James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Digging into the BBC’s digital switchover plans and lack thereof, plus much more in radio and audio news. Continue Reading
ABC Radio has announced that it will launch START HERE, a daily morning news podcast, entering a creative niche that is starting to get crowded. It will be a 20-minute show hosted by Brad Mielke and leverages ABC Radio’s deep news resources. Continue Reading
One day after a blizzarding storm dumped feet of snow on the northeast, the RAIN Podcast Business Summit took place at New World Stages in Manhattan, where over 22 speakers and 320 attendees gathered to chart the show’s theme: “The Path to a Billion Dollar Industry.” Continue Reading
Streaming grabbed control of nearly two-thirds of music industry revenue in 2017. It’s another year of impressive financial results that proves the digital shift in listening still has not hit its peak. The annual report from the RIAA found that subscription streaming income helped drive the industry to another year of growth. It was the first time since 1999 that the sector saw two consecutive years of material growth. Continue Reading
SoundCloud introduced a new program designed to highlight up-and-coming artists who launch their careers on the audio platform. First On SoundCloud will promote performers with a blend of new music, video, and photo. The inaugural ten artists for the program have been chosen, but anyone can possibly be picked in the future. Continue Reading
Muso has released its Global Piracy Report for 2017, and it shows a mixed bag for the state of fighting illegal access to music. It was the second-largest piracy segment behind television. Music piracy specifically increased 14.7% from 2016, with 73.9 billion visits worldwide to music piracy websites. Continue Reading
YouTube is aware of how many people use its video service as a free way to stream music. According to Lyor Cohen, then company is going to try to counter that trend with a deluge of ads. This is part of an effort to promote YouTube’s new upcoming music subscription product. Continue Reading
Apple’s music mogul Jimmy Ioving is back in headline. Sources reportedly familiar with the exec’s plans told The Wall Street Journal (paywall) that he will transition into a consulting role in August. At that time, they said he will be less involved with the day-to-day operation of the Apple Music streaming platform. Continue Reading
8tracks has announced a new integration with Spotify. In the latest version of the 8tracks iOS app, listeners’ favorited tracks can be automatically saved to a dedicated Spotify playlist. With this “8tracks Discoveries” playlist, people can revisit their finds on-demand. Continue Reading
Pandora has announced its acquisition of AdsWizz, as the largest music streaming service in the U.S. is set to take over a key digital audio ad-tech company. Continue Reading
In a major addition to its growing portfolio of hosted clients, podcast tech company ART19 has announced that over 100 NBC-owned podcasts are moving to its platform. Specific networks include NBC Sports, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Oxygen and SYFY. Continue Reading
Songwriters and composers in the UK are making a push for music publishers to include them in their recent licensing negotiations. Ahead of Spotify’s direct listening date, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors is calling on publishers to commit to sharing proceeds from their sales of stock in the streaming music company. Continue Reading