We’ve heard very little about the official Apple Music app for Android since the service was announced back in June, but now a third-party company claims to be running a new beta program on Apple’s behalf.
Betabound is giving Android users the opportunity to register their interest in Apple Music for a chance to get early access — but we’re not totally sure it can be trusted.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The embargoes have lifted and the iPhone 6s reviews are in. We’ll tell you what folks love — and don’t –about Apple’s newest iPhone. Plus: Apple car coming in 2019; why we love the new watchOS 2 update; and, with our three-month Apple Music trials running out, we ponder — is the service worth paying for?
Our thanks to Lynda for supporting this episode. Lynda is like the Apple Music of online education, with more than 3,000 expert-taught video courses you can stream straight to computer or mobile device. Learn how to use Logic’s new super-powerful Alchemy synth, or develop Mac apps for OS X — learn all you want for free for 10 days at lynda.com/cultcast.
Apple debuted a new star-studded ad for Apple Music during last night’s 2015 Emmy Awards, featuring singer Mary J. Blige, Scandal actress Kerry Washington, and Hustle & Flow actress Taraji P. Henson.
The ad focuses on the curated playlists of Apple Music, which is a feature Apple has been focusing on to differentiate itself from rival music services.
You can check it out below:
Fashion brand Burberry is coming to Apple Music with its own channel, and it plans on bringing a lot of luxury with it.
The company will curate its own channel on Apple Music starting Tuesday, offering listeners a taste of performances, songs and films that have come out of Burberry’s work with British artists.
Apple Music has done a pretty decent job of suggesting content to users over its first couple of months. Between its auto-generated playlists based on your preference bubbles and curation straight from famous acts and DJs, you should have little trouble finding something you might not mind sticking in your earholes. And a new batch of ads for the streaming service has even more suggestions.
You can check out what Apple Music wants you to discover in the videos below.
Surprise, surprise! Former Google CEO and current Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt has a bone to pick with Apple Music.
In an article published over the weekend, Schmidt takes what appears to be a shot at Apple over its choice to embrace human curation for its streaming service.
40-year-old Cameroonian musician Blick Bassy has revealed how his life was transformed when Apple chose one of his songs, “Kiki,” for part of its iPhone 6 ad campaign.
Although the ad only includes a 15-second excerpt of the song, Bassy says the resulting exposure has been greater than anything he has experienced in his 20 year musical career.
Check out the ad below:
Apple’s getting ready to sink its teeth into original programming, according to recent reports, and there are suggestions it will launch a new video streaming service for Apple TV. The Cupertino company has already taken the fight to Spotify with Apple Music, so why not Netflix next?
The big question is, does Apple have what it takes to produce shows as good as House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt all by itself? And would it really want to?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over Apple’s supposed invasion on Netlix’ turf.
There have been mixed reports about the success of Apple Music — with the project’s senior director leaving Apple, reports of declining listenership, and Apple acknowledging that the platform still needs a lot of work.
However, according to a new ComScore report, Apple Music is certainly catching the attention of users. The digital analytics company claims that Apple’s Music service was listened to by 44 million users in the U.S. during the month of July — putting it in the top 15 smartphone apps in the U.S.
In a rare showing, Apple has acknowledged that there is still “a bit of homework to be done” when it comes to improving one of its products — in this case, Apple Music.
The company’s streaming music service has seen mixed success since its launch back in June, with reports of falling listenership and even a public slating from a well-known pro-Apple pundit.
Recently Apple Music’s senior director upped and left the company, with no word on whether it was his or Apple’s decision to step down.
Given Netflix’s success in the area, it would be fair to say that most people are excited about the possibility that Apple may be entering the original programming arena.
However, according to a new report citing industry insiders, Apple could wait quite a while before launching into its latest venture.
Departed Apple Music senior director Ian Rogers will join French luxury company LVMH — the company which owns iconic luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Bulgari — as its new chief digital officer.
In a new interview, Beats President Luke Wood — the man in charge of hardware for the Apple-owned brand — talks life after the Apple acquisition, and answers long-standing criticisms about the bass-heavy quality of Beats headphones.
