Prince’s catalog from Warner Bros is confirmed for release to streaming services on Sunday. NPR received word of the date from Napster, and the songs are expected to be available on most other streaming platforms as well. iHeartRadio has some purple plans for celebration. Universal has secured rights to manage the rest of Prince’s catalog. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Should radio still care about song sales? Super Bowl spike for Lady Gaga. Ticketmaster makes a music hire. Continue Reading
Google is combining some of its separate music teams in a move that could signal changes for its many products down the line. The groups working on YouTube Music and Google Play Music are being joined. Continue Reading
Billboard published its Power 100 list for 2017. The ranking includes several prominent leaders in the streaming music industry from companies including Apple Music, iHeartMedia, and Pandora. Spotify Chairman/CEO Daniel Ek took the No. 1 spot. Continue Reading
Music video platform Vevo has hired Kevin McGurn as its chief sales officer. McGurn was previously head of sales at YouTube multi-channel network Fullscreen. Continue Reading
Podcast and on-demand audio platform Acast announced the launch of a Recommendations feature. This tool uses machine learning to find new content tailored to a particular listener’s tastes. Continue Reading
IAB Australia released a report on the state of digital audio advertising in the country. According to the findings, eight out of 10 media buyers have purchased streaming digital audio advertising. That high interest is expected to boost growth in digital audio and audio programmatic. Continue Reading
The European Union has passed new rules aimed at advancing plans for a unified digital market in the bloc. The recent ruling allows online service subscribers from one nation to access those platforms when they travel to other countries in the EU. Streaming music falls under the umbrella of this “portability” rule. Continue Reading
Vevo has been working on towards a subscription tier for at least a full year, but it seems that the wait will continue. CEO Erik Huggers said in an interview that the subscription plans are on hold while Vevo focuses on international expansion and producing original content. Continue Reading
The New York Times has a deal with Spotify. New digital subscribers who buy a year of access to the newspaper for the will also get access to the premium version of the streaming service. Continue Reading
Every now and then, Spotify throws open the door into its vault of fascinating data about its listeners. Today, its numbers have turned the most benign small talk topic into something fascinating. Continue Reading
YouTube has added live streaming to its mobile version. Creators with more than 10,000 subscribers can take advantage of this feature, although it will roll out to all users “soon.” Continue Reading