Music

3's HTC Hero with Spotify now available

Spotify has announced on its blog that the previously-promised Spotify Phone is now available from 3 UK, in both its retail stores and online.

The deal comprises of an HTC Hero preloaded with the Spotify Android app, a 24-month subscription to Spotify Premium,...

BlueBeat claims it owns copyright in Beatles tracks

Hank Risen, the owner of BlueBeat.com, which was found last week to be selling MP3s of the Beatles' catalogue for as little as 15p per track, has defiantly stated that he owns the copyrights in the songs that he's selling.

EMI filed a lawsuit against the company,...

Deezer launches premium desktop client

Deezer, a French music startup that rivals Spotify and We7 in providing ad-supported music streaming, has announced a couple of premium subscription options and a desktop client, so you can listen to the service without having a browser window open.

The Deezer...

No Doubt sues Activision over Band Hero

No Doubt, Gwen Stefani's band who had a hit with the song "Don't Speak", have sued the publishers of Band Hero, Activision Blizzard, over their likeness in the game. The band complained that they were breaching their contract by allowing them to be turned into a virtual...

Abbey Road Live offers instant gig recordings

EMI has launched a subsidiary called Abbey Road Live to offer gig-goers the chance to walk out of the venue with a recording of the concert they just attended on their mobile phones. The service has been available previously at gigs, but only on CD-R.

The company...

Microsoft relaunches music download store

Microsoft has relaunched its previously-shuttered MSN Music download store in the UK, which offers album and single-track downloads from all four major labels. Microsoft says the store is "large and competitively priced".

As well as purchasable tracks, Microsoft...

Beatles offer 16GB apple-shaped USB drive

The Beatles have perennially refused to put their catalogue on any digital download sites, despite a little-known site called BlueBeat stocking the fab four's tracks at knock-down prices.

But if you want to get your hands on legitimate digital recordings of your...

Survey claims illegal downloaders spend most on music

A survey from London-based think-tank Demos has added weight to the position held by many that file sharers are the biggest music fans, revealing that those who admit downloading music illegally spend an average of £77 per year on music, compared to £44 for people who...

Foo Fighters stream gig over Facebook

Rock band Foo Fighters have announced that they'll be streaming a free gig on Facebook on 30 October. The show will come live from the band's Los Angeles HQ and the stream will begin at 7pm PST (that's 3AM GMT). It'll be powered by Livestream.

Fans can RSVP to...

DJ Hero now on shelves

DJ Hero, Activision's attempt at turning its Guitar Hero franchise over to the world of electronic music, has now been released in Europe and is available to buy. The game simulates some of the fundamentals of DJing using a plastic "deck" controller, allowing players...

Blinkx launches music video jukebox

Blinkx has launched a dedicated music area to its video search service. The section, called Blinkx Music, allows users to search through a 33,000 hours-strong catalogue of digital music from 10,000 artists.

Some of the content (about 20-25%, says the company)...

The Who: Rock Band on the way

Roger Daltrey, the lead singer in The Who, has revealed that his band will be the stars of the next edition of the plastic-controller music series Rock Band. The singer confirmed the move to the Republican in an interview.

Daltrey, when asked about Beatles: Rock...

Spotify expands Premium discount programme

Spotify, following a good deal of public experimentation with price points, has decided to lower the price of its premium subscriptions in a sponsorship deal with insurance company Swiftcover.

Billboard is reporting that until 2 November, you'll be able to get...

Spotify launches Metadata API

When Spotify launched its API back in April with a great song and dance, much was made of the possibilities it could bring. Except that when it finally emerged, it turns out that you couldn't do very much with it. Many were disappointed, and Spotify's attentions turned...

VIDEO: Spotify launches first TV advert

Spotify, the streaming music service which has captured plenty of users in the year it's been around, has launched its first "reklam", or TV advert, albeit in Swedish. You can see it above. 

Many have suggested that despite doing well with web users, Spotify is...

Spotify offers Premium subscription discount

Spotify might be finding it tough to shift subscriptions, because the music streaming service is already offering a discount on the £10 per month cost of stripping out ads and getting access to the mobile apps.

The Swedish company sent out an email offering its...

Google launching music service?

It's being reported that Google is planning to launch a music service imminently. A number of sources quoted by TechCrunch are saying that the company is securing content from major labels, and one source has named the offering "Google Audio".

At a time when the...

Sky Songs is now live

Sky's "Sky Songs" music subscription service, which we've dissected in detail previously, has now gone live and is available to consumers. It costs £6.49 each month, and that'll get you ad-free unlimited streaming and ten MP3s. There's also an £8 tier that gets you 15...

VIDEO: Spotify debuts improved MP3 purchases

Spotify will shortly be launching an improved MP3 purchasing experience for tracks on its streaming service. It's always been possible to buy MP3s through a right-click menu, but clicking that just opened a browser window that took you to 7digital's website.

From...

Is Spotify coming to the PS3?

It's no great secret that Spotify is expanding sideways at a rate of knots. Now that it's got its core desktop music-streaming experience locked down, it wants more little added benefits that it can turn over to premium subscribers to convince them to shell out an tenner...

MOG readies $5 music subscription

MOG has announced that it'll shortly be launching a music streaming service. The website, which since 2006 has offered a music-oriented community and blogging platform will be rolling out the subscription-funded "All Access" scheme by the end of November.

It'll...

Spotify CEO: Advertising devalues music

Spotify is continuing celebrations of its 1-year anniversary and as part of the jamboree, the company's founder and CEO, Daniel Ek, has taken some time out to pen a blog post about the future of Spotify, and his thoughts on the state of the global Music industry. In it,...

Spotify has 2.7 million users in the UK

A few statistics have emerged about the growth of Spotify in the UK over the first 6 months of this year. They're from a presentation that the company gave in Edinburgh jointly with PRS For Music and represent the time period from the end of January to the end of July.

At...

U2 wants their own video game

U2's bassist, Adam Clayton, has said that the band wants to follow in the footsteps of Metallica and the Beatles by starring in their own video game. The band has been extensively associated with Apple's iPod and RIM's BlackBerry products in the past, but hasn't ever...

Spotify phones coming soon?

Spotify has announced that it has signed a deal with Swedish broadband supplier and mobile network Telia. The two companies have agreed to "co-operate" for 2 years, with Telia helping to develop the streaming music service on computers, mobile phones and eventually onto...