The Financial Times published a list of the top 50 tech entrepreneurs in Europe, and the rankings included several key players from the music industry. The list of CEOs and founders was compiled with the help of Founders Forum. Any nominees had to either be European nationals or live in Europe while running a tech company. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek took the top spot. Continue Reading
Blinkbox Music started out the year with so much promise. The music service was sold by UK retailer Tesco to a new owner, up-and-coming streaming platform Guvera.
Unfortunately, things have gone south with the new alliance. Guvera placed Blinkbox into administration in early June and let 100 of its staff members go. “The company has faced significant financial pressure in recent months, since its acquisition by the Guvera group,” said Finbarr O’Connell, one of the joint administrators for Blinkbox. Continue Reading
We recently reported that Taylor Swift’s latest album would not be available through Apple Music. Yesterday, Swift published a Tumblr post explaining why. She questioned Apple’s decision to not pay any royalties to artists, songwriters, or producers for song plays during listeners’ three-month free trials. “These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much,” she said. Continue Reading
NPR chief Jarl Mohn spoke to the Associated Press recently about the netweork’s reliance on podcast storytelling generally, to attract new audiences and new income. The radio group has seen strong revenue growth, and an influx of younger listeners. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James begins with a few of his articles, then moves on to the international roundup. Lots of reaction to Apple’s Beats 1 announcement! Continue Reading
Spotify released analysis of the music preferences of home streamers — Spotify users who listen via WiFi speakers and other in-home connected devices. The company said the breakout could be helpful to marketers who connect target audiences to music genre preferences. Continue Reading
Co-founder and CEO of WiFi-speaker company Sonos, John MacFarlane, published an article in Music Business Worldwide, in which he documents that 92% of all Listening through Sonos speakers is streamed, not owned music. Continue Reading
Podcasting continues to grow in visibility and viability. President Barack Obama is visiting sunny Los Angeles and he is expected to be a special guest on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Is Spotify positioning? Internet radio makes more money; DI.fm crosses over a fence; Google’s classical venture; Obama on a podcast Continue Reading
Taylor Swift made waves in the music industry when she opted to remove her entire catalog from Spotify. She explained at the time that she didn’t want to support “the perception that music has no value and should be free.” So it’s a bit of a surprise to learn that her latest album won’t be available on Apple Music. Both Apple and Swift’s label told BuzzFeed News that her popular “1989” album won’t be available at the launch of the new streaming service. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Steve Goldstein left Saga Communications in March to start on-demand audio company Amplifi Media. In this article, he reports on a panel experience, and explains radio’s challenge to develop new audiences. Continue Reading
Standard Media Index released its May Ad Market Highlights report. Following up the recent Q1 2015 summary of the ad market’s performance, the May update shows continued strong adoption of digital marketing, and double-digit growth in Internet radio marketing. Continue Reading