Sony and Tencent team up for electronic music label
Sony Music and Tencent Music have joined forces to launch a music label. Liquid State will focus on electronic and dance music artists both from Asia and across the globe. Continue Reading
News
Commercial Radio Australia hires new head of digital
Commercial Radio Australia has appointed Jaime Chaux as its new head of digital. In this position, Chaux will develop the industry group’s approach and strategy for the whole digital space, including podcasting and DAB+. He is currently head of Content for PodcastOne Australia. Continue Reading
Cabana adds another female-fronted podcast
AdLarge’s digital audio division, cabana, announced another show joining its roster. One Part Podcast is hosted by Jessica Murnane, who uses the show as a platform to help women to improve their lives. The weekly podcast features conversations with guests such as former boxing champion, author, and fellow podcaster Laila Ali. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio highlights new Justin Timberlake album with All Access preview weekend
iHeartRadio is collaborating with Justin Timberlake for the launch of his latest album this week. The pop performer’s Man of the Woods album debuts on February 2, and iHeartRadio is hosting a special preview both on-air and digitally. Continue Reading
In historic ruling, Copyright Royalty Board dramatically raises royalties for streaming services
The Copyright Royalty Board has announced the new rates for mechanical royalties to be paid by streaming music services. As announced on Jan. 27, streaming platforms will pay out royalties to songwriters and composers as a share of their revenue. By 2022, the share for mechanical royalties will be 15.1% of the streaming platform’s revenue. Read on for the full rate ruling and reactions from both publishers’ and songwriters’ organizations. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Pandora on voice ads, dissecting “Despacito,” and playlists for puppies
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Pandora exec on voice ads. Why Latin music is having a moment. Playlists for (adoptable) puppies. Continue Reading
Midroll Media predicts podcasting will replace talk radio and satellite, and other predictions
Podcasting content and advertising company Midroll Media has post a top-of-the-year round-up of its business, and predictions for podcasting as a whole. One of those predictions is exceptionally bold. Also, is 2018 the year when podcasting is measured by listens instead of downloads? Continue Reading
Playlists.net founder is back with a streaming-centric indie label
Kieron Donoghue has launched an independent record label with a focus on streaming. Humble Angel Records will pay its artists monthly and aims to offer contracts with “at least double the average” of royalty rates from the majors. Continue Reading
Billboard Power 100 shows strong influence for Spotify, Apple Music, Facebook
Billboard has released its Power 100 list for 2018, a ranking of the most influential leaders in the music business. The list includes several executives from streaming services alongside the stalwarts from major labels, talent management, and concert promotion. Continue Reading
The Internet Association adds support for the Music Modernization Act
The Internet Association trade group has thrown its considerable clout behind the Music Modernization Act. The organization represents several online powerhouses such as Google and Facebook, as well as prominent music services Pandora and Spotify. Continue Reading
SoundHound now valued at $1 billion, quietly leading the pack for independent voice assistants
SoundHound has been quiet recently, but it also hasn’t been standing still. Recode reports that the company just secured a financing round that values SoundHound at an estimated $1 billion. SoundHound declined to comment for Recode’s article. Continue Reading
More records broken by Drake. Is the singles chart broken too?
Drake has a new single, and after less than a week, it has broken multiple streaming records. His track “God’s Plan” now holds the title for Spotify’s and Apple Music’s one-day streaming records. A single breaking records on that scale would have been a major deal a few years back. Now, it’s more surprising if a new release from Drake doesn’t meet those milestones. That trend indicates that it’s time to change how we’re using chart rankings. Continue Reading