Recorded music revenue slowed in the first half of 2025, ocmpared to the previous year (H1 2024.) This measurement from MIDiA Research in its first mid-year recorded music model. Continue Reading
Spotify unleashed its Q2 earnings this morning. (Transcript HERE.) Investors reacted to the cautious tone expressed by CEO Daniel Ek, pulling the stock price sharply downward. Within that framework of reaction, Spotify did report increased revenue and surging subscribers. Click for details, graphics and linkage. Continue Reading
YouTube is reportedly planning a new subscripion plan, to be wedged between the current $13.99 Premium plan (all podcast ads removed) and zero-cost ad-supported video watching.
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The rumor (fact)ory jumped the gun on the post-holiday work week with multiple reports of Spotify readying the launch of a new service tier. Targeted to “super fans,” the new plan would boost Spotify’s monthly subscription price by $5.99 per month. To justify the higher price, three added features are reportedly planned. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research, known for its extraordinarily detailed, insightful, and finely articulated research, has released its 2025 predictions. Presented in a webinar last week, we now offer a rundown of the accompanying slide deck provided to RAIN by MIDiA. Continue Reading
Social behemoth Tik Tok has announced it will end its Tik Tok Music service at the end of November. As a salve to disappointed users, Tik Tok offers a way to transfer Tik Tok playlists to other music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Click for details, some history, and quotes
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“Years of negotiations.” That’s how performing rights organization (PRO) BMI describes its patience and perseverance in royalty dealings with SiriusXM. With patience and perseverance evidently expired, BMI filed a legal action to determine what it calls “fair and appropriate fees.” Click for details — all from BMI’s perspective. No public word from SiriusXM at posting time. Continue Reading
Spotify’s announced discontinuation of its Car Thing interface, a dedicated device for streaming Spotify in-car, has been met by owners with disappointment, bafflement, requests, and anger. We sample the disappointment and outrage. Continue Reading
Spotify has placed a limit on free song lyrics which appear to the ad-supported, no-pay version of the app. Meant as an inducement to upgrade membership, and possibly succeeding to some extent, the shift is generating predictable upset. We review the outrage. Continue Reading
Whether or not because of recent staff layoffs, Spotify is leaning less on human-powered playlist creation, and more on AI. The latest innovation is “AI Playlist,” a playlist creative algorithm which takes descriptive prompts from the listener to build unique and personalized playlists. UK and Australia only for now. Continue Reading
The Recording Industry Association of America released 2023 revenue metrics. The at-a-glance story shows rocketing upward revenue, but that glance does not adjust for inflation. We do. Also, how streaming dominates. Continue Reading
A high-profile boycott of Spotify will end soon. Neil Young, who made a noisy exit from the streaming service a little over two years ago. will go back. It’s all because of Joe Rogan and the distribution changes to Rogan’s podcast. Click for our original coverage, and today’s update. Continue Reading