RAIN Poll: How do you lean?
Lean back, or lean in?
This week’s poll asks whether you prefer effortless listening, or the fun (and effort) of selecting your own music and playlists. Continue Reading
Author: Brad Hill
U.K. pop charts set to include streaming plays
The head of Britain’s Radio 1, George Ergatoudis, announced that U.K. top-40 music charts will “soon” include streaming data. The range of services to be measured, and how the streaming consumption will be weighted alongside song purchases, is not disclosed. Continue Reading
Edison study of Millennials: FM and Internet competing for mindshare
Edison Research presented its new study, #MeetTheMillennials, at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville yesterday. The surveys and interviews assessed how Millennials listen to music at home, at work, and in their cars. What role does FM play, in an increasingly Internet-delivered world? Continue Reading
FCC will try again for net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has indicated that it will re-start its effort to establish a “net neutrality” law that would regulate how the Internet’s broadband pipes are owned and managed. This will be FCC’s third try. In January, the agency lost a court decision, largely on a technicality. Continue Reading
NextRadio metrics: “enhanced” content retains and engages listeners
Last December, after three months in the market, NextRadio had 83,000 phone activations; today that number is 175,000. The retention rate, which measures multiple uses within a 30-day period (similar to “active listeners” in streaming services), is holding steady at 32 percent across the time period. Continue Reading
Pureplay of the Day: Blue Plate Radio, a local Internet station
Billing itself as “The Internet’s Premiere Jazz Station,” Blue Plate Radio plays a mix of straight-ahead and smooth-tinged jazz. More than just a globally-distributed playlist stream, Blue Plate assumes a role as gatekeeper of the local jazz scene in New Haven, CT, and promoter of artists performing in the area. Continue Reading
Shazam starts a music label with Warner Music
In a first-of-its-kind deal, song-recognition company Shazam has partnered with Warner Music Group (WMG) to create a new Shazam-branded music label, and to augment WMG marketing of existing artists with Shazam’s consumer-use data. Continue Reading
Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey talks about Rdio and streaming music
Cumulus Media conducted its earning call yesterday, during which CEO Lew Dickey spoke about the partnership with music subscription service Rdio, and about online music generally. Dickey’s remarks evangelized the values of streaming music, and recognized migration away from downloading. Continue Reading
Beck pre-releases new album in NPR stream
Songwriter and instrumentalist Beck has pre-released his new album, Morning Phase, on NPR. the collection can be streamed in its entirety, with individual song access. Beck’s tactic is a twist on the industry’s pre-release strategy that, in one form or another, is decades old. Continue Reading
Spotify job listing implies IPO prep
Yesterday afternoon, Reuters spotted a Spotify job listing containing language which implied that the music subscription company was preparing to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The buzz building around this speculation today is an extension of past predictions from many quarters. Continue Reading
New research: Current streaming music business model is doomed
“The whole music subscription sector is intrinsically unprofitable.” That is the stark conclusion of a 150-page financial research report released by British company Generator Research. Unsustainably high cost of operation will prevent profitability, according to the report. Continue Reading
Dinghana, large and well-funded Indian music service, goes down
Dhingana, a major Indian music service which we reported as having about 3.5-million users in December, has closed to the public. The closure comes about a year and a half after Dhingana received $7-million in funding from a trio of venture companies. Continue Reading