James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: WNYC tackles big challenges; yes, Irish bus drivers really striking if they can’t listen to the radio; the future of music consumption. Continue Reading
Pandora has announced a feature that allows musicians to easily speak to their listeners, similar to a radio station’s pre-recorded musician promo, but with more real-time control. Called AMPcast, it is a dead-simple (and cool) tool for musicians to engage with listeners. Continue Reading
In advance of The Infinite Dial 2016 this Thursday, Edison Research has released one result of its large-scale consumer survey of American listening habits. In it, Edison announces that podcast listening “is growing — and growing fast.” Continue Reading
An in-car listening survey of Canadian drivers was conducted by Audience Insights. This research establishes a trendline of audio sources in the car going back to 2010. Continue Reading
Never a dull moment with music service Tidal, and companies associated with it. Rumors are afloat that tech giant Samsung might acquire the Jay Z-owned music service. The rumors are loud enough to draw a denial from Samsung. At the same time, new rumors say that Samsung-owned Milk Music might be discontinued, leaving a hole in Samsung’s consumer ecosystem. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Is Podcasting radio’s golden age? Mark Mulligan’s interesting viewpoint on the BBC Music App. New book: Radio 2.0 Continue Reading
A platform called Songtradr comes out of beta today, hoping to create a market that is both friendly and accessible to creators, and productive for producers searching for perfect project music. RAIN News spoke with Founder & CEO Paul Wiltshire. Continue Reading
Meerkat, the app which spearheaded into live video, is giving up its product model and shifting onto a new (as yet undisclosed) course, ceding competitive ground to Periscope and Facebook Live. In so doing, Meerkat illustrates the perils of sustaining an… Continue Reading
First Episode is a Friday podcast discovery feature spotlighting new and almost-new shows. In this edition, a new program from WTOP, deep interviews by Kevin Rose, and a couple of TV lovers talk with actors. It’s Friday. Get listening. Continue Reading
Juniper Research returned from Mobile World Congress, the preeminent global exhibition of new mobile technology, and summarized its assessment of 2016 trends. (Download here.) We have pulled out the point pertinent to the future of digital audio, spiced with commentary. Continue Reading
Sony music labels have filed a lawsuit in a California federal court. The suit complains that Radionomy has not paid appropriate licensing royalties for use of music recordings since late 2014. Three labels are participating in the filing: Sony Music Entertainment, LaFace Records, and Arista Records. Continue Reading
Electronic music specialist Digitally Imported has released a status announcement of its audience growth. Double-digit increases in paid subscriptions to the listening platform have been accomplished, the result of product enhancements and new initiatives intended to drive user engagement. Continue Reading