ESPN announced a new addition to its programming with a multimedia documentary called Pin Kings. The story will be told across television, print, and digital outlets in addition to the 16 episodes of podcasting. The audio segment is ESPN’s first foray into episodic podcasting where a long-form story is told over a single season. It is a production style popularized by ‘Serial’. Continue Reading
The world is tuning into the feats of athleticism happening in Rio de Janeiro this week during the Summer Olympics. It all kicked off with Friday’s Opening Ceremony, which contained a surprising, musical win. Continue Reading
Shazam has not been quiet about its plans for business growth beyond audio, but today it revealed an unexpected turn in those plans. Shazam will be at the center of a new television game show on Fox and Shazam Entertainment Limited will be a partner on the series. Continue Reading
The topic of audio quality in streaming has mellowed out of late, but CNBC re-opened the question with a survey into whether listeners actually pick up on the differences. The results seem to echo several other assessments in finding that for the average person, there’s not much impact. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Glenn Peoples writes about Pandora features that give artists more direct communication to their fans, complete with stats to support their effectiveness. When artists record messages for album premieres, he posits, click-through rates far exceed digital marketing benchmarks. Continue Reading
Apple Music is slated to get exclusive access to two upcoming releases. Pop singer Britney Spears will make her album Glory an Apple exclusive when it drops on Aug. 26. It is her first project since 2013. R&B singer Frank Ocean is also going to have an Apple Music exclusive, but the release date is much murkier. Continue Reading
Apple is having a busy week, adding South Korea to its roster of countries where its streaming service is available. The reaction from the domestic music scene has been lukewarm thus far. Continue Reading
Social music company Crowdmix has been auctioned off to one of its main investors. The saga of this startup and its intended product demonstrate just how challenging it is to elbow into the mobile space with social media and music. Continue Reading
The latest RAJAR data shows continued growth for UK digital radio in the second quarter. Fifty-nine percent of the population tunes in to digital radio each week, up from 57% in the first quarter of this year. The share of all radio on digital platforms rose for yet another quarter to reach 45.3%. Continue Reading
Japan is getting another streaming platform. Rakuten Music is the newest release from ecommerce business Rakuten, and it aims to be a “one-stop music service.” The mobile service offers a library of 3 million items and includes product placement for CDs and music DVDs/Blu-Rays sold through Rakuten Books. Continue Reading
The Electronic Frontier Foundation may return to court for its case against Personal Audio over podcasting patents. Personal Audio has since filed an appeal of the decision, and the EFF is trying to confirm its ability to participate in that appeal. Continue Reading
It’s official. The Department of Justice has released the final ruling for its review of performing rights organization consent decrees, which includes “full-works licensing” and prohibits withdrawal of digital rights from bundled licenses. Both ASCAP and BMI are already mounting their responses. Continue Reading