Spotify is embarking on a new addition to its live music tie-ins. The streaming music service will begin emailing users with concert recommendations based on their listening preferences. Continue Reading
Amazon Music Unlimited may be the new kid on the block for streaming subscriptions, but it’s moving quickly to match the features of its more established competitors. The service has now added a family subscription plan to its tiers. Continue Reading
Some might say that you haven’t truly made it in the music world until Weird Al Yankovic has spoofed your song. This American Life’s show Serial has now hit a similar degree of pop cultural cache for podcasts, as it is the subject of a new parody show on Wondery. Continue Reading
A new survey from Music Biz Consumer Insights and LOOP examined the growing role of digital audio for millennial drivers. Respondents aged 34 and younger are more likely to listen to digital audio in vehicles; 28% said they had streamed Internet radio in their cars in the past week, and the same percentage listened to digital files. Continue Reading
Tidal has been boasting that it had access to stream music from the late and great Prince, but the performer’s estate is raising an eyebrow about those claims. The estate says that Tidal was only permitted to stream Prince’s most recent albums rather than the entire catalog. Continue Reading
A new report from McKinsey & Company examined the streaming music industry in southeast Asia. The region has a range of digital music market sizes, with some large and firmly established while others are still on the grow. Across the area, digital music growth is happening faster than the global rate (8.8% a year compared with 0.4% a year between 2011 and 2015). Continue Reading
Napster posted a profit for its third quarter of 2016. The streaming service’s Q3 results included a profit of $1.63 million for the period. The positive quarterly result is a strong turn for Napster after the service reported a spike in annual net losses for 2015. Continue Reading
Amazon Music Unlimited has made its first international expansion. This new streaming subscription from the tech conglomerate has landed in the UK and is slated to launch in Germany and Austria later today. Continue Reading
Consent decrees are back in the headlines. This time, it’s because the Department of Justice is appealing the decision by federal Judge Louis Stanton about fractional licensing. The DoJ response means that the second circuit court of appeals will hear the case. Continue Reading
YouTube has rolled out an app for watching its videos in virtual reality. All the videos on the platform allow the viewer to see the action as if they were physically present on the scene. This news is still interesting as a forecast for what digital entertainment might look like in ten years. Continue Reading
Nielsen’s latest data is a Live Event 360 report, which analyzes fan behavior around concerts. People who attended at least one concert or festival in the past year spent 60% of their average annual music budget on attending those performances. Although the Nielsen report is focused on finding brand and marketing opportunities around live shows, there’s also an intriguing perspective for digital music platforms. Continue Reading
Spotify made its first foray into Japan earlier this year, and the streaming music service has now ended its invite-only phase. During that period of limited access, the top track in Japan pulled in just 8,700 daily plays. Continue Reading