Last month, a new radio station on Google Play Music called 'New Release Radio' arrived for Samsung's latest flagship smartphones. It was a Samsung exclusive, apparently, but that exclusivity didn't last long. The feature was at first available to some non-S8 owners via a couple tweaks, and now it is officially available for all Google Play Music users. What does it have to offer? Everything you want to hear.
Today the Jay-Z album 4:44 was made available on platforms outside of Tidal. This album was originally released on June 30th, 2017 on Tidal exclusively. It was immediately streamed by iHeartRadio for a full day with talking breaks, and was given away in a promotion with Sprint. Promotions such as these make us recall his deal with Samsung to give his Magna Carta Holy Grail album away with a rare deal that resulted in the album being "sold" 1-million times before going on sale in the retail space.
![Google Play summer sale begins today [App downloads, media]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/googleplaystore.jpg)
This week the folks at Google have begun the first summer sale they've ever held in the Google Play Store that's also store-wide. This stale includes a number of pieces of software and media right from the start, and will roll out additional price-cuts for software and media in the near future. This will include apps, books, and games - while Google Music seems set to stay separate as its own entity.
Spotify has begun showing its free-tier users sponsored songs, something presented as part of a test that may see a wider rollout in the future. The sponsored songs are showing up for some users in both the mobile app and on desktop, showing up within existing playlists. The songs are opt-out, meaning users will see them unless they specifically choose not to. How widely the sponsored songs are being distributed isn't clear.
Back in April, as we previously reported, Google Play Music offered some special perks for Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners, primarily the ability to upload 100,000 songs to the cloud rather than 50,000, plus an extended 3-month free trial. Now Google has extended another exclusive feature to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ -- a special personalized radio station that plays the latest hits, but only the ones you (probably) want to hear.
We've seen official soundtracks launch on records, which isn't too unusual considering the currently popularity of the medium. Less popular but perhaps making a comeback are cassette tapes. If you're one of the few people still fond of popping a cassette into your tape player, good news: the Stranger Things soundtrack will soon be available to purchase on tape from Urban Outfitters.
It is a time of miracles. Microsoft embraces Linux and open source. Apple creates a somewhat upgradeable iMac. And Taylor Swift brings her albums on Spotify. Yes, you read that right. In the name of celebrating the "1989" album's milestone achievements, the artist who waged war on most, but not all, streaming services is thanking her fans by putting her catalog back on all streaming services. And, yes, that does include Spotify.
Apple is not one known for playing ball with others if it can get away with it. This is true for its proprietary connections prior to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, but is still and especially true for its media formats. So when you hear Apple suddenly supporting the competing, not to mention open, FLAC lossless audio format in iOS 11, you’d be forgiven for raising an eyebrow and wondering if something is amiss.
Apple has announced that its customers will soon have access to Carpool Karaoke: The Series, a show that revolves around celebrities getting in a car and having fun with others over topics that include music, comedy, and more. According to Apple, the series will be available to Apple Music subscribers starting on August 8, bringing them new episodes every Tuesday in more than one hundred countries around the globe.
It seems that streaming music service Tidal is continuing to flounder, as the news has surfaced that it has lost yet another CEO. Jeff Toig has been gone from the company since March reports Billboard, and it means that Tidal is now looking for its fourth CEO in a period of only two years. This comes after recent troubles including the failure to find a buyer and claims that it's been exaggerating its subscriber numbers, as well as the firing of its CFO and COO early last year.
When it comes to music rhythm video games, the genre can pretty much be traced back to a single title: the highly acclaimed PaRappa the Rapper for the original PlayStation. In the years that followed came the just as influential cult hit Gitaroo Man for the PS2. Now, many years later, the creators of these two games have announced they're teaming up to make a brand-new title called Project Rap Rabbit.
Blue Microphones has launched its new Blue Satellite headphones, a pair of wireless cans that feature an integrated audio amp and activate noise cancellation. The headphones are designed to provide a high-end audio experience despite their wireless nature, and this is largely made possible thanks to that built-in audio amp. Blue says the amp 'brings out new detail in your music,' complementing the model's 44mm drivers.
