Amazon and Google Launch Ad-Based ‘Free’ Music Tiers

Technology
Jason Tate

Amazon:

And so, beginning today, customers in the U.S. who do not yet have a Prime membership or a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited will now be able to listen to an ad-supported selection of top playlists and stations for free with Amazon Music on compatible Alexa-enabled devices.

Google:

Listening to music on your Google Home speaker right out-of-the-box seems too good to be true, right? It’s not! Starting today, YouTube Music is offering a free, ad-supported experience on Google Home speakers (or other Google Assistant-powered speakers).

Drew’s Untitled Review Roundup – Vol. 1

Drew's Untitled Review Roundup
Drew Beringer

A few weeks ago I got burnt out. Good-to-great records have been releasing at such a rapid pace (never a bad thing!) and I wouldn’t be able to write a quote-unquote traditional review for every single one. It overwhelmed me to the point of an incredibly paralyzing writer’s block. Then the idea hit me. It’s not an original one as round-ups have existed since the dawn of blogging, but every week or two weeks I’ll do these roundups where I write 1-2 paragraphs about 3-6 albums that’ve released over the past few weeks. I’ll still do the occasional “longer” form of reviews, but primarily I just want to write something about an album I really enjoy without feeling like I have to write 400-500 words every time. So with that out of the way and a hat tip to Steven, welcome to Drew’s Untitled Review Roundup (or DURR). Thank you.

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Interview: Tom Lanyon of Ceres

Ceres
Zac Djamoos

Three years ago, when I reviewed Ceres’ sophomore album Drag It Down on You, I said “Tom Lanyon sounds pissed.” But that isn’t the case on We Are a Team. Lanyon sounds happy. Hell, the first line of the record is “I’m gonna get happy.”

That isn’t the case when talking to him, either. He’s quick to laugh, quick to joke, and seemingly eternally grateful to be able to make music that connects with people. I got the chance to talk to Tom about the band’s upcoming We Are a Team, out next week.

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The Maine Share Another Book Excerpt

The Maine
Jason Tate

The Maine have shared another excerpt from their book, You Are OK: Finding Your Way When Life Doesn’t Feel OK, on Medium:

I found — or maybe she found me — the love of my life at the start of the Lovely Little Lonely Tour and have been extremely happy with my relationship for the past couple of years. But as a person, as an individual, I ended up stumbling upon some of those same feelings of anxiety and worry and dread at the start of writing this record. I think it just was a culmination of stress and thinking, “How much longer can I do this?” I was moving into a new place and worrying if I was going to be able to afford rent and all this shit. It just felt like the enormity of the world was solely resting on my shoulders. Going to write this record, it was like, “I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do.” You Are OK sort of walked out.