Watch: Lana Del Rey debuts new song at Apple event

Lana Del Rey just surprised her fans in the best way possible. On Tuesday (Oct. 30), the New York-born songstress debuted another new song from her forthcoming sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell. Titled “How to Disappear,” Del Rey premiered the new song live during an Apple event in Brooklyn (the event introduced the world to the new Macbook Air, Mac Mini, and iPad Pro).

During the two-song set, Del Rey was joined on stage by the album’s producer and Bleachers head honcho, Jack Antonoff. Antonoff stayed situated behind the piano while Del Rey belted the new song’s lyrics. As if the live debut of a new song wasn’t enough, Del Rey also serenaded the audience with another song from the impending release;“Venice Bitch.”

“Again…in the name of swearing, I won’t say the title of the second track. I’ll call it ‘Venice’ for now,” the singer quipped before belting the lyrics to the song. Watch the fan shot video of the performance above.

“How to Disappear” will join “Venice Bitch” and “Mariners Apartment Complex” on Del Rey’s upcoming new album. Though no official release date has been given for the upcoming record, Del Rey did confirm that it will see a release time frame of 2019.

Norman Fucking Rockwell is the follow-up to Del Rey’s 2017 release, Lust for Life.

Last week, Del Rey posted teasers on both Instagram and Twitter for a new song titled “Sylvia Plath.” In an interview with Zane Lowe, Del Rey told the host that she would release another new song in October. With only a day left until the month officially ends, it’s unknown if said new song is “How to Disappear” or if she may release “Sylvia Plath” on Halloween.

Apple and Beats in the Midst of Developing Music Streaming Service

Remember how last year when Apple purchased Beats for $3 million speculation began that the two mega companies would be forming a new music streaming service that could “rival Spotify”?

Well, it sounds like that time is coming closer.

In a recently published article in The New York Times, it appears that not only is Apple working on a new music streaming service, it will also be saying good-bye to the Beats name, something that they promised back in September would not happen.

One thing that has remained a constant since the announcement of the merge is that Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor will be playing a part in the creation of this streaming service. Reznor, whose previous title was Chief Creative Officer of Beats Music before the acquisition, previously revealed he would be part of this new project, but what he would be actually doing has remained a secret.

“Beats was bought by Apple and they expressed direct interest in me designing some products with them. I can’t go into details, but I feel like I’m in a unique position where I could be of benefit to them. That does mean some compromises in terms of how much brain power goes toward music and creating. This is very creative work that’s not directly making music, but it’s around music.”

Sadly, according to NYT, this new streaming service will not have a free tier. The free tier has become a staple in luring customers to shell out big money for more music choices and no commercials.

Reznor had also voiced his opinion on this new era where people want music for free as opposed to paying to get the music that they want.

“I think paying for music is a relic of an era gone by. And I’m saying that as somebody who hopes you pay for music. I’ve spent my life trying to make this thing that now everyone thinks should be for free.”

Another difference between the current streaming services of the world and this new project? The pricing, at least that’s what Apple was trying to do.

Apple attempted to persuade record labels to agree to lower licensing costs resulting in Apple being able to sell subscriptions to its streaming service for $8 a month; the standard for services like Rhapsody, Rdio, and yes, Spotify is $10 a month. But that did not pan out the way they wanted. As the article points out, it reflects just how far behind Apple is in the music streaming game.

As for now, nothing is concrete on what Apple is trying do with this new music streaming service, but if people have to pay for it without a free trial, do you really think the consumer give it the time of day?

Watch Daenerys Give Ominous Warning in New ‘Game of Thrones’ Trailer

While Apple and HBO was announcing their joint venture, the much anticipated HBO Now, fans of the network’s hit show Game of Thrones were more excited for the newest trailer for the show which made its debut during the announcement.

The new trailer begins with everyone’s favorite Khaleesi, Daenerys, in a voice over, speaking about how all of the families are just “spokes on a wheel” going round and round and how her goal (for the season we assume) is to break that wheel. we also get to see how big her dragons have gotten. Mother of Dragons must be so proud!

After that, scenes from the show’s upcoming fifth season flash on the screen including a “blink and you miss it” debut from one of the Sand Snakes.

Check out the trailer which clocks in at almost two minutes, below.

Game of Thrones returns on April 12 on HBO at its usual time (9 p.m. EST, if you somehow managed to forget).

As for the HBO-Apple venture, HBO Now will only be available on Apple TV for Apple devices and will cost those wanting the standalone service $14.99 a month.

Jury Rules in Apple’s Favor in Antitrust Lawsuit

A couple of weeks ago, Apple was taken to court in a class-action lawsuit which accused the company of purposely erasing music from customers’ iTunes which were not purchased directly from iTunes, but from other digital music sites.

