Music Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Warner Music reporting more stable sales, propped up by iTunes and streaming services

by Mike Schramm (Feb 9th, 2012)

There's finally some good news in the music business, but don't get too excited, it's not that good. Warner Music reports (before we hear about the full industry sales from 2011) that its sales were steady last year, at $780 million. In this case, steady is better than a drop, which is what most ...

Neil Young: Steve Jobs's death hindered Apple's high-def music efforts

by Steven Sande (Feb 1st, 2012)

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree Neil Young has been focusing on high-definition music for some time. At the News Corp. D: Dive Into Media event yesterday, Young said that he had been in discussions with Apple personnel -- including the late Steve Jobs -- about ways to improve digital music ...

SRS takes the iWow universal at Macworld | iWorld 2012

by Mike Schramm (Feb 1st, 2012)

SRS Labs hosted a booth at Macworld | iWorld 2012 last week for two main reasons. First, the company wanted to show off the iPad version of MyTunes, its music player app that incorporates the company's patented sound enhancement algorithm. Second, it wanted to introduce an update to the iWow ...

New Flaming Lips song features Siri on vocals

by Chris Rawson (Jan 30th, 2012)

Siri has been getting around lately. When she's not guest starring on popular sitcoms, she's apparently lending her vocal talents to the music scene. The Flaming Lips have produced an experimental song (embedded below) called "Now I Understand," which features both Siri and Erykah Badu as ...

Seen at Macworld | iWorld 2012: $68,000 diamond speakers

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Jan 27th, 2012)

Standing in the middle of the Macworld | iWorld 2012 exhibit floor looking a bit out of place, Alljack's $68,000 diamond-studded speakers -- fresh from CES -- are drawing a bit of attention. Inspired by a wine bottle and a flower, the speakers are crafted with Russian diamonds, gold plating, ...

Reminder: Last chance to Remix & WIN

by Matt Tinsley (Jan 26th, 2012)

Our Remix and WIN competition, with Olivia Broadfield, Propellerhead and SoundCloud, closes on the 31st January 2012, which means you've just a few days left to submit your remix of Olivia's song 'Say.' We've had loads of entries already (some of which are very impressive), and the judges (Olivia ...

iRig Pre makes iOS device a pre-amp

by Steven Sande (Jan 20th, 2012)

IK Multimedia is always coming out with new ways for musicians to use their iOS devices to assist in performing or recording. Now the company has introduced the iRig PRE, a mic preamp designed to let you use standard XLR mics with your iPhone or iPad. The unit (US$39.99) won't be available ...

Hands-on with ION Audio's Guitar Apprentice and new iCade models

by Mike Schramm (Jan 18th, 2012)

We first saw ION Audio's really impressive iCade followups at the beginning of CES last week during CES Unveiled, but that little taste at the crowded event wasn't really enough for us, so later in the week we went by the company's booth to get a better look and actually hold and play with the ...

TUAW on SOPA and PIPA: What they are and why we're against them

by Chris Rawson (Jan 18th, 2012)

By now, news about two bills making their way through the US legislative approval process, Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), has spread like wildfire across the Internet, along with widespread criticism of both bills. As part of that criticism, if you're reading this on ...

Smule's Ge Wang plays Magic Guitar for us at CES

by Mike Schramm (Jan 17th, 2012)

We got to sit down for a quick chat with Smule's own Dr. Ge Wang at CES in Las Vegas last week, and the result is the video below. Not only is the co-founder overseeing Smule's musical experiences for mobile devices (and its recent merger with Khush, another musical developer), but he's also an ...

Slacker Radio tries to break through a flooded streaming music market

by Mike Schramm (Jan 17th, 2012)

One of our final meetings at CES last week was with Slacker Radio's VP of Marketing, Jonathan Sasse, who sat down in a Las Vegas lobby restaurant to tell us what his company has been up to lately. Slacker Radio is one of the many streaming radio offerings that have apps available on the App ...

IK Multimedia introduces new iRig mic, mixer, and stompbox at CES

by Mike Schramm (Jan 13th, 2012)

IK Multimedia is showing off new products in the North Hall of CES 2012 in Las Vegas this week, and they were one of our first stops around the Las Vegas Convention Center. IK Multimedia is behind the popular Amplitube software, and has seen a lot of success with the iRig guitar port for iOS, ...

iFrogz releases Boost speaker, uses 'near field audio' to boost sound

by Mike Schramm (Jan 12th, 2012)

iFrogz was back at CES this year. Last year, most of its new products were iPhone and iPad cases, but this year the company is branching out. In addition to a USB gaming headset called the Caliber (it vibrates when loud sounds are played, "enhancing" the audio), iFrogz also has a product called ...

Shazam Player brings lyrics support and more to iOS

by Chris Rawson (Jan 11th, 2012)

The iPhone's default Music app already has lyrics support built in, but you have to fetch the lyrics yourself; songs sold on the iTunes Store still don't include lyrics after all these years. Shazam, makers of the well-known app that will identify songs playing in your vicinity after sampling a ...

Griffin's Twenty audio amp gives AirPlay 20 watts per channel

by Chris Rawson (Jan 9th, 2012)

Griffin has announced an accessory called Twenty, a small audio amplifier that will accept audio from an AirPort Express to drive unpowered speakers. The Twenty includes a TOSLINK cable to deliver pure digital audio from the AirPort Express to the unit, and additional connectors in the back ...