music

Drag, drop, and rock with Couch Music Player for iPad

I'm too lazy to make playlists. Plus, I like to experience albums in their entirety. For times when I want to listen to a mix of songs, I typically pick a genre in my iTunes library and hit shuffle (or use Pandora or Spotify's radio feature). Given my playlist aversion, I was excited to put Couch Music Player to the test, a new music app for the iPad whose chief purpose is to make the playlist creation process so easy that even lazy people like me will undertake it.

Couch Music Player costs $1.99. It features a … Read more

The 404 1,233: Where we stick a fork in it (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Bill Gates will grant you $100,000 to invent a next-gen condom.

- "Now That's What I Call Music" documentary coming soon.

- Dongle jokes and a tweet lead to firings, threats, DDoS attacks.

- And of course, a silver lining: http://forkmydongle.com.

Bathroom break video: NHL celebrates 20-year anniversary of NHL '94 in awesome throwback fashion.… Read more

Get a ChilBox Bluetooth speaker for $49.99

I love a good Bluetooth speaker, especially one that's battery-powered and portable. Mine goes everywhere with me: to the bathroom for shower tunes, to the garage for honey-do-project tunes, even on trips for hotel-room tunes.

Today only, and while supplies last, TigerDirect has the ChilBox Wireless Speaker for $49.99, plus around $3 for shipping. It sells for exactly twice as much if purchased directly from Chil, Inc.

The nicely rounded, brick-shaped ChilBox measures 6 inches by 2.5 inches by 2 inches and weighs around 14 ounces. Its built-in rechargeable battery is good for up to 12 hours … Read more

Pandora debuts ad-free app for Windows Phone 8

Pandora has tuned up a Windows Phone 8 app that's both free and ad-free.

Available as of today in the Windows Phone store, the app offers all the standard features for Pandora listeners.

You can create up to 100 different stations based on your tastes in music. You can tell Pandora what you like and don't like by giving each song a thumb's up or thumb's down.

You can filter certain songs that you won't want to hear and flip on a switch for higher-quality audio. Existing Pandora users can log in with their current … Read more

Garageband for iOS update adds Audiobus support

A new update to Apple's Garageband software on iOS adds compatibility with popular third-party audio app Audiobus.

As part of the change, users can play and record from Audiobus-supported apps back into Garageband. That includes iOS apps from Korg, along with Animoog, DM1 - The Drum Machine, Loopy, ThumbJam, and others.

Other changes include a fix for a feedback issue from the headphone jack, along with the option to turn off grid snapping.

Audiobus came onto the scene late last year as a way for music apps to share data and continuity between one another. It's since been … Read more

Amazon could be next Spotify challenger

CNET Update can't be grumpy for GIFs:

The streaming music scene is about to get more interesting. The latest report indicates Amazon is targeting Spotify with its own on-demand music streaming service. We've also heard that Google and Apple are working on similar products.

Other stories featured in Wednesday's tech roundup:

- Google Image search has added filters for finding animated GIFs and other specific file types.

- The Jawbone Up fitness bracelet now has an Android app.

- Websites can now put a "Send to Kindle" button on blog posts and news stories, next … Read more

Skip MusicTuner for now

MusicTuner from GINtech's latest release shifts the focus from file sharing to a cloud-based personal music library that automaticly synchronizes with your portable devices. It still searches for and finds tunes, ringtones, and videos, many of which are freely available, though the user is responsible for what they do with the links MusicTuner's search engine finds, and the EULA specifies you'll only share playlists, not files. But with so many music lovers joining online streaming services, a playlist is often all you need to share your favorite songs with your favorite folks. Of course, MusicTuner searches and … Read more

eMusic merges with e-book distributor, loses CEO

As interest grows in the online music subscription sector, one pioneer appears to be throwing in the towel.

eMusic quietly announced a merger yesterday with K-NFB Reading, an e-book distributor founded by noted inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil. Adam Klein, the company's chief executive for the past three years, has also left the company, The Wall Street Journal reports.

"I am very pleased with the significant repositioning of the company and its future direction," Klein said in an e-mail to the Journal confirming the exit.

The newly merged company will "create a consumer-centric interface that makes … Read more

Amazon looking to add subscription music service

The music industry is pinning great hope on subscription music services such as Spotify, a segment that's growing faster than any other part of recorded music industry. And now comes news that Amazon is looking to jump into the fray.

The Verge, citing multiple sources, reports that Amazon is holding informal talks with the music industry about launching an on-demand service similar to Spotify, which is the largest such service with 24 million active users and 6 million paid subscribers.

This development comes as Google is trying to launch a pair of subscription music services this summer, one tied … Read more

T-Mobile changing the contract game

CNET Update will pay you Tuesday for a smartphone today:

Google Reader is shutting down in July, and its demise can impact citizens who have Internet access restricted by their government. The Change.org petition to keep Google Reader has about 12 percent of its signatures from people living in countries that have Internet censorship. People in Kazakhstan and China have left comments urging Google to keep the Reader tool because it's the best way to access banned websites and uncensored news.

Also featured in Tuesday's news roundup:

- Next week, T-Mobile is expected to announce a new way to pay for smartphones … Read more