streaming music posts

Filed under: Audio, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Apple approves Spotify app

by Megan Lavey (RSS feed) on Aug 27th, 2009

The Telegraph from the UK reports (via Paid Content) that after more than a month in limbo, the music-streaming app Spotify for the iPhone has been approved. Spotify is to Europe what Rhapsody is to the U.S. -- and we even took a look at Rhapsody's iPhone offering just a couple days ago. Spotify will allow access to the service's full catalog from the iPhone, create playlists from it -- and allow offline use of those playlists. The YouTube video above gives insight into exactly how the app works. It is available for paid subscribers only. A subscription costs £9.99 per month or £119.88 per year.

The approval of Spotify certainly opens the door for Rhapsody's app and other potential software that allows duplication of iPhone functions -- or it could be yanked ala Google.

Tags: app store, AppStore, iphone, rhapsody, spotify, streaming music, StreamingMusic

Filed under: Audio, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Real Networks submitting Rhapsody music service for iPhone. Duck!

by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on Aug 24th, 2009

Now this will be interesting to watch. RealNetworks, not always best of friends with Apple, is submitting an iPhone app so subscribers can access the Rhapsody music service.

The app is designed to be full-featured, and will let Rhapsody subscribers get easy control of the on-demand music service. Real Networks has described the app's operation on its Rhapsody blog:

You'll see a menu bar across the bottom of the screen, as is found in many apps. You'll have the option to check out the queue, your library, browse the Rhapsody library (ahem, all 8 million + songs of it), search, and settings. The app has all the functionality of the client, or Rhapsody.com, only super portable.

The Rhapsody app is designed to stream music over 3G, EDGE or Wi-Fi networks. If approved, it will require a Rhapsody To Go account, which is US$15.00 per month. Spotify, a similar European music service, also has an app awaiting approval for the iPhone.

Apple already allows the Sirius/XM app, which is a different, but still a paid subscription service, and of course Pandora, Last.fm and other streaming music services.

All these apps are competition to iTunes, so the world will be watching to see if Apple draws the line with RealNetworks, or keeping a careful eye on the FCC, approves it.

Tags: app store, FCC, iPhone, iPod touch, RealNetworks, Rhapsody, streaming music

Filed under: Software, iTunes, Open Source

SweetFM now an open source project

by Joachim Bean (RSS feed) on Jul 16th, 2009

Update: SweetFM has now been moved to a project on GitHub

SweetFM, a totally awesome Mac client for the Last.fm streaming music & recommendations service, is now an open source project. This means that anyone can download it for free and you no longer have to pay $29.00 for a license key to use the application. Our own Christina Warren reviewed SweetFM last month, and she was pleased with its slick design and many great features, including Apple Remote and Apple Keyboard media key compatibility, extensive integration with iTunes, and deep support for your Last.fm stations.

Since her review, SweetFM has also been updated, adding an equalizer for Last.fm streams and bug fixes.

If you're interested in SweetFM, check out the Chocomoko website, visit the project page on Google Code, or read Christina's earlier review. SweetFM is a Universal Binary (compatible with Intel and PowerPC Macs) and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Tags: itunes, last.fm, music, open source, streaming music

Filed under: Software, iTunes, Reviews

SweetFM brings tasty Last.fm integration to your Mac

by Christina Warren (RSS feed) on Jun 16th, 2009

I'm a big music fan, and I spend a good portion of my day listening to an iPod or iTunes because music helps me concentrate and stay motivated. I have a pretty extensive music collection, but I also enjoy streaming music services like Last.fm and Pandora to find new music, listen to a mix of related artists, or just play something random. My problem with streaming services is twofold: I don't like having to have a web browser open and I like to be able to easily switch songs, pause playback or even go back to iTunes. For Pandora, the excellent PandoraJam that Scott covered a few years ago is a great option, but until today, I hadn't had any luck finding a good Mac Last.fm client.

SweetFM is a new Last.fm client that offers up a seriously sexy way to listen to your favorite Last.fm stations on your Mac. Here are some highlights:

You can pause songs mid-stream and resume playback
Unlimited song skipping
Compatible with both the Apple Remote and the media keys on your Mac Keyboard. I love this because it makes it really easy for me to skip ahead, stop or pause without having to pull up the app window.
Album art support from both Last.fm and Amazon.com
Mark songs as loved, banned or add them to a playlist
If you subscribe to one of the Last.fm pay plans, you can play your loved tracks
Easy access to tagged stations, artist stations and your library
Direct access to buy songs
Export tracks to iTunes: you can do this with all tracks or just tracks you "love," and the MP3 file that is coming from the Last.fm server is automatically added to a specific iTunes playlist.
Acts as a regular iTunes controller when not streaming

I've been playing with the app on and off all day, and I'm really, really impressed. One of the things that annoys me about Pandora is that I can't see what songs are next in the queue. Sometimes you just want to skip ahead. With SweetFM, I can see up to 4 upcoming tracks from the menu bar. That's seriously nice.

Continue reading “SweetFM brings tasty Last.fm integration to your Mac”

Tags: itunes, last.fm, music, pandora, streaming music, StreamingMusic

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

Simplify Music for iPhone fixes nasty demo mode

by Mel Martin (RSS feed) on May 15th, 2009

The very popular Simplify Music [App Store link] iPhone/iPod touch app has now given users the option as to whether or not they want to see the 'demo' library.

At the end of last month the updated free desktop app and the iPhone app, $2.99US, were changed so that demo tracks were added to the list of user-provided music. The purpose was to provide some test music for new users that hadn't set the streaming up yet.

It was not really announced, or documented, and many users were unhappy to see the music tracks appear without their knowledge or consent. The app developers quickly added an on/off switch to the demo on the desktop version of the app, but had to submit a new iPhone version to the app store. That has been approved, and now the switch appears on the mobile app as well. The demo mode is now (happily) off by default.

I think the Simplify Media folks responded very quickly to something that provoked a lot of anger in the iPhone community, which was magnified by the popularity of the app. Once the controversy started, they were extremely transparent about how the change came about, and what the developers planned to do to correct it.

Check your app updates in iTunes to get the new version, which is 2.02.

All in all, a good model for how to deal with your customers (aside from the issue of having made the error in the first place).

Tags: app store, iPhone, iPod touch, Simplify Music, streaming music

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