Quick Hits: Audiobook production; videos for Rap Caviar; happy birthday to 8tracks
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Audiobooks versus podcasts; Rap Caviar gets video; happy birthday to 8tracks! Continue Reading
News
NYT musical geography project shows artist popularity across the country
The New York Times has published a data visualization comparing the popularity of top artists across the U.S. The publication used a cross-section of Billboard’s Top 100 artists and YouTube viewing data to create heat maps of where those performers are listened to the most (and the least). The artist maps offer insight into where and how some newer big acts got their surge to the top, who is keeping the familiar names atop the charts, and which regions have the most die-hard fan support for local heroes. And yes, there are some interesting surprises. Continue Reading
CBS News Radio inks new distribution partnership
CBS News Radio has switched distribution partners. Skyview Networks will be the new distributor starting in 2018. The exclusive multi-year agreement ends CBS News Radio’s relationship with Westwood One. Continue Reading
Personal Audio loses Patent Office challenge, podcasting patent remains invalidated
The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has unanimously upheld a ruling against the Personal Audio podcasting patent. The latest court decision is another win for both the EFF and the podcasting community after a few tense years in court. Continue Reading
Podtrac shares publisher rankings for July 2017
The Podtrac publisher rankings showed little change after a comparative shake-up in June. The updates for the latest month are that Radiotopia, a regular name on this list, has been combined with the shows from parent network PRX. Both are now listed together as PRX, and landed at No. 4. Continue Reading
Tidal hires its fourth CEO
Tidal has hired a new CEO, its fourth in about two years. Richard Sanders is the latest exec to enter a post that has become a revolving door for the niche streaming service. Former SoundCloud exec Jeff Toig exited Tidal’s top role in March. Continue Reading
Darren Davis extends contract with iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia Networks Group President Darren Davis has agreed to a four-year contract extension, a month before his 25th anniversary with the company. He began his iHeart (and radio) career as an intern at WASH-FM in Washington, D.C. Continue Reading
Neil Young to create interactive online archive of his catalog
Neil Young continues his peculiar path through the contemporary music industry with the announcement of an interactive online archive of his music catalog.Young writes that the archive is as much a record-keeping exercise for himself as a resource for fans. The archive appears to represent some of the concepts Young has emphasized heavily in recent years, such as audio quality and recognition for the many people who participate in music production. Continue Reading
YouTube Music gets more offline options (for YouTube Red subscribers)
YouTube Music has added an update to its offline listening options for YouTube Red subscribers. Members of the subscription program are now able to choose specific playlists, albums, or songs for offline access as well. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Database debates; Carpool Karaoke; iHeart and General Motors; Spotify on Xbox
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: New chapters in the licensing database saga; Apple’s original programming begins with Carpool Karaoke; iHeartRadio’s latest in-car collaboration; Spotify Xbox app reportedly in the works. Continue Reading
Amazon Music adds activity voice controls for Echo
Amazon is rolling out several new Alexa voice commands for using its music streaming platform on the Amazon Echo, according to Billboard. The additions include more than 500 activities that Amazon Music can now provide the soundtrack for through the smart home speaker device. Echo owners can also pair the activities with specific music genres such as pop, country, jazz, classic rock or classical. Continue Reading
Entercom acquires 45% of DGital Media; options the rest; we speak with DGital execs
In another milestone buy-in to podcasting from traditional radio, Entercom has acquired 45% of podcast development and advertising company DGital Media. We spoke with Spencer Brown, CEO of DGital Media, and Jay Green, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics. Continue Reading