XAPPmedia finds Apple has earlier ad load, but more artist promos

XAPPmedia published a special new report about Apple as a supplement to its usual quarterly ad load data. This focused study, which is the first from XAPPmedia to address a service by name, covers all of 2015 through August. Apple’s ad-supported streaming music property at the start of the year was iTunes Radio, which was then folded into Apple Music when it launched on June 30. Continue Reading

MusicWatch measures music service competition; Apple must differentiate its upcoming offering

Research company MusicWatch publicly released data points from its Annual Music Study, measuring relative popularity among leading streaming music outlets YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, VEVO, and iTunes Radio. The timing anticipates Apple’s expected announcement of its new on-demand music platform. Continue Reading

What can you listen to with the Apple Watch on Friday?

Friday is a big day for tech aficionados, as the much-discussed Apple Watch will finally arrive in stores. A new Apple device, even one as divisive as the smartwatch, is always cause for big buzz. In this instance, one of the notable topics is which services that we’ve come to expect on iPhones will be making the transition to the wrist. Continue Reading

Internet Radio Rewind #035: Streaming surpasses CD sales, Apple goes programmatic

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THIS WEEK: Streaming surpasses CD sales in 2014 RIAA report; iTunes Radio goes to programmatic sales; Rdio’s new social features; Rhapsody plays on Twitter; BBC seeks to reinvent radio. Continue Reading

Apple launches programmatic mobile ad-buying for iTunes Radio; AdsWizz partners

Starting today, Apple is making digital ad buying easier and more targeted for marketers in iTunes Radio, the company’s non-interactive online radio service. One of the first outside partners to offer iTunes Radio to buyers is AdsWizz. iTunes Radio inventory is now available on AdWave, the company’s global audio ad marketplace. Continue Reading

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Chris Price: Slave To The Algorithm: Five More Things Internet Radio Should Steal From Broadcast

by Chris Price

Guest columnist Chris Price of New Slang Media writes about renowned DJ Zane Lowe leaving the BBC for Apple. If that represents a convergence of broadcast radio and Internet radio, the author — a fan of streaming audio — recommends five other lessons that online radio could learn from broadcast. Continue Reading

Recruiting from radio: Apple hires Zane Lowe from BBC

Zane Lowe, well known in Britain and around the world for his weeknight music-discovery radio show on the BBC, has taken a position at Apple in Cupertino. When a popular DJ quits his show and moves to one of the world’s leading technology companies, the news can be framed within the human-vs-machine argument which divides streaming music curation Continue Reading

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Editor’s Notebook: Putting Beats in iOS won’t help much

by Brad Hill

Installing Beats Music as a built-in iOS app creates headlines, and is an obvious maneuver, but it barely lessens the challenge faced by Apple in the brutal music subscription space. It will not, by itself, move the needle for Beats or Apple. A crucial new effort is needed, and Apple has not demonstrated creativity in the music space for years. Continue Reading