mp3

Sky to Launch Music Streaming/Download Service as the Money Moves Elsewhere

Clay Dillow — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:00:24 -0400

In the digital music arena, it often seems like there is iTunes, and then there is everybody else. (A spoof of an iTunes ad pictured left.) While Apple cornered the market early by dropping the iPod on the world and then shrewdly tethering it to its iTunes money machine, many a competitor has attempted to grab a piece of the MP3 action, some through paid subscription services, some through download sales.

Say What? The E.U. Wants You To Turn Down MP3s?

Kit Eaton — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:32:55 -0400

Always a caring bunch, E.U. lawmakers have just mandated that MP3 player makers remind their users of the risks of hearing damage from prolonged, loud headphone use.

Apple-Palm Wars: Apple Wins iTunes Syncing Battle

Kit Eaton — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:01:18 -0400

Remember when I said Apple probably wouldn't let the Pre sneakily connect to iTunes for media syncing? I was right. And now, after some to-and-froing, the USB's regulatory body has sided with Apple, effectively agreeing it can block Palm.

Microsoft Positions Zune as a Cloud-Based Media System

Kit Eaton — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:29:01 -0400

Microsoft's Zune HD rolls out today, but as part of its launch Microsoft's spinning it with an interesting angle--the Zune 4.0 software makes it into a cloud-based, central component of your home-media system.

Want to Save the Planet? Stop Buying CDs, Start Downloading Music

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:16:01 -0400

It seems intuitive enough that downloading music would be less carbon-intensive than buying a CD that has been transported in a truck and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic.

Record Labels Mix Up a Rival to Apple's "Cocktail"

Kit Eaton — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:33:44 -0400

Silly, music business. Will the record labels ever learn? There's news today that a group of record labels are busy working on their own next-generation digital album format to rival Apple's "Cocktail" system. It's doomed to failure.

Can Smartphones Save the Sex Business?

Kit Eaton — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:14:19 -0400

"If all the porn on the 'net were banned, the Internet would shut down save for one page, which would say 'Bring back all the porn.'" So goes the famous joke about adult content online, but the one group not laughing is the adult entertainment industry. The old maxim that "sex sells" is having a tough time of it at the moment, with the business in free fall thanks to the abundance of free porn available online. There's one hope in the form of a gadget though: The smartphone.

Warner, 7digital Spread the Music

Zachary Wilson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:10:53 -0400

In a sign that the major labels are finally beginning to embrace digital music worldwide, U.K.-based digital music provider 7digital announced a pan-European licensing agreement with Warner Music to sell their MP3s, nearly completing the map of Europe. This month, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands will join the U.K., Ireland, Spain, Germany, and Austria, and additional countries will be rolled out over the coming months.

Metallica's iPod-Friendly Jacket Is Darkly Ironic

Kit Eaton — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 10:26:53 -0400

There's a delightful irony in this: Metallica, long-term DRM advocates, iTunes hold-outs, and MP3 haters, are releasing a branded jacket that includes Skullcandy speakers and--horror of horrors--an iPod dock connector.

Coldplay Sells a Million Digital Albums, Confirms Downloads Are King

Kit Eaton — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:11:46 -0400

Coldplay is the king of downloads. According to Neilsen, the band has become the first to sell over one million digital albums in the U.S., and over two million worldwide. It may be surprising that this hasn't happened before, but it basically confirms something we all knew anyway--digital downloads are the future for music.

Piaggio Announces First Hybrid Scooter

Ariel Schwartz — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:23:27 -0400

LEGO's Block-Inspired Electronics Are Ready to Be Snapped Up This Fall

Clay Dillow — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:52:54 -0400

LEGO has teamed with electronics designer Digital Blue to create a line of LEGO-inspired consumer electronics for creative kids and nostalgic adults alike. Announced earlier this year, the final product will be available this fall, and the line includes digital cameras (1.5 megapixel), walkie talkies, MP3 players, boom boxes and alarm clocks, and USB drives constructed of iconic LEGO components--but not actual bricks that you can snap apart.

Leaked Zune Images Point to 3rd-and Possibly Fake-Device in Microsoft's Lineup

Chris Dannen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:05:21 -0400

Microsoft may have another new audio player up its sleeve: The Zune "3rd," as it's being dubbed. The tip came in the form of a supposed advertising image, seen below, courtesy of Gizmodo.

My Secret Love for Rhapsody

Chris Dannen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:38:31 -0400

I exist mostly in an Apple ecosystem: I work on a Mac, call on an iPhone, and work out with a Shuffle. And yet, here I am, spending more and more time on Rhapsody.

Beatles Discography Finally Gets Digital Remastering, Due 9/9/09

Kit Eaton — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:01:47 -0400

Some audiophiles would argue "let it be," but the Beatles' discography is finally being brought fully into the digital 21st Century: Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have just announced that the completely re-mastered back-catalog of recordings will be released on September 9.

Will Tiered Pricing Threaten iTunes' Music-Biz Dominance?

Kit Eaton — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:28:36 -0400

As promised months ago, Apple has implemented a tiered pricing structure for iTunes music tracks today. But with many of the same tracks available from Amazon at a lower price, and a fresh report showing that Amazon's music store is slowly catching up with iTunes, this could be bad timing for Apple.

The Gross Inconvenience of the New iPod Shuffle

Chris Dannen — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:51:08 -0400

If you're an iPhone user, you just looked at Apple's [AAPL] new 4GB iPod Shuffle and groaned.

Why You'll Buy-Not Download-U2's "No Line On The Horizon"

Kit Eaton — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:04:15 -0500

Plenty of people have already written eulogies for the compact disc now that iTunes is the number one U.S. music retailer, and CD sales are in a death spiral.

When Will Microsoft Get a Clue?

Chris Dannen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:24:24 -0500

It's been a tough year for Redmond: bricking Zunes, class-action suits, and the people-hate-Vista debacle. You'd think those three catapstrophes would be enough to make the PC giant shape up. You'd be wrong.

Ovation iDea Guitar Records Itself As You Play

Kit Eaton — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:36:16 -0500

Digital recorders for your guitar playing are two a penny, but the Ovation iDea guitar apparently represents the first time digital recording has been built into the body of a guitar.

Should Apple Fear Web Radio? You Bet.

Chris Dannen — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:54:49 -0500

The term “Internet radio” is reminiscent of those DVD/VHS combo players that were popular a few years back: a hybrid of two technologies, one embraced the future while the other clinged to the past. And if Slacker radio is any indication, Internet radio may someday make MP3s — once thought to be the “future” of music — obsolete.

Apple's "Let's Rock" Event Run-Down

Chris Dannen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:54:48 -0400

Yesterday in San Fransisco, Apple [NASDAQ:AAPL] announced a slew of music-related device and software updates for the iPod and Macintosh. Some are big and some are small, but as a collective whole, the updates are an effective reiteration of why Apple is so strong in the personal music space.

New iriver Touch Media Player Coming Soon

Chris Dannen — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:12:49 -0400

There has been a little bit of speculation as to the form-factor that iriver's [KDQ:060570] new media player, the Spinn, would take; early FCC leaks seemed to suggest that it would operate via a traditional directional pad. But the official word is here, and that word is touchscreen (with haptic feedback). The device is officially listed on iriver's Korean site, with specs and all. Here's what the Spinn has in store:

Creative Reveals New "Zen Krystal" Media Player

Chris Dannen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:26:24 -0400

Creative Media Player Offers Small Size, Big Functionality

Chris Dannen — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:17:00 -0400