Canalys shared its third-quarter statistics about global smart speaker shipments. Amazon continues to lead the pack, while Google has ceded second place to competitors from China. Amazon saw 65.9% annual growth, with worldwide shipments numbering 10.4 million. Continue Reading
Classical music streaming service Idagio has introduced a free tier that is available worldwide. The free listening plan includes access to personalized recommendations, playlists curated by mood, and artist or composer radio stations. Continue Reading
Pandora has expanded access to podcasts on its platform. Podcasts on Pandora is now available to all users on its web version and its desktop apps. The podcast platform includes tailored recommendations from the Podcast Genome Project. Continue Reading
Triton Digital announced that it is partnering with BFM, the only independent business radio station in Malaysia. BFM will use the audio streaming network from Triton to deliver its content online, as well as the Tap Ad Server for dynamic insertion of targeted audio ads and its Webcast Metrics service for measurement. Continue Reading
Instreamatic, a marketing company specializing in voice and AI for audio, announced that it is partnering with streaming technology expert SurferNETWORK. Under this deal, Instreamatic’s voice dialogue ad technology will be integrated into SurferNETWORK’s platform. Continue Reading
Qobuz, a streaming company focused on elevated audio quality, announced that it is revising its plan structure. It has eliminated its option for an MP3 plan, and will only offer plans including its high-resolution and CD quality lossless catalog. Continue Reading
Magellan, the podcast advertising intelligence company, announces today that it is expanding its flagship public product — top 15 podcast advertisers — to the UK. The top-15 lists have been appearing monthly, representing advertisers in the American market. The new UK list will represent advertisers targeting UK listeners. The announcement was made today at the 8th annual RAIN Summit Europe in London. Continue Reading
Podcast Radio, claiming to be the world’s first 24-hour radio station devoted exclusively to podcasts, has announced its intention to launch in London. Founded by consultant Paul Chantler and PodcastKing founder Gerry Edwards, Podcast Radio will showcase podcasts from all over the globe enabling content providers to market and promote their audio across broadcast radio. Continue Reading
Edison Research and NPR have released the results of a new survey into consumption of spoken word audio content. It includes five years of previously unreleased data about audio, including podcasts, news, sports, talk radio, and audiobooks. The Spoken Word Audio Report found that 73% of the U.S. population listened to spoken word audio in the past month. Continue Reading
E.W. Scripps released its third-quarter earnings report. The media company reported total revenue of $350 million, up from $303 million in the year-ago period. It posted a loss from continuing operations of $21.9 million, or 27 cents per share. Continue Reading
Tencent Music has reported its financial results for the third quarter. Total revenue rose 31% on-year to reach 6.51 billion yuan ($910 million). That figure included 1.85 billion yuan ($258 million) in revenue from online music services. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A breakout of RAJAR radio station data. More on last week’s UK lawsuit against TuneIn. Continue Reading