On Tuesday, a jury sided with Apple on the case.

The eight-person jury came to a unanimous decision following just three-hour of deliberation. It should be pointed out that the short deliberation was a kick in the head for the plaintiffs who were building up the lawsuit and trying to take it to trail for nearly 10 years.

The jury determined that Apple did in fact use the iTunes software updates, the ones that supposedly erased the music, to deliver improvements for older iPods. The iPods that were reportedly affected by this were those purchased between September 2006 and March 2009.

Throughout the trial, lawyers for the company discovered that two of the plaintiffs initially named in the suit did not buy iPods in the relevant time period.

“There’s not one piece of evidence of a single individual who lost a single song, not even a complaint about it. This is all made up at this point,” said William Isaacson, Apple’s lead lawyer about the case.

“We created iPod and iTunes to give our customers the world’s best way to listen to music,” an Apple spokesperson said after the verdict was reached.

“Every time we’ve updated those products over the years – we’ve done it to make the user experience better. ”

As the trail made headlines at the beginning of the month, it was reported that if Apple lost, they would be out $350 million in damages which could have reached up to $1 billion under the antitrust laws.

To read the full report about the case, head on over to the New York Times.

Apple in Hot Water Over Deleting Rivals Music from iPods

We all know that people’s outlook on Apple can easily range from not wanting anything to do with them to waiting hours in line in the cold to pay hundreds of dollars for their gizmo of the moment.

But, it sounds like Apple had been doing something behind the backs of their customers that they will not be very appreciate of, now that their secret has been discovered.

During a court hearing in Oakland, Calif. it was revealed that the mega-corporation had been knowingly deleting songs from users’ iPods that had been downloaded from competing music services between 2007 and 2009.

According to attorney Patrick Coughlin, when a user tried to sync songs which had been downloaded from another service to their iPods, iTunes would receive an error message. The message would tell the user they needed to restore the factory setting and once that had been completed, the music from the rival services would be deleted.

“You guys decided to give them the worst possible experience and blow up [a user’s library]” Coughlin told Apple security director, Augustin Farruguia.

Farruguia responded by saying: “Apples contends the moves were legitimate security measures.” He also claimed that hacker with names like “DVD Jon” and “Requiem” made Apple “very paranoid” about protecting iTunes.

When asked why they did not tell users about this, Farruguia responded by saying “We don’t need to give users too much information” and that information would “confuse users.”

At present time, the class-action lawsuit is seeking $350 million in damages, claiming Apple abused their power to enforce their monopoly status in the digital music world.

If Apple ends up being found guilty of the claims, the damages could triple what is currently being sought at the moment, meaning this could easily cost them $1 billion under the antitrust laws.

Bono Apologizes for ‘Song of Innocence’ Stunt

While everyone who has iTunes was complaining about the fact that U2’s new album was “forced” onto them, Bono and the rest of the guys from U2 were laughing their way to the bank.

We also can’t forget all the freak outs people were having as they tried to delete the album from their iTunes. Remember Fall Out Boy’s skit on Jimmy Kimmel?

A month or so after the iPhone 6 reveal announcement and the day Songs of Innocence was inserted onto 500 million desktops and iPhones, Bono is kind of apologizing for the stunt that might have just backfired.

In an interview with fans on the Irish band’s Facebook page, the frontman was asked about the album’s release. The person wrote, “Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to people’s playlists ever again? It’s really rude.”

Funny, we were going to say the same about you and your “question.”

Bono seemed a little somber as he responded to Captain Rude Pants’ question.

“Oops…I’m sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea…might have gotten carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that thing. A drop of megalomania, a touch of generosity, a dash of self-promotion, and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years might not be heard. there’s a lot of noise out there. I guess, we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it.”

Then again, we’re sure if Beyoncé was to do the same thing, the vast majority of the world would claim that it was “innovative,” “fresh,” and continue to claim that “she’s the queen.” Whatever.

Apple to Shut Down Beats Music

UPDATE: 

A rep for Apple recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard and told both publications the reports that Beats Music will be shutdown is “not true.” A rep for Beats echoes Apple’s claim that the music streaming service will not be shut down.

Though for now they are claiming the service will not be shut down, another source told THR, Apple is “fully committed to offering a subscription service, though changes to any existing products are always a possibility.”

In other words, don’t get too attached.

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Just a few months after acquiring Beats in a move that was already in the cards, Apple has decided to call it a day on Beats Music, the streaming service that came along with the Beats name.

According to TechCrunch, the mega company has decided to put the streaming service to rest. The publication revealed that they had it on good authority on behalf of some “prominent employees” including several that were working on the project. Those sources had revealed that there has already been a shift in the staffing of those who were working on Beats Music while some who are not on the technical aspect have been told to continue with “business as usual.”

