including availability will be announced later.

The brand new iPod Touch will be available in 5 different colors actually, and two size flavors. You’ll get the 32GB model starting at $299, as well as a 64GB flavor for $399. The main color will be the “raw brushed aluminum” then you’ll get black, red, yellow, and blue. Add in the iPod Touch Loop (wrist strap) and you’re good to go.

Hey did we mention Siri? The all new iPod Touch with its awesome 4-inch Retina screen, dual-core processor, multiple colors, sleek 6.1mm design and more will also have Siri support thanks to iOS 6. Apple has just detailed everything and you can read more by clicking here.

For those interested in the impressive new iPod Touch (or any of the 5 colors) you can pre-order it online at Apple’s online store starting September 14th for just $299. Then we can expect the brand new iPod to hit stores starting in October although an exact date wasn’t given. If that price is too high the previous generation has received a slight decrease in price too. Stay tuned for full details and retail dates.

The device allows users to stream music from any Bluetooth enabled smartphone. The Ribbon can also be connected to a speaker dock or stereo system to allow streaming from the iPhone or other smartphones to a home audio system. BlueAnt is trying to position the device as an option for users who plan upgrade to the iPhone 5 that is rumored to have a new docking connector, rendering existing speaker docks obsolete.

The Ribbon ships with a 3.5 mm cable that plugs into the speaker jack on any non-Bluetooth speaker system. The device can also be used a car that has a 3.5 mm auxiliary input allowing users to stream music from your smartphone to the car stereo. The device can also receive streaming audio from other applications, such as GPS navigation directions.

Users can also make and receive calls on using the Ribbon, and it allows users to pause, play, and control audio tracks. BlueAnt promises that the audio quality is near CD and the Ribbon ships with earphones. The device allows access to Siri and Google Voice Actions with a double tap, and the rechargeable battery is good for six hours of use per charge. The Ribbon will launch in October for $69.99.

Surprisingly, Google has now reinstated the app and it is available again for download via Google Play. The surprising part about this is that the app was reinstated with no fanfare despite the fact that the company has copyright infringement lawsuits pending. Typically, Google distances itself from as many copyright infringement suits as possible.

Grooveshark is being sued by three of the four major record labels. The suits allege that Grooveshark infringes on copyrights. The alleged infringement occurs because of the way Grooveshark works. The service allows users to listen to tracks uploaded by other members.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that record labels don’t want anyone hearing music they haven’t paid for. Access to the Grooveshark app cost users $6-$9 monthly and a free online streaming service is offered. There are some licensed music from independent record labels available as well. Grooveshark hasn’t come back to the Apple App Store at this point.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Sirius also says it will be making older content available, including its exclusive shows, specials, and series, and new Featured Content will give users a broader access to the library available to them, including interviews and new shows, and users will naturally have access to Sirius’ most popular shows, including The Howard Stern Show, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Ask Martha.

“Vault” content will include various Town Halls with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Usher, Coldplay, and Nirvana. Users will be able to store On Demand content for a limited time on their mobile devices too, so you could load up a few shows for offline listening when you’re next without an internet connection.

Notifications are also onboard, pushing new alerts when shows are updated or added. The only drawback is that commercials will still be added into the On Demand content, although Sirius says the interruptions will be “minimal” on select shows, while music programming will have no commercials at all. There’s no Android version of the app yet either, but the company says it’s coming in the near future.

Just like the iOS version, users will be able to create personalized stations based on artist, album or playlists, and can enjoy unlimited listening as part of their premium subscription. Any songs that users stumble across while they’re listening can also be saved for later use, and songs can also receive the thumbs up and thumbs down treatment.

Any changes made on mobile devices sync across the platform as well, so you can pick up where you left off on the desktop later. Best of all, you don’t need a paid subscription to use the radio side of Spotify’s service, marking the first time that free users can get access to Spotify’s music catalogue on mobile devices. It might not be as flexible as total access, but it’s a step in the right direction.

While Spotify operates a free music streaming service which is supported by ads, it has two subscriptions tiers for unaltered listening. Unlimited costs $5, but only the Premium $10 option allows for Spotify usage on mobile devices. If you want an alternative to Pandora and similar services, head on over to the Play Store and grab the latest Spotify update.

This application will open up to a grid of selectable sections for you on your smartphone – there’s no tablet version yet, but we’re hoping in the near future this app will be blasted to all Samsung devices. You’ll need to sign in with your Samsung account (the same you use for your Media Hub) and, if you want, your 7digital music account as well.

The grid consists of 12 different options:

• My Music
• Catalog
• Radio
• Recommended
• Search
• Tagged
• Recent
• Downloads
• Account
• Settings
• Help
• About

This menu brings you not only streaming access to songs you’ve uploaded from your desktop of laptop via Samsung’s servers, it will play music that’s currently housed on your phone as well. You can also get streaming tunes from Samsung’s catalog with 7digital, add these tracks to an offline playlist if you’ve got a premium account, or download albums for a fee. You can also access a massive amount of internet radio stations. If you’re unsure of what you want to work with, start by browsing the Catalog.

