Clear Channel announced today that iHeartRadio is adding the 55 Mexican radio stations of Grupo ACIR to the streaming platform. The cluster will be folded into the iHeartRadio Hispanic Network. The emphasis is on U.S. exposure to the Mexico-based programming. As part of the distribution deal, Clear Channel will take over as digital sales provider. Continue Reading
The European Commission has cleared Apple’s purchase of Beats. The trade regulator determined that while both companies do have overlap in goods and services sold, they don’t have a strong enough joint presence in Europe to cause competition concerns. However, the news isn’t all good for Beats and its likely new owner. Continue Reading
Apple is purchasing Swell in a deal worth $30 million, according to unnamed sources. The app offers personalized streams of podcasts and talk radio programs. It has raised $7.2 million as a startup project but this valuation implies that the tool has a lot more to offer Apple as it overhauls its music services. Continue Reading
Rhapsody has entered into a partnership with Flipps, an app for playing media from a mobile device on a television. Through this arrangement, Flipps will support the discovery and streaming of Rhapsody and Napster’s original video content, including music videos, live performances, and exclusive interviews. The deal is the latest in a busy year for Rhapsody. Continue Reading
WideOrbit, a leading provider of advertising management solutions, has acquired Admeta, a Sweden-based tech company specializing in programmatic ad-selling. With a strong focus in Europe, and clients in over 20 countries, Admeta develops technology to optimize revenue for online publishers. Continue Reading
Although Google’s purchase of Songza is signed, sealed, and delivered, the tech press is still buzzing over the idea that the service wasn’t the primary acquisition target. Spotify has been the subject of frequent rumors about a buy-out by the search engine conglomerate. Continue Reading
Microsoft sent the tech world into a tizzy yesterday with the announcement that it will cut 18,000 jobs. A large portion of those jobs will be removed from Nokia, which it acquired in April. That cut includes plans to spin off Nokia’s MixRadio service into a standalone company. MixRadio will need to offer something distinct and valuable for listeners to encourage them to test it out, much less stay around. Continue Reading
TechCrunch reported last week that Playlists.net may be in talks for an acquisition. Unnamed industry sources said that tech companies and record companies have expressed interest in the site, although there have been no further leads on a frontrunner. Who might those potential buyers be? Continue Reading
In a splashy distribution gambit, and a timely reminder of YouTube’s enormous content depth as it prepares a music-only subscription service, Music Vault is augmenting its existing YouTube channel with the addition of at least 13,000 concert videos. Continue Reading
In a move that’s been rumored for several weeks now, Google announced yesterday that they’re buying the personalizable multichannel webcaster Songza. The purchase seems like an odd one for Google, given its historical preference for algorithmically-created products. The problem, however, is that music is difficult to program on a purely algorithmic basis: An intense Seals & Crofts song, for example, may sound acoustically similar to a mellow Led Zeppelin song, but an experienced music programmer (i.e., a human being) would be able to discern that they’re culturally very dissimilar.
RAIN founding editor Kurt Hanson explores why the Songza acquisition might be a smart investment for Google. Continue Reading
by Brad Hill
Google’s acquisition of Songza is widely regarded as a buy-in of Songza’s unique “Concierge” delivery of personalized music, based on each user’s activity and mood combined with other data signals. The backbone of Songza programming is assembled by a team of 60 music specialists, and their work is supplemented by a Big Data-fed algorithm which refines the output based on the listener’s history of song votes and song skips.
Songza’s formula, and those of other music services, which determine what a listener hears, all fall under the broad term “curation.” All music services that provide some degree of interactivity deploy a curation strategy. The underpinning of that strategy is subject to trend and vogue. How has music curation evolved, and what is the trend this year which is driving acquisitions?
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After a few weeks of speculation, Google has acquired Internet radio platform Songza. Financial details have not been disclosed.
Google’s announcement says that no immediate changes will happen to Songza, but “Over the coming months, we’ll explore ways to bring what you love about Songza to Google Play Music. We’ll also look for opportunities to bring their great work to the music experience on YouTube and other Google products.” Continue Reading