Joan E. Solsman

Netflix hikes price of its most popular service by a buck, to $9.99

Claire Reilly/CNET Popular streaming-video service Netflix is raising prices for the second time in two years, lifting the cost of its most popular level of service in the US, Canada and Latin America. The sign-up page on Netflix’s site said that the company’s “standard” tier of service, which lets two people watch separately at the …

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With Ticketfly buy, Pandora aims to be your concert concierge

Singer Rita Ora performs at Pandora’s 2014 “Summer Party” in Los Angeles. Mike Danenberg/Press Line Photos/Corbis Music fans, Pandora and Ticketfly have a love song dedicated to you. Wednesday, streaming radio provider Pandora said it would buy online ticketing company Ticketfly for $450 million in cash and stock. The CEOs of both heralded it as transformational because it marks the …

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Apple Music exec: Free music is a shell game we don’t play

Jimmy Iovine joined Apple when the company bought Beats last year. James Martin/CNET Apple has no desire to be a source of free tunes, according to Jimmy Iovine, a leader of the company’s subscription music service. Streaming music services supported by ads are “building an audience on the back of the artists,” Iovine said Wednesday at the Vanity Fair New …

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Singing a different tune, Pandora plans to buy Ticketfly for $450M

Pandora is the biggest online music service by listeners. Joan E. Solsman/CNET Long a solo act, Pandora is ready for a duet. The Oakland, California, Internet radio company agreed to buy online ticketing agent Ticketfly for $450 million split nearly equally between cash and stock. “With Ticketfly, we will thrill music lovers and lift ticket sales for artists as the …

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Staring down giants, Roku launches $129 top

Enlarge ImageRoku 4 is the company’s first new box in more than two years. Sarah Tew/CNET Roku unveiled its first new set-top box in more than two years Tuesday, aiming to distinguish itself from bigger competitors by hawking streaming devices and nothing else. The Saratoga, California, company, which makes devices that connect your television to Internet video and music, also …

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Netflix thinks the future of video looks a lot like Netflix

Ted Sarandos is the head of content at Netflix. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters/Corbis Entertainment of the future will look a lot like Netflix does now — at least, according to a top Netflix executive. “In 10 years…it will be entirely delivered on the Internet. It will be a series of apps that’s closer to what you see on smart TV,” said Ted …

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Rhapsody launches a kids corner

Rhapsody is the first streaming-music service with a dedicated corner for kids to use. Rhapsody For Rhapsody, a company that pioneered the music subscription model now in vogue, streaming music has become child’s play. The service launched on Thursday a new section dedicated to kids, becoming the first streaming-music service to make such a direct overture to little ones and …

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Apple Music subscriptions: Time to pay the piper

Enlarge ImageApple Music launched in June with three-month free trials, the first of which expire Wednesday. CNET Apple’s first subscription service is taking off its training wheels. The Cupertino, California, tech giant introduced Apple Music in June as its first foray into monthly charges. To get consumers to try the service, Apple offered a free, three-month trial with unlimited streaming. …

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Comcast challenges YouTube with Watchable video service

Enlarge ImageComcast launched its first streaming service that anybody can access. Reuters Cable company Comcast on Tuesday launched Watchable, a service that delivers short videos to living-room TVs, mobile devices and a Web player. The country’s biggest traditional pay-TV provider will put digital shows often associated with online video sites like Google’s YouTube, including Vice, the Young Turks, Smosh, Day …

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Verizon Go90 mobile video service opens gates to public Thursday

Executives from Verizon, video studio AwesomenessTV, and media company Vice and actress Zoe Saldana spoke about Go90 on a panel. Joan E. Solsman/CNET NEW YORK — Verizon’s mobile-only video service Go90 will be available to the masses Thursday, after an invite-only launch three weeks ago. “We’ve all been talking mobile first, but really, it’s mobile only,” Verizon executive Brian Angiolet …

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