App Wrap: Google, Rdio, iTunes Radio
Items of interest in the music-app realm: Google Play Music updates its Apple app, Rdio gives smoother listening to Android users, and iTunes Radio is rumored to go local. Continue Reading
Author: Brad Hill
Commotion: real-time mobile social engagement for radio
The Commotion social platform provides a breakthrough and (to date) unique platform for encouraging real-time conversation among radio station listeners, while owning and shaping the experience. We spoke to CEO Ryan Burgoyne, to learn more about Commotion. Continue Reading
Spotify pitches summer subscription discount
Hooking into the emerging trend of longer subscription trials, Spotify today announced a “Super Summer of Music” deal — three months of Spotify Premium subscription service for the one-month price of $9.99 in the U.S. Spotify Premium includes unlimited commercial-free, on-demand music selection, and unlimited track downloads. Continue Reading
Pandora ad load: audio down, video up, display the same (analyst)
Financial services firm Canaccord Genuity released its monthly audit of Pandora ads for May, showing that as listener hours increased, average ad load dropped incrementally. The company uses a methodology that tests within several registered identities in different demographics, across four geographic markets. Continue Reading
From Apple’s WWDC keynote: iOS 8 will build Shazam into Siri
Apple kicked of its annual Worldwide Developer Conference today with the main event for non-professional Apple-watchers: the keynote. Anchored by CEO Tim Cook, supported by departmental leaders, the keynote traditionally previews Apple’s future products related to its operating systems. Continue Reading
Pureplay of the Day: Brazilian Birds Radio
Spotify, Pandora, and some other big players in streaming music cannot make a profit, partly because of the high cost of music licensing. Solution? Just play bird songs. Brazilian Birds Radio does just that, although this station is a small sideshow in the sprawling 1.FM array of Internet radio stations. Continue Reading
Streaming provider Abacast lands Entercom
This morning Abacast announced a new partnership with radio group Entercom, which will switch to Abacast’s Clarity platform to handle ad insertions, campaign management, and analytics. Abacast markets Clarity as the only cloud-based ad-insertion solution for online radio, available to terrestrial webcasters, pureplay Internet radio, and podcasting. Continue Reading
As the dust settles around Apple and Beats, a few settling points
Apple’s acquisition of Beats brought out more anticipation, speculation, and commentary than any business or product news story since the launch of iTunes Radio in September. It’s as if a unique two-headed creature rose out of the earth for all to wonder at. As the dust settles, a few points are worth noting. Continue Reading
Internet Radio Rewind #006
Welcome to Internet Radio Rewind, an audio recap of top stories, quick and concise. This week’s podcast: Apple and Beats … YouTube infuriates Indie labels … Amazon’s music service takes shape … Billboard and Twitter … and Project72. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: May 26-30
RAIN Hotspots — the five most-read articles of the past week. “Where is the radio in this car” wondered guest columnist Steve Goldstein … bitll and Twitter launched new charts … a tribute to Neil Young … rounding up the best coverage of Apple/Beats … Google partners with Sonos for longer streaming trials. Continue Reading
Apple/Beats: $500-million for the streaming-music part
A little more detail spilled out of this week’s important industry consolidation, as Apple acquired Beats Electronics. According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, Apple’s valuation of Beats Music, the subscription streaming service, was $500-million. Too much or too little? Continue Reading
BBC’s new Radio Explorer, an addictive radio-streaming experience
Radio Explorer, a beta work-in-progress from the BBC, hooks into the resurgence of podcasting and the archived radio trend. It aims to provide instant listening to talk programs in response to search queries. A focus on depth at the expense of breadth makes for an experience that feels carefully curated. Continue Reading