AppleInsider Staff
Apple on Monday revealed the initial lineup for its eighth annual iTunes Festival in London, which is scheduled to kick off in September with big-name performers Maroon 5, Pharrell and Calvin Harris joining legends Blondie, Robert Plant and more at the historic Roundhouse theater.
So far, Apple has announced 14 headliners slated to perform at the event, including Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Beck, Sam Smith, Blondie, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer, Calvin Harris, Chrissie Hynde, Kasabian, Robert Plant, Kiesza and Jungle. In all, over 60 acts will perform throughout the festival's 30-day run in September.
"The iTunes Festival in London is back with another stunning line-up of world class performers and tremendous new acts," said Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. "These live shows capture the heart and soul of iTunes and we love bringing them to our customers in the Roundhouse, as well as to the millions of people watching all over the world for free."
As usual, tickets cannot be purchased and will instead be handed out at random to contest winners. In the past, Apple has partnered with local media outlets in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico and the U.S. to dole out passes, while fans in the UK were able to enter drawings through the iTunes Festival app, iTunes Store and local radio stations.
Apple is again streaming the event to iOS devices through the official app (likely to be refreshed for 2014), desktop versions of iTunes and Apple TV, the latter featuring an HD feed. The company has been live-streaming the iTunes Festival and select music events since 2012.
In March, Apple brought the festival to America for the first time during the week-long SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. For the U.S. version, fans with Apple TVs were able to watch live performances on by tuning in to Sony's Vevo channel.
For the latest lineup updates and concert scheduling, Apple has reactivated the @itunesfestival Twitter account and corresponding Facebook page.
Andrew O'Hara
Malcolm Owen
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Christine McKee
18 Comments
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/181456/apples-2014-itunes-festival-in-london-to-feature-maroon-5-beck-blondie-more#post_2566602"] For the latest lineup updates and concert scheduling, Apple has reactivated the @itunesfestival Twitter account and corresponding Facebook page.[/quote] Their FB only has 32M 'likes' which doesn't seem like a lot if they have over 500M iTunes customers. Will someone now call Apple [I]beleaguered[/I]?
So what? Those 500M iTunes customers most likely include many who don't bother with FB and/or whose musical tastes don't include the acts appearing at the Festival.
[quote name="PhilBoogie" url="/t/181456/apples-2014-itunes-festival-in-london-to-feature-maroon-5-beck-blondie-more#post_2566654"] Their FB only has 32M 'likes' which doesn't seem like a lot if they have over 500M iTunes customers. Will someone now call Apple [I]beleaguered[/I]?[/quote] What's FB? ;) I opted out of FB, Twitter and Linked in a while back, I feel liberated. I can post pictures using iCloud to show me real friends and use email or FaceTime to talk to them. Really novel ideas eh? I recommend others try this. My email and iCloud pics are not subject to being used by advertisers 24/7/365.
I think Apple has done a great job in sponsoring, designing, and managing these iTunes Festivals: Great venue at London's Roundhouse Theatre; attendance limited to a safe and manageable number; lottery-style ticket distribution; live streaming for the rest of the world; good variety of acts.
I enjoyed the SXSW Festival and, in particular, Soundgarden's impressive performance of their entire "Superunknown" album.
They're probably scoring a lot of PR points with these free concerts which further cement the Apple brand around the world and really distance Apple from its competition.
[quote name="digitalclips" url="/t/181456/apples-2014-itunes-festival-in-london-to-feature-maroon-5-beck-blondie-more#post_2566667"][quote name="PhilBoogie" url="/t/181456/apples-2014-itunes-festival-in-london-to-feature-maroon-5-beck-blondie-more#post_2566654"] Their FB only has 32M 'likes' which doesn't seem like a lot if they have over 500M iTunes customers. Will someone now call Apple [I]beleaguered[/I]?[/quote] What's FB? ;) I opted out of FB, Twitter and Linked in a while back, I feel liberated. I can post pictures using iCloud to show me real friends and use email or FaceTime to talk to them. Really novel ideas eh? I recommend others try this. My email and iCloud pics are not subject to being used by advertisers 24/7/365.[/quote] Wholeheartedly agree. There really is no need for all the (wrongly named) 'social media' - there's nothing social about it. Just like there's nothing fair about welfare (my lame attempt at humor/wordplay). 'They say' that FB will loose 80% of its users by 2016 or something like that, which is the first time that I read something positive about FB. Ah, there it is: http://time.com/1405/facebook-is-about-to-lose-80-of-its-users-study-says/ Have a gander at the .pdf they link at the end.