Tidal launches telecom bundle in Brazil
Tidal has entered a partnership with Brazilian telecommunications company Vivo. All of Vivo’s mobile customers will be offered Tidal plans on a weekly or monthly basis. Continue Reading
News
RIAA H1 report: 46 million subscribers generated streaming revenue of $2.5 billion
Yesterday, the RIAA mid-year report arrived with a few big bullet points, including a 75% share of the U.S. music industry revenue for streaming. Today, we offer a more granular look at where that growth occurred, and where the sector continues to struggle. Continue Reading
RIAA H1 2018 report at a glance: Streaming is 75% of U.S. music biz
The RIAA has released its mid-year report on the U.S. music industry, and the report continues to trace a stratospheric rise for the streaming economy. Tomorrow RAIN News will publish our detailed analysis of the report, but here are the top-line takeaways. Continue Reading
Spotify now trialing direct music uploads for independent artists
Spotify is best testing a new process that will allow independent artists to upload their music directly to the streaming platform. The feature is being offered to a small group of performers through the Spotify For Artists management dashboard. Continue Reading
BuzzFeed News closes in-house audio production studio
BuzzFeed News has closed down its podcast production studio, a move that will end several of its in-house shows. According to sources, BuzzFeed News will continue to greenlight podcasts, but will do so with third-party production studios. Continue Reading
Monetized SoundCloud streams will count toward UK charts
SoundCloud announced that it will have a presence on the Official Charts Company in the UK. All plays of licensed, monetized tracks on SoundCloud will be counted towards chart performance. Continue Reading
Spotify’s CMO is the latest to depart the company
Spotify is losing another high-level leader, the latest in a continuing exodus from top positions within the streaming service. Seth Farbman is departing his role as chief marketing officer, which he has held for three and a half years. Continue Reading
Music Modernization Act could face a risky final Senate vote today
The Music Modernization Act, a sweeping overhaul of mechanical copyright laws, could face its final hurdle in the Senate today. Billboard has cited sources who claim the legislation could be hotlined for the Senate this afternoon. Hotlining is a process for proposed laws that are expected to be passed unanimously by a verbal vote. Continue Reading
Newest Pandora playlist is a daily update of new releases, but only for subscribers
Pandora’s latest personalized playlist is a curated selection of new music releases just for its Premium listeners. The Drop is a customized collection based on machine learning models. The programming includes new music from artists each listener already favors alongside recommended performers. Continue Reading
Rumor Fact(ory): Spotify targeting Middle East launch in November
Spotify’s next global move appears to be focused on the Middle East and North Africa. An email leaked from an advertising agency based in Dubai revealed that the streaming service is seeking brands to advertise at a November launch in the region. Continue Reading
BMI reports record high revenue for latest fiscal year
Performing rights organization BMI has reported record-breaking revenue, securing $1.199 billion during the fiscal year ending June 30. The group administered $1.118 billion in royalties to its songwriters, composers and publishers, another record high and a 9% increase from the prior year’s total. Continue Reading
MusicWatch report sees steady growth in music subscribers, but raises questions behind the data
Monthly streaming music subscribers in the United States now number 51 million, according to a new report from MusicWatch. The report, provided exclusively to Billboard, found that the subscriber base has nearly doubled from the end of 2016. However, MusicWatch did provide a few caveats for the growth. Continue Reading