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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Rdio enters bankruptcy, Pandora takes it over and announces dramatic expansion of its strategic vision for 2016; podcast advertiser sentiment study; Adele holds back from streaming. Continue Reading
Today in ‘news you never imagined reading,’ Pope Francis is releasing a rock album. Yes, the real Pope. The album is slated for a physical release on Nov. 27, but it is getting an early streaming launch exclusively on Deezer. The lone English language track is also up to stream on SoundCloud. Hallelujah! Continue Reading
Russ Crupnick, Managing Partner of MusicWatch, sent us a graphic of on-demand music subscription services, charting their comparative brand awareness and usage. The startling image helps explain this week’s news that Rdio has entered bankruptcy proceedings. Continue Reading
Rhapsody released a new car-focused feature for its premium subscribers. Rhapsody AUTO offers drivers more streamlined access to their music on their phones while in vehicles. This update is one way that music and mobile companies are adjusting to how people treat entertainment in their cars. Continue Reading
Warner Bros. and Esurance will sponsor Pandora’s presentation of the first and second seasons of hit podcast Serial. Earlier this month Pandora announced that it had agreed to be the “exclusive streaming partner” for a rerun of Serial’s first season, and the release of season two. The programming starts Tuesday. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: How modern podcasting is like the glory days of blogging; Spotify’s new parental leave policy; Apple Music: the mansplainer? Continue Reading
Popular British songstress Adele may be the latest major artist to be “pulling a Taylor.” Unnamed sources with knowledge of her upcoming release told The New York Times that the album “25” would not get a launch on streaming services. The Verge has a slightly different take on the situation. It reported that Adele’s camp was willing to put the album on Spotify, but only if it was restricted to paying listeners. Continue Reading
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Advertisers are interested in the marketing opportunity of podcasts, and will get more serious about it if audience measurement improves. Those are the main points of new research conducted by Westwood One, Advertiser Perceptions, and Ipsos, just released by Westwood One. Continue Reading
A new chapter has unfolded in the saga of SFX Entertainment, its CEO, and a quest for ownership. Robert F.X. Sillerman recently made a third attempt to buy back the remaining shares of his company for $3.25 a share, but withdrew the offer earlier this week. Continue Reading
Monday’s news that Rdio had declared bankruptcy, with Pandora purchasing the company’s remaining assets and making big future plans, turned the tech, business, and music media on its head. The major consolidation in the streaming music space sparked lots of features and think pieces. Here, we’ve collected some of the more useful and insightful writing on the subject. Continue Reading
Amazon has debuted its Prime Music streaming service in Japan,, the fifth market to receive access to the online retailer’s platform. The service will offer listeners in the country more than 1 million tracks, including music by Japanese artists. Continue Reading
Italian industry organization Aeranti-Corallo has created two new network operators to encourage the spread of DAB+ in the nation. Each of the operators collected 12 local radio broadcasters and will request the right to use available frequencies to broadcast their members’ programming with DAB+ technology in the region. Continue Reading