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
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
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
E.W. Scripps is embarking on a rebrand of its podcast departments. Stitcher will be the new lead name for its podcasting, and the branch will get a new logo to accompany its new position. Midroll Media, the former parent company, will now be nested within Stitcher. Continue Reading
Twitter’s video livestreaming app Periscope has launched an audio-only option. The service is a mobile app that allows anyone to record and broadcast live video and interact with viewers through a chat system. Now it also includes the option to exclude the video component from broadcasts on the iOS versions of both Periscope and Twitter. Continue Reading
On Monday, Sonos posted its first quarterly financial update since the company listed on Nasdaq. The day was a rollercoaster for the wireless speaker company’s stock prices, with a 13% spike ahead of the announcement and a 15% drop after it. Continue Reading
Spotify is turning to data to strengthen its case to advertisers. The streaming audio company will use the Nielsen Brand Effect in multiple regions, and the platform can help brands analyze how their content connects with audiences. Continue Reading
The IAB Australia Audio Council announced that Richard Palmer has been elected as the group’s co-chair. Palmer is Triton Digital’s director of APAC market development, and was previously head of digital at Macquarie Media. Continue Reading
SoundCloud is hopping on the bandwagon of weekly discovery playlists. The audio platform released a new feature called SoundCloud Weekly that offers recommended listening based on the other music each user has listened to, liked, reposted, and shared. Continue Reading
Apple Music has received a few tweaks that should streamline the user experience. First, its display of albums has been updated. Second, the streaming service will also present new Top 100 charts. Continue Reading
Show Shouts highlights noteworthy new and upcoming podcasts from across the vast and fast-growing category. In this edition: a history of standup, a power-politics show featuring Richard Clarke and Bill Clinton, and a history less from Detroit’s War on Drugs. Continue Reading
Spain’s music industry sales edged up slightly in the first half of 2018. Spanish industry body Promusicae reported €107.6 million in H1 sales, a less than 1% increase from the year-ago period. Although the overall market barely shifted, digital consumption showed a strong increase to secure almost three-quarters of the revenue total. Continue Reading