Midroll Media, now a podcast network under E.W. Scripps’ Stitcher brand, has released its podcast listener demographics report for 2018. The company had 205 show hosts ask their audiences to participate in the survey, and this latest iteration included feedback from more than 151,000 listeners between February 2 and October 4, 2017. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has opened up its monetization program to all of its Pro and Pro Unlimited subscribers. When SoundCloud Premier launched in 2014, it was an invite-only program for ad-based monetization. Now, any independent creators in the Pro and Pro Unlimited tiers with eligible content can take advantage of the program. Continue Reading
Facebook is taking its next strides as a burgeoning hardware company with two new products called Portal and Portal+. The device falls in line one of Facebook’s core concepts: helping people keep in touch. Portal is launching with support from several digital entertainment platforms, including streaming music. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James and other industry leaders ask the pertinent questions about motivation. Why are people working in, or listening to, radio? Continue Reading
Tidal has launched an app for Samsung TV, a first step in an ongoing partnership between the two companies. The app offers a user experience designed for the Samsung TV screen and will prioritize visual content from Tidal. Continue Reading
Spotify’s two co-founders may be planning another sale of their shares in the streaming service. Swedish publication Di Digital cited SEC filings from the start of the month that pointed to another sale from both Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. Continue Reading
Facebook continues to find new ways to encourage its users to take advantage of the social network’s deals with music labels. The latest is an option to add audio tracks to photo and video posts. Continue Reading
Edison Research and Triton Digital have released their Podcast Consumer Canada 2018 report, assessing the audio format’s audience and popularity among Canadian listeners. The analysis reveals familiar trends in terms of who is tuning into podcasts most and what their common behaviors are. Continue Reading
Apple Music continues its trend of siphoning talent away from the BBC. Hip-hop experts have been an especially hot commodity, and the BBC isn’t the only operation to have leading talent seek greener pastures at a rival. Continue Reading
Google Assistant is getting a new look and new features. Most notably for developers, the voice platform now supports transactions for digital goods (physical goods were already supported). Continue Reading
Spotify is facing down another legal case, with a lawsuit filed in July 2017 moving forward in courts. Bluewater Music Services Corporation filed claims of copyright infringement by the streaming platform, listing nearly 2,400 songs where it said Spotify had not acquired the proper licenses. Continue Reading
Google has teamed with PRX to launch a podcast accelerator that will help remove barriers to entry and increase diversity among podcasters. The creator program will offer training and empowerment for underrepresented groups. Continue Reading