digital music

Editor's Pick

Can Reddit Users Create a Hit Song?

Can the power of Reddit translate to Billboard success?

Can the power of Reddit translate to Billboard success? A group of Redditors are trying to churn out the next hit pop song, and updates on their progress can be viewed on Reddit Top of the Pops, a new subreddit created for the purposes of collaborating on a chart-worthy song.

The project was first inspired by a random musing on the subreddit AskReddit, where user Indubitable_Smoo said after spending a whole week "listening to an urban music radio station, which plays generic music that all sounds the same," he or she concluded that Reddit users could easily come up with a generic hit song. The overwhelming response prompted Indubitable_Smoo to start Reddit Top of the Pops.

Soon after its creation, the thread was buzzing with activity and various singers, producers, and songwriters started offering their services. One commenter claimed to work for a legitimate online radio station and said he "might be able to get [the station] to play the finished product."

The moderators have designed a master plan of execution and have currently completed the first step — holding a vote on the best sound track out of 14 submissions. Here's what the winner, entitled "Generic Pop Instrumental," sounds like:

Other tasks on their to-do list includes finding lyricists and singers, making a music video, and figuring out a way to collect and distribute royalties.

What do you think — does the track have the makings of the next hottest pop song?

Music

Get a Yearly Microsoft Zune Pass For $150

To coincide with the launch of its Windows Phone 7 next month, Microsoft is offering a yearlong Zune subscription for $150.

To coincide with the launch of its Windows Phone 7 next month, Microsoft is offering a yearlong Zune subscription for $150. The yearly pass allows users to stream an unlimited amount of music and includes 10 song downloads each month on your new Windows phone, which comes with built-in Zune functionality.

Find out what else is included after the break.

Music

Best Websites For Listening to Music at Work

Music can help you fight through a case of the Mondays and amp you up for tedious tasks, but not every workplace is designed for letting the beat build over speakers.
Best Websites For Listening to Music at Work

Music can help you fight through a case of the Mondays and amp you up for tedious tasks, but not every workplace is designed for letting the beat build over speakers. If you don't have iTunes set up on your work computer, but your work allows streaming, join the 84 percent of geeksugar readers who use Internet radio. These discreet work-friendly sites will let you get your jam on for free (or a minimal fee if you want access to certain songs). Chic headphones not included.

News

Are Music Subscriptions a Good Idea?

I had a good guffaw this morning with my co-workers over the old Columbia House deal from back in the day when you'd get 10 CDs for a penny, and agreed to buy a certain amount of CDs for a certain amount of time.

I had a good guffaw this morning with my co-workers over the old Columbia House deal from back in the day when you'd get 10 CDs for a penny, and agreed to buy a certain amount of CDs for a certain amount of time. At 14, the deal seemed like I was getting away with something crazy, but I realized later that I was in my first music subscription. It was also my last music subscription.

One of the cool things about the Zune is its subscription service — but for me, I like to own my music, not rent it, and sometimes I just don't keep up enough to make sure I'm getting my money's worth. That's how I feel about a subscription service in general, and not just the Zune's, which I have been thinking about since Microsoft tried to make it seem like having an iPod was a financial drain.

Not only that, Napster is offering a $5 a month deal for access to their entire music collection, and rumors of an iTunes subscription plan still persist.

Personally, the only thing I like to subscribe to are my Netflix discs and my magazines — other than that, I prefer to just pay once for what I'm getting and be done with it. What about you?

Geek Tip

Geek Tip: 3 Ways to Make Your Friends the Party DJ

Every good host knows you can't throw a party without good music, starting with crafting a great playlist.

Every good host knows you can't throw a party without good music, starting with crafting a great playlist. Once you have that, though, people still might have song requests, so let them be the DJ without having to keep getting on your playlist to change the song. Here are some fun ways to create a jukebox using the gadgets you may already have:

  • Download the free Fluid Tunes (pictured above) for the easiest and most fun iTunes DJ — it uses your computer's camera so that all your guests need to do is gesture — literally, wave their hands — to change the song.

