Apple Music can’t have everything, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. According to Apple Support, audiobooks are available via Apple Books. The Books app is where you can buy audiobooks, and purchased audiobooks will be placed in your library within the Apple Books app. Audiobooks are not included in the Apple Music app or under an Apple Music subscription.
in January, Screen Rant explained the potential confusion, as excerpted below:
“While this seems like a simple answer to uncover, its roots are traced back to the way iTunes was handled back in the day. All forms of content were available in the iTunes Store, from songs to audiobooks, which created a unified experience. When Apple made the decision to split iTunes’ services into multiple applications, that all changed. Now, there are separate Music, Books, and Podcast apps that each offer distinct services.”
Music is meant to be enjoyed with friends and family. This is the mission behind one of Apple Music’s newer features. Typically, near the end of the year, the focus is on year-end recap features. For Apple Music, that’s Replay, whereas Spotify has Wrapped. But if you plan to travel for the holiday season by car, Apple Music users will want to tap into Shareplay. So, what is Shareplay on Apple Music?
Similar to Apple Music Sing, Shareplay was invented as an interactive experience. Essentially, Shareplay, together with Apple Music, is a tool that allows multiple users to control the music in a capable vehicle. Instead of relying on one person, oftentimes the driver, to curate the tunes for a car ride, Shareplay grants several individuals the opportunity to contribute to what plays over the Soundsystem via Apple Play.
It is important to note that to access SharePlay within a vehicle, the driver that begins the music experience via their iPhone must be on the iOS 17 system or later. Also, you must have an active Apple Music subscription to host a SharePlay session.
However, according to Apple, for those joining an ongoing Shareplay session, you won’t need an Apple Music subscription to join a SharePlay session in the car. Find more information here.
Apple Music has rolled out a bunch of new features. However, nothing beats the gift of music. And now, Apple Music users can share their favorite music in new ways.
Back in June, Apple Music launched collaborative playlists, which allows two or more Apple Music users to collaborate on a playlist. However, as the feature is relatively new, some Apple Music users are still a bit fuzzy on how to create the collaborative playlists.
Not to worry. Uproxx has put together a step-by-step guide on how to create collaborative playlists between you and your music-loving friends.
First, open the Apple Music app on your phone. Secondly, go to the Library tab and select Playlists. You can then create a new playlist or open an existing one. After you’ve selected the playlist you wish to share — or created it — you can select the three-dot menu in the upper-righthand corner of the screen. From there, select To Collaborate. You can then activate the option Start Collaborating and tap Start Collaboration. According to Gear Rice, if you disable this option, anyone can join without approval.
Once ready, you can share a collaboration link with anyone from your contacts. Collaborators can then add new music to the playlist, change the sequencing, as well as the name and cover art.
On this episode Lil Wayne welcomes twins Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte. The trio discuss how Lil Wayne has influenced Good Charlotte’s music, and their recent performance together at the “When We Were Young” festival in Las Vegas. They also talk about navigating the music industry and a possible future collaboration.
See the Young Money Radio interview below.
Young Money Radio features exclusive DJ mixes and guest appearances from some of the biggest names in music, sports, and comedy. While we wait for the Wayne to drop his highly anticipated album, “Tha Carter VI” catch up on the first season of Young Money Radio HERE.
Over the past few weeks, album sales, or the lack thereof, have been hotly debated online amongst music fans. Today’s music climate revolves around streaming metrics. While artists such as Drake, Taylor Swift, and Bad Bunny pull in record-breaking numbers on each platform, they’re not being compensated in kind. For mid- and smaller acts, that pot shrinks significantly.
To aid recording artists in understanding their earnings, on Monday, October 30, Billboard added a royalty calculator for Spotify and Apple Music. Here’s how to calculate the royalties for streaming payouts.
The tool, developed by the legal and consulting firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, offers multiple calculations based on data gathered from direct source payers. Although the formulas are based on United States models, international artists are encouraged to use the software as a reference.
After considering four key points (total payout for the number of streams, sound recording payout, mechanical royalties, and performance royalties), the estimated total is provided in an itemized breakdown.
