Month: October 2014

YouTube hits $1 billion milestone for ContentID payments

Posted on by Anna Washenko

YouTube has made $1 billion in payouts from its ContentID system since it was implemented in 2007. This technology helps many of the video network’s content creators to control how their material is made available. The program has been especially helpful for musicians and music labels, since many YouTube users upload video with copyrighted audio material. The rights holders can either have infringing videos taken down or have ads placed in them to generate revenue. Continue Reading →

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Ford seeks to dismiss music industry lawsuit

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

The music industry entered a new automotive battleground. The Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies filed a lawsuit against several car companies, including General Motors and Ford Motor Company, seeking damages for vehicles equipped with what it believes are digital audio recording devices. Ford has filed a motion to dismiss the case. The argument hinges on a key definition. Continue Reading →

Charting NextRadio adoption: 1M downloads; new features coming

Posted on by Brad Hill

NextRadio announced an adoption milestone: one-million downloads of the NextRadio app. With the announcement of one-million downloads comes an update of the app (scheduled for this Friday, October 17), that will put new, more interactive features into the NextRadio experience. We tracked and charted the history of NextRadio’s key adoption metrics. Continue Reading →

Shazam to power nightly program on Australian broadcast radio

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Shazam has moved into the broadcast realm thanks to a partnership with Southern Cross Austereo. The parties have created a nightly show called Shazam Top 20 that will count down the most-tagged songs in Australia. According to the press release, fans who have the Shazam app on their phones will be directly influencing the charts. Calling the arrangement “a world-first,” Shazam’s APAC Sales Director Steve Sos said that the fan-guided radio show was a natural extension of the sound-identification app’s service. Continue Reading →

Spotify partners with Vodafone Australia for down under listeners

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Vodafone has continued its trend of partnering with streaming services. This time, Vodafone Australia has tied up with Spotify for a deal that will give the telecom’s customers access to the premium listening plan. Details of the arrangement or for a potential discount on the Premium plan were not disclosed. According to the streaming platform, about 1.5 million Aussies regularly stream music on their smartphones. Continue Reading →

Deezer exec sheds light on unique U.S. strategy in interview

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Deezer’s unusual arrival into the U.S. market has had us scratching our heads for several weeks. First an Elite plan only for Sonos owners, then a Premium+ one for the only marginally less costly Bose speakers? In an interview with CNET, North American CEO Tyler Goldman explained that audiophiles were just the first of many demographics that Deezer planned to target. He said the streaming service would be launching products for other U.S. segments over the next year. Continue Reading →

Samsung in trouble for making Milk Music a free service

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Samsung has drawn the ire of the Korea Music Copyright Association with its Milk Music. The group of record labels signed a contract with Samsung stating that the tech major would begin charging for the streaming service starting Oct. 10. Samsung is still offering Milk for free to the owners of certain smartphones, but it is paying the streaming charges to Soribada, a subcontractor and local music distributor. The association ended its contract with Soribada today as a result, claiming that continuing to operate Milk Music without its approval would be a copyright infringement. Continue Reading →

Rumor Fact(ory): Sony split from ASCAP/BMI could come by year’s end

Posted on by Anna Washenko

As the Department of Justice weighs what to do about digital performance rights, Sony/ATV/EMI has been making bold claims that it would consider leaving the collective licensing system in order to negotiate its own rates. According to The New York Post, that could be happening soon. The paper reported that Sony could split from ASCAP and BMI by the end of the year. Continue Reading →

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RAIN Poll results: Should streaming subscriptions cost less?

Posted on by Brad Hill

Recent news that Apple is pushing back to labels about licensing fees, with the possible intent of lowering the monthly subscription cost of Beats Music, sets the stage for this week’s RAIN Poll. We asked readers: Is Apple right? Would a lower subscription cost stimulate the subscription side of the streaming business? Or doesn’t it matter? The result was conclusive in an unexpected way Continue Reading →