Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: IAB research in mobile video; spotify offers an exclusive track; a rumor about Apple Music pricing in India. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Czech Republic launches large T-DAB+ trial; Apple Music will be below standard audio quality; a rough outlook for indie Internet radio. Continue Reading
Attorneys from Universal Music Group have responded to an investigation that the label colluded with other leading music companies to push out free, ad-supported tiers from streaming services. In a letter responding to a subpoena, UMG denied having any agreements with Sony Music, Warner Music Group, or Apple to “impede the availability of third-party free or ad-supported music streaming services.” Continue Reading
Spotify announced today that it has more than 20 million subscribers and 75 million active users on its streaming platform. The company started off 2015 with the announcement 60 million active users and 15 million paying subscribers, meaning Spotify grew quickly to hit this milestone. Spotify also closed a round of funding today valued at $526 million. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sonos CEO on streaming’s impact and NPR listeners get an F on their audio quality test. Continue Reading
Nielsen has released a Music 360 report focused on the Canadian market. The report found that time spent listening to music in Canada has risen 20% since 2013. Nielsen also found that streaming volume has increased 94% since it began tracking that metric for Canada in July 2014. Another interesting data point from that research was an assessment of how much the respondents would be willing to pay for streaming services. Continue Reading
TargetSpot has introduced an international programmatic monetization platform called TS BlueBox. The DAAST-compliant service is designed to help create revenue for digital audio publishers with a single integrated solution. It currently includes the U.S., the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium, although more countries will be added later in 2015. Continue Reading
Yesterday, the world got its first official look at Apple Music, the newest player to join the streaming music field. To call it a highly-anticipated debut would be an understatement. As befits such a big announcement, the media has come forth with an intriguing mix of thoughts and opinions about what Apple is and isn’t bringing to the table. Here’s a selection of what people are saying about Apple Music. Continue Reading
The BBC announced that it has expanded its DAB coverage. Over the past two months, the broadcaster has added 11 sites to its list of supported stations. Its end goal is to cover 97% of the population by the end of 2015. Continue Reading
After a long build-up and a vast amount of speculation, Apple has finally announced Apple Music, its overhauled music offerings. Cook dubbed the new service “the next chapter in music,” and presented it as a single resource for listeners’ various musical needs. Most of the features and news shared by Tim Cook and his colleagues fell in line with the previously reported rumors on what it would look like. However, the team did clarify two of the key questions that had circled around Apple Music’s launch: a date and a price point. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio announced that it is making further inroads into living room listening with the launch of an app on TiVo. The app is available on the TiVo Roamio, TiVo Mini and the line of TiVo Premiere devices following the latest software update on that hardware. Continue Reading
Kobalt, a London-based music company offering label, publishing, and rights services, has launched a new digital rights collection society. The new society is called the American Music Rights Association, and is based on a U.S. collection agency that Kobalt purchased last year. It will offer both mechanical and performing rights services at a global scale. Continue Reading