Spotify family plan members required to prove they live at the same address
Spotify now requires members of a family plan to prove that they live in the same address to limit the practice of friends availing themselves of the cheaper subscription price. The music streaming service said that it will request location data from time to time, raising privacy concerns.
Spotify’s improved family plan features now available to new subscribers
Spotify has added a feature that has long been on parents' wish lists: The ability to filter explicit content on the sub-accounts of Spotify family plans. For some, the lack of such a feature has been a reason to join services like Apple Music, which makes the new controls an important addition.
Apple Music rolls out New Music Daily to keep you updated with the latest songs
Apple Music rolled out New Music Daily, which looks to keep subscribers updated with the new songs released by popular artists around the world. The playlist, which replaces Best of the Week, will feature different lead artists in the artwork as its contents are updated every day.
How to upload music to Spotify
Ever wondered if you can add your private music collection to your Spotify account, so you can listen to it on-the-go? It's possible, using a feature called Local Files. It works differently than uploading music to other streaming services, but we've got a step-by-step how-to for those who want to make it happen.
Apple Music takes a peek at what people are Shazaming for new weekly playlist
Taking on Spotify isn't easy, but Apple Music is making great strides, especially in the U.S. Now the streaming giant is hitting Spotify where its users live: A new weekly chart/playlist has been added to Apple Music and it's powered by the company's Shazam music identification app. Will it attract even more users?
Spotify may be considering higher prices for its music plans
Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service. But would that still be the case if it raised its prices? That's something the company is reportedly thinking of testing on its home turf of Scandinavia, where it enjoys a healthy lead over its streaming music competitors.
Apple’s not-hi-res hi-res music is now called something else because iTunes died
Apple has announced a new name for its old initiative to make songs sound better. The Mastered for iTunes initiative, which has long been acclaimed for providing lossless-sounding audio in a compressed AAC format, is now called Apple Digital Masters, and it's something Apple Music subscribers should enjoy.
AT&T subscribers can now get Spotify Premium for free — here’s how
So you want free Spotify Premium, huh? Well, you're in luck — if you're an AT&T customer, that is. That's because it's offering a free Premium subscription to all its customers on select plans, as well as a six-month trial to those who aren't. Here's everything you need to know to redeem this hot deal.
Amazon Music Unlimited is fastest growing music streaming service, report says
Amazon Music Unlimited is the fastest growing music streaming service, ahead of both Spotify and Apple Music, according to a new report by Midia Research published in the Financial Times. Amazon Music Unlimited has been booming recently, with a massive 70% growth in the last year.
Amazon’s biggest sale just got even bigger with a Taylor Swift Prime Day concert
Amazon will celebrate this year's 48-hour long Prime Day sale with a concert headlined by pop music icon Taylor Swift. The Amazon Prime Day Concert will stream live on Amazon Prime Video on July 10 beginning at 6 p.m. PT, and will also feature Dua Lipa, SZA and Becky G.
How to cancel Pandora Premium
Figuring out how to cancel Pandora Premium can be confusing, because how you cancel it all depends on how you signed up in the first place. Just a few possible ways include iTunes, Google Play, Roku and the Amazon Appstore. Once you remember where you got it, canceling your account is easy.
With U.S. launch of Stations app, Spotify aims to beat Apple to Pandora’s crown
Spotify might be the dominant music streaming service globally, but in the U.S., it still faces an uphill battle. To add another weapon to its American arsenal, it has launched its stand-alone Stations app. With a stripped-down interface and quick access to music, it's a way for Spotify to highlight one of its best features.
Digital Trends Live: Spotify launches stations in U.S., Amazon’s train kiosks
On this episode of Digital Trends Live, we discuss the trending tech stories of the day, including Spotify’s plan to launch the Stations app in the U.S., Amazon sets up kiosks in U.K. train stations, IKEA’s custom gaming accessibility products, balloon satellites, and an Xbox body wash.
Spotify’s latest experiment is designed to boost podcast discovery
Podcasting has become a rich medium, with hundreds of shows to choose from in dozens of languages. This means that finding new shows to listen to can be a challenge. Spotify is looking into how it can fix that, and a new set of human-curated podcast playlists might be the answer.
Apple Music and App Store return to normal after early morning outages
Apple Music, the iOS App Store, and the Mac Store, all experienced some pretty major outages early in the morning, only one day after Apple began seeding new operating systems to developers. The outages have since been resolved, and it's currently unclear if they had anything to do with the new software.
Spotify’s secret Social Listening feature could create global listening parties
In what appears to be a secret feature available only to internal employees, Spotify is experimenting with Social Listening, letting friends invite one another to collaborate on music queues in real time both in person or from anywhere in the world. Could this lead to synchronized music parties on a global scale?
Your Apple iTunes listening data is only worth about 8 cents, lawsuit claims
Interested in finding out vast amounts of information about what people have been listening to? Worried that someone might discover your deep love of an embarrassing band? A recent lawsuit alleges that Apple sold iTunes listener data to third parties, who in turn sell it for only eight cents.
