Tag: ITunes

If iTunes Is a Headache, Wondershare TunesGo Is Your Aspirin…

Digital Music News by Paul Resnikoff

The following comes from DMN strategic partner WonderShare, a company dedicated to solving iTunes headaches with its companion plug-in, TunesGo.

iTunes has always been one of the biggest music platforms in world, and it’s about to get bigger with streaming. But if you’re one of the hundreds of million of users, you’ve endured your share of headaches.

Here are just some of the issues we constantly hear from users:

1. Android incompatibility.

If you have a Mac and use an Android, you’ve undoubtedly faced innumerable issues listening to your collection on mobile. That’s because Apple has always wanted it that way, despite the presence of hundreds of millions of Android users worldwide.

2. It’s really hard for iPhone users to share music.

We also constantly hear from users hitting snags sharing between iPhones. Which is really frustrating considering that you’re inside Apple’s ecosystem!

3. Incomplete song information.

Downloading stuff online? This may not be Apple’s fault, but free, authorized music downloads often lack the necessary ID3 tags, making it really hard to search and sort the music you’re discovering. But Apple makes it difficult to easily edit all of this information.

4. It unexpectedly quits.

Yeah, Apple crashes. And it looks like this.

5. iTunes Match still needs work.

Match is far from perfect, and grayed-out is a recurring issue.

6. Duplicates are still a problem.

iTunes has duplicate finding capabilities, but they’re often poor and don’t properly match and eliminate doubles.

Overall, you could easily argue that iTunes is past its prime, and users are moving on towards far greater capabilities. That’s where WonderShare has been innovating. As a trusty companion, we do what iTunes can’t, and make your experience much richer as a result.

TunesGo: Your Perfect iTunes Companion

This is where our innovations come in. We’ve been working on a number of features that we hope comprise a one-stop solution to iTunes woes.

1. Better management of music files

We’ve worked hard to make it easy to transfer your library from wherever to wherever, whether iOS back to iTunes on your Mac or between iPhones and Android devices. And we’ve made it easy for the hundreds of millions of Android users to use iTunes, headache-free.

2. Vastly improved file management.

We’ve created better song ordering and arrangement across your entire collection.

3. Better YouTube access.

Forget about YouTube Music Key, which may not even launch this year. We’re already offering the option of using YouTube as a real, personal music source.

4. More sophisticated metadata clean-up.

TunesGo offers the option of completely cleaning your music library though a complete analysis and cleaning of all files.

5. A restriction-free library.

Music management without any iTunes restrictions; TunesGo even automatically converts your file formats to those supported by your devices.

Basically, we’re trying to create an all-encompassing, all-purpose solution for the serious music fan. Our latest version, TunesGo 6.4.0, will be released very soon and will be quickly followed by another portfolio of improvements.

A really important feature of Wondershare TunesGo 6.4.0 is that it allows you to totally back up your entire iTunes library, including not just the music files themselves but file paths, playlists, and all settings. We place all of this neatly into external and internal drives. And you can always port that to any other computer.

Some other features of the latest version that we’re exciting to discuss including multilingual support and the easy transferring of videos from PC to iPhone and iPad without any quality loss. Apart from these, you can also efficiently manage your iPhone contacts and SMS messages without the need for iTunes, which includes merging duplicate contacts without any loss of critical data.

Anyway, we’ve had a lot of fun building this; we hope you’ll join in!

The post If iTunes Is a Headache, Wondershare TunesGo Is Your Aspirin… appeared first onDigital Music News.

20/07/2015
What Is Really Cannibalising Download Sales
As 2013 music sales figures come in, the picture of streaming growing while download sales slow is coming sharply into focus. It is one of a clear phase of transition/cannibalization (delete as appropriate depending on your point of view) taking place because the majority of paying music subscribers were already download buyers. But that is not the whole picture. There is an even fiercer form of competition for spend that, as far as the music industry is concerned, is inarguably driving cannibalization.

The iTunes Store accounts for the majority of the global music download market and has done so since its inception eleven years ago. Back when it launched, the iTunes Music Store helped transform the iPod from a modestly performing device into a global hit. Music was the killer app, music was what Apple used to sell the device and music is what iTunes customers spent all of their money on. But all of that changed. As Apple’s devices have done progressively more, Apple has introduced new content types into its store that better show off the capabilities of its devices. When Apple launches a new iPad it doesn’t have a label exec holding up the new device playing a song with static artwork displayed…that simply would not showcase the device’s capabilities. Instead an EA Games exec gets up on stage with a new game that fully leverages the capabilities of the iPad’s graphics accelerator, the accelerometer, the multi touch screen etc.

