Bye, Bye Lala. Hello Cloud?

Yes, according to the San Francisco Gate, Apple will be closing down Lala for good on May 31st. The decision for many has come unexpectedly, and Apple has the blogsphere questioning their decision to close Lala. Was it because Lala wasn’t generating enough revenue? Was Lala losing customers? Well the San Francisco Gate believes Apple is getting ready to unleash their version of the cloud, but it’s still speculation. It will be a shame if Apple doesn’t make use of the cloud distribution technology Lala has, and incorporates it into iTunes somehow. The only downside I see to Lala closing is that all the users who were loyal to the service will be left without a home. This also makes me wonder what will Pitchfork be using as an alternative source to stream music come May 31st? The “Apple Cloud” saga begins (maybe).

Submitted by: Jarvis R. Smith

Source
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/05/01/bloomberg1376-L1RCTK1A74E9-5.DTL

Did Apple Kill Music?

A shocking headline, but according to an article on Techradar a UK record company (Naim Label) owner/producer Simon Drake believes Apple’s products (iPod and iTunes) are the reason why everything went wrong with music over the past decade. A bold statement considering Apple has just sold its 10th billion download on iTunes and of course the iPod is responsible for this huge milestone. But in the eyes of Simon Drake Apple’s dominance over the music industry is the problem.

Some of the arguments he makes is that it’s hard for specialized labels like his to generate revenue off of songs on iTunes because they dictate the prices, which he feels are too low. He also believes that music has lost its value because the iPod has made music so accessible that people take the experience of obtaining music for granted. Lastly, he explains how iPods are the cause of short attention spans and low quality in music because listeners don't take the time to listen to music anymore.

I found this article interesting not because of the content, but how not every indie label sees the benefits of supporting iPods or selling their music on iTunes. I do agree with some of his statements especially about the lost of quality in sounding recordings, but the rest of the argument is looking at the revolution of Apple's products in the wrong way.

I believe Apple did what needed to be done in order for music to be relevant in the digital era it was headed into after Napster. I think Simon Drake might want to reconsider his position on this topic because Apple's products may be his only chance of survival as digital music continues to rise.

Submitted by: Jarvis R. Smith

Source
http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/mp3-players/is-the-ipod-killing-music--672494?src=rss&attr=all

Shazam!

Shazam Encore recently debuted on the iPhone. Apparently, Shazam Encore is a music discovery application that allows people to "learn more about their music." It also allows people to find music that is similar to the music that they already like. This new version of Shazam features some improvements and new functionality. Shazam also can apparently detect what a song is if you put your iPhone or iPod touch close enough to the speakers. This means that it will tell you who the artist is, song name, etc...

With this new release, the app is being considered a premium program, meaning that you need to pay for it now. The free version of Shazam will still be useable and downloadable. However, new users of the free version are limited to five Tags per month.

This seems like a neat program, although I have yet to use it myself. It also helps in introducing people to new music and would lead to at least some increased sales. Apparently it features Twitter and Facebook integration of some sort, so I am sure that there is some additional marketing opportunity in that functionality.

- Derek Jenkins

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Apple's FM Radio for iPhones and iPod Touchs

According to rumors, Apple will be releasing their FM Radio app which will allow iPhones and iPod Touchs to pick up (you guessed it!) FM Radio! This hardware has been within the devices since their second generation. If this is true, my phone should be receiving some additional functionality soon if the app does not get delayed again. Hopefully that will make up for the less-than-wonderful 3G signal that it gets.

Anyway, the real interesting part here is that Apple will be integrating iTunes Store functionality into the program. I am assuming that this will function to where you can purchase the song that you are listening to from the program. I believe that this could potentially work out quite well for Apple. Despite the fact that they are not exactly hurting in the iTunes Store department, I can see this as only increasing their sales. How many times do you hear a tune on the radio, only to forget the title and artist name when you get home? Now you will not have to worry, if you have an iPhone that is. Not only will it increase iTunes Store sales, but some people may purchase an iPhone because of this added functionality. I already know of one person that has been waiting for this, so there are bound to be others like him.

- Derek Jenkins

Article Link