Apple Still Tweaking iTunes Music Store Algorithms, Restored Editorial Focus Pleases Indies [Mac Blog]

Following several months of experimentation with how it curates the music portion of its iTunes Store, Apple has rolled back some of those changes to restore an emphasis on editorial rather than sales-based criteria, according to Billboard.

The news comes after a few independent record labels voiced concern over their artists being lost under the better-performing singers and albums of bigger labels. The company has apparently to not fully eliminate sales-based algorithms for deciding on what content to feature, but have “toned down” that aspect to allow editorial discretion to once again steer the offerings on iTunes’ main page.

After a few weeks of experimenting with that presentation, the iTunes teamed toned down the algorithm and re-asserted the role that editorial discretion has in choosing which music is highlighted in the store. “iTunes will always be driven by editorial discretion,” says a source who is familiar with Apple’s online store philosophy. “Editorial choice will always be at the heart of what music is featured in the store.”

Despite the introduction of the sales-focused algorithm towards the end of 2014 and into the new year, the indie music market still found itself fairly well-represented on the storefront. As Billboard reports, the sector got 40 percent of carousel ads on the main page of iTunes, 50 percent of the “New Music” section, 37 percent of the “Hot Tracks” section, and 20 percent of what Apple calls the “Bricks”, the rectangular-shaped ads populating the store.

Indie labels were worried that they would get lost in the shuffle with all the changes happening in the iTunes Store. They were concerned that a sales velocity algorithm playing a strong role in determining what would be featured in its sliders would bolster the advantage of the majors, who tend to have bigger-selling records.

Various other concerns of smaller labels were alleviated, as well, including iTunes’ ongoing effort to clean up song duplicates in the storefront, to an extent where some songs were taken down despite being in compliance with the company’s rules. But, as one indie executive noted, if a proper case is made to bring back the music, Apple will listen. “iTunes are flexible; they are not an account who says ‘its our way or the highway.’”

Perhaps the biggest shift on the back-end of iTunes relates to how pre-order numbers factor into album sales. Previously, pre-order numbers were added to launch day sales, rocketing popular pre-release albums to the top of charts on release. The new configuration wipes pre-order figures away on launch day and starts all albums on level ground, requiring albums to garner successful day one-and-onward launches to hit the top spots.

Apple has been steadily building up iTunes in preparation for the future integration with Beats Music this year. The company has most recently hired BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe to possibly work on its iTunes Radio service and acquired media analytics company Semetric to integrate its Musicmetric tracking service into the iTunes/Beats refresh. Apple has also been seeking expertise in music journalism, perhaps to fill out editorial content appearing alongside listings in the iTunes Store.

MacBook Air Refresh With Broadwell Processors and Intel HD 6000 Graphics Appears Imminent

Apple’s MacBook Air hasn’t been updated since last April, which means the company’s line of ultraportable notebooks is due for a refresh. New screenshots from the forums of Chinese site Feng.com suggest an update is imminent, depicting the specifications of a MacBook Air with one of Intel’s Broadwell processors. According to the user who posted the screenshots, they’re from a 2015 MacBook Air that was produced by Foxconn.

The screenshots show the system information for a low-end 13-inch MacBook Air (MacBookAir7,2) with an Intel Core 1.6GHz i5-5250U processor and Intel HD Graphics 6000, which is what we would expect to see. The machine ships with 4GB of RAM and continues to use a display with a resolution of 1440 x 900. The battery appears to be very similar to the battery in the existing 13-inch MacBook Air.

The notebook is running a custom version of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 with a build number of 14C2043, another marker we would expect to find in a new machine. The serial number provided is not registered with Apple and comes up as invalid, but that may be due to its unreleased status. There is no information within the screenshots that indicates the information has been faked, but there’s also no concrete detail that earmarks them as real, either, aside from the fact that they closely align with what we would expect to see in the next MacBook Air refresh.

A chart suggests that the 13-inch MacBook will come in three iterations. The first two will use the 1.6GHz Core-i5 processor and will ship with either 128 or 256GB of storage. The higher-end model will use the Intel Core i7-5650U 2.2GHz chip and will ship with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of flash storage. There will be a variety of upgrade options as well.

There is no information available on the 11-inch MacBook Air, but it will use the same Broadwell chips and will offer many of the same upgrade options.

As for when the MacBook Air refresh will come, that’s unknown. It appears the machines are ready to go, so it’s very possible that Apple will announce the refresh during its upcoming March 9 event. Rumors initially suggested the MacBook Air might be quietly updated on February 24, but that date came and went, leaving a potential refresh date up in the air.

Apple’s March 9 event is said to be focused on the Apple Watch, but it’s possible the company will use the time to unveil other products as well. Rumors have suggested the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air may also make an appearance at the event, and there’s a possibility Apple could unveil all three machines at the same time.

As with the MacBook Pro, it’s likely the 12-inch Retina MacBook Air will initially be sold alongside existing MacBook Air machines due to differences in price. Over time, the Retina MacBook Air may replace the existing MacBook Air, just as the Retina MacBook Pro replaced the standard MacBook Pro.