Market-leading music-identification app Shazam has added Spotify to its list of music services that will play full tracks identified by Shazam. The updated app can hook into Rdio (in a longer-standing relationship), Beats Music, and Spotify. Continue Reading
Disney announced that it is closing 23 of its 24 terrestrial stations, laying off nearly 200 people in sales and operations. The reason is massive migration of listening from terrestrial signals to streaming platforms. Click through for the internal memo. Continue Reading
Reading that automaker BMW eliminated AM terrestrial reception from one of its new car models was a “Hold everything!” moment. The hazy future of AM is generally troubling to someone of a certain age, who grew up listening pretty evenly to the AM and FM sides of the dial. But there is something more sharply distressing in seeing AM ripped out of a car, laregly because of the baseball connection. Continue Reading
Continuing the rollout of semifinalists in the Fifth Annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards, today we are pleased to announce the six webcasts moving into the semifinal round of the Streaming Broadcast Station category. The single winners of all five categories will be revealed and honored at RAIN Summit Indy, September 9, in Indianapolis. Continue Reading
Pandora CFO Mike Herring answered questions in front of investors at the Oppenheimer 17th-annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference on Wednesday. P stock rose over 10% during the day, probably due less to Herring’s remarks than to investment house Stifel issuing a Buy rating for Pandora. Meanwhile, Mike Herring delivered his talking points in response to 32 minutes of questioning about audience size, ad sales, and music licensing. Continue Reading
RAIN Summit Indy is around the corner, and we booked some phone time with keynoter Darren Davis, president of Clear Channel Networks. Following are excerpts from a conversation with the irrepressibly enthusiastic Mr. Davis — about integrated advertising, iHeartRadio, and his commitment to Clear Channel. Continue Reading
On September 9 in Indianapolis, a highlight of RAIN Summit Indy will be the announcement of five winners in the fifth annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards. Today we are pleased to introduce the semifinalists in the Best Single Stream Webcaster category, one of five which accepted nominations. Continue Reading
As in previous years, webcasting inched backward in June by three percent in Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker. Across the top-20 cohort total listening dropped three percent from May to June. Pandora lost ground and ESPN gaines. Click through for RAIN’s analytical charts. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio made good use of its mobile notification mechanism this morning, pinging registered users about a special Robin Williams takeover of the service’s “24/7 Comedy” channel. Legendary comedian and actor Williams died last night in his California home. Continue Reading
When we heard about a daring format flip at WKAZ in Charleston, WV, we tuned in to the station’s webcast to hear the mix and find out how engaging the experience was on the digital side. We haven’t tuned away in 12 hours — an unusual level of engagement in an office known for its obsessive stream-surfing, app-switching, genre-scrambling listening tendencies. Continue Reading
Viacom’s music group, comprised of MTV, VH1, and CMT, released summary results of survey exploring how teenagers and adults up to age 40 consume music. A survey population of 1,200 participants submitted to the quantitative study. Streaming was revealed as a mainstream behavior in the survey responses, with 78% of the group having streamed music in the past three months. Continue Reading
Niche label Blue Music Group, which specializes in Scandinavian jazz and classical artists, announced yesterday that it has withdrawn its catalog from Spotify’s on-demand streaming service. The announcement, and its wording, make an interesting illustration of the tricky decision facing content owners during a time of industry disruption. Continue Reading