Tag: Tech

Apple continues to work on classical music app

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Tech giant Apple is reportedly working on a standalone classical music application, according to hidden code found in iOS 16.3, which it planned to release last year.

The hidden code change was discovered by Twitter account @iSWUpdate, reports MacRumors.

The iOS 16.3 software update is in the final stage of beta testing and is expected to be released to the public next week.

However, it is still unclear if or when the standalone application will launch.

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According to the code, the tech giant has changed a line of text that will appear in the iPhone‘s standard Music application from “A Shortcut to Apple Classical” to “Open in Apple Music Classical“, which indicates that the iPhone maker might have changed the name of the application.

Another line of code mentioned, “Explore this artist in the app designed for classical music.”

In August 2021, the company announced that it had acquired the classical music service Primephonic and planned to release a dedicated classical music app in 2022.

However, the application has not been launched yet and the tech giant has remained silent on the plans.

The company had promised that it would incorporate the best features of Primephonic, including “better browsing and search capabilities by composer and by repertoire” and “detailed displays of classical music metadata.”

Primephonic had shut down in September 2021 and its subscribers received a free six-month Apple Music subscription, the report said.

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Music labels win $46.7 mln from internet provider in piracy trial

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  • Astound’s Grande Communications held responsible for user infringement
  • Record label plaintiffs previously won $1 billion from Cox in similar case

(Reuters) – Internet service provider Astound Broadband’s Grande Communications Networks LLC must pay a group of music labels $46.7 million after its user pirated over 1,400 copyrighted works, a federal jury in Austin, Texas, decided Thursday.

Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Records and other labels convinced the jury that San Marcos, Texas-based Grande committed willful contributory copyright infringement by failing to act against subscribers who were repeat infringers.

An attorney for Grande did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The labels’ attorney Andy Bart of Jenner & Block said in an email that they were “grateful that the jury recognized the critical role that ISPs play in addressing piracy.”

Labels including Universal, Sony and Warner won a $1 billion verdict in a similar lawsuit against Cox Communications in Virginia in 2019. Cox’s appeal of that verdict is still pending.

The labels have also sued several other ISPs for allegedly turning a blind eye to user piracy, including Frontier Communications, Charter Communications and RCN Corp.

Grande, which is now part of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners’ Princeton, New Jersey-based Astound, was sued by the labels in 2017. The lawsuit said the labels own rights to “the great majority” of recordings sold in the U.S. from some of the most popular musicians of all time, ranging from Michael Jackson to Pink Floyd to Tony Bennett.

According to the complaint, the labels sent Grande notices of “more than one million infringements” by thousands of subscriber accounts that pirated music through BitTorrent software. They accused Grande of failing to act in order to avoid losing revenue from infringing subscribers.

Grande told the court that it was “merely an internet service provider and never induced or encouraged anyone to infringe.” It also argued the labels’ notices were flawed and that their alleged damages were excessive.

The case is UMG Recordings Inc v. Grande Communications Networks LLC, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 1:17-cv-00365.

For Grande: Richard Brophy of Armstrong Teasdale

For the labels: Andrew Bart of Jenner & Block

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Cox to pay $1 billion to music labels, publishers over piracy infringement

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Blake Brittain

Thomson Reuters

Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com



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Japanese composer Nakahashi Yuki wins second prize in Geneva music competition

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Japanese musician Nakahashi Yuki won second prize in the composition division at the Geneva International Music Competition on Wednesday.

The prestigious competition is viewed as a gateway to a professional career for young musicians.

The prizewinners were selected from among 97 contestants from 37 countries.

Works by Nakahashi and the two other finalists were performed by a mixed chorus.

Nakahashi’s 15-minute piece is themed on stories from the Bible. Six singers used their voices to express the sounds of waves and animals’ cries.

The performance was met with a roar of applause.

Nakahashi told NHK he is happy that his free style of composition was accepted.

The 27-year-old composer is from Toyama Prefecture in central Japan. He began writing music in high school. He currently studies at the Paris conservatory.

South Korea’s Kim Shin won the top prize.



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