Music company Genius raised an investment round of $15 million. The money will go toward a range of purposes, including original content and video, community development, live events, and strategic partnerships. Continue Reading
Deezer announced that it is adding support for voice commands with Amazon Alexa. This integration will begin gradually rolling out in 66 countries beginning today. Deezer will be available on the Amazon Echo and any other devices that support the Alexa voice AI system. Continue Reading
Spotify is expected to roll out in South Africa later this month. The streaming service is hosting a press event on March 13 when it is expected to formally announce the expansion. The first indication of Spotify’s interest in South Africa came with a job listing posted in September 2017 for a senior editor/music programmer to be responsible for that region. Continue Reading
CD Baby paid out $80 million to independent artists in 2017. That performance brings its total payouts to more than $600 million in the distributor and publisher’s 20 years of operation. Over that time, the source of CD Baby’s payouts has shifted dramatically in response to changes in music consumption trends. Continue Reading
Triton Digital and Beasley Media Group have renewed and expanded their existing partnership for digital audio and podcasts. Under the agreement, Beasley will use several elements of Triton’s audio streaming technology, including analytics, ad insertion, and podcast creation. Continue Reading
Spotify’s plans for a direct public listing aren’t just impacting the streaming service. The move also means changes afoot at Universal Music Group, which owns stock in company. Universal has now made a public statement that when it sells its Spotify stock, the label will share the proceeds with its artists. Continue Reading
E.W. Scripps hosted its earnings conference call for Q4 2017, and the discussion included details about the Midroll Media podcasting company. Midroll generated $5 million out of the $53 million in total revenue from Scripps’ National Media group. Continue Reading
YouTube is the most popular social media network for U.S. adults. That’s the latest finding from a Pew Research Center survey, where 73% of respondents said they access the video site online or on their smartphone. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Radionet interviewed four industry pros for their predictions on streaming media in 2018. Envisioning a future where typing is replaced by voice controls. Continue Reading
Spotify is losing one of its most influential and successful curators. Tuma Basa, the company’s global programming head of hip-hop, has decided to depart the streaming service. Basa was a driving force behind Spotify’s RapCaviar playlist, which has almost 9 million followers and has become a live concert series. Continue Reading
After many hints, signals, and seeming delays, Spotify has filed for a public listing on the New York Stock Exchange, for one-billion dollars. Spotify will trade on the NYSE as the ticker symbol SPOT. As expected, this is a “direct listing,” so there is no established share price. Public trading will start at a date to be set. Continue Reading
Two big developments emerged today that could have a sweeping impact on India’s streaming music landscape. First, Amazon Prime Music has rolled out in India. Second, Tencent announced an investment round of $115 million in local streaming service Gaana. Continue Reading