8tracks, the profitable and uniquely differentiated music platform, has reportedly obtained a funding round of $1.28-million. Investor identity is not disclosed in a Series D form filed with the SEC. that form indicates that the total investment, after a second portion closes, will be worth $1.4-million. Continue Reading
This week: T-Mobile expands Music Freedom … TuneIn scores in sports … New Gracenote exec … Streaming metrics (from Denmark) … KKBOX gets big funding in Asia … Pandora in your face! (Google Glass, that is). Continue Reading
Last September, several major record labels filed a lawsuit against Sirius XM seeking damages for the satellite radio company’s failure to pay royalties for recordings made before federal copyright protection was enacted in 1972. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the judge hearing the lawsuit issued a tentative ruling that indicates a favorable result for the satellite radio company. The suit in question was filed last September by Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group Recordings, and ABKCO, with the labels arguing that state laws should protect use of the older recordings. Continue Reading
After several high-profile exits, YouTube has snagged a music industry pro to join the team under its umbrella. Brian Felsen, who was the president at CD Baby, will now serve in the same role at AdRev, a YouTube network partner that operates a music monetization service, a licensing platform, and multi-channel network. Continue Reading
Interesting news bits and worthwhile reads from around the web. TODAY: A ten-year history of podcasting; the industry-viral “Distortion of Sound” video; Spotify for Windows Phone. Continue Reading
Billboard reported on weekly album sales today from Soundscan, noting benchmark low performance, and identifying long-term trends. They key bullet point is 3.97-million units sold in the latest reporting week — the first time album sales have dipped under 4-million. Continue Reading
Market-leading online radio brand Pandora has put its service into Google Glass, adding to its reputation as an assertive distributor in outside-the-home environments. The “Glassware” app was developed during a Pandora hackathon. The company proposed it to Google, which put it into Glass. Continue Reading
KKBOX, a leading Asian streaming music platform, has obtained a $104-million venture investment from GIC, which the company calls “Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.” The company says it will use the money to develop its listening platform and expand to new markets. Continue Reading
A new buy-side survey from STRATA indicates that advertising demand for online radio advertising increased 53% from a year ago. During the same time frame, there is a 45% increase of interest in streaming video. Sixty-seven percent of ad agencies polled said the greatest interest among client advertisers was video. Continue Reading
IFPI Denmark released a year-over-year comparison of streaming uptake in the first half of each year. Streaming increased 40 percent, from 45% of music conumption to 63%. The Denmark metrics align with the top line of Nielsen Audio’s most recent year-over-year report, which shows 42% increase in U.S. streaming. that number included video streaming. Continue Reading
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
iStreamMedia, an Internet radio directory and streaming-music company, announced that it has partnered its iStreamRadio division with Radionomy’s online radio platform. iStreamRadio is a directory service that highlights online-only pureplay stations, and was launched in June of this year. Continue Reading