Deezer has launched for markets in the Middle East and North Africa. The rollout comes on the back of an exclusive deal with the Rotana Group, which has the rights to a large library of Middle Eastern music. Deezer is offering its new users six months of its Premium tier for free. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced multiple deals this week, all centered on further raising the platform’s profile with DJs. First, the company announced integrations with several DJ applications. Second, it has secured a partnership with Dubset, a service for quickly licensing and distributing DJ mixes while managing all the appropriate royalties. Continue Reading
Merlin announced that it has hired three people for its member services and legal teams. It has been an active year for the independent label group and global digital rights agency, which now has global license deals with 25 digital music services. Continue Reading
SESAC has promoted Kelli Turner to the role of president and chief operating officer. Her previous post at the music rights organization was executive vice president of operations, corporate development, and chief financial officer. Continue Reading
Amazon announced that it has launched Prime Music in Australia. This music streaming service will be available for all new and ongoing Prime memberships in the market. Prime Music includes a library of more than 2 million songs alongside hundreds of curated playlists and stations for particular moods and genres. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced that its paid tier will have the option to access better audio quality streaming. Subscribers to the SoundCloud Go+ tier can opt to listen to music in a lossless format when that file type has been uploaded by an artist. Continue Reading
Spotify recently opened up a beta test where select indie artists could upload their songs directly to the streaming service. Now, the company announced that it is expanding that offering through an integration with DistroKid. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. First, Sony would consider its own streaming service one day. Second, Spotify celebrates its 10th birthday. Continue Reading
One of the oldest digital music operations is planning a reboot to reflect the streaming-centric times. Winamp began its life as an MP3 player. It has not been officially updated since 2013 and was acquired by Radionomy in 2014. Now, the company is working on relaunch for 2019 that will combine Winamp’s legacy as a platform for owned libraries with features that have become standard for modern music platforms. Continue Reading
Rocío Guerrero is departing her role as head of Latin music at Spotify. She joined the streaming service in 2011 and played a critical role in building the cultural cache of the platform’s Viva Latino and Baila Reggaeton playlists. Continue Reading
Naxos of America has withdrawn its catalog from eMusic, claiming “continued non-payment” from the platform as its reason. Effective immediately, music distributed by Naxos will no longer be available on eMusic. The move includes both Naxos’ library and the libraries of third-party label partners that the company distributes. Continue Reading
Tencent Music Entertainment was slated to launch its highly anticipated IPO in the United States this month, but the latest rumors are that it has opted to postpone the action at least until November. Sources familiar with the music group’s plans told The Wall Street Journal that the company chose to wait in response to an unsteady market that would have a negative impact on the pricing. Continue Reading