Quick Hits: Gaana gets investment; MixRadio teams with Samsung; long live Top 40

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Gaana gets investment and mobile package: India-based streaming platform Gaana got an undisclosed investment from Micromax, the nation’s biggest smartphone maker. Gaana’s mobile version will also be bundled into Micromax’s mobile devices. The company currently sells 2 million phones a month, offering Gaana extensive reach in its efforts to compete with other local streaming platforms like Saavn.

MixRadio partners with Samsung for India expansion: In further India-centric news, MixRadio has partnered with Samsung in that country to put the streaming platform in all of its smartphones for the market. As a result of the deal, MixRadio will be exclusively pre-loaded on Samsung devices in India and will appear on both the Google Play store and Samsung store. Forbes reported that the arrangement is part of MixRadio’s push to take on other top global streaming brands.

Long live the Top 40: Author and staff writer for The New Yorker John Seabrook has a new book out titled “The Song Machine.” In an except published to Bloomberg, Seabrook predicts that the Top 40 pop system will continue to endure despite the growth of streaming and online platforms. He argues that big radio is the best, and possibly the only, way for artists to score a hit.

 

Anna Washenko