The Gidilounge app is free on the Apple App Store, it is not a large application, so it downloads fairly quickly and installs on the iPhone. When you launch the application, you are presented with a login page in which you can login with your existing credentials or login using Facebook – however, the Facebook option does not seem to be functional at the moment. The option to sign up as a new user is also available. A drawback of the login page is that when entering your password, it is displayed in plain text which does not seem very safe, but I assume this was done with ease for the user in mind.

After logging in to the app, a page titled ‘Global’ is displayed with three categories, ‘Trending’, ‘Weekly Top 10′ and ‘Indie’. You can select any of these categories and listen to songs from them. Once you tap on a song, you get the options to ‘Play’, ‘Star’, ‘Add to Playlist’, ‘Share on Facebook’ and ‘Share on Twitter’ which are all denoted by icons.

There is also a left navigation bar that allows you switch between different Gplayer settings or switch to the Radio feature, and a Social option to select from. In the left navigation bar, you can also search for songs, playlists or users using the Search feature. The app also has a notification that comes up every few days when there is a new song release

My overall experience with the app was not so good. I feel like there are a lot of issues that need to be ironed out. Some examples being the aforementioned Facebook login issue, when listening to tracks in the Gplayer, they cannot be fast forwarded or rewound, the ‘Settings’ icon in the left side navigation bar does not work and a few other minor issues. Other than that, it does a good job at playing music and helping you discover new Nigerian music

In conclusion, I believe this app would most likely be a great addition for already existing Gidilounge users. However, I think that because of the drawbacks the app currently has, it would not excel too well at swaying new users its way.

After nearly 7 months since it first announced its new music player tagged the gPlayer, Gidilounge has finally said they are ready to release the next generation Gidilounge app into the wild in a few weeks.

The new music streaming app will have all the features that where disclosed to the public at their October 10th event which included the ability to browse and create playlists, save their favorites and listen to a music Lounge (curated playlists) but in addition the app will allow users to discover new and upcoming artist, listen to latest releases and the weekly Top 10 of most listened to songs on Gidilounge.

The Lounges will be positioned in a way that if you are cooking for instance, there is a lounge for that where you can listen to music as you cook, or driving or even studying. It will also cover popular genres like like Juju, Afrosoul, Afrobeat and Highlife music.

The exact date for its release has not yet been confirmed but the new gPlayer will be available on the web and all mobile platforms (iOS, BlackBerry, Windows 8 and Android smartphones and tablets) for Gidilounge and music fans everywhere.

Gidilounge, the company that brought you Africa’s first all mobile radio station and the popular Gidilounge music player is hosting an event on Saturday, November 10, to launch some new products. The event is said to be the unveiling of a major update to their Gidilounge Music Player which will be known as gPlayer 2.0.

Gidilounge CEO, Olumide Adewumi, says the team spent months working around the clock to get it done and they are very excited to finally launch the product. The revamped music player is said to include features like user created playlists, favourites, lounges and many more to provide a seamless music eco-system for the listeners and artists. It will also be compatible with mobile devices.

Gidilounge shared some pictures on its Instagram page showing the new players interface;

The event will be taking place at the East Common Room at 7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto from 5pm – 9pm EST and will also be broadcasted live on Gidilounge Radio and via a Google Hangout. The goal of the product launch is to present gPlayer 2.0 in an interactive environment that engages its audience all over the world.

You can get an invite to the event by clicking here.

Music streaming service, iROKING has released an iOS app. The app is basically iROKING on your iPod touch, iPhone or iPad.

The app lets you search for music by track, artist and album. It also synchronises your playlists between your computer and your iOS device. The best part – offline functionality. So you can listen to music when you’re off the internet. You can download the app here.

What I’ve noticed is the colour scheme on iROKING and recently launched Gbedu.fm. They’ve both got the blue, black and gray thing going on. I hope users find them different because I’d be confused if I forgot which one I opened and there are no logos.

iROKING has definitely got a lot of money in the bank since its parent company, Iroko Partners raised $8 million in funds last week. They can go all out on advertising and kick everyone else’s butt. There’s one thing I’d like Iroko Partners to clarify – is it “iROKING” or “iRoking”? There’s a huge difference.