For example, the results of a Spotify search calculate several rates based on the servers’ paid tier, ad-supported tier, and other tiers. This is also the case with Apple Music. An example on the site compared the earnings from one million streams on both platforms. The song on Spotify brings in $3,700 for sound recording owners, $591 for mechanical royalties, $506 for performance royalties, and $2,279 remains with Spotify. On Apple Music, the payout is estimated at $7,085 for sound recording owners, $899 for mechanical royalties, $819 for performance royalties, and $2,551 given to Apple.
Billboard’s Spotify & Apple Music royalties calculator is available online. Find more information here.
Offset invites Ebro into his home for a in-depth conversation on his second solo studio album, “SET IT OFF”. The two talk about Offset reinventing himself on his new project, getting more hands on with his live shows, and encouraging his wife Cardi B to give him feedback on his music.
Offset opens up about how tragic recent events in his life have influenced him and discusses his view of the current state of hip-hop and why he thinks the genre is stagnant and in need of higher entertainment value, particularly in visuals and live performances.
When discussing the current state of Hip Hop, Offset says, “I’m noticing that the no content music ain’t catching nobody ear. I’m noticing that the numbers are down in our genre specifically, because I feel like everything is so the same. The next new nigga is another nigga that was just here. It’s nothing new being brought to the game. Not just on the sound side, but just all the way around as creatively too.” He added, “The most videos be like a Rolls Royce in the background, some chains on, and that shit getting boring, fellas. You know what I’m saying? It’s like no real entertainment. Why you got these pop and these country artists smoking shit, because they coming with the full around, the full around everything. The full package, you know what I’m saying? Everything ain’t flexing.”
2023 is coming to a close. As the final two months of the year approach, music fans are reflecting on their favorite releases of the year. More strategic music fans are also trying to tailor the algorithm of their favorite streaming platforms, that way, their year-end summaries match their listening habits.
Over the course of the past week, rumors circulated that Spotify Wrapped would stop tracking its users streams on October 31, however, Spotify confirmed that this is, in fact, not true. Meanwhile, Apple Music users are wondering when they’ll get their year-end summary. Fortunately, they won’t have to wait very long to get their summaries. In fact, they don’t have to wait at all.
When does Apple Music Replay come out for 2023?
On Apple Music, each music gets a Replay playlist for every year they’ve been an Apple Music user. Each playlist features the user’s most-played songs for that respective year. There’s also a playlist for the current year, which features the user’s most-played songs in the year, thus far.
According to Apple Insider, the playlist for the active year updates every Sunday, however, Apple Music stops tracking the user’s listening habits at the end of the year. Though, at some point close to the end of the year, Apple Music will share an interactive slide show reflecting their Replay playlist, designed to share via social media.
“When we first launched Replay, the feature became an instant fan favorite on Apple Music, and we really wanted to develop the experience further and make it even more special, personal, and unique for subscribers,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, in a statement. “The music we enjoy throughout the year becomes like a soundtrack, and it’s really fun to be able to go back and relive those meaningful and memorable moments over again.”
Apple Music user’s can see their Replay playlists in the Listen Now section on the Apple Music app.
Westside Gunn joins Zane Lowe in studio on Apple Music 1 to discuss his new album ‘And Then You Pray For Me’, elevating and spreading positivity, why the story of Griselda is one of the greatest stories in hip hop, the legacy of Virgil Abloh, what he loves about Rick Ross, food and film ventures, “KITCHEN LIGHTS”, and more.
In the interview, Gunn speaks very candidly about the new project, saying, “It’s a history lesson. It’s just different energy right now with me, man. You see, I’m glowing right now. It’s just where I’m at in life, you know what I’m saying? I made this whole album overseas, so it was just like… Just country hop and just energy. That’s why it just sounds like that. That’s staying at Bulgari. That’s staying at the Ritz. That’s staying at the Waldorf, that’s staying at the Four Seasons… it was all intentional. You know what I mean? It was all by design.”
At the stroke of midnight tonight, Offset Mania will ensue as he releases his anticipated album, Set It Off. The sophomore effort follows the Migos hitmaker’s explosive 2019 debut, Father of 4, which found success at its peak No. 4 position on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The industry often worries if an artist’s second go-round will be as successful as the first. Still, because so much has happened in the four years since Father of 4, fans are poised with the expectation that Offset will address most of his most scathing controversies in what is slated to be another chart-topper.
