Music

Improving radio stations in popular streaming music apps means weighing in on a track by tapping the thumbs up or thumbs down button. The process can be cumbersome if the iOS device is locked or the display is asleep, and each app has its own layout to fumble with. OneThumb seeks to change all this for jailbroken music fans.

With support for three different apps, OneThumb makes it possible to assign Activator gestures to the thumbs up and thumbs down inputs. Pandora, Spotify and iTunes Radio users can join in the fun, once the tweak is installed and configured.

iOS users with an Amazon Prime subscription now have another free music streaming option. Amazon rolled out its new music streaming service called "Prime Music" for Amazon Prime members. The service gives users access to over a million songs, hundreds of Amazon curated playlists and the ability to download tracks for offline listening.

Early reports suggest that Amazon's music library is not as deep as Pandora or Spotify, but the service is ad-free if you already have an Amazon Prime account. Not to mention, a $99 yearly subscription also nabs you free shipping from Amazon.com, access to Amazon's movie streaming service and deals on select products. A yearly subscription to Pandora may be cheaper, but it only offers ad-free music, not all the perks of an Amazon Prime subscription.

Several sources, including the Finacial Times and Bloomberg, have reported that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is in talks to purchase Beats Electronics LLC for $3.2 billion. If true, this would be the most money Apple has ever paid to acquire another company. But why is Apple considering paying so much for Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s music accessory company? While Apple hasn't officially announced its decision to buy Beats Electronics there are a few theories floating around as to why the iPhone-maker is making such a big move.

iTunes

Apple changed the music industry with the release of the iPod and iTunes, but services like Pandora and Spotify are causing an industry-wide drop in music downloads. According to various sources, Apple is reportedly looking to bolster its music-offerings by incorporating Shazam's song ID feature in iOS 8. The company's iTunes Radio has also also gotten off to a slow start, but adding Beats Music could help change all that.

It's no secret that running out of space on the iPhone causes issues. Free storage space is needed for iOS to run properly, not to mention for the installation of system updates and new apps. Music is easily synced provided the songs are in iTunes, and iCloud users can store music remotely to save space. When needed, deleting all of the music tracks on an iOS device is an easy way to free up extra space quickly.

Make sure the music on your iOS device is stored elsewhere before following this tip. Individual songs and playlists can be deleted by swiping right to left directly in the Music app. To quickly wipe out all of the music on the iOS device follow these steps.