Beatport purchased a social listening app called Listn for an undisclosed price, then promptly decided to shut down the service. The app allowed its members to explore their friends’ music libraries, with connections to several popular streaming services: YouTube, Spotify, Rdio, and SoundCloud. Listn will no longer be available starting Oct. 30, but the app’s employees will be joining Beatport. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio is now live in the Apple CarPlay system for connected vehicles. It will also be available for consumer use in certain car models and aftermarket headunits. The app allows users to access their favorite live radio, custom stations, and talk shows from their dashboards. Continue Reading
Streaming music sites aren’t just for the realm of professional musicians. NASA has started using SoundCloud to upload recordings made in space, giving us earth-bound civilians exposure to exactly what goes on over our heads. Continue Reading
Telecom company Millicom announced that it is expanding its partnership with Deezer into five new markets across Africa. The firm’s Tigo brand will be working with Deezer to launch its Tigo Music streaming service in Ghana, Chad, DR Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania over the coming months. Tigo will market and distribute the music service by bundling it with mobile data packs for its growing smartphone population. Continue Reading
The latest update to Google Play Music All Access reflect some of the features that entered Google’s hands when it purchased Songza. The streaming platform has adopted music stations to its Listen Now page that cater to particular moods or activities. This riff on Songza’s Concierge service considers the time of day, device used for listening, and other signals to assess what your state of mind or current actions might be, then supplies the appropriate music. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Neil Young takes the stage … but no details on a release date for Pono Music. A NY Times columnist explores the social effect of streaming. Google’s music service might be undergoing a makeover. Continue Reading
Microsoft launched a new app for Windows and Windows Phones that offers shoppers full albums for steep discounts. Microsoft Music Deals promises to have 101 top albums on sale for less than $2 each every Tuesday. It will also sell debut albums for 99 cents and “timeless classics” for $1.99. According to VentureBeat, the app is mostly an intro to the Xbox Music app. Continue Reading
With the release of its new “How Google Fights Piracy” report, Google announced a change to its search engines that will make illegal sites less likely to appear in queries. Senior Copyright Counsel Katherine Oyama wrote a blog post explaining the main points of Google’s latest efforts in the anti-piracy space. Continue Reading
Pandora has appointed Steve Bené as its new general counsel. Bené joins the online radio service from Electronic Arts, where he held the same position and worked on negotiations with music and movie studios. In his role at Pandora, Bené will be a member of the company’s executive leadership team and will oversee all legal operations. Continue Reading
Spotify has announced the addition of a new subscription designed for family sharing. Under the Spotify Family plan, up to four family members can be added to a single billing account while keeping their listening histories and playlists separate. All people in the family will have access to the full set of Premium features. Continue Reading
Twitter has introduced a musical new feature called the Audio Card that allows its members to embed a track in a tweet. The social network is first working with SoundCloud on the launch of the feature, and the streaming platform’s entire library will be made available for embeds. A select number of partner artists are rolling out the feature today, and the social network said that its @TwitterMusic handle would announce updates about the people and organizations using the Audio Card. Continue Reading
In July, we wrote that Playlists.net, a platform for sharing Spotify playlists, was looking for a buyer. Today, the hoped-for deal was announced. The UK startup ShareMyPlaylists has been acquired by the artist and services arm of American recording giant Warner Music Group. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed. Continue Reading