Google unveiled its All Access streaming music service at this week’s I/O developers conference in San Francisco. The service, viewed as a potential competitor to Spotify, also has some musicians concerned about a future in which music listeners choose subscriptions to access music libraries rather than paying to download individual songs. Industry execs, labels and artists are debating the pros and cons of cloud-based music distribution. Continue reading Google All Access: Potential Impact of Another Music Service

Google kicked off its annual I/O developers conference yesterday with a three and a half hour keynote delivered before 6,000 attendees at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. In addition to a surprise appearance by CEO Larry Page, who discussed obstacles to technological progress and answered questions from software developers, the event detailed updates and new releases involving Google+, Google Maps, Hangouts, Google Play Music All Access, a special Galaxy S4 smartphone and more. Continue reading Google I/O: New Music Service, Google+ Updates and More

According to inside sources, Google may unveil its rumored subscription music services today at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco. The company has reportedly signed separate licensing deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group that involve both YouTube and Google Play, the entertainment hub for the Android operating system. Earlier this year, Google signed similar agreements with Warner Music Group. Continue reading Google Signs Labels, Readies Subscription Music Services

Adobe’s flagship Creative Suite has evolved into Adobe Creative Cloud, with new features and a switch to a subscription-only model. Instead of individual Adobe apps being available for a flat rate, users will pay a monthly subscription to access all the products. Last year, the company introduced its Creative Cloud subscription service, through which users could access one product each month for $29.99 or all the products within Creative Suite 6 for $49.99. More than 500,000 premium members signed up in the first nine months, on top of 2 million free members. Continue reading Adobe Intros Subscription-Only Model with Creative Cloud

Over the past decade, Apple’s iTunes has helped shape music discovery and consumption by providing a legal online model for distribution and sales. Since its 2003 launch, the iTunes Store has revamped the way music is distributed and has dismantled the traditional concept of the album. However, now there is concern that artists are not receiving proper creative and financial support with digital distribution expanding to multiple platforms. Continue reading From Disc to Online: Impact of iTunes Over the Past Decade

Startup company Rabbit has created a video chat program in which users can share music and videos in real-time while chatting with one another. Users can have multiple conversations with friends, that all appear in circular bubbles to enhance the feeling of being in the same space together. The new approach by Rabbit could possibly provide competition for other successful programs such as Skype, Apple’s FaceTime, and Google+ Hangouts. Continue reading Rabbit Hops Into the Game with New Video Chat Program

According to fourth quarter estimates released this week by the NPD Group, Apple’s iTunes continues its stronghold with a 63 percent unit share of the U.S. market for digital music downloads. Amazon.com’s MP3 store held second place at 22 percent. Notably, the NPD “Annual Music Study 2012” indicates that eight out of 10 consumers downloaded digital albums or tracks during the fourth quarter from iTunes. Continue reading After a Decade, iTunes Continues its Market Dominance

The team behind DJ-focused music service Turntable.fm debuted a new smart-radio service called Piki last week that offers a new take on music discovery. Unlike other streaming music sites such as Pandora, Piki creates playlists based on what your friends are currently listening to. Other developers like Rdio and Fuzz have created similar services, but have yet to make a significant impact. Continue reading Music Streaming App Piki Lets Friends Pick Music for You

Among those who do not subscribe to cable, or may not own own television sets or have their own accounts for the variety of streaming services available online, sharing password information for sites like HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu and others is increasingly common. Although data on this trend has yet to be quantified by the likes of Nielsen or comScore — conversations, articles, posts and social media chatter seem to all indicate it is on the rise. Continue reading Are Streaming Sites Missing a Social Viewing Opportunity?

Sites like Pandora and Spotify have made a significant impact on the music industry with their free streaming music services. Now, these sites may be influencing how well artists do in regards to their album sales. Justin Timberlake, for example, released his new album “The 20/20 Experience” to Spotify, which resulted in 980,000 copies being sold within the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Continue reading Why Buy Albums When You Can Get the Songs for Free?

It seems a number of major media companies are looking to get into streaming video as it continues to grow more popular. On-demand music service Spotify is the latest company rumored to be in the planning stages of such a service, perhaps a surprise to many since its focus has thus far strictly involved music. But two sources say Spotify intends to grow into an on-demand music and video service, including original content. Continue reading Will Spotify Be Next to Develop Video Streaming Service?

Twitter is leveraging last year’s acquisition of music discovery service We Are Hunted to build a standalone music app. Twitter Music could be released on iOS as early as the end of this month, suggest insiders. The service will reportedly recommend artists and songs based on the accounts a user follows on Twitter. The music will be streamed to the app via SoundCloud. Continue reading Twitter Expected to Soon Launch Standalone Music App

YouTube is reportedly planning to launch a subscription streaming music service later this year, that could take on existing services such as Spotify and Pandora. The company is expected to offer a subscription plan that will likely overlap with new features coming to its Android music platform, Google Play. With the subscription, users will have access to new features, including ad-free music streaming. Continue reading YouTube May Launch Subscription Streaming Music Service

Due in part to growing demand in developing markets, digital music and streaming services are driving renewed health for the music industry, according to a report from global music trade body, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Digital revenues climbed $500 million worldwide in 2012 for a total of $5.6 billion, representing a nine percent increase over 2011. Continue reading Music Industry Sees Worldwide Growth, Led by Streaming

At the Mobile World Congress this week, Spotify and Ford announced that the music streaming service will soon be available via the Sync AppLink platform and integrated with the Sync’s voice command system in Ford vehicles in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Additionally, iPhone and Android apps will soon pair up with the dashboard AppLink system to stream music through car speakers. Continue reading Spotify and Ford Team to Offer Streaming Music in Your Car