The tip-off of this occurring should have been seen for anyone who watched the iPhone 6 reveal last week or owns the new iPhone. While other Apple apps had been included in the newly released smartphone, Beats Music was nowhere to be found. To top it off, there had not been any mention of the streaming service recently unless you include the advertising towards new users with iOS7 and the note that U2’s new album was also available there.

With the close to $3 million acquisition, Beats Music CEO Ian Roger was put in charged of iTunes Radio leaving little to no time for his original product. There’s also that issue that Apple probably doesn’t want another music streaming services to challenge iTunes or have customers be forced to get to know a new music streaming service interface.

Maybe the rumors were right, Apple only wanted Beats so that they could have their foot in the headphone’s race as well as get the talent of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre on their side.

No matter what, but it looks like Apple is getting their wish of world domination. RIP Beats Music, have fun in Apple heaven with the other iPhones and iPods.

Fall Out Boy Perform Civil “Good Deed” in Jimmy Kimmel Skit

U2’s surprise and free album might have made some of their fans happy since they pretty much confirmed the album would be out by the end of 2014, but the fact that the album was delivered to everyone who has iTunes, made a vast majority of people upset.

Case and point? Just yesterday, the Huffington Post called the legendary Irish band the “new Nickelback.”

Need we say more?

Uproar about being forced the album reached Apple, resulting the company having to create instructions so those who did not want the album, could delete it from their iTunes Library.

During their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night where they performed their new song “Centuries” for the first time on national television, Fall Out Boy made a joke about it. The band participated in a skit which involved them helping citizens of Los Angeles delete Songs of Innocence from their iTunes Library.

Watch the Save Rock and Roll band do their civil “good deed” below.

We’re going to assume Apple realized that this publicity stunt did have the ending that they hoped for especially because they spent a reported $100 million on the record so that everyone with iTunes could get it.

OK Go Accuse Apple of Stealing Video Idea

While Apple was busy getting fans of the mega-corp excited for their upcoming new gadgets (you know the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iWatch) some fans of OK Go began to notice that there was something a little too familiar between the company’s launch video “Perspective” and the band’s recent video.

Turns out, OK Go noticed the same thing. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, OK Go’s manager, Andy Gershon claims he and the band had met with Apple in April to pitch the concept used in the videos as a collaborative project between the company and the group. As we all know, the project was no picked up by Apple.

The concept of the project was to use one continual camera, circling around a room while displaying different messages depending on the “perspective.” Hence Apple’s title.

When Apple decided against the joint effort, the band continued on with the project on their own, hiring production company 1stAveMachine. The idea was then turned into a reality called, “The Writing’s on the Wall” which was released back in June.

So what are the odds that the project Apple declined back in Apple would appear at one of their biggest events? Very likely.

But if using the same concept wasn’t enough, apple went on to hire the same production company  to make the “Perspective” video and used the same director, as well.

Gershon told the publication that OK Go are considering legal action against Apple, but the chances of it going through, according to a Stanford law professor, is very unlikely.

Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time Apple has taken ideas from artists and claimed it as their own.

In 2005, the dancing silhouettes commercial looks a lot like a commercial for Lugz boots. Then in 2006, Ben Gibbard argued that a television spot looked a lot like The Postal Service’s video for “Such Great Heights.”

We should also point out the irony that the “Perspective” video was made as a “tribute to people who have always seen things differently.”

Check out the videos below and make your own conclusion.

“The Writing’s on the Wall”– OK GO

“Perspective” — Apple

R.I.P. iPod Classic

It’s the end of an era. The iPod Classic will now join the Walkman, Cassette players, CD players, and all others in electronic heaven.

As Apple unveiled the newest additions to their expanding family, the mega-company have put the iPod Classic to rest just shy of its 13th anniversary.

Instead of revealing the news to those Apple aficionados, the company just pulled the iconic music player off of their website, most likely to make room for their newly revealed gadgets.

According to The Verve, if you ever have plans on getting a new one to replace the one you used to hold dear back in high school, you might be out of luck because this isn’t a temporary thing; the collection has been discontinued entirely.

But like it was pointed out on another website, 9to5Mac, it only makes sense that the company does so. The last big update for the music player was back in 2008; that’s six years. The 6th Gen iPod Classic also prided itself on having a 160GB memory and being able to hold to 40,000 song. During today’s event, it was announced that the iPhone 6 will have a memory of 128GB, competing with the iPod’s accomplishment of 160GB.

There’s also that slight plan that the company had to discontinue the iPod Classic which began back in 2010. The company then decided against it, but it looks like the time has come to say good-bye.

Guess it’s true, it’s the end of an era. Now, we know how our parents felt with A-Tracks, cassettes, and Walkmen went away, though we know for a fact that we have our iPod Classic sitting in the glove compartment of our car.