Webcast listening in November gained one percent compared to the previous month, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics monthly Top 20 Ranker, released today. Click through for RAIN’s long-term historical charting, and the past year’s listening to the top three leaders. Continue Reading
How much is podcasting worth? Depends who you ask. It even depends on when you ask the same person. a new podcast ad-revenue projection is out this week, aimming for the half-billion level. Continue Reading
Ford has announced that it will start integrating Amazon’s voice-activated Alexa system in its cars this month. Alexa is the virtual assistant popularized in Amazon’s Echo and Dot devices, and the Ford/Amazon alliance is a pointer to the future of voice-controlled car infotainment. Continue Reading
A collective of record labels, streaming platforms, and advocacy organizations leveraged the CES spotlight to announce a commitment to high-resolution (hi-res) audio streaming. The loosely-articulated mission continues an industry trend whose mileposts have been as varied as Neil Young’s Pono venture, Tidal’s hi-res streaming subscription service, and the small but notable resurgence of vinyl records. Continue Reading
Ford and Toyota have formed the SmartDeviceLink Consortium, an alliance of car companies and software developers intended to create alternatives to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the leading suppliers of smartphone integration in dashboards. The effort hopes to bring some oxygen into a closed duopoly governed by the world’s two leading operating systems. Continue Reading
Everybody seems to want SoundCloud to be acquired, though the company itself does not publicly contribute to speculation. The latest? A report of unnamed sources saying Google is now investigating a SoundCloud purchase. Continue Reading
Pandora is announcing today the wide release of its two newest ad formats: Muted Video and Responsive Mobile Display, after six months of testing with a handful of launch advertisers. Test partners included Denny’s, Google, Express, and the Lexus Dealers Association. The beta period enabled Pandora to develop usage metrics. Continue Reading
Happy New Year!
RAIN News is pleased to present predictions from 29 thought-leading guest futurists. 2017 will carry forward the audio industry’s reputation for quick, disruptive change. Continue Reading
Almost exactly one year after Live365 went dark, sending thousands of small webcasters scrambling for new platforms or giving up their stations, Live365 is back. Details are scarce, but this is what we know now. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: A Forbes columnist revisits successful 2016 predictions for the music and music-service industry, and ventures to predict 2017 events. General Counsel of the RIAA explains why 2017 will be a “critical year.” Continue Reading
Tidal has published a year-end video that promotes the exclusive-release strategy the music service followed in 2016. While exclusive album releases have gotten the most attention (and there have been 32 of them this year), Tidal touted exclusives in other categories. Continue Reading
When it comes to music, news, and podcast listening, Amazon Alexa (in the Echo and Dot devices) is far less equipped than you might think from all the buzz. But the promise is that Alexa will get smarter over time, as new skills are learned. Even now, the experience is compelling. Continue Reading