Music may still be the single most popular entertainment activity conducted on iDevices but it is no longer the app that fully harnesses the devices’ capabilities. In fact because music products and services remain stuck in the rut of delivering static audio files – YouTube notably excepted – it is increasingly failing to compete at the top table in terms of connected device experiences. Crucially, this is not just a behavioral trend, it is directly impacting spending too (see figure).

Back in 2003 music accounted for 100% of iTunes Store revenue because that was all that was available. Over the years Apple introduced countless new content types, each of which progressively competed for the iTunes buyer’s wallet share. The step change though occurred in 2008 with the launch of the App Store. The impact was instant and by mid 2009 music already accounted for less than 50% of iTunes revenue. By the end of 2003 the transformation was complete with Apps accounting for 62% of spending and music less than a quarter. Quite a fall from grace for what was once the undisputed king of the iTunes castle.

Now it is clear that the app economy is a bubble that is likely to undergo some form of recalibration process soon (80%+ of revenues are in app, 90%+ of those are games, and the lion’s share of those revenues are concentrated in a handful of companies) but the damage has already been done to music spending.

If music industry concerns about download cannibalization should be addressed anywhere it is first and foremost at apps. At least with streaming services consumer spending remains within music rather than seeping out to games. Though the bulk of the app revenue is ‘found’ incremental revenue, apps are additionally competing for the share of the iTunes’ customers wallet i.e. growth is coming both from green field spend and at the expense of other content types.

So what can the music industry do? It would be as foolish as it would be futile to try to hold back the tide. Instead, music product strategy needs to do more to embrace the app economy. That means, among other things:
- More fully leverage in-app payments (and that means labels will have to take some of the hit on the 30% app store tax)
- Learn to harness the dynamics of games (that does not mean ‘gamify’ music products necessarily – though it can mean that too – but to understand what makes casual app games resonate)
- Develop digital era, multimedia products (see this report for some pointers on where music product strategy should go)
Though we are nowhere close to talking about the death of music downloads, apps have turned the tide for music spending. The music industry can either sit back and feel sorry for itself, or seize the app opportunity by the scruff of the neck.

originally posted at musicindustryblog.wordpress.com
06/03/2014
Shazam Revamps iPhone App In Hope Of Increasing Engagement

Shazam’s iPhone app is getting an overhaul, starting with a release that puts a larger focus on TV results, music videos and lyrics, the company is announcing today. The update is the first of what Shazam describes as “a larger refresh of the app,” which is expected to roll out over the month ahead.

In the new version arriving today, the app, which now reaches 150 million iPhone users, will see a new tag result experience – tagging, meaning here the process of identifying a piece of audio and matching it to its source. The idea with the refreshed design and user interface is to encourage users to take additional steps after that identification has taken place. That’s arguably been one of Shazam’s weaker spots to date, as the app has struggled to break free of its more utilitarian aspects involving music identification, to become more of a social network or music discovery service of its own.

Now the company is making over what happens after the music (or TV show) is found with a new user interface that more heavily emphasizes the tools allowing users to preview the track on streaming services like Rdio and Spotify, watch the lyrics roll by in real-time, share the music on social networks, or purchase the track from iTunes. The app will also point users directly to music videos, when relevant, and recommendations of other songs to check out.

Most notably, to end users, is the updated look-and-feel, which presents things in more of a card-style interface reminiscent of something like Google Now. However, the features Shazam is highlighting with the release are not new in and of themselves – they’re only being revamped and rearranged.

The updated app will arrive on iTunes, with the Android version to follow in a few weeks.

Old:

New:

Originally posted at techcrunch.com

26/02/2014
Sony Seeking to Sell Gracenote

Sony Corp. is reportedly exploring a sale of Gracenote, a subsidiary business that operates a database covering 180 million tracks and whose audio recognition technology is embedded in various mobile devices and music services including Apple Inc.’s iTunes.

The company hired Silicon Valley dealmaker Frank Quattrone to explore divestiture options, according to Bloomberg, which broke the news. Bloomberg noted that a sale could close by the end of this year.

Sony spokesman Mack Araki declined to comment on the report, adding that, Sony “is constantly evaluating our operations to maximize profitability and efficiency.” Gracenote’s spokesperson, Sunok Pak, also would not comment.