Emm, Spinlet what’s going on? You guys seem do be doing more offline than online :/

Here are screenshots of the app for iOS

If you’re African or you love African music, music streaming service, Spinlet is bringing the top music stars from across the continent to South By South West.  The All Africa Showcase is co-sponsored by Society HAE. If you’re at SXSW or you’re following it online, the following artistes will be performing at Spinlet’s events.

On Thursday, the 15th of March at Copa, 217 Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas.

• Chief Boima (Sierra Leone)
• Sauti Sol (Kenya)
• Just A Band (Kenya)
• Spoek Mathambo (South Africa)
• Baloji (Congo)
• Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 (Nigeria)

On Friday, March 16, at Beso Cantina on 307B West 5th Street. Spinlet has got

• Bez (Nigeria)
• Naeto C (Nigeria)
• M.I (Nigeria)
• Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana)
• 2Face (Nigeria)

Here’s a video from Spinlet on what to expect

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paSzvBszvqE]

Notice the number of Nigerians on the list? B) Quick question for Spinlet: When are you going to launch? It’s taking forever!

Source: We blog the world

Etisalat has launched UrFilez in Nigeria; a mobile music streaming service that allows you listen to and discover music. The service also allows you create and share stations like on Last.fm or you can listen to any of the artistes’ stations. UrFilez has over 4,000,000 songs in its library.

UrFilez has also been launched in 17 other countries where Etisalat has presence. The service also has partnership with Batelco and Zain. UrFilez is currently available for BlackBerry, iOS and Android. Users can also share their favorite music to social networks.

The app is free to download via the UrFilez website with a 60-day free trial. Pricing currently stands at N5 weekly, N10 weekly and N50 monthly. Subscription charges will kick-in after the 60-day trial ends.

Having a mobile app puts UrFilez ahead of iROKING as iROKING is only available on personal computers. What UrFilez needs to compliment its mobile service is a PC service because some people like to listen to music on their computers.

What do you think? Please leave us a comment.

Here’s a video from UrFilez showcasing the service:

Music streaming and download service Spinlet, has announced the signing of non-exclusive agreements with more artists and record labels. The agreement puts Spinlet back in the music streaming game and will help artists distribute and sell music on its platform when it finally launches.

Some of the artists and record labels are

Alapomeji Records (9ice), Chocolate City (Brymo, M.I, Jesse Jags, Ice Prince), Hypertek (2Face Idibia), Game Time (Lineo), Funky Money Ent (Konga), Syndik8 Records (Lynxx, E Jay, Ikon), Flytime (Tiwa Savage, P Square – Invasion Album), Too Much Music (Femi Juba), Starville (Shank), DJ Jimmy Jatt, Show Dem Camp (Ghost,Tec, Lucci and Poe), Storm Records (Naeto C Sasha, Tosin Martins, YQ, and Yung6ix), Cobhams Asuquo Music Productions (Bez), Timaya, Play Records (Rilwan, Mimi), Effya, Ghetto Ruff (Jozi, Nancy G) and Sunset Distribution.

It’s a good thing Spinlet has signed more artists. One reason I use iROKING is because of its large mass of content. They’ve got a large amount of music. Until Spinlet does that, a lot of users will stick with whatever service has their favourite music.

Spinlet’s upload service allows artists upload content to Spinlet’s servers, making it possible for independent and unsigned artists to take advantage of the platform. Spinlet has also made a Music Extraction Utility tool[Windows PCs only] to rip music from CDs and upload them online.

When Spinlet eventually launches, it’ll go head to head with already launched iROKING, Spotify and Apple’s iTunes.

Source: TechLoy

The Grammy Awards has announced that Apple‘s late Co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs will be awarded a technical grammy for his help in transforming the way music is consumed and distributed.

The statement said

Steve Jobs

“helped to create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books,”

“A creative visionary, Jobs’ innovations such as the iPod and its counterpart, the online iTunes store, revolutionized the industry and how music was distributed and purchased.”

