music

Your sleep patterns, now in soundtrack form

I had that dream again the other night. The one where I (oops!) forgot to go to class all semester and it's time for the final, and OMG, but wait, maybe somehow I can fake my way through it?

Apparently, this dream plans to dog me no matter how far away from college I get. I've had it so many times it deserves its own soundtrack. And now, it turns out, it can get one.

Computer scientists from Finland's University of Helsinki have developed software that makes music out of sleep patterns. … Read more

Google, two labels spar on cloud music fees

As it builds out the entertainment offering for the Android operating system, Google is getting closer to obtaining the rights to offer a scan-and-match feature similar to those offered by Apple and Amazon, sources tell CNET.

Google already offers a cloud music service, but it's unlicensed by the major music-recording companies, and thus legally prevented from offering all the functionality now offered by iTunes and Amazon Cloud Player.

But that could change soon. Multiple music industry sources say that Google has signed licensing deals for its cloud music service with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. EMI Music … Read more

Grab and save tunes (and videos) with YouTube Music Downloader

You may have noticed that many YouTube videos are actually music with some kind of visual accompaniment added, such as still image slideshows, cover art, psychedelic effects, and a particular favorite, a video camera pointed at a spinning turntable. You can download and save tunes from YouTube with the greatest of ease with YouTube Music Downloader -- videos, too. This free tool makes it easy to grab and save YouTube files to play later, share with your friends, and do the other things you can do with freely available content. But YouTube Music Downloader lets you quickly choose your audio … Read more

What the iPhone 5 event means for iPod

I think it's fair to say that the iPod is the most important product Apple ever made. It marked the tipping point between Apple's history as a computer manufacturer and its shift toward mobile consumer electronics. Without it, there would be no iTunes, no iPhone, no iPad -- none of the things people think of when they think of Apple today.

Which is not to say that the iPod is still an important part of Apple's bottom line. It could ax the iPod's whole division and still make more money from the iPhone and iPad than … Read more

Appeals court sides with RIAA, Jammie Thomas owes $222,000

The top four record labels have won a significant decision in their long-running suit against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman found by a court to have "lied" about illegally uploading music to the Web.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found unanimously in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade group for Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music:

We conclude that the recording companies are entitled to the remedies that they seek on appeal. The judgment of the district court is vacated, and the … Read more

No option to remove ads on Kindle Fires

Friday's tech news roundup is bracing for the mini-tablet price war:

UPDATE: Amazon has had a change of heart over the weekend and reversed its stance on lock-screen ads. Find the follow-up report on Monday's Update.

Amazon's new generation of Kindle Fire tablets will have Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers on the home lock-screen, and you won't be able to pay extra to take it off. For the e-ink readers, Amazon has offered ways to pay a small fee, about $20, to take the ads off. But these ads are not coming off the new tablets. … Read more

Get a $5 Amazon MP3 credit for free

What price freedom -- I mean, freebie?

Suppose, for example, I told you you get could five bucks' worth of music free of charge, but you'd have to fork over a bit of time and personal info. Sound like a fair trade?

Here's the deal: Scott Products (makers of Scott paper towels, toilet paper, and whatnot) is offering a $5 Amazon MP3 credit when you sign up for Scott Shared Values, which is basically the company's coupon/reward service.

As these things go, it's actually pretty innocuous. Just supply your name, date of birth, gender, ZIP … Read more

Apple in talks to create custom Net music service, says report

Apple may be looking to expand its dominance of the online music landscape with a Pandora-like service.

The company is in talks with record companies to license music for a custom music service that would create "virtual" music stations based on a song or artist of choice, sources familiar with the matter tell The Wall Street Journal. The service would reportedly operate on the family of Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and Macs, and possibly on Microsoft's Windows.

However, Google's Android operating system would be cut off, one source said, as a result of the … Read more

Grooveshark retunes mobile site after trouble over dedicated apps

Hit by legal woes that squashed its dedicated apps, Grooveshark has amped up its mobile Web site to provide users with full access to their music.

The new mobile site has been given a fresh HTML5 paint job, so it now looks and feels smoother. It also gives Grooveshark users access to their entire collection of online tunes, including their playlists and favorites. As always, users can search for specific songs by title or artist and listen to different "stations" based on jazz, rock, classical, country, and other genres.

Overall, the experience is now virtually identical to using … Read more