901am

New Media News Every Morning

First Impressions of Spotify

By

As many of us music lovers may have realized by now, Spotify has entered the US. Spotify is a DRM-based music streaming service. Spotify, instantly gives me a flashback to my days of Napster. It has similar qualities, although the look is different, and they are also taking a different approach. Spotify requires no downloading, and your favorite song is just a click away. Instantly, I notice some pro’s and cons of using Spotify.

After submitting my email, a few days later I got invite. I am glad that I waited, since I almost immediately purchased the Pro version. I usually like to try out the products I am using before I make any purchase, especially when it comes to music applications. Spotify was an easy download, doesn’t seem to affect my computer too much, and has a nice looking icon that sits in my dock. The design looks like a mixture between old school Napster, and iTunes. Overall, I think it looks good. It is very simple to navigate, and I pretty much picked up on the all features within a few minutes. The best part about Spotify is the immense library they have to offer. You can search virtually any song you can think of, and start  playing instantly. Of course this music is streaming, so you do not worry about download times and taking up space on your computer with large libraries of music. Spotify will actually load all of your music stored in local files as an extenuation of your music listening experience. Very cool! Spotify lets you have your own library and if you are feeling sick of your own music, with the click of a button you can have virtually any song that you like. This makes Spotify a very dynamic music program. [Read more…]

Google Music comes to iOS via Safari

By

Google Music is still in its beta and not a lot of people are getting it as yet. It’s not even available in other countries. But the guys at Google still want more people experience what they think may be a game changer in entertainment and cloud computing so they have finally released a version that is compatible with Apple’s iOS.

The new version of Google Music can be accessed on devices that carry iOS. But this is not a completely separate app – the access will go through the Safari browser. This is a mixed bag for some people. Others prefer a separate app so they can access Google servers even without the browser, while others want their access to be done through the browser so they won’t have to install any extraneous apps.

The browser interface actually acts similar to an app. Users can slide between the songs and as a nifty feature, the songs you are playing will continue to do so even when the browser is closed. Of course, browsing through the library and searching for songs can be done through the browser as well.

Google Music is not the first to market with a music streaming service – it already has competition from Spotify and other music streaming services and soon from Apple’s own iCloud service. Google Music has to make unique product decisions to distinguish it from its competitors.

Spotify Becomes More Social

By

Online music service Spotify has just rolled out several social features which the Spotify folks hope would bring their product into the full mainstream of the still growing social music niche. Spotify version 0.4.3 happens to be one of the largest feature upgrade for the online music service since its inception in 2008.

Kicking off its social features are editable Spotify music profile, ability to publish playlists, top artists and top tracks and a relevant move to connect with Facebook. In addition to its new social features, Spotify is also evolving itself to become a full music management platform by adding the “Library” folder which lets you combine your music library with other Spotify members.

Here’s a brief rundown of the new features of Spotify version 0.4.3:

  • published your Spotify profile on Facebook, blogs or personal website
  • share and publish playlists that you select as you create them
  • one-click subscription to playlists within Spotify or Facebook
  • display subscriber numbers and subscribers’ names in the submenu
  • star tracks or albums or group them into folders
  • drag and drop tracks for recommendation

What’s good about the new Spotify is the fact that you can now import any MP3 on your hard drive to your Spotify library via a link within Spotify pointing to its locaiton on your hard drive. You can also import iTunes playlists into Spotify.

Once you’ve setup your account, you can now start browsing, searching, playing and sharing your whole music library.

Overall, a pretty update that is worth checking out. Do you you Spotify? How do you like these new features?

Facebook Begins its Digital World Domination

By

There’s a lot of things going on right now at the Facebook camp, coinciding with their f8 Developer’s Conference. But with the several new things that Facebook unveiled today, one thing is certain, Mark Zuckerberg and his gang is out to conquer the social digital world. You still got time, either you opt-in or opt-out now.

Facebook’s plan of dominating the digital world is a three-point attack right now. This is only its initial salvo. I’m pretty sure there are more to come. In the meantime, let’s take at look at these three strategies which were just announced at the f8 gig.

Docs for Facebook

Zuckerberg knows quite well that Google has already dominated the search dominion and it would take a lot of effort to beat Google into this game. So, why not attack something which Google is starting to dominate – the cloud computing space. Enter Docs for Facebook, which interestingly Facebook is launching in cooperation with Microsoft.

Simply put, Docs for Facebook is like Google Docs, only this time it’s main focus is document collaboration and sharing within the Facebook ecosystem and not just anywhere else.  Docs for Facebook is pretty simple right now. You can create documents or upload existing ones and then share it with your Facebook friends, via Facebook and within Facebook.  Can it give Google Docs a run for its money? We’ll know soon enough, once it becomes available to the public.

Facebook’s Take on Social Recommendation with Yelp

Gowalla and Foursqure might have something to be worried about.  Facebook is finally taking the social recommendation, location-aware social networking space for a spin. And it brought along Yelp, Gowalla and Foursquare’s fiercest rivals.

With the Facebook and Yelp partnership, you will be able to see which among your Facebook friends have reviewed a business and read their reviews. You can also find out who among your friends have like a particular business as well as  view feed of what your friends are doing.

Facebook and Pandora Spike Up the Social Music Sphere

There’s not much details yet about how Facebook and Pandora are teaming up. But one thing is for sure, MySpace which has been dominating the social music niche has something to be worried about.  All we know is that when you log in to Facebook and go to Pandora for the first time, the music site can immediately start playings songs from bands you’ve liked across the web. It will also show you friends who also like the same songs as you while you are playing or listening to a music.

There you go, three major strategies that will trigger the start of Facebook’s digital world domination. Are you ready for it?

Apple iTunes Scores 10 Billionth Song Download

By

Apple iTunes has just achieved a remarkable feat a moment ago, thanks to a user who just got the 10 billionth song ever downloaded from the music store. The countdown to the 10 billionth song was started earlier this month, and it was Apple’s way of celebrating such a remarkable experience. Meanwhile, whoever got to download the 10 billionth song from iTunes will win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.

So while we await for the announcement of the winner, why don’t we all take a look at some numbers after the iTunes was opened in 2003.  Almost seven years, Apple has suceeded in making the iTunes as a premiere online music store despite its exlusivity to Apple music and mobile devices. It only goes to show that while Apple is making the iTunes popular and so were its products. And for that,  we all should commend the company, no matter how much you may like or dislike iTunes.

Last quarter, iTunes generated some $520 million in revenues. In terms of profitability, total revenues generated so far by iTunes barely surpassed the break-even point. But that’s just beside the point since we all know that Apple created the iTunes to support its main business – selling hardwares. And it did while at the same time achieving a commendable feat in selling digital music.

Anyway, in case you’re interested to know the most downloaded song from iTunes happens to be Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling. Now this is another an interesting achievement for the band but that’s another story.