Rights management company Kobalt Music Group has raised $75 million in a Series D funding round. The Hearst Entertainment media conglomerate led the financing, and existing Kobalt backers Balderton Capital and MSD Capital also participated. Continue Reading
This year, 36% of Americans will use a voice-assisted smart device at least once a month — a 129% jump from last year, according to eMarketer. Over 70% of that usage is through Amazon Alexa, the operating system which lives in the Echo, Dot, and Look devices. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has signed a global licensing deal with YouTube, but the major label still reportedly expressed reservations about working with the video platform. CEO Steve Cooper has reportedly shared an internal memo with WMG that said the YouTube deal was signed “under very difficult circumstances.” Continue Reading
Nielsen has published a Music 360 report for Canada, revealing growth in streaming as a listening platform. Time spent listening to music via streaming rose from 20% in 2016 to 26% in 2017. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A radio station for fisherman launches in India. Global’s advertisement for UK Hot AC Heart. Google markup for podcasts. Much more. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has introduced a new discovery feature for its members. The Upload is a personalized list of song recommendations. The selections are based on a listener’s past track choices, and it promises better suggestions the more a person listens within the SoundCloud ecosystem. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: YouTube to make original shows for free viewing; PIAS manager talks live video potential; Harry Styles fans try gaming the charts. Continue Reading
ESPN is bringing back its TrueHoop podcasts with a few small changes. The sports broadcasting platform has made some cuts to its editorial staff recently, and last week it had shut down the TrueHoop podcast network. Continue Reading
Jovem Pan, the largest radio network in Brazil with 142 stations, has allied with Audio.ad, the audio advertising company serving Hispanic market in the Americas, to put its digital audio inventory in Audio.Ad’s automated platform. The partnership gives Jovem Pan advertisers access to Tail.digital, an audience data and segmenting platform. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly making plans to lease a new office space in London. The company is in advanced negotiations for a 60,000 square foot space, three times the size of its current office in the UK. Continue Reading
The Orchard, an independent music distributor owned by Sony, has acquired two of its rivals. It has purchased German-based finetunes and Norway-based Phonofile. The labels distributed by these companies will gain access to the services provided by The Orchard. Continue Reading
Webcast listening in February spiked upward by eight percent compared to the previous month, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics monthly Top 20 Ranker, released today. Year-over-year listening to streams gained 12%. Click through for long-term trendlines. Continue Reading