Vevo and Warner Music Group may be nearing a deal that will see the label’s artists appearing on the video platform. According to Billboard, the agreement will see Warner artists’ music videos added to Vevo.com and the Vevo mobile app. The deal, which is more than a year in the works, could be finalized as early as this week. Continue Reading
Canadian collection society SOCAN has acquired U.S. digital rights specialist Audiam. Founder and CEO Jeff Price will remain at the head of Audiam and will collaborate with SOCAN’s leaders moving forward. Continue Reading
Chinese conglomerate Tencent announced a merger between its QQ Music unit and China Music Corp. This joint entity will run three of China’s streaming music services: QQ Music, Kugou, and Kuwo. Continue Reading
Spotify has acquired CrowdAlbum, an aggregator of photos and videos from concerts. The service, which launched in 2013, offers artists a visual album of their tours. It also helps them to identify and connect with fans. Continue Reading
Sony has taken steps to assume sole ownership of the Sony/ATV publishing branch, buying out the stake owned by Michael Jackson’s estate. However, the move has raised some concerns among the other labels. Warner Music Group and a collection of independent labels have brought their concerns over the buyout before the European Commission. Continue Reading
StreamOn has been acquired by Futuri Media. Based in Canada, StreamOn provides integrated streaming, podcasting, and social media technologies to the broadcast industry. “To bring StreamOn’s innovations into the Futuri fold is a perfect match,” Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig said. Continue Reading
Stardome Digital Media, a division of the Hispanic and Latin American market specialist Stardome Media Group, announced that it has acquired StreamLicensing. As the new owners, Stardome said it plans to provide innovative solutions for improving the services offered by StreamLicensing.com. Continue Reading
Spotify has increased its war chest of cash, taking one-billion dollars in a debt offering to institutional investors that points explicitly to a future Initial Public Offering (IPO). The deal rewards investors with discounted pricing in the event of a Spotify IPO, and Spotify is punished if the public offering is delayed. Continue Reading
Tuned Global and Triton Digital have reached a partnership in which Triton’s ad-exchange technology will monetize Tuned Global’s mobile apps. Specifically, Triton’s a2x programmatic platform will transact sales across the white-label service Tuned Global offers. Continue Reading
AdLarge has announced its latest podcast ad-repping deal, partnering with ex-SNL comedian Jim Beuer to exclusively bring to market his two existing podcasts, plus others currently in development. Continue Reading
Today brings an announcement from ad-tech purveyor XAPPmedia, describing a partnership with Slacker Radio that brings XAPP’s voice-interactive technology to Slacker listeners for navigating the music library. Slacker users are served promotions for playlists, artists, or songs, and can switch to the promoted music by saying a word or phrase without touching the screen. Continue Reading
BandPage has been acquired by YouTube. The artist support and engagement platform announced the purchase today, and he company reaffirmed its commitment to helping artists access digital tools and services.” Continue Reading