Brief new items and worthy reads from around the web: Legal blog demystifies the YouTube/indie artist contract; Baboom gets a new industry hire; Spotify loses a European exec Continue Reading
Microsoft-owned Nokia’s music service, MixRadio, is slated to be spun out as a stand-alone listening platform. It’s big news — separating from that ecosystem will put MixRadio on the same playing field as Pandora, iTunes Radio, and other Internet radio brands. In light of the news, this is a timely moment to assess MixRadio and its potential to stand out in the crowd. How does it shape up? We tested the premium service offered by MixRadio on a Windows 8.1 computer with touch screen, and a Windows 8.1 tablet. Basics? Well-covered (mostly). Highlights? Occasional. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Yahoo! Live update; Kindle Unlimited and its implications for content subscriptions across media types; what do people really care about in connected cars? Continue Reading
In a video (click through to watch) of an interview at the Brainstorm Tech conference hosted by Fortune, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek covered a lot of ground, In particular, he downplayed the possibility of Spotify spinning out a much-rumored IPO, with an offhand criticism of life as a public company. Continue Reading
TuneCore, a leading digital agency that helps musicians distribute their recorded work to digital outlets, announced that its second-quarter revenue distribution totaled over $33-million dollars, an 18% increase over the same period last year. RAIN spoke to Scott Ackerman, TuneCore CEO, to dig deeper into the growth trend, particularly on the music-streaming side. Continue Reading
After hearing sad news of Johnny Winter’s death, we used Michael Robertson’s Radio Search Engine, and the artist-search feature in RadioTuna, to find poureplay stations pivoting quickly on the news with memorial programming. We found Rock Radio 1 placing Johnny Winter blocks into its stream of metal and blues-rock, surrounded by tribute songs by other bands. Continue Reading
REELRADIO, which streams radio airchecks, announced that it received a copyright compliance notice from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The company notes that structural and technical facts make compliance difficult. Continue Reading
In-stream advertising has taken leaps forward in the last year, both in technology and advertiser demand. There are in-stream audio messaging, voice activated ads, geo-fenced and zip code targeted campaigns, branded playlists and sponsored downloads. These innovations, and questions of building ad models that encourage asdvertisers to invest with confidence, will be placed in a bright spotlight at RAIN Summit Indy, September 9 at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading
A small but revealing study by Coleman Insights illuminates how consumers think of radio, how they listen to music in different locations, and how the NextRadio mobile broadcast app could be more effectively marketed. The key takeaway is that radio is conceived as an in-car medium, but not a mobile one. Continue Reading
The latest report in our journal of ad-stalking in music services. We spotted a funny mash-up of a wine club and a wakefulness drug. Also, t-Mobile continues its intensive marketing to online listeners of its recently announced data-free music streaming. Continue Reading
Webcast streaming has enjoyed strong growth during 2014, and has lifted 19% year-over-year, according to data released by Triton Digital in its Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker for May. The month-over-month measurement dropped two percent, the first monthly dip after nine consecutive growth months. Year-to-date, stream listening has risen over 10 percent. Continue Reading
RAIN announces the judging panel for the 5th Annual Internet Radio Awards, which honor achievements and best practices in the Internet radio industry. The awards will be presented at RAIN Summit Indy, September 9, at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading