• UK Court Ruling Essentially Makes iTunes, VHS-to-DVD Illegal

    The UK's High Court has passed down a ruling that essentially makes using iTunes one of the most prevalent criminal acts across the pond. Believe it or not, up until last year, the act of ripping a CD to iTunes was illegal in the UK. The new ruling reverses last year's easing of laws, thanks to complaints from music groups in the region.

  • Stream Madeon's Debut Album 'Adventure' on iTunes

    French producer/DJ Madeon's debut album artist album 'Adventure' is now available to stream in full on iTunes radio. The highly anticipated album from Madeon, 20 -- real name Hugo Leclercq -- has been in the works for a couple years, but now with the official release just a week away March 31, fans can at last hear what the self-proclaimed perfectionist has been cooking up in his studio. Unlike many of his prior singles, Madeon used the partnership with Columbia Records, which is releasing the album, to get some big-name features from the likes of Bastille frontman Dan Smith, Passion Pit and Foster the People frontman Mark Foster. Stream the album on iTunes radio here and pre-order it while you are there. Check out the tracklist below.

  • Apple Reportedly Stopped iTunes 'Single of the Week' Promotion

    In appears that Apple has started out the year by quietly making a pretty big change to the iTunes music store. As has been reported by fans in other jurisdictions, like the U.K. and Italy, it seems as though Apple as phased out the free "Single of the Week" feature that was prevalent on the iTunes homepage over the past 10 years. The feature has been a blessing and a curse, allowing artists to promote their music in one of the most trafficked music services on the Web with a free download, but also loads up music libraries with random songs that may never pan out. The free download has been a feature since 2004, but Apple kicked off 2015 without the free downloads, and it appears to be gone for good. As pointed out by "Business Insider," an Apple forum post discusses the issue and several commenters chime in on the subject. One "Bob Foss" claims to have had a discussion with an Apple employee who confirmed that the feature was indeed gone. "I contacted iTunes Support and they told me the decision was made to drop the free Single of the Week. Seems they don't want people browsing the Store anymore. I told them that the free single each week got me to the Store and I usually bought a few songs. Now, there's less reason to go. They've stopped the free single in other countries too," says Bob Foss. The end of the free single makes sense for Apple, as it looks to capitalize on its move in acquiring Beats Audio and Beats Music in May 2014. The move for Beats Music signals a shift toward streaming, ahead of downloads, and recognizes the new climate in the industry — remarkable for a service based on downloads. The square that was used for free downloads appears to have been filled with iTunes radio premieres, which are streams in their own right and serve audio ads.

  • Knife Party's Album 'Abandon Ship' Leaked Early on iTunes [LISTEN]

    There is one last twist in the long and arduous journey for Knife Party's long-anticipated and delayed album "Abandon Ship." Just when it seemed like the album when all set and ready to go with a special marketing plan in place, the album sprung a leak and was put on iTunes three weeks early, causing it to shoot instantly all the way up to No. 3 on iTunes's overall album charts in the United States, No. 2 in Australia and No. 4 in the U.K., according to Mixmag. Often times artists purposefully "leak" songs as a way of building hype for an album for another project, but this appears to be an accident that went well for Knife Party and Big Beat/Atlantic. The album was scheduled for release Nov. 24, the same day as David Guetta's sixth artist album "Listen." A full slate of promos was set up over the next few weeks, including an album premiere on Thump and then a special album feature and interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio One. With the album out now, three weeks early, it does not seem like pre-album marketing is necessary anymore.

  • Spotify Royalties Overtake iTunes in Europe, According to Kobalt Music; Will Taylor Swift Be Back Soon?

    Music industry heads might not have been shocked at the announcement this week but the news was still monumental: According to royalty disbursement agency Kobalt (via TechCrunch), streaming royalties from Spotify have surpassed the totals of iTunes for the first time during the last quarter. The company reported that the average performer received 13 percent higher payouts from streaming royalties than that of downloads.

  • Apple Reportedly Aims to Work Beats Music Streaming Service into iTunes as Downloads Numbers Fall

    The biggest deal in the music industry this year, both in dollar figures and headlines, was when Apple acquired Beats Audio. No one expected much of a change to occur with Beats popular headphone lines so most questions focused on the future of the new streaming service Beats Music. It seems, according to The Wall Street Journal, that Apple will aim to build Beats Audio into the iTunes platform. For a price, of course.
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