Why you can’t buy Car Thing, Spotify’s first hardware device
After several months of rumors, it's true: Spotify has created a voice-activated, in-car device that lets you listen to music and podcasts. Unfortunately, the Car Thing, as it is known, is not for sale. Instead, the company plans to give it to a limited set of users and use the resulting data to improve its services.
Spotify hits repeat on its Premium special offer: $1 a month for 3 months
Back by popular demand it seems, or perhaps to bolster demand, Spotify is relaunching its $1 for three months of its Premium tier of service for anyone who has not previously signed up for a subscription. The offer begins on May 15 and ends on June 30.
Spotify is quietly turning itself into a storytelling platform for artists
To provide more ways for artists and creators to engage with audiences, Spotify is testing out its own version of the popular Stories format, with a new feature called Storyline. It has also launched a new online tool that vastly simplifies the creation of podcasts. Here's what you need to know.
Google has 15 million subscribers for its music-streaming services
Google is chasing its competitors in the world of music streaming services, according to subscriber numbers. It is the fourth largest paid music streaming service. Google's two paid music services, YouTube Music and Google Play Music, have reportedly passed a total of 15 million subscribers.
Looking for podcasts? Google lets you find and play them in its web search
Not content to simply have its own dedicated podcasts app, Google is now letting people find podcasts from within its web search, and play the most recent episodes inside a dedicated web-player. The move comes after the BBC recently decided to pull all of its podcasts from Google's platforms.
Digital Trends Live: Spotify vs. Apple, kamikaze drones, and more
On today’s Digital Trends Live, we discuss Spotify’s accusation that Apple monopolizes streaming music, Uber and Lyft drivers' strike, bounty hunters buying wireless location data, Volkswagen’s EV record attempt, QR codes during TV shows, kamikaze drones, a robotic farm sells produce, and more.
Spotify tests voice-enabled ads for those who prefer talking to tapping
What do you do when you hear an ad on the radio, or perhaps Spotify? Odds are, not much at all. But that may soon change: Spotify is now testing audio ads that you can respond to with your voice. The first ads only take you to other Spotify content, but it's clear: We'll soon be able to holler back at our ads.
Digital Trends Live: Spotify hits 100 million subscriptions, simulated asteroid
On the latest episode of DT Live, we talk about the latest tech news, including Spotify's subscription record, NASA's deadly asteroid prep, Amazon's tracking (and firing) of workers based on A.I. results, a flying car skyport, Samsung's wraparound screen patent, and more!
Spotify is first music service to hit 100 million paying subscribers
Though it's still in second place in the U.S., globally Spotify is on a tear. The company revealed in its Q1 2019 report that it had hit 100 million paying subscribers worldwide, making it the first streaming music company to achieve the milestone. It has also stayed profitable, though challenges remain.
Plex amps up its music offerings with tighter integration with Tidal
Plex may not be the first platform you think of for music streaming, but that may be about to change. The popular media server has added more Tidal integrations to its growing list of features, letting Plex users integrate their personal music collection with Tidal's for a unified experience.
Amazon will reportedly launch a hi-fi version of Amazon Music Unlimited
A new report suggests that Amazon is in the final months of preparation for the launch of a new hi-res tier for its music subscription service. If true, it might launch later this year, for around $15 per month, making it the first of the big streaming giants to take this step.
YouTube Music lands on Google Home speakers
Hot on the heels of Amazon's announcement that it's adding a free version of its Amazon Music service to Alexa-powered speakers, Google is making a similar move, adding a free, ad-supported version of its YouTube Music service to all Google Assistant-powered smart speakers.
Amazon’s free Spotify competitor is here. Just ask Alexa
Just ask Alexa to play your favorite song. Amazon has launched a free, ad-based music streaming service to compete with Spotify's free tier on its popular Echo devices, aiming to keep listeners into the Amazon ecosystem, and to bolster subscriptions to its paid Amazon Music Unlimited service.
Digital Trends Live: Apple music wins, 5G, In the Valley Below, and more
On episode 105 of Digital Trends Live, Greg Nibler discussed trending tech topics like Apple Music passing Spotify in terms of paid subscribers, and welcomed special guests like the Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler to discuss how major cities are approaching the implementation of 5G.
YouTube Music is replacing Google Play Music: Here’s where, when, and why
Google has announced a major revamp of YouTube Music, with an ad-free paid version called YouTube Music Premium, and it seems to be positioning the new service as its premier music streaming app. So what happens to Google Play Music? It's confusing, but this guide will help clear things up.
Pandora to start testing A.I.-powered interactive voice ads
If you spot someone in the street talking to ads on Pandora in the coming months, then no, you’re not going mad. It's part of a trial by the music streaming service that will use interactive voice ads to encourage responses from listeners so brands can learn what elements of a product they’re most interested in.
Newly discovered code hints at future Apple Music Chromecast support
A few new lines of code found in the latest release of Apple Music for Android has some speculating that Chromecast (and Google Home) compatibility may be in the not-so-distant future for Apple's streaming music service. It's a move that would be consistent with many of its other recent announcements.