pandora

Apple, which has been aiming for a summer rollout of a streaming music service, has hit a negotiating snag with Sony Music over some of the features that it is building into its product.

More specifically, Apple and Sony Music, the world's second-largest music label, are still trying to hammer out details over how much Apple would pay for songs that people listen to a fraction of and then skip, according to people familiar with the negotiations. There could be other points of contention as well.

Apple's streaming music service, which most closely resembles Internet radio leader Pandora, … Read more

For some audiophiles, Counting Crows and The Wallflowers will forever be associated with the mid-1990s--along with Netscape Navigator, Hotmail, and of course, Windows 95. But don't call their joint summer outing a nostalgia trip. Velvet-tongued Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz, hot off the heels of The Outlaw Roadshow (alongside a slew of new indie bands), prefers to view his comparatively intimate Wallflowers double bill as a much-needed respite.

Other than sharing a decade, the comradely combos have shared previous tours, a track (Duritz sang on The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache"), and even a producer (T-Bone Burnett, back … Read more

Apple is getting closer to rolling out its free Internet radio service.

The company has reached a licensing deal with the world's largest music label, Universal Music Group, according to people familiar with the situation. Apple is still in deep negotiations with Warner Music Group on some specifics. It also still needs an agreement with Sony Music, which has been tougher for Apple to get on board.

Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr declined to comment.

The deal with Universal, which the Financial Times reported Thursday, could become very lucrative.

After much back and forth about the terms, the deal reached … Read more

Not to gush, but I've loved Songza from the moment I installed it on my iPhone -- way back in June, 2012.

In fact, it has displaced both Pandora and Slacker as my music-streaming app of choice. That's because Songza builds playlists based on whatever activity I'm currently engaged in (working, making dinner, fighting commuter traffic) or mood I'm in (gloomy, happy, romantic), and does so without interruptions or money. You read that right: the app is free, and the music plays commercial-free.

With version 3.0 for iOS, Songza just got even better. (It's also available for Android, but hasn't been similarly updated yet.) It's sporting a vastly improved UI, handy new search and navigation features, and the promise of better audio quality.… Read more

Still renting, buying, and/or owning movies on shiny silver discs? Believe it or not, I suspect most people are doing at least one of those.

And shiny silver discs require a shiny-silver-disc player, hence today's deal. Until the clock strikes midnight (ET), and while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished Samsung BD-E5400 Blu-ray player for $45 shipped. It sells new for $99.99.

Update: Looks like it's sold out.

Like any good Blu-ray player, this one features built-in Wi-Fi, and can stream from a handful of services: CinemaNow (is that still a thing?), Netflix, Pandora, and … Read more

About a year ago I asked readers if it still made sense to buy CDs, what with DRM all but dead and MP3 albums typically selling for less than their disc-based counterparts.

The response was incredible, with some pretty passionate defense of the seemingly antiquated CD. For some users, it's all about sound quality. For others, it's about the security of owning physical media.

Lately I've been wondering if it makes sense to own music at all. Make no mistake: I grew up accumulating LP and 45 records (a crate of which I recently donated to charity), … Read more

Despite being hit by competitors from all sides, Pandora continues gain users at a steady rate.

The music streaming service announced today that it hit a major milestone by racking up 200 million registered users. It took the company six years to get 100 million users, but less than two years to double that number to 200 million.

"When we launched http://www.pandora.com in 2005, we hoped to create a new way to discover and enjoy music that was completely personalized for each and every listener," Pandora founder Tim Westergren wrote in a blog post today. &… Read more

Most car stereos that I've ever fiddled with have offered some sort of equalizer setting that lets the driver customize the sound to their liking, but fitting more than the basic treble, bass, and --occassionally-- midrange controls onto the cramped display of a single DIN receiver is a tricky endeavor. Alpine wants to make it easier for users of its new CDE-147BT receiver to access advanced graphic EQ controls by offloading the audio tuning interface to an Alpine TuneIt app for Android and iOS devices.

The app lets users create a profile for their vehicle and any other Alpine … Read more

Apple is close to striking a streaming deal with two of the major music labels that could end up far sweeter for the music industry than what the labels currently get from Pandora, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

Much has been made in recent weeks of Apple trying to squeeze the labels on terms, and the deals do have Apple paying the labels a per-stream rate that's half of what Pandora pays. But CNET has learned that Apple's planned music service would offer new revenue streams as well.

That includes a quick way for consumers … Read more