Since taking the helm of Sony last year, Kazuo Hirai has aggresively restructured the company, focusing the company’s efforts on profitable ventures and paring back businesses that either lose money or that no longer fit into the company’s more narrowly focused priorities. In its past fiscal year ended March 31, Sony sold off shares in M3 Inc., a medical technology company, parts of its chemical products businesses and two office buildings, one in Tokyo and its 550 Madison Ave. building in New York. The sales brought in $2.5 billion in net cash.

It’s unclear how much Gracenote will fetch, or whether Sony will decide to retain a share in the Emeryville, Calif., company, whose technology is integrated with Sony’s devices and entertainment services. Bloomberg noted that Gracenote has annual revenues between $100 million and $200 million, but did not specify whether the company was profitable.

Sony purchased Gracenote for $260 million in 2008. Hirai has resisted divesting Sony’s core entertainment business, which includes Sony Music, Sony/ATV, Sony Pictures Television, among other assets.

21/02/2014
Business Matters: Study Shows Why iTunes Radio Lacks Big Impact on Download Sales

A new report by Music Forecasting shows why iTunes Radio isn’t the boon to track sales people thought it could be. Listeners of Internet radio aren’t opposed to buying music. They simply don’t want to interrupt the listening experience to hit the buy button.

Music Forecasting believes it knows the problem. Based on interviews with 40 to 50 people in Philadelphia and Raleigh, N.C., a new Music Forecasting report claims that iTunes Radio listeners use the service for a “lean-back” listening experience. Like other forms of radio, iTunes Radio provides listeners a variety of music for very little effort. Such an experience is not conducive to building a music collection.

This finding should deflate some of the optimism that originally surrounded iTunes Radio. Launched Sept. 18, Apple’s answer to Pandora was thought by many in the music business to have potential for incremental track purchases. The service tightly integrates a buy button that allows the listener to buy a track from the iTunes Music Store. It got off to a quick start, attracting 20 million listeners in about a month.

But no sales boost ever materialized. As I noted in November, a dip in track sales coincided with the launch of the service. Track sales were down 12.9%% year-over-year in the fourth quarter and fell an equal amount in the first three weeks of 2014.

Buying music on iTunes Radio clashes with the nature of radio. Users simply don’t want to lean forward to buy music when they’re enjoying iTunes Radio’s lean-back listening experience. The availability of free music doesn’t prevent people from buying tracks, explains Sam Milkman, executive VP at Music Forecasting. The interviews revealed that most people still buy music — both digital and physical — and want to own a music collection.

iTunes Radio will result in some level of purchasing. People interviewed for the study are “very aware” of the button and think it’s a good idea. Other Internet radio services such as Pandora have long had buy buttons that take the listener to either iTunes or Amazon MP3. But Milkman doesn’t believe iTunes Radio’s buy button will result in a large increase in incremental purchases. Instead, purchases will be casual and sporadic.

“It seems more like a trickle than a flood,” he said.

Music Forecasting discovered that listeners enjoy some things about iTunes Radio. People interviewed like that iTunes Radio is part of their devices’ operating system. In other words, less time is required to find the iTunes Radio app than other streaming music apps. They also like that iTunes Radio has fewer commercials — although a streaming service’s advertisement load typically increases over time.

But iTunes Radio will face difficulties grabbing share from existing services. Music Forecasting found “a large, large number” of people were already using music streaming apps such as Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio. Pandora specifically may have the advantage of high switching costs. Milkman says Pandora users are hesitant to switch services and abandon years of feedback, the “thumb up” and “thumb down” ratings given to songs that helps Pandora fine tune the listening experience.

Could iTunes Radio, and other music streaming services, eventually have a positive impact on download purchases? It must be noted that iTunes Radio is young and its ability to sell music could improve over time. Music Forecasting has specific suggestions for Apple to implement over: emphasize the benefits of owning music, offer discounts or other purchase incentives and explain how features, such as a user’s listening history, can help users find music to buy.

A streaming service pushing the benefits of music ownership may seem like a mixed message — especially for a streaming service that lacks a complimentary download store such as iTunes. Consumers tend to use a service for either streaming or purchasing but not for both. Milkman counters that some consumers won’t fully buy into the access economy. Music Forecasting’s study found that most people want to listen to both Internet and broadcast radio and listen to their own music collection.

“I don’t think we should abandon the ownership model because it still works for some people,” Milkman says.

originally posted at billboard.com

20/02/2014