Apple Music Connect Returns

A new Apple Music Connect as a promotional platform for artists and labels, has been announced. Rivian are launching an Apple Watch app to control vehicle functions despite rejecting CarPlay. Apple Podcasts is native video support. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, and Jim Rea discuss all of these, debating discoverability in music streaming, the logic behind Rivian's ecosystem choices, and whether Apple's move into video podcasts can compete with platforms like YouTube and Spotify.

Today's edition of MacVoices is supported by MacVoices Live!, our weekly live panel discussion of what is going in the Apple space as well as the larger tech world, and how it is impacting you. Join us live at YouTube.com/MacVoicesTV at 8 PM Eastern 5 PM Pacific, or whatever time that is wherever you are and participate in the chat, or catch the edited and segmented versions of the show on the regular MacVoices channels and feeds.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode introduction and topics overview 00:06 Welcome and live panel setup 01:22 Panel introductions and opening conversation 03:16 Owl encounter story and lighthearted banter 05:04 Apple Music Connect returns as a promotional tool 06:22 Discoverability challenges in music streaming 08:01 Social media vs promotional tools for artists 09:58 Why earlier Apple music promotion efforts failed 11:06 Apple's strengths in promotion vs social platforms 12:32 Rivian launches Apple Watch vehicle control app 13:43 Rivian's refusal to adopt CarPlay debated 15:25 Third-party attempts to add CarPlay to Rivian 16:56 Cars as platforms vs phones as peripherals 19:34 Ecosystem conflicts in automotive tech 20:20 Apple Podcasts adds video support 21:20 Early impressions of video podcast playback 22:25 Creator questions about editing and distribution 25:18 Workflows for audio vs video podcast production 28:11 Impact on competing podcast apps 29:18 Spotify vs Apple approaches to video podcasts 30:34 Is YouTube still the dominant video platform? 34:15 Early video podcast history and experimentation 35:59 Bandwidth and storage implications for video podcasts

Links:

Apple Music Connect Launches as Promotional Resource for Labels and Distributors https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/18/apple-music-connect-launched-for-labels/

Rivian rolls out an Apple Watch app with vehicle controls and digital key support https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/rivian-rolls-out-an-apple-watch-app-with-vehicle-controls-and-digital-key-support-172642545.html

Apple is getting video in podcasts (at last) https://www.applemust.com/apple-is-getting-video-in-podcasts-at-last/

Guests:

Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.

Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC).

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

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