A group of popular performers has filed an amicus brief against Pandora centered on pre-1972 recordings. Jeffrey Knowles and Julia D. Greer of Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP filed the brief in the California lawsuit on January 12. Continue Reading
Facebook has been busily amassing licensing deals with several music industry leaders, and one is of particular interest for independent publishers and songwriters. The social network inked a deal with Harry Fox Agency/Rumblefish to create a standardized music licensing and administration deal for indies. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group (WMG) is reportedly attempting to ease 130 employees out of the company, offering them buyouts. According to Billboard, those staffers “deal with physical product,” which probably means the CD part of Warner’s business. The action is targeted within WEA, the distribution, marketing and sales division of WMG. Billboard’s sources indicate that the projected cost saving would be applied to distribution and marketing of streaming music. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Smart speakers dominated CES and continue to make headlines. Continue Reading
Triton Digital and Edison Research announced that they will expand their Infinite Dial study to cover Canada. The research will offer a comprehensive view of Canadian digital media consumption, covering topics including digital audio, podcasts, and smart speakers. The inaugural Infinite Dial Canada study results will be unveiled on April 4. Continue Reading
We received a note that in the wake of a merger of Wildfire Radio (a radio and podcast company) and New Media Studios (a recording studio specializing in podcasts), podcast ad network AdvertiseCast has signed to represent the shows within the joined entity. Continue Reading
Facebook is soldiering on with its music industry deals. Head of Music Tamara Hrivnak penned a blog post announcing multiple arrangements with songwriting and publishing outfits. Continue Reading
YouTube Red is slated to make an international expansion this year. Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told Les Echos that the company has been getting the licensing and distribution deals in place to take the subscription service to more countries. YouTube Red is currently available in Australia, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and the U.S. Continue Reading
Gracenote, the music metadata company, showed off a new tool for integrating AM/FM radio into Apple CarPlay during CES 2018 in Las Vegas. The vehicle infotainment dashboard doesn’t normally support terrestrial radio, but Gracenote’s app contains several features for playing local radio within that interface. Continue Reading
New Samsung phones in U.S. and Canada will be sold with their FM chips unlocked. The tech manufacturer is working with NextRadio to activate the existing FM chips in smartphones for those markets. Continue Reading
Pandora is making plans to broaden its podcast offerings. CEO Roger Lynch spoke with Variety during CES and said his goal is to create “the equivalent of the podcast genome project.” Lynch said the company is working on a system that would allow listeners to browse and discover new shows on Pandora. The move isn’t unprecedented, but there are some questions. Continue Reading
Ahead of its Q4 earnings call, Sirius XM announced that it has exceeded its 2017 subscriber guidance. The satellite radio company ended the year with about 27.5 million self-pay subscribers, adding an estimated 1.56 million self-pay subscribers in 2017. Continue Reading