Music

Looking for a free, legal and advertisement-free way to stream your favorite music on the iPhone or iPod touch? HypedMusic version 1.0 provides just that, with a simple interface that can be synced using a Facebook account (or not). The app makes it possible to create playlists of your favorite tracks.

You will have to know exactly what you're looking for, since there's no way to browse for artists or songs. Search results are sourced from all over the web, and although sometimes a music server might not work well, available songs play just fine for the most part. Like other music apps, HypedMusic will play your tunes while running in the background.

Spotify has announced that free radio play is coming to the U.S. in a few days. The update was supposed to roll out starting today, but Spotify decided it wasn't quite ready for public consumption. iPhone and iPad users will have access to an unlimited amount of music once the new radio feature is integrated into the iOS app.

The update offers limitless streaming radio stations and the ability to like your favorite songs so you can easily find them later. Free users will have to deal with advertisements, while Premium users will continue to enjoy an ad-free experience. Spotify is available to download for free in the App Store. It's compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and requires iOS 5.0 or later. A Spotify Premium account is $9.99. Read on for a complete list of upcoming changes.

Ever notice how some song titles are too long to fit on an iPhone or iPod touch display? The iOS Music app simply truncates the text and adds a trailing elipsis at the end. Now thanks to iOS 5 you can actually view all of the track information with this simple tip.

When you're interested in seeing the whole track name, just hold down on the track listing and a black pop-up box will appear. Inside this box will be the complete track title without any abbreviation. Once you lift your finger, the box will remain open until you tap the screen again.

Sony officially launched its Music Unlimited app for the iPhone in New Zealand on Monday. The app should be available in the U.S. and other supported markets soon. It is free to download and offers two paid subscription options: a $4 Basic plan and a $10 Premium plan with 30-day free trial. The music streaming service was previously only available to Android and PlayStation 3 owners.

The Basic plan grants you access to all the basic channels, while the Premium plan offers access to Sony’s full catalogue plus other goodies (see list of Premium features below). Spotify users should know what to expect. The Sony Music Unlimited app is compatible with the iPhone and iPod. It's also compatible with the iPad but it's not optimized for the device.

Apple is rolling out its iTunes Match service to several new countries today, including Austria, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Slovenia. A full report on the launches was first revealed by MacStories. Even though iTunes Match is now live in Italy and terms of service have been changed to include Match in other countries, Apple has yet to update its official iTunes Match availability document.

iTunes Match was first launched in the US in November 2011, followed by further rollouts in December and January. The service is now officially available in 37 countries around the globe including Australia, Brazil, the UK and others. Although Japan was rumored to be getting the service in February, Apple has yet to launch it there.

Talk about convenience. A new jailbreak tweak called HeadphoneLauncher automatically brings up a media dock when the headphones are plugged in. The tweak can be configured using settings to provide access to multiple apps directly from the lock screen.

You can decide exactly which apps you want to appear in the lock screen launcher after the headphones are plugged in. Once the tweak detects the presence of headphones, these app icons pop up along with standard media controls (play, pause, etc).

The ability to stream music from your iPhone directly to speakers or an AirPlay-enabled device like the Apple TV is one of the perks of iOS. Some music apps, like Pandora, include a handy AirPlay button that makes turning on streaming simple. So how do you get other music playing applications on the iPhone to use AirPlay?

Just because the app developer didn't include the AirPlay button directly in the app interface doesn't mean you're out of business. Apple has included a default AirPlay switch in iOS along with volume controls on the multitasking dock. Accessing AirPlay from any music app is possible as long as your AirPlay-compatible devices are properly configured on your Wi-Fi network.

Missing the days of record players, cassette tapes and compact discs? The days of the iPod may even be numbered now that Apple has changed the iPod app icon in iOS 5. If you're looking for a dose of nostalgia, here are some iPhone apps that will make your music player a little more interesting.

First off is AirCassette, which brings back the Sony Walkman and homemade mix tapes for $1.99. AirCassette is the most versatile of the bunch, and has graphics simulating several different blank tapes to choose from.

Some iPhone owners who jumped to install the iOS 4.2 firmware update yesterday were greeted with an unwelcome surprise. Media including music, audio books, podcasts and videos disappear after the update is complete. iTunes still displays the storage space occupied by the media files, but they are nowhere to be found on the iPhone.

Opening the iPod app simply says "No Content" and re-syncing with iTunes does not bring back the media library! Apparently something was overlooked by Apple, but lucky for iPhone owners the bug fix is quick and easy. Your music files are hidden but still stored on the device. Don't restore your iPhone or take drastic measures, just follow these simple steps:

You can fill up a portion or all of the empty storage space on your iPhone with songs from your iTunes library automatically. Here's how to use the autofill feature:

1. Make sure your iPhone is connected to the computer and iTunes is running.
2. On the Summary tab of the iPhone, make sure the box next to "Manually manage music and video" is checked. Click Apply. This step will not remove music already synced to your iPhone.
3. On the left side menu under DEVICES, click the arrow to the left of the iPhone to expand the iPhone contents.
4. Select Music from the expanded iPhone menu.