Music subscription services 2

With Spotify’s recent raise, major music services are settled at $10.99 subscription level

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Brad Hill

Spotify made news during its Q2 earnings report (See RAIN HERE and HERE) for raising its monthly Spotify Premium subscription rate from $9.99 to $10.99. Investor reaction, as a whole, could be characterized as “It’s about time.” Our survey of current music subscription pricing does support some investor impatience with Spotify, with six competing services having already boosted to that level.
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Spotify reportely to launch “Supremium” plan with higher monthly rate

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Brad Hill

Spotify will launch a third subscription tier to its legacy two-tier access, introducing a “Supremium” plan above its current subscription and free-listening options. This according the Ashley Carman’s reporting at Bloomberg — and CEO Daniel Ek promised it during the Q1 earnings call. We look at the rumored benefits, and compare to competitors. Featuring RAIN’s Spotify user growth chart. Continue Reading →

TikTok connects with Apple Music to benefit rights-holders

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Brad Hill

Immensely popular video sharing app TikTok has opened a connection with Apple Music whereby users of both services can leverage TikTok as a discovery mechanism for their personal music collections. More such connections are expected, which is good for the music business. Continue Reading →

Dawn Ostroff leaving Spotify as it simultaneously cuts 6% of its workforce today

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Kurt Hanson

Spotify, in an SEC filing today, announced that it was cutting about 500 jobs, or about 6% of its 9,800 employees — and that one of its most high-profile executives, Chief Content and Advertising Officer Dawn Ostroff, will also be… Continue Reading →

Amazon UK offering three free months of “Amazon Music Unlimited”

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

As noted in the UK newspaper Express today (here), “In the run-up to Black Friday, Amazon has launched two free bonuses for anyone interested in trying one of the alternatives to Spotify and Apple Music. For a limited time only… Continue Reading →

Amazon slashes staff in half at its “reinventing radio” Amp division

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

The Amazon initiative intending to “reimagine radio,” Amp, has hit a roadbump, as the company is making staff cuts, Business Insider reported on Friday, saying that “roughly 150 people,” or half of the division, were let go. When the division… Continue Reading →

Slacker tells judge that $10M royalties judgment could drive it into bankruptcy

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

According to a report yesterday in Billboard (here but may be behind a paywall), lawyers for Slacker Radio and its parent company LiveOne are arguing to a federal judge that last week’s $10 million judgment for unpaid music royalties to… Continue Reading →

SoundExchange wins $9.7 million judgment from Slacker/LiveOne for unpaid music royalties

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

Royalty collection and distribution agency SoundExchange has won a judgment of $9,765,396, plus legal fees, from the Slacker Radio division of LiveOne (formerly LiveXLive) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California for unpaid music royalties and… Continue Reading →

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Spotify adds audiobooks – at a la carte pricing

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Laura Holt

Spotify added another category of content to its service yesterday, in the U.S. initially, with the addition of more than 300,000 audiobooks — albeit priced separately from its monthly subscription service at prices “competitive” with other providers. According to The… Continue Reading →

“Chasing Playlists: What’s the Secret?” Guest essay by Beatroot Music’s Aric Kim

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

By Aric Kim, Manager, Operations & DSP Relations, Beatroot Music. At Beatroot Music, one of the first things our artists ask us is how to get on more playlists. Landing on playlists can be a big step towards building name… Continue Reading →

Bauer Media launches premium subscription audio service in Norway

Posted on August 9, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

Bauer Media Audio announced today that is has launched new, premium subscription audio services in Norway, RadioPlay.no, combining a commercial-free version of the live radio experience with quality on-demand content and new levels of user choice and personalization. The service… Continue Reading →

“Spotify’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Podcasting Has Yet to Pay Off,” argues Bloomberg Businessweeek

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Kurt Hanson

In the current issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, the publication argues (in the article’s subhead) that “Joe Rogan, Bill Simmons, and Call Her Daddy haven’t fixed the business.” Journalist Lucas Shaw describes the hiring of former TV/cable exec Dawn Ostroff, who… Continue Reading →