Apple Music is launching a new project called Up Next that is designed to help promote up and rising artists. The first performer to benefit from the program is Ricardo Valdez, a rapper who goes by the stage name 6lack. Continue Reading
Samsung and Google have secured a deal to make Google Play Music the preferred music player on Samsung mobile devices. Google is offering some Samsung-exclusive features in its music platform, with some yet to be announced. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: YouTube’s top ‘music video.’ Canada to rule on streaming and cellular plans. Are you smarter than your car? Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced that it has promoted Peter Diamond to vice president of brand partnerships for North America. He previously held the director role for that division. As part of SoundCloud’s North American sales team, Diamond has been leading the expansion, management, and strategy for the company’s advertising sales function. Continue Reading
Apple Music made two announcements about its video plans this month. First, the platform added a live music show called House of Strombo. Second, it has secured an exclusive documentary about Clive Davis. Continue Reading
Independent label group and digital rights agency Merlin has signed a multi-year agreement with Spotify that will allow its artists to gate their albums to only paid subscribers. The new deal continues the existing relationship between Merlin and Spotify and marks another big development in the streaming platform’s label relationships. Continue Reading
From Boulder-based Clip Interactive, we received news that Radio One and its syndication company Reach Media are now using Clip-built mobile apps and web players for all 53 Radio One stations and seven syndicated personalities. The new agreement follows a seven-month test across Radio One’s five-station Washington, D.C. cluster. Continue Reading
Social media juggernaut Facebook is making some updates to its Messenger app, including an upcoming collaboration with Apple Music. The deal was announced at the company’s F8 conference, although few specifics were shared. Continue Reading
Deezer is reportedly looking to change its licensing structure. Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research exclusively reported that Deezer is looking to pay out fees based on the percentages of a listener’s subscription fee. This is a model dubbed user-centric licensing. Streaming platforms operate on a service-centric licensing model, where royalty payments are made to artists based on share of airplay across the entire listener base. Continue Reading
Univision has debuted a new on-demand audio platform called Uforia Audio On-Demand. This is a podcast and live audio streaming platform that makes Univision’s programming available on-demand and extends the reach of its existing audio and radio presence. Continue Reading
Spotify Fan Insights is exiting beta. The service has been renamed as Spotify for Artists. It still offers a central location for audience insights, song data, artist profile management, and support. Continue Reading
RAIN is pleased to announce the first details of the RAIN Podcast Business Summit, June 21 at the AXA Event & Production Center in New York. As podcasting continues to grow in consumer recognition, listening audience, and content creation, the business opportunity also grows for networks and advertisers. The RAIN Podcast Business Summit is the only conference to define the podcast marketplace — its growth, trends, and opportunities for marketers. Continue Reading