Streaming services are taking advantage of the upcoming World Cup with some deals for fans of football (soccer for our fellow Americans). First off, Deezer has planned an artist takeover dubbed Football Fever. The second deal is at Tidal. Continue Reading
Sirius XM has reached a settlement with SoundExchange, ending outstanding claims surrounding royalty payments from January 2007 through December 2017. SoundExchange claimed that Sirius XM had taken deductions and exemptions in calculating its royalty payments. The satellite radio company will make a lump sum payment of $150 million to SoundExchange. Continue Reading
Pew Research Center has published its latest data on public media audience, including NPR, American Public Media, and Public Radio International. For most metrics, the three public media houses saw little to some growth, although NPR’s digital platforms continue to be top performers. Continue Reading
Kobalt’s AWAL recorded music division has acquired in2une Music, a multi-format radio promotion specialist for indie artists and labels. The company, which also offers services in playlisting, social & digital strategy and campus promotion, has been used by breakout performers such as Chance the Rapper, Lindsey Stirling, and Major Lazer. Continue Reading
Apple Music has hired more talent away from the BBC. Ryan Newman has left his role as the editor of hip-hop and grime station BBC 1Xtra, where he spearheaded the channel’s music strategy. Now he’ll be joining the hip-hop team at Apple Music. Continue Reading
Napster President and CEO Bill Patrizio gave a keynote talk at the Midem conference, offering his insights on the streaming service’s internal plans and the broader streaming economy. He acknowledged that the company didn’t plan to tackle the current market leaders head on, but would continue pursuing other, innovative approaches to music, such as running streaming services for other brands and businesses. Continue Reading
Old habits are hard to break, and they set in by about age 30. That’s the takeaway from a new survey by Deezer that asked 1,000 Britons about their listening habits. At 30, most begin to stop absorbing new music and only listen to the same artists and genres. Continue Reading
audioBoom has conditionally raised £4.5 million from a mix of new and old investors. The podcast company is expected to trading on the London Stock Exchange beginning June 14, and the placing is conditional upon those shares being restored. It’s a positive development for a business that has had a challenging few months. Continue Reading
Sonos has taken its ambitious next step into the smart speaker space with a new product that supports multiple voice assistants and changes the form factor. The Sonos Beam is a sound bar, a much larger device than the most popular tabletop smart speaker designs currently on the market, that’s capable of providing quality audio for a range of entertainment purposes in small- or medium-sized rooms. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly offering advances to managers and indie artists as an incentive to consider direct licensing deals with the streaming service. Billboard reported that the company is offering up to several hundred thousand dollars in advances for managers that agree to license a particular number of tracks by indies directly to Spotify. On the platform, the managers and acts could then earn 50% of the revenue from those songs being streamed. Continue Reading
Facebook has introduced a new feature that takes advantage of its many music licensing deals. Lip Sync Live lets users pick from a catalog of hundreds of songs to create a video where they pretend to sing along with the track. In addition, Facebook is also rolling out permissions for its users to include music in their personal videos. Continue Reading
Piracy isn’t always listeners’ first choice for how they consume entertainment, and pirates aren’t always averse to paying for content. That’s the top takeaway from new data by piracy specialist MUSO. Continue Reading