SoundCloud continues to drive toward its stated goal of being “the YouTube of audio,” this week releasing an updated iPhone app experience that makes listening easier and prettier. At the same time there are indications that Soundcloud creators and uploaders are driven farther down a path of alienation that started with earlier changes to the service. Continue Reading
In a retrospective, even sentimental blog post, Jelli announced that it is shutting down the Jelli User-Controlled Radio platform and station apps. The plug will be pulled this Sunday at midnight (PDT), completing a pivot that started two years ago when Jelli began building a suite of ad-tech products for radio stations. Continue Reading
Two weeks ago podcast production and distribution company Earwolf merged with The Midroll, a podcast advertising agency spawned from Earwolf’s monetization efforts, to form Midroll Media. RAIN spoke with new Midroll Media CEO Adam Sachs about the merger’s values, how podcast ads are sold, and the future of on-demand talk programming. Continue Reading
Canadian music industry outlet FYI Music News reports that Spotify and Beats Music will open their on-demand platforms to Canadian users, but not immediately. According to the report, Spotify will cross the border in October. Beats will give Canadians a New Year gift in January, 2015. Continue Reading
The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held its second hearing on music licensing regulations, hosting a panel of music-industry executives who delivered prepared statements and answered questions. As with the first hearing on June 10, four contentious issues framed today’s proceeding:
All four pillars of copyright discontent got some play today. Broadcast radio took a severe beating, but unlike the first hearing, the radio industry was represented. Continue Reading
Nominees are pouring into this year’s RAIN Internet Radio Awards at about twice the rate of the 2013 awards. These awards are the industry’s preeminent recognition of achievements and best practices in Internet radio. Of the five nomination categories, Best Overall Digital Strategy is one of the broadest, straddling broadcast streaming and pureplays. Continue Reading
We received a mobile notification from iHeartRadio announcing a nonstop Michael Jackson station called 24/7 MJ Radio, in commemoration of the 5th anniversary of MJ’s death. Activating the notification did not take us directly to 24/7 MJ Radio, surprisingly, but a quick use of iHeart’s search function found it quickly and the listening began. Continue Reading
Pandora VP of Investor Relations Dominic Paschel is a frequent guest speaker at investor conferences. We last eavesdropped on his remarks in December, at a JP Morgan event. Paschel recently held forth at the Sanford C. Bernstein Future of Media Summit. Paschel’s presentation provided an update of several aspects of Pandora’s business:
Brief news items and worthwhile reads from around the web. Spotify reportedly preps for IPO; House hearing on music copyrights tomorrow; Pandora grabs revenue executive from Yahoo. Continue Reading
One of the key differentiators of streaming music and online radio is relatively low “spot load” — the amount of commercial time in a hour — compared to broadcast radio. A terrestrial station in Seattle is creating broadcast buzz today with an announcement that it will dramatically reduce its commercial load, approaching the level of Internet radio. It’s called “The 2 Minute Promise.” Continue Reading
adStream is a journal of ad-spottings in online music services that highlight how commercials (audio and visual) can be an integrated part of the online listening experience.
We noted that the McDonalds “Think With Your Mouth” campaign for Big Mac sandwiches won an award at Cannes Lions this year, and we have been spotting the digital placements in streaming music services, including iHeartRadio. Continue Reading
RAIN Summit Indy announces that Eric Bieschke, Chief Scientist at Pandora who leads one of the most significant Big Data operations in digital music, will be a speaker.
Eric Bieschke joined Pandora as its second employee in 2000. He will bring his unique depth of experience and preeminent reputation as a data guru to RAIN Summit Indy on September 9 at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading