Quick Hits: Indies going mainstream; playlist curators; wireless audio survey
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Streaming pushes indies to the majors; curators vs creators; wireless audio survey results. Continue Reading
News
Dash Radio launches pop-up station for BIG3 basketball league
Dash Radio has launched a live pop-up station in collaboration with BIG3, a 3-on-3 professional basketball league founded by rap icon Ice Cube. The BIG3 Radio channel will broadcast live for the final week of the league leading into its final game in Las Vegas. Continue Reading
Startup Audm offers narrated long-form journalism by subscription
With podcasts and audiobooks continuing to grow in popularity, it makes sense that other forms of audio narration have been taking off too. The latest we’ve found is a startup called Audm, which delivers audio versions of select long-form journalism. Continue Reading
Scripps announces promotions for several executives
E.W. Scripps had some shake-ups within its top leadership this month. Adam Symson took on the role of president and CEO on August 8. Since stepping into that CEO position, Symson has made some additional changes to Scripps’ executive team. Continue Reading
DGital Media rebrands to Cadence13; hires slate of executives; builds studios nationwide
DGital Media sent RAIN News an exclusive preview of pivotal news which includes a new company name, a raft of new executive hires, and an expanded suite of production studios nationwide. Continue Reading
Podcast Movement conference expands as podcasting matures
Podcast Movement, the podcast creator conference in its 4th year, is unfurling an ever increasing wing span in Anaheim this week. Unlike last year’s event in Chicago, this year’s installation in a coastal locale and larger venue seems to reflect the growth and maturation of podcasting. Continue Reading
AdLarge adds another show to its cabana podcast division
AdLarge Media announced the addition of hey, girl. to its cabana brand of podcast services and digital audio ad buying. Author Alex Elle created the program, where she interviews inspiring, interesting women for this show about self-discovery, sisterhood, and storytelling. Cabana is AdLarge’s division for podcast creation and ad representation. Continue Reading
RAIN launches Summit in Australia, collaborating with Commercial Radio Australia
RAIN Summit is heading to Australia! RAIN Summit Australia will take place in at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on October 13, in collaboration with Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), and will be produced as part of Radio Alive 2017, the Australian radio industry’s annual national conference. Continue Reading
Billboard launching new Emerging Artists chart with streaming numbers
Billboard announced a revamp of its Emerging Artists chart. The new chart will be a break-out of the overall Billboard Artist 100 chart and replaces the weekly Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists chart that debuted in 2014. The Emerging Artists will be identified by the same formula behind several other Billboard charts, with a combination of album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming, and social media buzz. Continue Reading
Solar eclipse means big streaming stats for Bonnie Tyler
The United States had astronomy fever yesterday as a total solar eclipse dazzled science fans across the country. Excited viewers were apparently united on the perfect soundtrack for the celestial event. Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” posted huge jumps in popularity on music platforms. Continue Reading
S.E.C., Goldman Sachs react to Spotify’s direct listing plan
Spotify’s slow ride toward going public has hit some unexpected bumps in the road. After much speculation that the streaming service would seek an IPO, the new trajectory appears to be a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. However, both investors and regulators have started reacting to this new business plan, indicating that a direct listing may not be the clear-cut action the company hoped. Continue Reading
AirKast offering new features, including free Alexa skill creation
AirKast, a provider of mobile apps to radio stations, announced that it will provide free Alexa skills for all of its customers. That means more than 800 North American radio stations, syndicated radio hosts, and podcasters will receive voice commands so their work can be accessed on the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Continue Reading