Should radio and Internet radio platforms run ads for competitors? In the battle for “share of ear,” this is a question we have examined from a number of angles. During our recent ad-stalking, we spotted Google advertising its streaming service (Google Play All Access) on Pandora. the call to action lifted us right out of Pandora into Google. Continue Reading
On one hand, Google’s newly-announced partnership with Sonos, which builds a highly regarded line of home WiFi speakers, is just another distribution agreement. On the other hand, the six-month trial represents the latest supposition that short trials of streaming services don’t convert well to paying accounts. Continue Reading
Google takes “infographic” to the next level with a flowing interactive timeline of music genre popularity from 1950 to the present. You can see at a glance, as if from a cross-section of musical strata, how pop and rock displaced jazz in the 1960s, and how indie and hip-hop ate into those categories starting in the 1980s. Continue Reading
In last Wednesday’s Spotify media event, the most important announcement was the launch of an expanded free service on smartphones. “Shuffle” was the buzzword of the day for Spotify. The next day, without fanfare, Google updated its Google Play music service for Android… Continue Reading
Long rumored and finally accomplished: Google dropped its tortuously-named Google Play Music All Access app into the iOS store today, extending its subscription service to Apple mobile-device users. (The launch was announced by Google here.) Pointless, you say, because Apple… Continue Reading
Trademark features live long lives. “I’m Feeling Lucky” appeared with the earliest versions of Google Search, giving users a fun roulette experience in search results. In those days, in the dawn of modern web-search intelligence, the “feeling lucky” feature conveyed… Continue Reading
Crossing ecosystem boundaries can be as difficult as traveling across national borders. Google Music (both the download store and the All Access streaming-music app) is soon venturing into hostile fanboy territory by distributing its service to Apple mobile users. Engadget… Continue Reading
Digital single-track sales are down over the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period in 2012. The decline has accelerated quarter-over-quarter, with the July-Aug-Sep period showing a 6-percent skid, according to Billboard. Digital album sales have… Continue Reading