For two more fun jukebox options, just read more

News

What's Your Online Resource For Paid, Digital Music?

That fallout was quick: Billboard reports that due to last week's raise in iTunes prices for popular songs to $1.29, many of those popular songs have dropped in download ranking (that's one way to get them back down to 99 cents!).

That fallout was quick: Billboard reports that due to last week's raise in iTunes prices for popular songs to $1.29, many of those popular songs have dropped in download ranking (that's one way to get them back down to 99 cents!).

Personally, the only time I download single songs from iTunes is for popular songs (you know, the ones you can't get out of your head and need to have now), but I'm annoyed by the price jump, so I may go somewhere else. Considering the majority of you said you bought music online the last time I asked, tell me, where do you go for your paid music downloads?

Source

Geek Tip

Geek Tip: Use TuneUp to Clean Up Your iTunes

If you have an iTunes library that's missing a few beats (you know, like artist info, track names, and album cover art), then you must head over to TuneUp.

If you have an iTunes library that's missing a few beats (you know, like artist info, track names, and album cover art), then you must head over to TuneUp. 'Cause not only is it a drag to spend hours loading up your iTunes library with all your vintage (read: oh-so-early millennium) CDs that you just can't let go of (or albums that you've had burned to discs), but it's even worse to have to go back and enter all the track names and artist info. Now, TuneUp does all that work for you.

For a limited, free membership, you can have TuneUp whip 100 songs and 50 album covers into proper shape. But if your library is pretty expansive, you can do a yearly or lifetime membership for $20 or $30 and let TuneUp analyze and enter your music's data for life. But that's not all that TuneUp does. Find out about a cool bonus feature when you read more

Download of the Day

Download of the Day: TuneLyrics

It's pretty embarrassing to find out you've been singing the wrong lyrics to a song (marmoset instead of 'mama says', for example), but the download TuneLyrics can save you.

It's pretty embarrassing to find out you've been singing the wrong lyrics to a song (marmoset instead of 'mama says', for example), but the download TuneLyrics can save you.

As a companion to iTunes, TuneLyrics populates the words to each song you listen to as the songs change in a separate window.

If it happens to not know the lyrics to a particular track, it lets you know and suggests a Google Search, with a button just for that presented to you. Rad, right?

To learn how to post your favorite downloads to the Download of the Day group, read more

Poll

Do You Still Own CDs, or Have You Digitized?

Times, they are a changin'.

Times, they are a changin'. I used to shop for the most stylish CD shelves, now the only storage I look for for music is on a hard drive.

I don't miss having to find a creative way to keep all my plastic boxes, but I do miss shopping in a record store for new music.

But since I'm all about de-cluttering these days, I've sold back all my CDs (except for a couple discs, for sentimental value) and am almost totally digital.

What about you?

Poll

Are You Impressed by iTunes Genius?

At last week's Let's Rock event, a little thing Steve announced was overshadowed by stuff like new iPods and a fix-all iPhone update: Genius!

At last week's Let's Rock event, a little thing Steve announced was overshadowed by stuff like new iPods and a fix-all iPhone update: Genius! Part of the iTunes 8 update, Genius is a fun new feature for iTunes and iPods, which, I admit, didn't impress me at all when I was first hearing about it.

How silly I was! A week later, I'm obsessed with Genius. Why? Getting suggestions of music to buy is OK, but I really took the perk of having automatically-made playlists for granted. As someone who listens to my whole library on random at work and with the iPod on my iPhone, Genius brilliantly puts together stuff that sounds great together and somehow matches my mood. How does it know, based on one song, exactly what I want to hear next? I guess that's why they call it "genius."
Seriously, sometimes I get so blasé about new technology and gadgets, wanting to see bigger faster and stronger all the time that when something comes along that's so simple, I forget how much little things can make a difference.

So tell me, are you impressed by the little Genius like I am? Or is it just another thing that makes you go 'hmmm'?