In an interesting conversation on CNBC, ex-Warner chief Edgar Bronfman voiced his advocacy for streaming, putting the access-vs-ownership disruption in context of a broader media transformation. “Music is probably better off.” Continue Reading
The connected car revolution continues to grind along incrementally, model year after model year, with app connectivity becoming easier as the American auto fleet (12 years old on average) modernizes. The digital dashboard is the gridiron, and the traditional button radio is the line of scrimmage as audio providers collide for position. But it doesn’t end there. Continue Reading
In the ongoing collaboration of DMR Interactive and Texas A&M University called The Download on Podcasting, we get a Memorial Day update of the team’s work. With two new documents, the venture offers researched guidance on how to start podcasting. Continue Reading
NPR Chief Executive Jarl Mohn, radio/podcast star Elvis Duran, and the debut of new smart speaker research are highlights of the upcoming RAIN Podcast Business Summit on June 21 in New York — the only podcast gathering dedicated to the business of on-demand audio and its value to advertisers. Continue Reading
A new survey from AdWeek measures youth attachment to YouTube in a more dramatic light: 50% of Gen-Z respondents (from a survey field of 1,500) said they “could not live without” YouTube. Nearly all respondents (95%) use YouTube to some extent. Gen-Z’ers are just starting to emerge into the adult marketplace, unfamiliar with non-digital life and paying for daily media content. Continue Reading
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released a dense, highly-informed and descriptive whitepaper about programmatic advertising — which also suggests abandoning the term “programmatic” and replacing it with “automation.” There is also a great infographic. Continue Reading
Claire Atkinson, the NY Post writer who is at the head of many anonymously-sourced rumors about streaming media businesses, says that SiriusXM and parent company Liberty Media are again discussing an acquisition with Pandora. Continue Reading
Iconic webcasting platform Live365, which went out of business in January, 2016, and reemerged under new ownership in August, has announced that the platform is now open to webcaster sign-ups following a limited roll-out that began in January. Continue Reading
One day after Cumulus-owned Westwood One announced it was bringing Cumulus radio station commercial inventory into the programmatic era via Katz Expressway, Katz unleashed another press announcement outlining the scope of its programmatic radio market. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Warner Music Nashville streaming promotion; Germany moves to make FM-only radio receivers illegal; Spotify valuation still growing. Continue Reading
Cumulus Media-owned Westwood One has partnered with iHeartMedia-owned Katz Expressway, a programmatic advertising exchange powered by tech company Jelli. The immediate result is that radio stations in major Cumulus market have some commercial inventory in Expressway, available for automated buying. Continue Reading
NextRadio was introduced in August, 2013, as a tuner for SmartPhones to receive over-the-air radio reception with enhanced on-screen interactivity. In the nearly four years of NextRadio promotion, Emmis has faced challenges. In this week’s earnings call, Emmis head Jeff Smulyan put NextRadio prominently in the discussion, and framed it as an early-stage product undergoing growth and improvement. Continue Reading