Apple Reportedly In Talks To Buy Jay-Z Owned Tidal

According to a new report out of the Wall Street Journal. Apple is in talks to acquire Tidal the Jay-Z owned streaming service. While specific details are unclear at this point Apple acquiring Tidal would give it a leg up when it comes to negotiating for exclusive streaming rights.

Tidal is currently owned by Jay Z and a variety of other artists including Kanye West, Beyonce, Chris Martin, Jack White, and many more. 

Negotiations between Apple and Jay-Z are reportedly still early and may not result in a deal according to the reports.

Jay-Z initially purchased Tidal for $56 million just over a year ago from Swedish company Aspiro. The rapper gave artists and bands a small stake in the company. The service currently has around 4.2 million paying subscribers.

A Tidal spokesperson has gone on record to said the company has not held talks with Apple.

Dr Dre All But Confirmed Beats/Apple Deal

Although we haven't heard an official confirmation from Apple or Beats Electronics about a possible Apple buyout, after news broke that the Apple was going buy music streaming company Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion. Dr Dre, one of Beats’ co-founders seems to have other views about transparency.



Playing around with some other folks, Tyrese Gibson starts out the video with a reference to the Beats/Apple news. “Billionaire boys club for real, homie…. The Forbes list just changed!…”

“In a big way,” rejoined Dr Dre.“The first billionaire in hip hop, right here on the motherf*ckin West Coast!” Dre says, standing behind Tyrese Gibson laughing and hollers off camera.

Shit just got real, yo.

Beats Music Launches Jan. 21 For $10 Per Month

Beats Music today announced the pending launch of an online and mobile streaming music service. Beats Music will be available to Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices for $9.99 per month. The subscription fee grants users unlimited access to 20 million tracks, including streaming and downloads for offline playback. Beats Music will offer dozens of curated music stations, as well as allow consumers to create their own. The service will offer a Just for You function which offers a personalized selection of albums and playlists based on user tastes.

Right Now, which is a continuous playlist made from the user's location, preferences, surroundings, and mood.

 Highlights, which is made from current and culturally aware playlists; and Find It, a search function that pulls out playlists and songs. 

According to Beats, it is paying all artists the same royalties for their music. The service runs on the platform built by MOG, which was bought by Beats Audio in 2012. Single lines can test the service for free for one month, after which the monthly subscription kicks in. Beats Music also announced a collaboration with AT&T. 

Beats Music for AT&T customers will cost $15 per month and targets families or other groups that use Mobile Share plans. Beats Music for AT&T gives up to five people unlimited streaming and song downloads per month. AT&T is offering families a free 90-day trial, but there is no free version of Beats Music it's all or nothing. Potential customers do not need to have Beats headphones in order to subscribe to Beats Music. Beats Music will become available January 21.

Source: Beats Music

What Is Your Thoughts On Beats Audio On HTC Devices

It’s been less than a year since HTC made that massive investment in Beats Audio. But in case you haven’t heard yet, HTC has now decided to sell half of it’s 50.1% stake in the company, leaving it with only 25.57%. This comes after HTC released the HTC EVO 4G LTE and the HTC One Series with Beats branding, but without bundled Beats headsets.

HTC is saying that this move doesn’t mean it values Beats any less. HTC will continue to work closely with Beats and continue to provide Beats functionality in future handsets. But, as the saying goes, money speaks louder than words it certainly seems like HTC is starting to think its massive investment was a mistake, especially since the company is still second to Samsung, with sales that just can’t seem to rebound to former levels.

So, all of this made us wonder: what do you think of Beats Audio? Is it just a gimmick designed to sell more handsets and expensive earphones, or does it really add something special to a device’s audio experience?

Sound off below, and let us know what you think and what your experiences have been of Beats Audio on your own phone.

[Pocketables]

AT&T And HTC Make Vivid "Ice Cream Sandwich" Update Official

 

We reported last week that the ICS update for the HTC Vivid on AT&T had started to trickle out. Many of you probably chose to initiate the update manually, by dialing *#*#682#*#*. For everyone else, AT&T has made the update official today, highlighting the snazzy new capabilities, including Beats Audio and the many new features of Android 4.0, such has Face Unlock.