App Annie has released a report on the top mobile music apps for the third quarter of 2015. Spotify topped the charts for worldwide active users, revenue, and downloads on both iOS and Android platforms. Several of the combined charts showed a heavy international bent, featuring apps based in South Korea and India rising through the ranks to land in the top 10. Continue Reading
New research by Bain & Company determined that native digital media has reached a critical mass, and give some insights into how companies in entertainment, publishing, and services could begin to adapt. “Entertainment has passed a point of no return in its transition to native digital,” the report said. It pointed to five key points that businesses would need to address in order to see the most success and shared insightful data points to support this fast-moving trend. Continue Reading
The end-of-the-year roundups continue apace, this time with Adweek’s Hot List detailing the top 24 digital brands, startups, and games from 2015. The list included nods for the ‘hottest music app,’ and if you can remember back to last year’s choices, you’ll be seeing very familiar names. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: PRS subject to anti-competition review; BBC’s Sound of 2016; Nepal’s community radio after the earthquake; dissecting Rdio vs Spotify. Continue Reading
Australia is seeing an increase in digital radio audience. Among the major capital cities, 40% of Australians have access to DAB+ digital radio either at home, at work, or in cars. That means an audience of 3.2 million in those metropolitan areas. Continue Reading
Deezer has announced two business developments of note for its listeners. First, the streaming service has added a new section with music from the Ministry of Sound label. Second, it has added a new family plan. Continue Reading
Guvera announced that it raised $100 million in a financing round over the holiday weekend. The streaming service’s leaders said they would next be turning their attention to an IPO, with plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange or Nasdaq. “It’s a pre-IPO round…but we haven’t set any timeline,” CEO Darren Herft told The Australian Financial Review. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: YouTube aiding in some fair use cases; FCC commissioner voices support for FM chip activation; Dash Radio’s multichannel technology. Continue Reading
Today in ‘news you never imagined reading,’ Pope Francis is releasing a rock album. Yes, the real Pope. The album is slated for a physical release on Nov. 27, but it is getting an early streaming launch exclusively on Deezer. The lone English language track is also up to stream on SoundCloud. Hallelujah! Continue Reading
Rhapsody released a new car-focused feature for its premium subscribers. Rhapsody AUTO offers drivers more streamlined access to their music on their phones while in vehicles. This update is one way that music and mobile companies are adjusting to how people treat entertainment in their cars. Continue Reading
Warner Bros. and Esurance will sponsor Pandora’s presentation of the first and second seasons of hit podcast Serial. Earlier this month Pandora announced that it had agreed to be the “exclusive streaming partner” for a rerun of Serial’s first season, and the release of season two. The programming starts Tuesday. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: How modern podcasting is like the glory days of blogging; Spotify’s new parental leave policy; Apple Music: the mansplainer? Continue Reading