Warner Music Group has entered a licensing deal with Anghami, a streaming platform serving the Middle East and Africa. Thanks to the deal, Warner’s catalog will be available to Anghami’s entire audience of more than 50 million users. Continue Reading
Deezer has launched a desktop app for both Mac and Windows that supports FLAC lossless audio. It will have exclusive video content such as interviews and performances. It will also highlight localized content for listeners in France, Germany, UK, Brazil, and Latin America. Continue Reading
Amazon announced a rollout of several products in Canada. First, the Echo suite of smart speakers and the Alexa voice control system have launched in the country. Second, Amazon has launched Prime Music for Canadian listeners. Continue Reading
Kickstarter has relaunched the subscription service Drip. The crowdfunding site acquired Drip in March 2016, saving the platform from shutting down. In its original form, Drip allowed fans to subscribe to individual performers. Under Kickstarter’s umbrella, the subscriptions will still be for individuals, but more than musicians can participate. Continue Reading
YouTube has entered a partnership with Ticketmaster for a deal that will allow artists to include tour dates on their official music videos. The new feature will roll out first to any artists with North America Ticketmaster shows. Continue Reading
Pandora announced new integrations with Sonos wireless home speakers. Listeners can control their music played on a Sonos device with the Pandora mobile app. It’s difficult to predict whether a company like Sonos, one that doesn’t operate its own in-house voice assistant, will see a benefit from being service-agnostic. Continue Reading
Edison Research and the Knight Foundation collaborated for a study investigating the podcast audience, with interviews of nearly 29,000 podcast listeners. All of the participants are age 18 or older and listen to at least one audio podcast from NPR, WNYC, American Public Media, WBUR, PRX, or Gimlet Media. A comparison of these results with the more general habits detailed in The Infinite Dial surveys show some marked distinctions between casual and serious podcast listeners. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired a new managing director for the region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Michael Krause was most recently at Deezer, spending a year as CEO of EMEA for the music company. Continue Reading
Audio companies of all stripes have been hopping on the bandwagon of smart speakers. The BBC is the latest to take advantage of the new technology in a more unique way. The broadcaster has created an interactive audio drama where listeners can influence the end result of their story. The piece, titled The Inspection Chamber, debuted as an Amazon Alexa skill in the UK this week. Continue Reading
Apple’s plans for a major video push continue with the announcement of a new scripted TV show that expands the company’s connections with A-list Hollywood talent. In addition to the reboot of Amazing Stories announced last month, Apple has made a two-season straight-to-series order for a scripted drama centered around a network morning show. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon star in the new project, which is still untitled at this stage. Continue Reading
Taylor Swift made major waves in the music world in 2014 when she pulled her entire catalog off Spotify and other streaming services with free listening. Now the pop icon is at it again, with a plan to withhold her upcoming album Reputation from streaming services for at least a week after it releases on November 10. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has released its Top 20 Ranker of the best-performing digital audio publishers and networks for August 2017. Due to Veteran’s Day and post-Summit travel, RAIN News’ usual complete coverage and historical trendline of the latest monthly results will be posted on Monday. Continue Reading