European media giant Bauer Media has acquired Nordic broadcaster SBS Discovery Radio, from Discovery Communications pending regulatory approval. Terms of the acquisition have not been reported. Continue Reading
Yesterday in Washington, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) held an opening hearing to start the trial portion of Webcasting IV, the music royalty rate-setting process for the upcoming 2016-2020 royalty period. We spoke to sources who were in the (apparently rather small) room). Continue Reading
adStream is an ad-watch journal of interesting commercial sightings in streaming audio.
Some brands are hungry for social engagement, as much as product engagement. That’s the case with McDonald’s, which is running audio/companion ads on Pandora that lead to uniquely persistant connection with regional Twitter feeds. Continue Reading
Webcast listening rose 3% month-over-month in March, and 42% year-over-year, according to the Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker just released by Triton Digital. Pandora and Spotify drove monthly growth. Click through for historical trend charts. Continue Reading
For nearly two years, Pandora has attempted to close its $600,000 purchase of KXMZ, a Rapid City radio station. There are signs of movement now as FCC Chair Tom Wheeler has reportedly asked FCC members for a waiver in this case. Pandora would benefit from lower music royalty costs. Continue Reading
Thousands of radio stations have their simulcasts available on mobile devices. Radio stations spend billions in paid-equivalent value promoting these apps. Yet, all rolled into one they are getting a small share of listening. Continue Reading
After a six-month pause, the trial of UMG vs. Escape Media resumes today with a jury in place to set damages after a ruling of copyright infringement last September. Escape Media is the parent company of Grooveshark. the damages verdict could range as high as $736-million for the full statutory penalty. Continue Reading
Although thousands of pages of legal arguments and rebuttals have been submitted over several months, today marks the start of a five-week process at the heart of Webcasting IV — the in-person litigation of U.S. music licensing rates for the 2016-2020 royalty period. Continue Reading
With the release of Jacobs Media’s annual TechSurvey (this being #11) we see similar broad strokes as drawn by other research during the past year. Broadcast radio maintains wide reach while alternative sources of listening and music discovery hold a meaningful… Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: More about Norway’s FM switch-off; DAB vs. mobile; a new podcast app from a founder of podcasting; FM chips in smartphones; much more. Continue Reading
Consistently classy, evocative of a penthouse nightclub, Jazzopolitan plays a steady stream of soft jazz (not be confused with smooth jazz) — elegant, restrained, unintrusive. Continue Reading
7digital announced that over the past month it has entered into new or expanded contracts valued at £1.8 million. The company sent out a press release noting that it has seen an uptick in interest as broadcast organizations look into finding new options in the streaming audio space. “It’s particularly pleasing to see one of the key areas which we identified for growth – the radio industry – starting to deliver significant business,” CEO Simon Cole said. Continue Reading