The music industry has been waiting for Apple to unveil its new vision for Beats Music, and the streaming service’s debut is expected to happen during the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference next month. However, Billboard has reported that Apple allegedly may not have any of the licensing deals with major labels that are necessary for the service to meet that launch date. Continue Reading
If you work for the state of Vermont, you’re not listening to Pandora today, according to a report from NPR. Or Spotify. Or Slacker. Or Live365. Or iHeartRadio. The state’s technology management division has placed a block on those music sites and services to reduce bandwidth strain on the government’s Internet system. Continue Reading
Media software company WideOrbit announced that audioBoom, the spoken-word, on-demand listening platform, has selected WO On Demand to monetize its podcasts. The technical solution injects pre-recorded advertisements into podcasts — a category which is dominated by host-read native advertising. Continue Reading
The FCC has granted Pandora broadcast approval permission to own a terrestrial radio station. This means that Pandora has cleared the major hurdle to complete its $600,000 purchase of the KXMZ station in Rapid City, South Dakota, which it started in 2013. Continue Reading
ASCAP’s board of directors has completed its officer election and announced its new set of leaders. Paul Williams was elected to a fourth term as the organization’s chairman and president. The board added a new publisher member in the form of Jody Gerson, who is also chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group. Continue Reading
AudioHQ announced an internal promotion within its management. Brian Conlan has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and operations, reflecting growth of the AudioHQ sales team. Continue Reading
During Entercom’s earnings call yesterday, CEO David Field responded to analyst questions about programmatic advertising. The topic did not arise during Entercom’s prepared statements; it was investors on the Entercom call who led the conversation toward programmatic. Continue Reading
adStream is an ad-watch journal of interesting commercial sightings in streaming audio.
Spotify Free, the sometimes controversial ad-supported music service, advertises Spotify Premium in an interesting way: when the listener watches a 30-second commercial, the next 30 minutes are ad-free. Continue Reading
David Goldberg, an Internet radio pioneer who founded LAUNCHcast in 1999, which became Yahoo! Music Radio, died unexpectedly Friday night. He was 47 years old. No cause of death has been disclosed. He is remembered as a wonderful man. His keynote speech at a 2005 RAIN Summit was prescient. Continue Reading
In what should be placed firmly in the rumor folder, technology site The Verge is reporting that Apple is pressuring music labels in their Spotify negotiations, and the U.S. Department of Justice is monitoring the situation. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: New apps; DAB growth in Europe; what are the ingredients of radio talent?; Apple poaches more UK radio resources; much more. Continue Reading
In a quarterly earnings call, Radio One executives Alfred Liggins (CEO) and Peter Thompson (CFO) answered analysts’ questions about digital audio and programmatic advertising. The discussion highlited the increasing importance of digital ad-selling to radio investors. Continue Reading