Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange marked a new chapter for the streaming music service, and the action has continued to make waves in the industry. The latest developments are that two of the major labels that were early investors in Spotify during its startup days have sold portions of their shares. Continue Reading
Singapore posted a recent record in music revenue, according to the IFPI. The country saw 2017 music sales of $27.9 million, the highest total of the past five years. Digital revenue has steadily risen since 2013, while physical revenue has taken the opposite trajectory. Continue Reading
Warner announced that it generated $791 million in recorded music revenue during its second quarter ending March 31, up 15% on-year. Streaming was responsible for $415 million of that total, a 38.3% from the results in the same period last year. Continue Reading
Edison Research and Triton Digital have released the 2018 edition of the Infinite Dial Australia study, It is the second investigation from the pair detailing the latest trends and habits for listeners down under. The results are pulled from a national telephone survey of more than 1,000 Australians aged 12 and up during the first quarter of 2018. Continue Reading
NPR, WNYC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life have joined forces to acquire podcasting app Pocket Casts. Owen Grover, formerly executive vice president and general manager of iHeartRadio, will join Pocket Casts as its new CEO. Continue Reading
Cadence13 and Nielsen have released a research report titled The Purchasing Power of Podcast Listeners, the first in a series that will examine the behaviors and trends within this audience. The first report explores listeners of shows about sports, society & culture, and television & movies and their spending habits in the consumer packaged good categories of snacks, carbonated beverages, and beauty products. Continue Reading
The New York Times has hired Amanda McCartney as director of audio and podcasts. In this newly created position, McCartney will be responsible for selling the Times’ podcasts in collaboration with the publisher’s advertising team and working with direct-response podcast agencies. Continue Reading
Disney is taking the plunge into podcasting. During its NewFront presentation in New York City, the entertainment giant has announced that the Disney Digital Network will release at least one podcast this year. Continue Reading
Spotify shared its first quarterly earnings report since the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange last month. Despite a solid performance in listener and subscriber numbers, Wall Street was unimpressed with the results. Spotify’s stock price sunk after the data was released, falling from about $170 per share to about $153 per share. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced that Nancy Hood is joining the audio platform in the role of senior vice president, listener. In this capacity, Hood will lead the growth and expansion of SoundCloud’s global consumer listener business, including consumer subscriptions and advertising. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced a new deal with Instagram for an integration with the social network. Also, Music Business Worldwide reports that long-time exec Angela Watts is leaving the company. Continue Reading
Billboard is adjusting how it calculates streaming equivalents for two of its charts, as was previously discussed last fall. The new equations will give greater weight to streams from paid subscription on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 charts. Continue Reading