We’ve seen the highs and lows of Offset and Cardi B’s marriage become critical conversations on social media. This is especially true as rumors of infidelities plague the couple. Also, Offset’s move to a solo career was heavily debated amid chatter that he’d split from his Migos family. Then, of course, the rapper’s world was shaken when Takeoff, a best friend he considered a “cousin” since they were kids, was shot and killed almost one year ago in Houston. Further, who can forget his epic clapbacks during his Bobbi Althoff interview? As these hot topics are weighed by admirers and naysayers alike, Offset sat down with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1 to discuss Set It Off, why now is the perfect time for its release, and how the family has kept him grounded.
“I’m so excited for this project. You just don’t know, man. I feel— I’m proud of myself, man. I never be proud of myself, I never give myself no pats. But I’m proud of myself, bro. I know I put a big effort into it. I stepped outside of the box, like I said, and I took my time and didn’t rush the product. I’m not settling for the past. I want progression through the future. I wanted to, especially with this project, progress as an artist and not bottle my talents like dancing. That’s why in my videos, I’ve been bringing those elements out of me because I feel like the more you entertain the people, and the more you show people who you are, the more they accept you and follow your lead.
“Even me doing interviews and speaking more, I’ve been wanting to do that. Because people need to understand Offset. I’m not a serious guy, I’m a funny guy. I’m very creative. I love to speak, and I know how to speak well as an adult. Man, like you saying, man, I just want to elevate my sound and elevate… I do appreciate all the things I’ve been through. You know what I’m saying? Everything’s been great, and I love the blessings, but I just want more. I’m hungry for more and to challenge myself to get better.”
“I felt like I was supposed to drop last year, and it would’ve been the wrong time. It would’ve been overlooked, and the music wasn’t there yet. So I didn’t. I’m glad I held back to make sure that the sound of the music was good and also the story that could match what I’m trying to do. It was hard, too, though, because, like you saying, that cycle going. You watching other people go, you watching new people come every day. Then it’s like, ‘Am I getting… I need to drop.’”
“At one point, I was like, ‘Man, I need just drop. I need to drop, I need to…’ Honestly, bro, I’ve never felt good about an album because I always was nervous, or think you too much into it like, ‘Damn, what if this ain’t the song? We put out the wrong song.’ But this one, I’m confident, bro. I feel good, man, I feel like I did—I know I challenged myself. I know I took it to the next level for me. As an individual, not about everybody else, but me as an individual, bro, as an artist, challenging myself to do different things. I salute myself because I was stubborn for a long time.”
On Growing As An Artist & Working With New Producers
“I want to grow, and I’m cool to grow, and I accept the growth. I just feel like every year, every time, you should always be growing … What my whole mission for this album was, was to not get caught up in ‘I’m that guy.’ I feel like sometimes, when you get caught up in that, you create the same thing because you’re comfortable in that element. Then, in this day and age, people is pointing that sh*t out now. Like, ‘Oh, this sounds the same. This sounds the same.’”
“I feel like a lot of people talk down on the A&R like you don’t need them. But they bring you another element that you wouldn’t have thought of, or they might tell you to work with these producers instead of working with the old producers. The only two producers I worked with that’s on this album that’s previous was Metro [Boomin] and Southside. The rest like, Vinylz, Boy Wonder, and even Taste the Money, I had not really had no product out with these guys.”
On Takeoff & Migos’s Legacy
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 07: (L-R) Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff of Migos attend the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
“Take had that…he just had good character. He was a good person at heart, away from none of this jewelry and music and fame, which was never a part of his agenda. He just was like, ‘I make music with people that love my music, and I love everybody.’ He’s a loving person, man. It was just a tragedy my boy had to go like that, man. But I’m pushing for him, too. Legacy, the group thing is it. Can’t be a group because our main member is missing. That’s what people don’t… It’s not nothing against it with us. Just like, for us, we just can’t continue that way.
