Here's a free suggestion: High fidelity sound! 24-bit uncompressed ALAC files.
How hard can it be? Come on Apple.
How hard can it be? Come on Apple.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Working with U2 on New Music Format to Boost Digital Music Sales
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
while you're not entirely wrong, i'd counter that the music business (like the television business) is still fundamentally stuck its ways, starting decades (and decades) ago. this is where apple likes to shine. your sentiments are why i mentioned the iWork suite - apps and networks. if apple can find a way for unsigned artists to do all the work that 'costs a fortune' using software themselves, getting pennies for everyone who tries and a decent cut of someone's success, this could totally be viable. how many new artists 'break out' each year? 2-3 per genre? maybe?
the reason the app store is successful is because developers now have high visibility in some 150 countries when they used to have to get access country by country using a promotional/legal team. now they get approved and millions of people can find their apps.
With this new format, when you buy an album Bono personally comes to your house with an sacd which he rips onto your Mac, and then he dances in his underwear the first time you play it.
It wasn't Apple that made that decision, they caved to the record labels demands. In order to keep deals with record labels and musicians, they needed to adopt a new payment scheme to keep the contracts alive. At the time, record labels also didn't like (possibly still don't) the amount of control Apple had over the entire music Industry with their iTunes Product, some articles stated that new contracts that increased prices on iTunes was also a strategy to offer the same songs from other sources at lower prices, reducing the perceived monopoly iTunes had in music sales.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/...itunes-new-prices/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Funny, I don't recall U2 being involved in the development of the iPod nor introducing it. Did Bono become an engineer?
It could be something totally different.
Years ago, when I had tons more spare time, I used to buy a magazine every month that would review around 200 new records every single month. Doesn't sound much, but that would be about 30,000 songs per year. And I discovered lots of music through them. Spent a lot of money through them as well
And they didn't review what was given to them by the music industry, there was lots of new and unknown and interesting stuff. That kind of thing could work really well with the iTunes music store as well. Of course you need a dozen people who are really competent, and really independent, so that people come to trust them - if they say an album is good then it needs to be good, not just have a huge advertising campaign behind it.
So "new format" could mean: Take the expertise that they acquired with Beats, use it to find good music, independent of what the record companies think, and make it public on iTunes. They could then go a step further and pay unknown artists a fixed sum for their album if it is found to be good, give it away for free, and give the artists an option to produce the next album.
Can we have some different artist doing that please
Beyonce but not when my wife is at home
Would be nice if Apple would focus on a modern medium like television/video.
They already have have apps in the app store, just open it up for the AppleTV.
Launch a 'free' Amazon Prime competitor.
Be golden.
They already have have apps in the app store, just open it up for the AppleTV.
Launch a 'free' Amazon Prime competitor.
Be golden.
New Music Format
Because that has worked so well for Sony in the past.
Apple has lost it’s way. Apple is now plauged with clueless middle management and no real leadership from the top.
The best story I heard all year… The programmers writing the iTunes Radio software were listening to Spotify while coding it. They asked their managers to look at Spotify and they were told it’s not significant. Right there is everything that’s wrong with the current Apple infrastructure.
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/05/apple-itunes-radio-managers-engineers/
Because that has worked so well for Sony in the past.
Apple has lost it’s way. Apple is now plauged with clueless middle management and no real leadership from the top.
The best story I heard all year… The programmers writing the iTunes Radio software were listening to Spotify while coding it. They asked their managers to look at Spotify and they were told it’s not significant. Right there is everything that’s wrong with the current Apple infrastructure.
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/05/apple-itunes-radio-managers-engineers/
I think the point is that people actually like the musicians he listed. Not me personally, but more of the population than U2.
Bono: "i dunno, man, whichever format makes our new stuff sound more like Joshua Tree. can you do that? tell me you can do that...."
Translation: You have to sign up to iTunes Match for one year to download all your music in the higher quality format.
----------
What about giving you a reason to buy more albums. Let's say 25 albums of your choice for $100. Something like Audible does with audio books.
as much as i hate beats, bumping up from mp3s AND from earbuds will be a big deal to a lot of people who aren't actively interested in music (like i imagine many people commenting here are).
plus, if anyone thinks that apple won't improve on the beats' designs they're nutty. they had nothing to do with the construction or R&D of pre-2014 beats, obviously. trading inside audio 'secrets' will mean better beats cans. if not, i'd be really suprised. BUT - keep in mind, apple likes to cash in on things as they are and improve quality incrementally, per conferences/releases. so beats may suck for a while, but i highly doubt 'forever.'
It wasn't Apple's decision. The record companies insisted on the introduction of variable pricing as a concession for allowing the removal of DRM from iTunes music.
https://www.macrumors.com/2009/02/0...e-also-subject-to-itunes-popularity-rankings/
The biggest problem with music quality is the mastering, no change of formats will solve that, the engineers need to stop mixing music for loudness and then the sound quality of music we get will be drastically improved.
The formats we have are perfectly fine, the last thing we need is yet another Apple-only file type. The high definition thing is all pointless, standard 16-bit 44kHz sampling rate has enough dynamic range to cover everything the human ear can hear, the only reason high res music sounds better is because more attention is paid through all stages of recording and mastering. That's where the emphasis needs to be.
Lol, more people like BEP or Gaga over U2?
The crazies of MR are out in force.
(Who had the largest attended, highest grossing tour of all time? HINT, it ain't BEP or Gaga)
from everything coming from reviewers of the beats' music community, this is WHY they didn't need to take a look at spotify. it would be a waste of time. again, based on the reviews - it's supposedly far and away the most customized and personal of the streaming music options. clearly, apple would like that and gravitate towards it (and improve upon it). sometimes when you design something, you spend a lot of time pouring over the competition, and other times you get a general overview and ignore the specifics. depends on the project.
however, i'm speaking from no personal beats experience - mine goes 'pandora sucks, spotify is ok and grooveshark is where it's at.'
Black eyed peas only had one reasonably good hit, IMHO - "where is the love?" - becomes tiresome after a few plays.