Apple was awarded a technical Grammy in 20002 for its contribution to the music industry. Its Co-Founder Steve Jobs will be post-humously awarded his grammy on February 11, 2012 in the Trustees category. Other Trustee Awardees are musician, composer, and arranger Dave Bartholomew and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.

Steve Jobs died on October 5 2011, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. After Napster, Steve Jobs is the second reason people don’t buy CDs anymore.

Source: CNet

I chat with alot of people out there and most of them have sung the same song about spending their holidays in a different country “What would I do without my Spotify/Pandora” and so on. I share their plight, i’ve grown fond of Spotify since it launched in the US and I was looking for a miracle. Looks like the guys at Spotify have given you travellers just that. As a Chrismas gift, Spotify is offering Spotify Premium free for 30 days. How is this special? Check what Spotify has to say about the premium account:

Take our entire catalogue, millions of tracks and counting, and all your playlists with you on the go with the award-winning Spotify Mobile apps for iPhone, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone. With ‘Offline mode’ you can listen even when no internet connection is available.

The feature set are given below:

• Unlimited music – listen to any track instantly
• Spotify on your Mobile – music wherever you are, online or offline
• Enhanced sound quality
• Offline mode
• Unlimited travel access

The highlight here are the Offline mode and unlimited travel access it offers. I use Spotify Premium on my Windows Phone and its as easy as hitting “offline” or “download on” on my phone (iPhones, Andriod, Meego and Symbian Devices are also supported) or “make available offline” on the desktop app (Windows, Mac and even Linux all have apps)  to get your playlists on your machine.

Offline mode allows you to sync tracks on up to three computers or mobiles phones at the same time. Each can sync a maximum of 3,333 tracks.

What this means is that  before you leave the states or the UK and your blazing fast internet to go to a place like Nigeria where the internet isn’t that great or Spotify isn’t supported, you can create as many playlists as you possibly can and save them offline.

With Unlimited travel access, you are guaranteed access to your music in countries where Spotify is not available or supported. As long as there is an internet connection, Spotify is good to go. Add that Spotify recently launched a music player similar to Pandora and you are getting the best of both worlds. There is a caveat though; you have to make sure you purchase the premium or unlimited service in one of Spotify’s launch countries prior to visiting a different territory.

You can activate your free trial HERE. You can also access the free trial page via spotify.com.

Merry Christmas folks. Enjoy your holiday and get to downloading LEGALLY.  You can opt to deactivate the service whenever you want, else you will be charged $9.99/month when your 30 day trial expires.

Barely a month after the launch of IROKOtv, Iroko Partners has gone a step further with iROKING. iROKING is a free music streaming service for Nigerian music.

Iroko Partners has signed deals with a whole lot of artistes – Davido, Eva, Skuki, MODENINE![The fact that they've got Modenine already has me hooked], Waje, Timaya, Shank, 2Face, Tim Godfrey, P-Square, 9ice, Kefee, Flavor, Banky W and a host of others.

The site currently streams music although the official launch date is tomorrow. Just like IROKOTV, the service will be free for a while. Iroko Partners also plans to go mobile in February 2012 with Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone 7 and Symbian apps.

Users can sign up via Facebook, Twitter or their email address. There’s also a search bar at the top so you can easily find music you’re looking for. There are a few bugs here and there but like I stated earlier, the site isn’t official yet.

Apart from listening to music, Users can create playlist and mark tracks as favorites. The What’s New button leads you to new releases from Artistes. Each artist’s page has a short bio and below that are the tracks available to the service.

iROKING will batlle Spinlet and recently announced Deezer in the music streaming sector. Spinlet might seem to have an edge for now with its exclusive deals with Chocolate City and Storm 360 but Spinlet isn’t even live yet. With time Artistes and Record Labels will forget about Exclusivity. They’ll sign deals with multiple streaming services and let them battle it out. iROKING will also compete with foreign services like iTunes and Spotify.

So Nigerian musicians, it’s time to finally make some money from digital content. They’ll also have to battle sharing services like 4Shared, limelinx and hulkshare.

Head to iROKING and tell us what you think about the service. I’m off to listen to Africa’s best rapper.

Source: Techloy