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Internet Radio Rewind #67: Adele makes history; Pandora raises cash; Songza bids farewell; more

A weekly podcast from RAIN News

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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Adele’s history-making album; Pandora raises $300-million for ambitious 2016; Songza nears the end; Acast raids WNYC in U.S. launch. Continue Reading

Proposed class actions could hit Beats, Rdio, Google, and more with pre-1972 copyright judgments

On Thursday, Zenbu Magazines filed multiple proposed class-action lawsuits against several streaming services seeking to collect royalties on music recorded before 1972. The company targeted Beats Electronics, Sony Entertainment, Google, Rdio, Songza, Slacker, and Escape Media Group (which owns Grooveshark) in the complaints. Continue Reading

Songza acquisition shines through in new Google Play Music All Access update

The latest update to Google Play Music All Access reflect some of the features that entered Google’s hands when it purchased Songza. The streaming platform has adopted music stations to its Listen Now page that cater to particular moods or activities. This riff on Songza’s Concierge service considers the time of day, device used for listening, and other signals to assess what your state of mind or current actions might be, then supplies the appropriate music. Continue Reading

Rumor Fact(ory): YouTube and Google could see music service overhaul soon

We’ve been looking for signs that YouTube and Google are making progress with a long-awaited music subscription service, and today Reuters has what seems to be a legit update. Reuters interviewed Jamie Rosenberg, Google’s vice president of digital content, about the company’s plans and learned that its music services are expected to see updates in the near future. Continue Reading

T-Mobile adds six new music services to its free-data plan

T-Mobile today announced an expansion of its Music Freedom plan, in which smartphone subscribers get unmetered data streaming of music from partner sources. Six new services have been added to the original slate of services, announced in June. The newly added partners are AccuRadio, Black Planet, Grooveshark, Radio Paradise, Rdio and Songza. Detractors still wish for global access to data-free online music from any source. Continue Reading

Songza users now share their lives with Google, like it or not

Following its purchase of the platform in July, Google has revamped Songza’s terms of service. Songza members are required to agree to the new ToS from Google and its privacy policy, as well as agree to transfer their personal information from Songza to Google. Users who don’t agree to the Google terms will not be able to log in to their old accounts. Continue Reading