“But even on my own journey, I still feel his presence and his energy, like, ‘Bro, we got to go hard. We got to win. We got to win. This ain’t the end of it. We got to win.’ So, that’s another thing that pushed me through is my boy, Take, man. I know he always would want… He didn’t care that he didn’t care about the numbers, nothing. He like, ‘Bro, y’all’s sh*t hard.’ He’s just very supportive in that. I just keep that in the back of my mind and just keep pushing. Just keep pushing.”
Advice For His Younger Self
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 30: Rapper Offset of Migos attends Power 105.1’s Powerhouse 2014 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on October 30, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Power 105.1)
“I would tell myself to pay attention more and not to move so fast. When you first getting on, it’s like, oh, show, show, show, show. You’re not really figuring out a strategy onto what your long-term is. So, I would prepare myself for longterm instead of in the moment. I was always in the moment, in the moment, in the moment, in the moment, but never wanted to be an ‘in the moment artist.’ If you look at all the greats, the longevity is always reinventions. It’s always working outside of the box of what you usually do.
“My younger self, I would say, slow down and pay attention. Learn the game, learn yourself. Learn yourself first. Understand who you are as a person. Because that’s what helped me also with this album, understanding who I am as a person. I was having downtime. Music is up and down, not putting product out for a long time.”
On Approaching This Era With New Hunger
“Everybody want to go big, macho man. But I want to be able to just build my sh*t. I’m not afraid to jump in. I’m jumping into it like a new artist. I feel like if I do that, it’ll help me learn more, and then I will see the bumps instead of have a big head. ‘Well, I’m Offset. I come from the biggest rap group, or I got number one song, I got solo songs. They went crazy.’ Instead of getting into that bag, which I was maybe two years ago, it’s like, nah, bro, slow down. Show these people that you can do this. Build a show where people love Offset.”
“That has kept my head on my shoulders… being home with my family is also another reminder of why I do things. Then, them being able to be close to me and to hold me tight because I needed family for a long time, man. People think everything is peaches and cream with an artist. You go through mental things, you go through things with your family, you go through confidence things, you go through creative block. I had a creative block for a minute, and then in the summer, I had all my kids around, and that helped me be able to get back into, ‘Yo.’
“Because my son was like, ‘Dad, I want to hear some new songs.’ It was like, ‘Dang, okay.’ Like they giving me more life when I felt like I was draining. It just gave me—hearing my boys be like, ‘Dad, man, we want to hear your new music. When your new album going to drop? You need to come on.’ It just sparked the juice. Okay, let’s get back into the grind mode. Let’s get back into it.”
Stream Set It Off on all major platforms on Friday, October 13th.
Meek Mill and Rick Ross both discussed their struggles with substance abuse and how they’ve helped each other over the years during a recent sit-down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden. The interview comes ahead of the release of their upcoming collaborative album, Too Good to Be True.
While discussing their drug and alcohol consumption, Meek admitted that his “stomach was bent over for like a year and a half.” At the time, he ended up dropping down to just 170 pounds. “People wasn’t seeing it though,” he explained. “People would see it or might make a joke about it, and in real life my shit fucked up.” From there, Ross noted that the two “definitely had conversations” about what he had been going through, to which Meek confirmed: “For sure. On both ends.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 28: (L-R) Meek Mill and Rick Ross visit SiriusXM Studios on September 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Meek then explained how he wouldn’t try to hide his struggles with substance abuse from his friends. “Like how Rozay said, when you walk in the studio, I’m going to have my lean on the table,” he added. “I’m a man of integrity. If I’m doing something I want to do it in front of my friends so my friends can stop me. So I can have somebody pull me to the side. I ain’t going to be doing a drug or doing nothing that I got to hide from my brothers or nothing like that cuz nobody might not be able to pull you to the side and help you.”
Meek Mill & Rick Ross Speak With Ebro Darden
Elsewhere, Ross admitted that has to take medication twice a day to combat the damage lean has done to his body. “So me drinking lean at a time and now I’m taking medication two times a day because of this,” Ross said. “And then you walk into a session, you see your little bro. Hey little bro, man we got to take…we got to tighten up on this shit, you know what I’m saying? So it’s a lot of different ways we could have issues back and forth, but you know, we always got the money. You know what I’m saying? It ain’t never been no shit that we ain’t never choke up.”
