Month: July 2014

The Summer of Copyright Part 3: Copyright Office Requests Further Comments

Posted on by David Oxenford

by David Oxenford

In this Part 3 of his Summer of Copyright series, broadcast law attorney David Oxenford writes about a new music licensing comment period established by the U.S. Copyright Office. It is first an opportunity for all stakeholders and interested parties to weigh in. Second, the detailed request for comments illuminates how the Copyright Office seems to be prioritizing possible changes to music licensing. Continue Reading →

Rhapsody partners with Flipps to stream video content to TVs

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Rhapsody has entered into a partnership with Flipps, an app for playing media from a mobile device on a television. Through this arrangement, Flipps will support the discovery and streaming of Rhapsody and Napster’s original video content, including music videos, live performances, and exclusive interviews. The deal is the latest in a busy year for Rhapsody. Continue Reading →

Google offers All Access Music free trial to Chromecast users

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Google announced that it will give U.S. Chromecast users a 90-day free trial subscription to the All Access Music service. The subscription streaming platform usually costs $9.99. Google is offering the free deal through September. Chromecast has been out for a year now, and it’s Google’s method of getting streaming media from mobile devices to a television screen. Several services, including Pandora, Beats Music, and Rdio, have added support for Chromecast. Continue Reading →

Pandora Earnings: Steady audience metrics disappoint investors

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora’s workmanlike earnings call conveyed the impression of offhand dominance in the field, but after-hours investors sent the stock careening down a steep slope, off 12% in early evening trading.

The company met financial expectations, but lowered guidance for the current quarter (Jul – Sep). Perhaps more influential to trigger-happy investors were the audience metrics, which showed no audience growth. There was expansion of listening hours, however, emphasized by CEO Brian McAndrews as the more important key in the revenue equation. Continue Reading →

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Kurt Hanson: Report from Tokyo

Posted on by Kurt Hanson

by Kurt Hanson

Over the past 14 years, RAIN has reported to you from around the world — including publishing a week’s worth of early RAIN issues from an Internet-enabled café in Copenhagen, reporting on a popular new trend among young people in Prague called “texting” (way back in 2002), and producing an early cellphone-only version of RAIN in Tokyo, and more.

Now, founding editor Kurt Hanson sends a bulletin and photos from Tokyo, where he is observing the tech and online music scenes. Continue Reading →

New research on “digitally native music consumers”; online music is the key category

Posted on by Brad Hill

MIDiA Research, recently launched by Mark Mulligan, has completed a study examining the characteristics, attitudes, and behavior of “digital natives.” The focus is mostly how they approach music. What are Digital Natives? A young demographic that has never known a world without online connectivity and unlimited music and audio choices. Understanding the mindset and decisions of that population shines light into the future of listening. Continue Reading →

Microsoft keeping Xbox Music, giving it an update

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Xbox Music will be getting an update in a few weeks, according to tweets from a Microsoft exec. Joe Belfiore, vice president for Windows Phone program management and design, said on Twitter that the service would be getting an upgrade in performance, fixes, and new features shortly. The news will come as a relief to fans of the service, which seemed like it could be on the chopping block based on Microsoft’s plans to streamline its in-house music and video teams. Continue Reading →