There you’ll see a selection of musical genres, one of which you must choose. Inside each genre you’ll see the music split up by Artist, Album, and Song. Some songs are playable all the way through while some, like Hugh Laurie’s tunes, are limited to 30 seconds unless you opt to purchase.

In My Music you’ll find all of the tunes you’ve got on your device, streaming from your Samsung account, and music you’ve purchased – as well as music you’ve added to your streaming collection via 7digital. In other words, you’ve got music from so many places you wont know what to do with it all. Here you’ll have tunes split up by Albums, Artists, Playlists, and of course you’ll have “All Songs” as well.

These albums are split up by name or, if you’re looking at an album list, by name and album cover – where applicable. You can access this music also from the Music Hub website that Samsung will be launching alongside the app. From the site you’ll also be able to upload music to Samsung’s servers. In this way you’ll find this application ecosystem to be very similar to Google Music.

Music uploaded to the site (and subsequently accessible by you from your Galaxy S III) automatically has formatting for albums and brings up album covers where Samsung is able to detect them. You can also add album covers and do some arranging here if Samsung wasn’t able to go the mile you wanted.

You can tag you music, you can see recent tunes in the app, you can track your downloads, do some basic equalizing, search for tunes (both in the catalog and in your own library at once) and you can adjust your settings galore. The best part of the whole show is the actual Currently Playing screen. Why? Because it looks great and you can switch back and forth from track to track with a swipe of your finger, just like Spotify but looking just a little bit more like iTunes – and all of it in the end looks pretty darn good together.

This app, subscriptions, premium accounts, the website, and everything else will be available to Samsung Galaxy S III users SOON. Until then, think about how long it’ll take you to transfer everything over from Google Music. It might be worth the time spent!

Christina Kelly, an Android app developer, has managed to get Swords and Soldiers to start on the device, although that’s apparently where the fun ends. The game won’t actually run, and even if it did, the lack of touch controls would put a damper on things pretty quickly. It does mean, however, that the Nexus Q is a flexible platform that developers can have some fun with.

The fact that the orb is running Android and has an architecture comparable to the Galaxy Nexus gives developers a lot of freedom, as well as the opportunity to explore the possibilities of the device. Kelly notes that while Google TV devices also run a version of Android, porting an app over to the platform is a difficult affair.

Google has dubbed the Nexus Q a social streaming media player. The orb can only be controlled using Android devices, with content streamed from Google’s content services via the cloud instead of across a local network. Users can also create social playlists, adding songs or videos to be queued up and played up the device. The Nexus Q doubles as a 25 watt amplifier that you can plug your speakers into, and plugs into your TV via HDMI.

The biggest takeaway from the article is that Apple is planning to add a new sharing feature. Sources talking to Bloomberg indicate that Apple is negotiating with the record labels to allow users to send songs to each other and listen for free. The company has also been requesting additional photos and pictures of bands to expand on multimedia features in iTunes.

Interestingly, the record labels have been asking Apple to provide an unlimited music streaming subscription service similar to what Spotify offers, but one source believes Cupertino “isn’t likely to announce that type of service.” Bloomberg notes that Apple’s recent move to separate Podcasts from the main iTunes app on iDevices is part of the company’s shift to more organized content. Any changes that are made to iTunes will reportedly come towards the end of the year.

“Quincy Jones – The Stories Behind the Music” features tailored playlists, artwork, and exclusive audio that helps to paint a picture of the artist’s career. Quincy will detail via audio voiceovers who inspired him, how to create a hit record, and how music is effectively used in movies. “Tiesto’s Club Life” will pull together the best dance music from Spotify, with features including a single of the week, album of the month, and the festival of the month.

The Rancid app will see the band adding to a playlist of their favorite music selections as well as information regarding the picks. One of the band members, Tim Armstrong, will also showcase the music that inspired his own career. Disturbed will use their app in a similar way, looking at past and present rock and metal music with individual playlists as well as special guest playlists. The apps are available on the desktop Spotify clients right now.

The new app features an all new slide-out navigation, and new crossfade/gapless playback settings, just like the desktop apps. In addition, there’s a new Spotify widget that will allow you to control music from the home screen, and you can dump playlists into the app straight from folders.

High resolution displays have made a big impact in the smartphone market, and Spotify has reached accordingly. The new app will pull down high-res album and artist artwork, but if you want the best sound as well, there’s a 320Kbit/s “Extreme” listen mode for you to toggle. That might eat into your data plan with extensive listening, so use it wisely. To round everything off, Last.fm scrobbling has it to the new app, and Spotify say the whole shebang should be much, much faster than the old app.

The new app is apparently available on the Play Store right now, although European Android users are reporting that the app hasn’t been updated quite yet. Keep an eye out in the meantime: it should land sometime today.