News

It has been reported this week that Cheryl Cole and global superstar Rihanna will be meeting in Los Angeles this week to record a single together.  It was reported by the Daily Star this Sunday that the Girls Aloud singer who originally hails from Newcastle will be collaborating with the 'Umberella' star this week in an LA studio.

Rapper Jay-Z has vowed to clean up his act since the birth of his baby girl Blue Ivy Carter.  The music mogul and rapper revealed that he would no longer be using the word 'bitch' in his lyrics. The turnaround was revealed in a poem the rapper recently penned.

Rapper Jay-Z and songtress Beyonce Knowles' baby Blue Ivy is barely a week old and she is already the subject of ongoing controversy. The name Blue Ivy has been scrutinised over the Internet, in particular on Twitter.  One of the main theories was that the name Blue stands for 'Born Living Under Evil.' It has also been stated that the name Ivy is there simply to mean 'Illuminati's Very Youngest' or 'Illuminati's Victorious Youth.'

Rapper/songstress Nicki Minaj has now flown past Eminem and beaten his record of having more Twitter followers than any other Hip-hop artist on Twitter. They both have a phenomenal amount of Twitter followers with both having more than 8 million followers each.  From January 10 2012 Nicki Minaj has 8,289,708 followers.  Eminem has 8,267,835 followers.  Billboard reported on January 4 that Eminem was no longer the most followed Hip-hop artist on Twitter.

Facebook has taken it to the next level and introduced a new ticketing app.  The idea behind the app is to alert users about events and allow the user to purchase the ticket through the app without having to leave Facebook.  The app also alerts users friends when one of their friends has bought a ticket for an event.

Stats have shown that Android is much more popular than iOS for app users. However, iOS still attracts more developers than Android does. A recent study has shown that Android has 53 percent of the entire market share in the USA. This compares to 29 percent for iOS.

There are many music apps out there but one music app for guitar lovers that should be up there with the best of them is Dave Mustaine Guitar Prodigy. This app is good for anyone who loves heavy metal guitar. However, it was originally created for lovers of the heavy metal band Megadeth. Dave Mustaine is the lead singer as well as guitarist. There is another app which is available for all guitar lovers which is Rock Prodigy. You can learn how to play various Megadeth songs.

Technology experts have said that Spotify can never really make a profit. Due to the fact that there is such a high cost for music licensing. It has been estimated that they lose just over eight dollars for each free user. There are more than seven million users on Spotify. Although there does not seem to be much scope for turning a profit with such sites, this has not stopped a new service coming on to the scene. There is a new music subscription service out there now called rara.com.

In recent years there has been a trend for underground bands playing in each others living rooms. A brand new start up company has launched to try and facilitate the process for bands playing in each others front rooms. Slowbizz aims to make the whole process more organised and to make it easier for bands to get in touch with each other to organize events in their homes. The company is aiming to introduce a social network and a web application to make the whole thing a reality.

The Beatles have been well known in recent years for their point blank refusal to move with the times and sell their music on the Internet. However, they have just recently introduced a brand new app called The Beatles: Yellow Submarine.  Although the new is being seen as an app and not an iBook, it is being sold in the iBook section of the app store.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has launched a brand new app for New York City Visitors. She recently unveiled a brand new mobile app through her website Goop.com. The new app is aimed at people who visit New York City and want to find cool and interesting places to go to. She stated that it is like seeing New York City through the eyes of a trusted friend.

Google is set to acquire the company Clever Sense. The company first came to prominence when they created the app Alfred. Which provides information on local music venues, nightclubs, restaurants and bars within your local area. The mobile application became highly successful and has seen Clever Sense become one of the ones to watch in Silicon Valley, which is very well known for breeding highly successful start up companies that attract thousands of venture capitalists every year.

The SoundTracking Android application has been eagerly awaited by every tech buff out there. Well, now if is here every tech pundit is salivating over its functions and capabilities. We first enjoyed the SoundTracking app on the iPhone. Now, it is available on Android, it is bigger and better than ever before it seems.

The Canadian born rap superstar Drake has this week announced his first ever UK tour. The Canadian rapper came to fame only three years ago when he starred in a hit US drama. He then independently became one of the most well known rappers to not have a record deal. He is now part of Lil Wayne's Young Money and has become one of the most successful hip hop artists in recent years.

YouTube have acquired RightsFlow a small company that was set up to manage music licensing and payment services. The company started in 2007 and it aids online music services and record companies.  It helps artists and distributors license their music as well as making it easier for them to receive their royalty payments.

Amy Winehouse's last album has shot straight to number one in the UK charts.  The album which was produced by friend and producer for the late singer songwriter, Mark Ronson. It features a collection of self penned original songs as well as covers of other artist's tracks.  The album was released on Monday and has sold nearly 200,000 copies since it's release date.  The album was put together after Mark Ronson and friends went through a large number of previously recorded vocal tracks by Amy. They decided to compile the album after her tragic death at the age of 27 in July 2011.

Verizon and DVD rental company RedBox have come together to  to create a TV and movie streaming service. They are planning to launch the brand new service in May of 2012. Techcrunch have recently reported these new plans for the two giant companies.

Adele has won many accolades in her short time in the public eye. However, this could be one of her biggest accomplishments yet. This week, the young songstress was blushing again as her album had become the biggest selling album in the UK this century. The Official Charts Company solidified the rumor this Monday.

Lady Gaga has been making waves in recent months regarding her quest to change the laws on bullying in the United States. The singer went to the White House this week to meet with President Obama's colleagues.  The President's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett stated that the singer was an amazing source of strength and someone to look up to especially for children who do not feel like they fit in in school.

Spotfiy has revealed their plans to offer apps to their users, this new plan has made music lovers very excited. The Chief Executive Officer of Spotify Daniel Ek has announced that there will be a brand new app platform on the the site, this will let app developers make music apps using Spotify. It will also allow developers to tap into their huge array of songs. Developers will be able to tap into the songs free of charge for a certain period of time.  You will be able to use the program for with no restrictions and no limits once you pay the monthly subscription fee.  The app platform can be used using your mobile or from your computer.

The Guardian has revealed that they will be partnering with Spotify to make a brand new music app. The new app will be for Spotify and it will use the Guardian's Open Platform Service.  The app will be great for music lovers as it will allow all the album reviews and latest music news from the Guardian online to go directly to Spotify. Therefore, allowing all the users of the Spotify community to access the information. The reviews will also come from the Observer online and it will make it easier for Spotify users to know exactly what is hot and what is not in the music world.