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With iTunes Match, Apple has ended piracy as we know it
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Editorial, Music, Software
I belong to the MP3 generation. Mine was the first to confront the choice between an $18 CD filled with marginal tracks and free MP3 downloaded from Napster in minutes. It was a test of character, and like many of the MP3 generation, I failed. But my days as a copyright violator, music pirate, and intellectual property profiteer ended long ago, and after enabling iTunes Match, previous guilt is gone.
To be fair, I haven't actually stolen music in years. I actually have multiple music service subscriptions, mostly because I am too lazy to cancel when I switch. So I have access to Rdio, Zune Pass, Rhapsody, Slacker, and Spotify Premium. But the truth is, I have a 32GB music collection sitting on my home PC that was built illegally downloading from services like Napster, Limewire, and BitTorrent. But now Apple is offering me amnesty for just $25 a year.
Apple's iTunes 10.5.1 launched yesterday, and it includes the much-anticipated Match feature. Install the software and it will scan your hard drive for music and make high-quality, 256-Kbps AAC versions of every file available to you in the cloud. The kicker is that this includes not just songs you purchased through iTunes, but any music file on your system, no matter where or how you got it. It will cost $25 a year to maintain access to this newly rebuilt and legal library, but for that price you can have access to up to 25,000 songs. Apple will pay the labels a small fee for the rights, but all you pay is the $25 per year. For those of us in the MP3 generation, this is library liberation.
Click to continue reading With iTunes Match, Apple has ended piracy as we know it
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Listen to music with friends on Facebook with Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker, and more
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Music
Facebook is good for discovering the latest news about your friends and family, but what about music? As part of its f8 developer conference yesterday, the site teamed up with a number of online music entities to bring music discovery to Facebook.
Music companies like Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody, and Slacker will be offering their own apps, which will allow you to share what you're listening to with friends on Facebook. Their music choices will also show up on your news feed, and you can listen to the songs right inside Facebook.
"You'll now start seeing new music posts and play buttons all over your newsfeeds. Hit a play button and the music starts. Right there," Spotify said in a blog post. "Spotify fires up to give you a new soundtrack to your social life. Check out your new Music Dashboard and your real-time ticker to discover the music that's trending with your friends."
We’re giving away 10 Slacker Premium Radio 1-year subscriptions!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music
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Here at Gear Live, we love us some Slacker. If you don’t know, Slacker is a fantastic streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together, rather than something put together by an algorithm. While Slacker is free, they also have a couple of upgraded services - Slacker Radio Plus, and the newly released Slacker Premium Radio. This typically costs $10 a month:
- Play songs, artists, albums on-demand
- Custom playlists
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
- Cache stations to smartphones for offline listening
- ABC News and headline news updates for any station
- "Peek Ahead" artist and album previews
We said this would be big, so here’s what we're gonna do - we are going to give away 10 one-year subscriptions to Slacker Premium Radio. How do you enter? Easy:
- Follow the Gear Live Twitter account
- On Twitter, post this tweet about our contest: “Hey @gearlive hook me up with @SlackerRadio Premium! http://gear.lv/slackerpremium” (Click here to tweet this now)
Want a bonus entry? Subscribe to Gear Live on YouTube! We will select ten random entrants on July 1 - good luck!
Slacker Premium brings unlimited on-demand music streaming
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Music
Slacker finally launched their Slacker Premium Radio service yesterday, a new tier of the popular streaming audio service that gives music lovers on-demand access to the individual songs, albums, top charts, station playlists, and single-artist radio stations in the Slacker library.
The $9.99-per-month Slacker Premium can be accessed on the Web, as well as through apps available for the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android, and BlackBerry platforms.
Slacker Premium Radio lets listeners search, play, and replay specific songs and entire albums from the 8 million songs in Slacker's library. In addition, users have the ability to create playlists and cache songs and albums for offline playback. Slacker Premium Radio also features all-new artist pages that contain artist biographies, all songs by the artist, discographies, and related artists.
