Spotify has hired a local music industry veteran to join its Berlin office. The streaming company hired Maik Pallasch as its head of shows and editorial in Germany. Spotify has made several noteworthy hires in the past few months. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Measuring the impact of landing on Apple’s front page for a new podcast. Some recent statistics from Gaana. Continue Reading
Pandora has introduced a program for universities that challenges students to put its internal data to work in creating social change. The Pandora Challenge: Music & Social Impact program will take place at five schools, and participants will work to drive awareness for cancer patients, LGTBQ equality, and other underserved communities through music. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has hired Richard Palmer as its new Director of APAC Market Development. He will be responsible for managing publisher onboarding, as well as overseeing Triton’s relationships with agencies, trading desks, and trade associations in Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Continue Reading
Digital audio service Mixcloud has secured its first major label direct licensing deal. The audio platform announced a partnership with Warner Music Group that will form the basis of a new subscription offering. Continue Reading
Apple Music now has a bot for playback of full songs in Facebook Messenger. This is the first time a streaming service has been set up to allow users access to a complete track within that platform. Only Apple Music subscribers will be able to use the full-song functionality. Continue Reading
SoundCloud added a critical new statistic to its analytics suite. Creators can now see information about how their work is being shared and heard on user playlists. It includes who is sharing their tracks in playlists and how many plays that collection has contributed for the track. Continue Reading
Intelligence company NuVoodoo Media Services shared information about smart speaker ownership from its Ratings Prospects Study. The company asked almost 3,000 participants between the ages of 14 and 54 about the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot, and found an overall ownership rate of 15.5%. Continue Reading
Rivet Radio has continued its collaboration with E.W. Scripps to create audio skills for use with devices enabled with Amazon’s Alexa voice controls. Following the completion of a pilot program in Tampa, Scripps contracted Rivet to expand their Alexa skill program to eight more markets that went live in August. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired Adam Parness as its new head of global publisher licensing. Parness most recently spent about a year with Pandora as head of publisher licensing and relations. Continue Reading
Google is expanding its footprint in the smart speaker space with two new products. The Google Home Mini is a puck-shaped option priced at $49. The Google Home Max is a larger version of the original Google Home with a more powerful sound system. Continue Reading
Sonos hosted a press event today to announce its latest developments in implementing voice controls into its wireless speaker product line, a pivot the company first announced in March 2016. First, the company introduced a new smart speaker with voice controls. Continue Reading