Cisneros Interactive and Brandwatch collaborated on an investigation into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted digital listeners in Puerto Rico. The results are based on 700 online surveys taken between March 23 and April 6. Quarantining has led many Puerto Rican listeners to place a higher value on audio content. Continue Reading
Podcast companies have, understandably, been closely monitoring how listening habits are changing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Data about listening is key in how podcasts forge deals with advertisers, and brands’ ad budgets have also been impacted by the virus outbreak. Magellan’s latest blog post offers insights into the industries that are increasing their podcast ad spending. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has made an investment in Africori, a digital music distribution company operating across Sub-Saharan Africa. Africori has worked with more than 6,500 artists and 700 labels, offering music rights management and artist development services as well as distribution. Continue Reading
JioSaavn is expanding its podcast library with a new tool for independent creators. The India-based streaming service introduced YourCast, which lets podcasters upload their shows onto the platform. Continue Reading
Australia saw a fifth consecutive year of growth for its music industry. The 2019 figures from industry group ARIA revealed 5.5% annual growth in wholesale revenue, reaching more than A$555 million. It was the best year for Australia’s music industry financials since 2004, according to ARIA. Continue Reading
Acast has hired Georgina Holt to be its new managing director for the UK, Ireland and ROW regions. She will be responsible for driving both commercial and content growth for the podcasting company. Holt has nearly two decades in the media and publishing industries, most recently at The Stylist Group. Continue Reading
Vibenomics, a specialist in audio advertising and experiences, has raised Series A funding to further its operations. The company raised $6 million in a round led by BIP Capital, bringing its total funding to $13.5 million. Continue Reading
Headliner, a service for podcast promotion, announced that its newest integration is with Liberated Syndication. This deal will see one-click access to Headliner’s tools added to the Libsyn dashboard. Continue Reading
Apple is rolling out its Services platform to 20 new markets. The move brings Apple Podcasts, the App Store, and more to a vast new international audience. Apple Music is going even bigger, launching in 52 more additional countries. Continue Reading
Sonos is making its first foray into content with the launch of a streaming radio service. Sonos Radio is an ad-supported service available for free exclusively for Sonos customers. The platform houses more than 60,000 stations, including ones from streaming partners such as TuneIn and iHeartRadio and ones directly from Sonos. Continue Reading
Country music streaming reached a new high for the week of April 9. Nielsen Music/MRC Data found that country music racked up 1.244 billion on-demand audio streams for that week. That result marks a new high, besting the 1.201 billion audio streams from the week ending March 5. Continue Reading
Vivendi reported first-quarter financials for Universal Music Group. The label generated €1.769 billion in revenue, up 12.7% on-year in constant currency. Actual growth for the period was 17.8%. Continue Reading