Music

Flying iPad lodges in woman's bumper?

You are driving your car. You see something flying at you.

What do you do? What do you think? Do you assume the aliens have arrived? Do you you decide that this is mere debris from a passing truck, so as long as it doesn't hit the windshield you'll be fine?

Well, that depends on if you're in Georgia. For in that state, iPads allegedly fly.

You might sense that my senses have flown to foreign parts. Before you judge, I will just ask that you peruse this report from Atlanta's ABC57 News.

There, you will … Read more

Samsung Galaxy S4 launch ads: Not a whiff of an iPhone joke

Should you play nice when you're doing well? Or should you seek the jugular, machete in hand?

It seems now that Samsung is in a confident position, it no longer needs to mock Apple. BlackBerry might be another matter, of course. That brand has a business which Samsung covets.

But when it comes to launching the Galaxy S4, Samsung is steering a course very much down the middle of taste, the road and, who knows, America.

I am grateful to Business Insider for pointing the way toward three new ads to celebrate Samsung's next big device.

They are … Read more

Why a BEE CD player?

I get asked this question a lot: "Does anyone still make great-sounding affordable CD players?" Sure, most of the major brands do, but only NAD currently offers a large slate of players starting with the $300 C 516BEE, and it's a honey.

Before we go any further I want to first clarify why I'm reviewing a CD player in 2013. Despite the naysayers the CD isn't "dead," far from it. Music lovers are still buying hundreds of millions of CDs every year. Download sales just barely surpassed sales of physical music (CDs, LPs, … Read more

Google Music adds seven new countries to its roster

Amping up its music game, Google Music is expanding its reach to seven more countries. The Web giant announced today that consumers in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, and Portugal now have access to the free music storage service.

With this service, users can store up to 20,000 pre-purchased songs on Google Play and stream them via an Android smartphone or tablet or the Web. Several of the countries that now have access to Google Music will also get the "Artist Hub," which is a platform for independent and local artists to sell music directly … Read more

Pandora hits milestone with 200M users

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

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Turn off the screens at our concerts

Go to any live concert these days and you'll see many audience members watching the performance through a small screen instead of their own eyes.

In response to this epidemic of diverted attention, indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs recently put the proverbial foot down on concertgoers with a sign that instructs those with a smartphone, tablet, and/or camera to "Put that s*** away."… Read more

Huawei and the Jonas Brothers: A match made in paradise?

This might seem like Fred Astaire and Carrot Top.

It might resemble that little-known double-act Putin and Tutu.

For some, it might even conjure Jerry Falwell and Jenna Jameson.

Here, you see, is news that the squeakiest of squeaky clean musical acts, the Jonas Brothers, are getting together with slightly more controversial gadget maker Huawei.

A breathless announcement is currently dancing before my eyes. It reveals that Huawei is to sponsor the Jonas Brothers' new tour, which, as you know, begins July 10 in Chicago. … Read more

The future of music, according to Spotify's Daniel Ek

AUSTIN, Texas--Daniel Ek was waving his arms in the air, as if molding invisible clay. He swiped his right hand karate-chop style, made a big loop, and then grabbed an imaginary dial with his left and twisted his fist.

Ek, you see, was talking about the future. In this not-so-far-off future, maybe a decade from now, we're all connected, everywhere, all the time -- perhaps via Google Glass, perhaps via sensors built into our clothes, or through other wearable computing devices. Our touch-screen life will require no touching whatsoever, as we control what we're listening to or seeing … Read more

Apple patents method to let you buy iTunes content offline

Want to buy a new song or video from iTunes even though you're offline? A new Apple patent envisions a way, at least sometime down the road.

Granted to Apple today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, the patent appropriately named "On-device offline purchases using credits" describes a system of using credits to purchase iTunes content that's stored on your device but which you don't already own. The goal is to allow you to unlock and play iTunes songs, videos, and other items without having to be online.

You would first buy credits … Read more

Spotify takes over YouTube for a day with new ad campaign

Spotify is trying something new to promote its service to would-be users.

The company today has overtaken YouTube with a large documentary ad at the top of the video site's page. The ad encourages YouTube visitors to "follow" the band Phoenix throughout the day to see what a typical day is like for the members. This morning, only a portion of the 18-minute documentary is available, but as the day goes on, users can come back and watch more. By the end of the day, all 18 minutes will be viewable.

Spotify's ad takes up the … Read more