Episode Details

This MacVoices Live! panel looks at the shutdown of a mobile app store experiment, Spotify's latest price increase, and a wide-ranging debate over AI-generated music and art. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, and Jeff Gamet consider a variety of factors for each, including user behavior, platform economics, artist compensation, and whether machine-generated content can truly be considered art, raising questions about creativity, intent, and how it all affects the future of media.

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Chapters:

0:06 Show introduction and breaking news 6:10 Mobile app store shutdown discussion 14:12 Spotify price increase reactions 19:36 AI-generated music and artist impact 31:49 Is AI-generated content art?

Links:

MacPaw Pulls Plug on Setapp Mobile iOS Store, Citing 'Still-Evolving and Complex Business Terms' for Alternative EU Marketplaces https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/15/setapp-mobile-eu-app-store-closing-next-month/

Spotify increases US pricing by 8%; some people are happy https://9to5mac.com/2026/01/15/spotify-increases-us-pricing-by-8-makes-at-least-some-people-happy/

Guests:

Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky.

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 publicatio