One of this year’s emerging stories for the business side of music is a shift toward artist patronage. In Patreon’s first year, donations totaled just $259,000. This year, fans gave $10 million in support of a wide range of creative ventures, according to Polygon. Continue Reading
Streaming audio is a many-faceted industry. At RAIN News we observe, report, and analyze ongoing narratives pertaining to many aspects of online audio — business models, user interfaces, revenue metrics, audience growth, legal wrangles, and many more. What catches the interest of our readers? Continue Reading
Sometimes in this life, you just need to get the party started. If there’s nary a DJ in sight to drop the beats for you, then try Abducted 1 Radio. This pureplay station is focused on popular dance tunes and remixes of the top 40 charts. Continue Reading
ReelRadio has obtained pro bono legal assistance in its argument with the RIAA. ReelRadio streams vintage radio airchecks, some of which include music, and the RIAA says the site is out of complicance. The law firm of King & Spalding has agreed to partner with the ReelRadio and handle the case. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Google rolls out Songza feature in UK; British musicians might leave Bandcamp for tax reasons; Amazon’s holiday music winners. Continue Reading
Joyride is a service designed to improve the business options available for podcasts, particularly for in-car listening. The platform, which was initially a voice-activated service for navigating mobile apps in a car, now aims to help listeners find more shows that they will enjoy while helping the show creators to make money. Continue Reading
Studies, surveys, and metrics abounded in 2014. RAIN News readers demonstrated acute interest in research which attempted to tease out trends in the fast-changing field of streaming audio. Click through for a rundown. Continue Reading
Deezer has inked a partnership with Cable & Wireless Communications, a telecom in Latin America and the Carribean. According to the CWC press release, music is the second most popular feature for the region’s mobile users. The telecom will be offering the Deezer Premium+ standalone service. Continue Reading
Streaming is the present and the future, but sometimes it circles back to the past. A story of music discovery in the newest major music service, illustrating that the streaming lifestyle has many dimensions. Continue Reading
Sony experienced a debilitating hack on its confidential information earlier this month, with hackers publishing reams of email correspondence between the company’s leaders online for public viewing. Some of these emails revealed that Sony Corp. was considering selling off the music publishing arm because of concerns over its growth prospects. Thanks to a 2012 acquisition, the music publishing arm includes Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Rdio CEO looks to 2015; critiquing Serial’s crime reporting; Continue Reading
Music recognition and discovery app SoundHound is adding its voice to the year-end roundups. It named Pitbull as the top artist of the year. Not only did he have several popular tracks under his own name, including the official song of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but he was also involved in several collaborations that boosted his ranking. Continue Reading