Music rights management company Kobalt has raised Series D financing of $14 million. The round came from Section 32, a VC fund from former Google Ventures head Bill Maris. Maris will join Kobalt’s board of directors as a result of the investment. Continue Reading
China-based CastBox is building out its podcast features with an audio search feature. The service using natural language processing to let listeners search for keywords or topics within episodes of shows in its catalog. For now, the search is only available in English, but may be expanded to other languages once the technology is perfected, according to founder and CEO Xiaoyu Wang. Continue Reading
AudioHQ announced that it will be the exclusive reseller for TuneIn’s audio ad inventory in the U.S. through a new multi-year deal. TuneIn has more than 75 million monthly active listeners for its content, including sports, music, news, podcasts, and audiobooks. Continue Reading
Spotify has launched a mobile app for its artist service branch. Spotify for Artists now has an iOS app available from the App Store. A version for Android is due to release “really soon,” according to the blog post announcing the app. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Highlights from Werk It podcast festival for women. How label services are changing alongside labels. Continue Reading
Apple had said it would be pumping $1 billion into video over the next year, and its latest programming development could explain that high price tag. The company has reportedly inked a deal to revive Amazing Stories, the mid-1980s show from Steven Spielberg. Continue Reading
Google has acquired podcast company 60db. The short-form audio platform announced in a blog post that it will be joining Google starting November 10, but did not disclose price or financial details of the deal. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired a local music industry veteran to join its Berlin office. The streaming company hired Maik Pallasch as its head of shows and editorial in Germany. Spotify has made several noteworthy hires in the past few months. Continue Reading
Integr8 Research published the second part of its investigation into radio listening. The first part examined crossover between owning physical radio sets and streaming audio habits, and the new data looks specifically at listening among people who own smart speakers. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Measuring the impact of landing on Apple’s front page for a new podcast. Some recent statistics from Gaana. Continue Reading
Pandora has introduced a program for universities that challenges students to put its internal data to work in creating social change. The Pandora Challenge: Music & Social Impact program will take place at five schools, and participants will work to drive awareness for cancer patients, LGTBQ equality, and other underserved communities through music. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has hired Richard Palmer as its new Director of APAC Market Development. He will be responsible for managing publisher onboarding, as well as overseeing Triton’s relationships with agencies, trading desks, and trade associations in Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Continue Reading