Slashdot Asks: What Did You Like/Dislike About iTunes?

iTunes is officially dead with the release of macOS Catalina today. Apple decided to break apart the app into separate Apple Music, Podcasts and TV apps. “Each is better at its individuals task than it was as a section within iTunes, which was teetering on collapse like the Jenga tower of various functions it supports,” writes Dieter Bohn via The Verge….

Apple Releases Public Beta of Apple Music For Web

An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple Music doesn’t work on traditional Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora. It does, however, work on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Chromebook users can take advantage of the Apple Music Android app from the Play Store. Traditional Linux users, however, are sadly left out of the party. This week, this changes, as Apple Music…

Apple, Spotify Discuss Siri Truce, as Antitrust Battle Looms

Apple and Spotify are in talks about potentially enabling Siri to play songs, albums, and playlists from the leading subscription music service. The Verge: A new report from The Information confirms that Spotify would be taking advantage of new capabilities that Apple is introducing in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, which allow other apps to be on equal footing with Apple…

Spotify Keeps Big Lead Over Apple Music But Disappoints With 108M Subscribers

In its second-quarter report, Spotify said its subscribers rose 31% year over year to hit 108 million subscribers at the end of June. “That figure was weaker than Spotify expected but keeps it well above its closest competitor, Apple Music, which had 60 million subscribers as of June,” reports CNET. From the report: Spotify also said Wednesday that 232 million people…

Apple Plans To Bankroll Original Podcasts To Fend Off Rivals

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple plans to fund original podcasts that would be exclusive to its audio service, according to people familiar with the matter, increasing its investment in the industry to keep competitors Spotify and Stitcher at bay. Executives at the company have reached out to media companies and their representatives to discuss buying exclusive rights…

Amazon Becomes Fastest-Growing Music Streaming Service

The music app that is adding subscribers to its service at the fastest rate is not Apple Music or Spotify or Google Music, it is Amazon, Financial Times reported this week [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From the report: The number of people subscribing to Amazon Music Unlimited has grown by about 70 per cent in the…

Apple’s MacOS Catalina Will Open Up To iPad Apps, Be Available In the Fall

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: Apple on Monday announced the next version of MacOS. Called Catalina, the next major revision of the MacOS will replace the iTunes app with three dedicated media apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. The update coming this fall will also let Mac users run iPad apps they can download through the…