Amazon planning two music streaming services (with one at half-price)

Amazon has been showing interest in launching a standalone streaming music service for months, but according to the latest reports, the tech giant won’t be happy with just one. Amazon appears to be considering two services: one that would match the industry standard of unlimited on-demand access for $10 a month; the other would be half the price and would only work on the company’s Echo home speaker hardware. Continue Reading

The Download on Podcasts: RSS vs API — what it means and why it’s important

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How do consumers listen to podcasts? When do they start, stop, abandon, complete their shows? In particular, do they hear the ads? How is advertising effectiveness verified? When those questions can be answered, advertiser buy-in to podcasting will increase. “API Listening” is one key to the future, and an industry buzzword in the present. Continue Reading

David Gray’s new Best Of collection is a dynamic Spotify playlist

David Gray is getting a “Best Of” collection, but he and Kobalt Label Services are taking a unique approach in distribution. The release will be on sale as a CD and vinyl format in October, but for now, it’s a dynamic Spotify playlist. Rather than serve as a traditional album release, the Best Of playlist will be updated every week to reflect the most popular tracks by the artist. Continue Reading