Instreamatic.ai announced that it has launched an advertising campaign centered on voice response capabilities in Russia. The campaign, a joint effort with Alfa-Bank and OMD, served users a short audio tease at the launch of a radio stream that ended with a call to action for further information about the product, a debit card. Continue Reading
Streaming service Yandex Music is the top non-game mobile app in Russia based on iOS and Android sales, according to App Annie. Although detailed numbers are scarce, Russian music companies appear to be doing a solid business despite longstanding trends toward piracy within the market. Continue Reading
Several Russian social media networks are adjusting their policies for use of music on their websites. Social platforms VKontakte and Odnoklassniki and music service Boom will only allow 30 minutes of access a day. Paid listeners have no restrictions on their time. Continue Reading
Russian social media platform VKontakte has successfully launched a built-in music service. The company has been working toward this goal for some time, and now it has secured licensing deals with all three of the majors and with indie label network Merlin. The service, which often draws comparisons to Facebook, had 410 million accounts as of January 2017. Continue Reading
Russian music streaming platform Yandex.Music tripled its paid subscriber base during 2016. A representative for the service said that it had 250,000 paid subscribers at the end of the year. Continue Reading
Independent label network Merlin has inked another licensing deal, this one for Russia. Merlin signed an agreement with Mail.ru, which owns social network and media hub vKontakte. Continue Reading
VKontakte, a Russian social network, is planning to add a paid subscription tier for its music service. The update is slated to occur in early 2017, according to the Moscow Times. Continue Reading
In an important agreement that replaces music piracy with music industry revenue, Universal has inked a deal that will legally add its music to the Russian streaming music platform vKontakte. The agreement means that all of the major labels are working with the platform. Continue Reading
Russian streaming service Zvooq announced an investment of $5 million. The influx of funding came from local electronic retailer Ulmart. The streaming platform also inked a partnership with mobile phone operator Tele2. Continue Reading
Russian social network VKontakte has unveiled a streaming music app. The platform will allow a free trial of 90 days before charging a monthly fee, although the rates have not been disclosed yet. Sony and Warner have both signed licensing agreements with VKontakte, but Universal has not. Continue Reading
Apple Music made its Russian debut last summer, and the numbers coming out of the market show some early promise. The reports point to Russia being one of the top five biggest markets for Apple Music so far. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Saavn adds new investor; the Internet as popularity echo chamber; a profile of the Russian music biz. Continue Reading