The Los Angeles Review of Books has launched a new channel called Podcast Review. The site includes both reviews of podcasts and interviews with podcasters. Only three interviews have been posted so far, but they promise compelling insights from the minds behind the audio. Continue Reading
Amazon is continuing at least one of its podcast-inspired video projects. The company has ordered a second season of Lore, an anthology show exploring the origins of urban legends and myths. Continue Reading
Twitter has written off the investment it made into SoundCloud. The social media company put about $70 million into the audio platform in 2016 through its Twitter Ventures unit. Twitter explained in its 2017 annual report that the money invested is “not expected to be recoverable within a reasonable period of time.” Continue Reading
Apple has been closely tied to music’s journey into the digital realms from the beginning. That journey has gone to many new places, but Apple is still keeping pace with the changes and doing its best to stay ahead of the game. That’s the takeaway from an interview CEO Tim Cook gave to Fast Company about Apple’s position as a tech innovator and where music fits into the picture. Continue Reading
Three public radio stations have made investments in the digital arm of local news. Gothamist and its companion network of city-focused news websites were recently shut down by owner Joe Ricketts; the billionaire closed down and deleted the entire network a week after their reporters and editors voted to join a union. Now, three of those sites are getting revived by their local public radio counterparts. Continue Reading
“I’ve now been at Pandora for almost five months,” CEO Roger Lynch stated to open yesterday’s Q4 earnings call. It was the first earning summary for the still-new chief executive with a full quarter of leadership behind him. “Having had a chance to dig in, I’m even more excited about the opportunity.” Key finance metrics, and a focus on the subscription services. Continue Reading
XAPPmedia has debuted a new self-service offering called Voice Cast for Podcasts for creating custom skills for Amazon Alexa. The service is now available to all podcasters and supports all English language markets. XAPPmedia shared the pertinent details directly with RAIN News. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has entered a partnership with Platform 161, a demand-side provider for advertisers, agencies, and publishers. Under this arrangement, Triton’s a2x programmatic audio advertising marketplace will be integrated with Platform 161, which is headquartered in Amsterdam. Continue Reading
Deezer has partnered with telecom Singtel in Singapore. The streaming service will make its premium tiers available for a steep discount in the first two months of year-long contract. Listening to Deezer will not count against Singtel customers’ data plans. Continue Reading
Entercom has hired Jim McCloud as executive vice president of national business development. McCloud will be responsible for maintaining relationships with existing Entercom partners and building a team to identify and cultivate new potential partners. Continue Reading
Facebook has secured a licensing deal with pan-European online rights hub ICE. The multi-territory agreement provides the social media network with use of the rights hub’s catalog for Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Oculus. Continue Reading
Amazon Music has hired Dan McCarroll as global head of originals and artist relations. McCarroll joins the company after leaving his post as president of Warner Bros. Records last year. In the new role, he will be responsible for leading the team making exclusive, global music programming for Amazon. Continue Reading