Anna Washenko - RAIN News

Grooveshark announces crowd-sourced concert series

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Plugging on despite its legal woes, Grooveshark announced a new plan for a live concert series. Grooveshark Presents aims to tap into the platform’s community for input and suggestions as it plans the events. “We are removing the significant risks promoters take in booking talent, simply by combining the intelligence gathered from our streaming platform with our unique ability to communicate with our listeners,” CEO and cofounder Sam Tarantino said. Continue Reading →

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Review: Are Tidal’s HiFi tunes worth the price?

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Review by Anna Washenko

As hi-rez listening solutions continue to pop up (Neil Young’s Pono Music being the best-known), RAIN senior writer Anna Washenko test-drove the newly launched Tidal streaming platform from European company Wimp. It costs twice as much as other on-demand services ($20/month). Is it worth it? Continue Reading →

iHeartMedia updates audience metrics for iHeartRadio

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Anna Washenko

In announcing its third-quarter financial results iHeartMedia revealed some key updates for iHeartRadio. The streaming platform hit 56 million registered users as of September 30. The current figure marks growth of 43% year-over-year. Continue Reading →

Sirius XM holds steady with Q3 financials, raises 2014 guidance again

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Sirius XM posted earnings of $136 million in the third quarter, more than doubling the $63 million earned in the year-ago period. Revenue growth for the satellite radio company was more moderate, up 10% to $1.06 billion for the quarter. Continue Reading →

Pandora steals away Amazon Prime Music leader as new chief product officer

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Pandora announced that Chris Phillips will join the company as chief product officer. In the new role, Phillips will focus on product management, design, and analysis, in addition to defining and leading the overall product strategy for the online radio business. Continue Reading →

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Spotify’s Sort Your Music app uses data to explore, restructure playlists

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Review by Anna Washenko

Data is the big buzzword of the moment, and a new web app from Spotify is putting a slice of that information trove in the hands of listeners. The web app is called Sort Your Music. It lets you look at any playlist in Spotify, then shuffle the order based on the various musical traits. Continue Reading →

AudioHQ enters ad sales partnership with Jango online radio

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Anna Washenko

AudioHQ announced a partnership with online radio service Jango for audio ad sales starting in 2015. According to the press release, Jango reaches 3 million listeners in the U.S. each month with its service for social and customizable music stations. This is the second deal to be announced within the past week for AudioHQ. Continue Reading →

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Rumor Fact(ory): Apple could incorporate Beats into iTunes by next year

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal that worldwide music sales from the iTunes Store fell 13%-14% since the start of 2014. A single individual also told WSJ that Apple is in the process of rebuilding Beats Music and will relaunch the service next year as part of iTunes. There hasn’t been any formal word from Apple about its plans for Beats, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors from swirling about their joint future. Continue Reading →

Survey shows strong outlook among audio publishers in Germany

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Anna Washenko

BVDW, the German digital economy federation, released a report on the traction of online radio and streaming in the nation. The data showed that gross investment in audio streaming is projected to increase by more than 50% in 2015, while gross revenue from in-stream advertising is expected to reach about 137 euros by next year, compared with revenue of 65 million euros in 2013. Continue Reading →

Audiam launches new IAMP division for timely royalty payments

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Jeff Price, founder and CEO of Audiam, has launched a new division of his company called the International Association of Music Publishers. This group aims to quickly and accurately pay publishers mechanical royalties for the digital use of their creations. The FAQ explains that IAMP aims to also identify and record mechanical royalties that were previously earned but unpaid. Continue Reading →

Rhapsody brings on first CEO in more than three years

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Rhapsody has brought a new interim CEO into its executive ranks. David Hose will head the company for the time being while the board conducts a search for a permanent CEO. Hose has acted an as adviser, investor, and founder for several music- and mobile-centric companies. He most recently founded Soundwall, a startup that combines music and art to create “wireless connected canvases.” Continue Reading →

Microsoft ending ad-supported Xbox Music Pass plan

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Anna Washenko

Microsoft announced that it will shutter its free plan for Xbox Music Pass effective Dec. 1. The free on-demand streaming plan was ad-supported, and it was later capped at 10 hours of listening. Now the only plan choice is a monthly $10 subscription, although new subscribers can try it free for 30 days. Continue Reading →