If it seems like you’ve seen a lot of headlines about podcasting startups landing investment, you’re not wrong. Crunchbase shared its data about podcast deals over the past several years. At $268.9 million, podcast investment deal value in the first half of 2019 is on track to exceed the total dollars invested in all of 2018. Continue Reading
Search engine Pex has released internal data from its active monitoring of YouTube, an assessment of trends in video uploads and content. Pex’s figures found that YouTube’s upload volume may be even greater than what the company reports, finding that more than 621 hours of content were uploaded every minute in 2018. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Podcast-to-television producers talk shop. Netflix and a unique podcast strategy. Student podcasts to make you smile. Continue Reading
Spotify is planning a return for its Sound Up bootcamp, a program that provides podcast training to women of color. As with the inaugural session, ten applicants will be chosen for a week-long accelerator in New York City. Continue Reading
Several new music services have emerged to secure footholds in Africa’s nascent streaming market. The latest is based in Ethiopia and backed by a telecom. Ethio Telecom has partnered with Awtar Multimedia to unveil a service called Awtar Music. Continue Reading
Pod Drop highlights noteworthy new and upcoming podcasts from across the vast and fast-growing category. Today, National Geographic makes its podcast debut, Wondery and the LA Times launch a new true crime investigation, and comedy network Forever Dog expands its roster. Continue Reading
YouTube Music has hired a former Warner Music Group exec to head its operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Dan Chalmers is reportedly moving to YouTube later this year. Continue Reading
Instagram has added the option to include song lyrics in their Stories. Users of the mobile social media app can select a track from Instagram’s music library and then select the section of that song’s lyrics they want to include in their post. Continue Reading
Billboard announced an expansion to its chart offerings. The company is launching new charts for Top Songwriters and for Top Producers. These rankings will be based on weekly activity from several of Billboard’s “hot” charts, with placements based on points accumulated for each attributed song appearing on those other charts. Continue Reading
Apple has already announced that it will launch a new podcasts app for Mac users, but it has more changes underway. The tech company sent an email to podcasters outlining plans to revamp its categories for podcasts. All told, the category nomenclature is receiving more than 100 changes. Continue Reading
Spotify has been working to build its roster of exclusive podcasts, and now the streaming service has secured a presidential deal. The company has entered an agreement with Higher Ground, the production firm formed by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice has officially opened a new review of the consent decrees governing ASCAP and BMI. Both performance rights organizations have operated their copyright management systems under these rules for more than 75 years. The review will examine whether the decrees should continue in their current state, receive modifications, or be ended entirely. Continue Reading