• Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' Finally Available for Streaming via Apple Music

    The clouds have parted and hip-hop fans are celebrating to know that Dr. Dre's classic solo album 'The Chronic' will be available digitally for the first time via Apple Music. Never before has the album been available through other streaming platforms. The album is a favorite among hip-hop fans for its defining "g-funk" style and hits such as "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang" and "F*ck Wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')."
  • Expert Analysts Chart How Likely Beats Music, Spotify, Tidal and Others Are to Provide Minimum Wage to Performers

    The debate over streaming and which services best reward artiest for their work rages on, and one of the major analysts in the argument has updated his numbers. David McCandless first brought attention to streaming and other format earning for musicians with his 2010 study "Selling Out: How Much Do Music Artists Earn Online," and now he's updated the numbers to deal with new offerings and new policies at preexisting companies.
  • Apple and Beats Music May Face Antitrust Investigation for Pressuring European Record Labels

    The European Commission is reportedly preparing for an investigation of Apple with regard to its forthcoming relaunch of Beats Music streaming service. The Hollywood Reporter indicates that questionnaires have been sent out to several European music labels, which is usually an indication that someone has filed a complaint and may be followed by an antitrust investigation.
  • Apple and Beats Looking To Rival Spotify: New Report Details Silicon Valley Giant's Attempt To Modernize Streaming Service

    Apple appears to be in the process of making one of the most drastic changes to its music divisions in years. Rumors and theories have been floated out there about the $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music and the industry has a pretty good idea of what the Silicon Valley giant plans to do, but a new report by the New York Times explains in more detail what the acquisition is shaping its music strategy. According to the report, Apple is attempting to rebrand and totally overhaul is own streaming platforms to compete with other services like Spotify.
  • Apple Reportedly Set To Relaunch Beats Music In March 2015

    After Apple bought Beats for $3 billion earlier this year, industry experts wondered what the Silicon Valley giant planned to do with the company. Now according to a report in the Financial Times, there appears to be some clarity on what the intent of Apple is with Beats Music going forward. According to the report via Billboard, Apple plans to bundle a rebranded Beats Music into an upcoming IOS that will come standard on the update. Something like this was expected when Apple acquired Beats Music in May. Now it appears that there is a timeline for the new relaunch of Beats Music.
  • High-Quality Audio Service Tidal Enters the United States Market

    Audiophiles, rejoice! If you have been looking for an alternative to the average to low-quality sound being streamed by services like Spotify, Beats Music and YouTube, then a new audio service called Tidal is here for you. The service launched in the United States market last week as the first streaming service to offer only high-quality audio.Deezer Elite, which launched in the United States last month, offers high quality as part of its package, but you must be hooked up to Sonos to get the quality. Tidal streams high-fidelity lossless quality, which means it is at 1411 kilobytes per second. To put that in perspective, Spotify streams at 160 kbps for standard desktop and Web player users, iTunes downloads at 256 kbps and Beats Music at 320 kbps, widely considered to be the threshold for good quality for an MP3.Tidal has a library of 25 million songs, comparable to Spotify and Beats Music, and comes with a curation aspect as well. The service creates playlists and gives you recommendations from their editorial team. Not only do you get high-quality music, but you also get HD video for music videos as well.
  • Apple Says It Isn't Shutting Down Beats Music

    Company reps for Apple and Beats have denied claims that they are shutting down the streaming music service, telling The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard that the story is "not true."
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