January 2019

Classical music ends 2018 on a high note

17/01/2019

Classical music ends 2018 on a high note with music sales and streams rising by 10.2% according to figures released by the BPI, based on Official Charts Company data. 2.23 million Classical albums or their equivalent were either purchased, downloaded or streamed in 2018 outperforming the strong overall 5.7% rise in UK music consumption as a whole. Collectible CDs and box sets continue to appeal to classical music buyers in contrast the general trend in UK […]

Sunderland AFC sign up with Apple Music

16/01/2019

Sunderland AFC sign up with Apple Music who become the club’s exclusive music streaming partner. The global music streaming service will enable supporters, wherever they are in the world, to get even closer to the club, with playlists curated personally by the players and made available exclusively on Apple Music. There is also an introductory offer of Apple Music free for three months for supporters. Sunderland AFC playlists will be available through the club’s website […]

Samsung TV iTunes movies and TV shows screen

Samsung Smart TVs to support iTunes and AirPlay 2

15/01/2019

Samsung Smart TVs to support iTunes and AirPlay 2 on 2019 Samsung Smart TV models beginning this spring. Support on 2018 Samsung Smart TVs will be made available via firmware update. A new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app will debut only on Samsung Smart TVs in more than 100 countries with AirPlay 2 support becoming available in 190 countries worldwide. The new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app will enable users to access their […]

Streaming drives UK entertainment sales 9.4% higher in 2018

14/01/2019

Streaming drives UK entertainment sales 9.4% higher in 2018 according to the end of year report from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). This represents the sixth consecutive year of growth. Although the entertainment market is now three quarters digital physical formats have dominated this year’s biggest hits. According to preliminary data compiled by the ERA the entertainment market reached another all-time high of £7.537 Bn in 2018. After a sixth successive year of growth driven […]

Neil Young Archives becomes subscription service

13/01/2019

Neil Young Archives becomes subscription service with the launch of a free ‘introduction’ service and a paid for unlimited subscription at $1.99/month or $19.99/year. As part of the launch there is a new iOS app which can be downloaded here and the promise of an Android app, both capable of streaming HiRes audio using ‘Xstream by NYA’ – a custom version of Orastream technology. The original archive site was made available free in February 2018 […]

TIDAL Masters now on mobile

12/01/2019

TIDAL Masters now on mobile with an Android app with built-in MQA decoder to allow HiRes streaming on the move. TIDAL and MQA announced the new app at CES 2019 and it is available to download now. MQA technology is already incorporated into the TIDAL desktop app and an iOS version is in development. Mike Jbara, MQA CEO, stated, “We know that most music fans are choosing to stream on their phones. MQA’s view is […]

Apple Music Year in Review App

11/01/2019

NoiseHub have developed an Apple Music Year in Review App which provides similar functionality to Spotify’s ‘Spotify Wrapped’ feature. Apple Music subscribers using the app can look back at their listening trends of 2018 by genre, artists, and songs. The app generates graphical reports which can be shared on Instagram Stories or Twitter. Released in early December 2018, it has already had 3 updates – the latest on 31st December – to address some fairly […]