As forewarned, the venerable webcasting platform Live365 came to an end tonight. The abrupt collapse of a pioneer in online radio is connected to the five-year cycle of music licensing royalties. The webcast landscape has been thinned of its vigor, entrepreneurism, and musical diversity. Continue Reading
This open letter is from Bill Goldsmith, Founder and Owner of Radio Paradise, one of the most venerable and recognized Internet radio stations. It is an appeal to David Byrne, as a board member of SoundExchange, to renew royalty protections that have enabled small webcasting for the past six years. Continue Reading
Weekends were invented for catching up on new podcasts. We’ll check the historical accuracy of that statement, and in the meantime we present new and almost-new shows for your consideration. Happy Friday. Continue Reading
8tracks, the popular crowdsourced listening platform is testing a regulated crowdfunding idea that could result in a widely distributed venture capital round and an influx of millions of dollars for business development. We spoke to David Porter, 8tracks Founder and CEO, to get details. Continue Reading
After launching in October, Spotify has continued adding to its roster of In Residence shows. These playlists bring a new content approach to the streaming service, one that sounds more like a podcast or a radio show. Now that Spotify is also finally beginning the rollout of its long-awaited video options, it appears that the company is positioning itself as an entertainment hub for more than just on-demand music. Continue Reading
The last time we saw a big move from Shazam, the company had added visual recognition to its feature list. Now, it’s mixing that visual component with its history as an audio tool for an experiment in music distribution. Continue Reading
A German court has ruled in support of the safe harbor rules that protect YouTube against legal infringements made by its members. The Higher Regional Court Munich has decided that copyright infringements are the responsibility of the people who upload the offending material, not with YouTube as the hosting platform. Continue Reading
EDM specialist Beatport has added a new version of its service specifically for The Netherlands. The core Beatport is still available in 220 nations, but this new iteration translates the entire site into Dutch, while also featuring more local artists and news. Continue Reading
The New York Post is reporting that Amazon may have a vision for Prime Music far beyond the casual listenership it has attracted so far. The Post’s Claire Atkinson cited sources who said Amazon has hosted meetings about licensing music to create an on-demand music service. It is possible, likely in fact, that Amazon does have a grander plan for its music platform. But what exactly will they be? Continue Reading
Guest columnist Vickie Nauman is Principal and Owner of CrossBorderWorks Consulting & Advising, and was U.S. President of 7digital for two years. Continue Reading
Considering the rhetoric at Tidal is all about artist control and empowerment, the platform has done a highly questionable job of living up to that hype when it comes to distribution. Rihanna is again the subject of Tidal’s poor management with her new album, but she still has some innovative ideas about what a contemporary album release can be. Continue Reading
Webcast listening in December stepped upward by 4% compared to November, and notched a 16% rise in 2015, according to Triton Digital’s monthly Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, released this morning. Click through for historical charts. Continue Reading