Amazon Alexa is hosting a new interactive media story experience, marking another step forward in how voice platforms and smart speakers can find a niche in entertainment. The project is a serialized young adult adventure titled Tala’s World. We test it, jump through hoops, and enjoy it. Continue Reading
Deezer has entered a deal with a telecom in the Middle East. The streaming service is offering a free bundle to customers of the Saudi Telecom Company. Continue Reading
Triton Digital announced that it has integrated a new tool into its Audio Ad Server for the audio and podcast industry. The company entered a partnership to use the MediaSales Traffic platform from Wedel Software, an international provider of broadcast software solutions. Continue Reading
Classical music specialist Primephonic shared a study into satisfaction with streaming services in the U.S. According to their results, 52% of Americans do not use streaming platforms yet, and only 21% of Americans have paid subscriptions for streaming. The company opined that with most platforms focusing on young listeners and popular genres, growth in the streaming audience will come from older listeners seeking other genres. Continue Reading
Ole Obermann has been hired by mobile short-form video app TikTok as its vice president and global head of music. The former Warner Music Group digital exec joined the company in October. Continue Reading
The Pulitzer board announced that next year, it will offer a new prize were podcasts will be eligible. The Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting will be awarded in 2020 “for a distinguished example of audio journalism that serves the public interest, characterized by revelatory reporting and illuminating storytelling.” Continue Reading
Podtrac released its ranking of the top podcast publishers for November. With the beginning of the year-end holiday season, all ten of the top publishers saw a dip in U.S. unique monthly audience from October. The analytics company noted that November 2018 had a similar contraction in listening. Continue Reading
Voice dialogue marketing company Instreamatic announced a partnership with Salem Media Group, a broadcaster with 115 radio stations. This deal will make Instreamatic’s technology available to advertisers on Salem’s audio ecosystem. Continue Reading
Acast has expanded its podcasting operations into Ireland. The company launched an office in Dublin that will be led by Micheál Scully as key account director. Scully has 15 years of experience in the Irish media industry. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research has published data about the global streaming market shares of different services for the first half of 2019. The report found that there were 304.9 million streaming music subscribers around the world at the end of June 2019. That’s an increase of 34 million subscribers fro the end of December 2018 and 69 million from the close of June 2018. Continue Reading
Amazon has developed several smart speaker iterations for its Echo line of devices. The latest is a battery-powered, portable option that is rolling out in India. The product is called the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition Continue Reading
Sony has been making deals in the podcast space, and it has spent the past several months assembling a team to help drive those partnerships. A leaked internal memo introduced four executives for the Sony Music Entertainment offices in New York who will focus on the company’s efforts in podcasting. Continue Reading