Apple bringing iTunes Festival to the US for the first time at SXSW, for five nights in March

Image via The Loop

Apple has announced that it is bringing the iTunes Festival to the United States for the first time, after being a UK-only event since it began in 2007. The festival will be held at SXSW from March 11th to March 15th, at the Moody Theater.

The show will feature chart-topping acts from Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull and ZEDD with more announcements to follow. Just like the UK event, anyone can stream the event for free from their iOS devices, Macs as well as Apple TV.

In the press release, Cue said that the event is a way of sharing Apple’s love of music with customers.

“The iTunes Festival in London has become an incredible way for Apple to share its love of music with our customers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re excited about the incredible lineup of artists performing and SXSW is the perfect place to debut the first iTunes Festival in the US.”

Tickets for the iTunes Festival can be applied for for free and distributed randomly to applicants. More details about the show can be found here, although currently the page has not yet been updated for the 2014 show.

- 9to5mac.com

Imaginative use of iBeacon gives bar patrons free access to Newsstand magazines

A London-based digital publishing company is trialling use of Apple’s iBeacon technology to provide bar patrons with free access to digital versions of two magazines in Newsstand, reports TechCrunch.

The way it works is that the bar buys a subscription, and one or more iBeacons (each little larger than a quarter) unlock the content for customers within range. On iOS devices, the whole process is completely automatic. Once the customer leaves the location, the content is locked again and becomes available for purchase as normal … 

“As this is very much new technology we are showcasing it for the first time at Bar Kick in Shoreditch, London,” Exact Editions‘ Daniel Hodgkin explained about the first real world use of the tech. “When in this bar, the soccer magazine ‘When Saturday Comes’ and the fashion and culture magazine ‘Dazed & Confused will be available.”

The company hopes the trial will prove a win-win: customers get free access to magazines, and some of them will then choose to buy a copy or subscription to have continued access to it after leaving the location.

If you’re not up to speed on iBeacon, check out our briefing. The technology is going to be pretty mainstream by early next year, with the possibility of it becoming a new payment platform later.

Written by: Ben Lovejoy @benlovejoy December 4, 2013/5:43 am - 9to5mac.com