Click to continue reading Slacker Premium brings unlimited on-demand music streaming
Huge Slacker Radio Plus giveaway!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music
Here at Gear Live, we love us some Slacker. If you don’t know, Slacker is a fantastic radio’s streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together. While Slacker is free, they also have a service called Slacker Radio Plus, which adds the following perks:
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
- Cache stations to smartphones for offline listening
- ABC News and headline news updates for any station
- "Peek Ahead" artist and album previews
We said this would be big, so here’s what we're gonna do - we are going to give away:
- FIVE one-year subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus
- FIVE three-month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus
- FIVE one-month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus
We are going to make it ridiculously easy to enter as well. All you need to do is become a fan of Gear Live on Facebook, and leave a comment on our wall - feel free to enter as many times as you'd like. That’s it! On Friday we will select fifteen random entrants and hit them with the goods.
Deal of the Day: 44% off Sony BRAVIA 52- and 46-inch LED HDTV (2010 model)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Hot Deals
If you’re in the market for a new HDTV, then you’ll wanna pay close attention to today’s Deal of the Day, because it’s one of our best. You can currently save a whopping $950 (that’s 43%!) off of one of the new 52-inch Sony BRAVIA JDL-52EX700 1080p LED displays. Looking for something a bit smaller? How about $750 off (4%!) of the 46-inch Sony BRAVIA KDL-46EX700? The great thing about these deals is that these are the current 2010 models, not some older units that needs to be clearanced out. These sets have integrated 802.11n WiFi, DLNA support, and even stream content from Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube, Slacker, and more. Oh, and even better? Free shipping.
Here are the links:
Slacker Radio Plus giveaway!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music
Here at Gear Live, we love us some Slacker. If you don’t know, Slacker is a fantastic radio’s streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together. While Slacker is free, they also have a service called Slacker Radio Plus, which adds the following perks:
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
So here’s what we are going to do - we are going to give away a two 1-year subscriptions and three 3-month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus, and we are going to make it ridiculously easy to enter. All you need to do if become a fan of Gear Live on Facebook, and leave a comment on our wall. That’s it. Next Friday we will select five random entrants and hit them with the goods.
Win 3 Months of Slacker Radio Plus!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music
By now, you know that we are big fans of Slacker Radio’s streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together. While Slacker is free, they also have a service called Slacker Radio Plus, which adds the following perks:
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
So here’s what we are going to do - we are going to give away a 3-month subscription to five readers, and we are going to make it ridiculously easy to enter. All you need to do if become a fan of Gear Live on Facebook, and leave a comment on our wall. That’s it. On Tuesday we will randomly select five people, and let them know that they’ve won.
Read More 
| Gear Live's Facebook Page
Slacker makes debut on BlackBerry Storm
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Handhelds, Music, Software
You know that Slacker streaming radio service that we’re so fond of in these parts? Well, BlackBerry Storm owners will be able to start enjoying Slacker directly on their phones, starting today. Verizon Wireless is pushing the Slacker Radio app to BlackBerry Storm phones, and the app will connect to V CAST as well. If you are listening to a track that is also available on V CAST, you’ll see an icon come up that will let you purchase and download it instantly, without interrupting your flow. If you’re on a BlackBerry Storm, check it out.
Free Michael Jackson Tribute Station on Slacker
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Music
The free Michael Jackson Tribute station is just another reason to love Slacker. Here’s the description, and why you should load this up immediately if you’re a fan of the deceased King of Pop:
Since the passing of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, the world has mourned the loss of a great artist. Join Slacker Radio in celebrating the incredible music legacy of one of the biggest and most influential Pop stars of our time. Hear songs from Michael Jackson’s most popular albums as well as his early music years with the Jackson 5. You’ll also hear covers of Jackson’s music and hits from artists that were directly influenced by the King of Pop including Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ne-Yo, Alicia Keys, Ciara and more.
We’ve had it playing all day, and it’s full of fantastic. And it’s free. Thank you, Slacker.
Read More | Slacker Michael Jackson Tribute via Albumista
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