The Weeknd’s performance of “I Can’t Feel My Face” at last night’s MTV Video Music Awards was so hot, even Kanye got up to dance to the song of summer. The singer didn’t go home with a moon man last night but Apple Music debuted a two-part ad that features John Travolta and a trippy club scene.
Watch both ads below:
If you ignore its share price, Apple is doing incredibly well under Tim Cook, thanks in large part to the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. But its newest offerings, Apple Watch and Apple Music, may be off to rocky starts.
This leads us to ask, once again, whether Apple has lost its spark without Steve Jobs. Is the company as exciting or as innovative under Cook? If Apple Watch can’t get us all to wear smartwatches and Apple Music doesn’t put Spotify out of business, does Apple have what it takes to revolutionize another industry?
Join us as we battle it out over those questions in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac.
In a surprising move, Apple Music senior director Ian Rogers has left Apple — just two months after the new streaming service was launched.
Rogers was key in shaping Apple’s online radio strategy, leading to the launch of Beats 1. Prior to joining Apple in August 2014, he worked as CEO at Beats Music.
SAN FRANCISCO — Just how big is Apple’s next product reveal going to be? All signs point to it being a massive blowout of an event — far bigger than the standard iPhone “s” upgrade the world is expecting.
Apple has signed a deal with Latin American “cultural outlet” Remezcla to create playlists for Apple Music.
The company, which began as a Latino events guide for New York, specializes in Latin America’s musical “new wave.” It regularly produces content for brands and festivals eager to reach young Latino audiences — something Apple is more than keen to do with its new streaming music service.
Apple might be unfairly painted as an aging company run by middle-aged white dudes with “dad dancing” moves, but it’s certainly not shying away from controversial characters.
Cupertino’s roster today includes employees like Dr. Dre — a man who was the epitome of gangsta rap before becoming “hip-hop’s first billionaire” — and Trent Reznor, aka the singer who once made public his desire to, erm, sleep with you in an animalistic fashion.
It’s a safe bet that Apple wants to be down with the kids, but this controversy-seeking behavior comes with a fair share of risk. And it’s only going to be a matter of time before Apple is hit by it.
This week we’ve got a magazine positively laden with great stuff: a piece on how great Apple Music actually is, a look at how veteran music service Rhapsody struggles for relevance, a chat with the young hacker who added custom watch faces to Apple Watch, and quite a few helpful how-to tips.
If you want a full-to-the-brim Apple news experience this weekend, be sure to download the latest Cult of Mac Magazine, or subscribe if you’re into that sort of thing!
Responding to the existential threat posed by Apple Music and Spotify, old-school streaming music service Rhapsody has completely overhauled its mobile app. The revamped Rhapsody comes with a fresh design and new features to take things up a notch — although some of these things look mighty familiar.
Will this redesign be enough to take on the newcomers that are eating Rhapsody’s lunch? Check out what Rhapsody brings to the table and see for yourself.
Apple Music cranked up the volume on music streaming, turning an insider topic into water-cooler fodder as musicians, industry bigwigs and tech analysts weighed in with questions about the future of the music industry.
Seemingly everybody is suddenly talking about Apple Music subscription numbers and the chances of competitors like Spotify and Pandora. But in all the media buzz about who’s winning and who’s losing, almost everyone is disregarding another major player — Rhapsody, the streaming music service that just happened to spark the streaming revolution.
The confetti from Apple’s splashy launch of its music streaming service has barely finished falling. Now comes startup Geekin Radio, with a streaming service that debuts today. It seems like odd timing.
How will it ever emerge from the shadows of Apple Music? CEO Gavin McCulley is aware of his timing and likes his company’s chances because Geekin Radio’s mobile app is the only streaming service that is an actual social network, offering a shared listening experience, perfectly synced, with back-and-forth chatting in real time.
What the hell, internet? Apple Music, for all its growing pains and glitches, is a fantastic music streaming service.
It’s free unlimited music now, cheaper unlimited music later, and Apple Music is undoubtedly going to get better, especially if you’re already tied into Apple’s ecosystem.
If you take off before the trial period ends, you’re gonna miss out.
According to a survey published today, 48 percent of Apple Music listeners polled say they have given up listening to the streaming music — and the free trial isn’t even over yet.
Meanwhile, 61 percent claim they have disabled the auto-renewal option on their accounts so as not to be charged when the trial period ends in September.