Host and distributor audioBoom posted its mid-year financial report with results for the six months ending May 31. Revenue rose 460% over the year-ago period to more than £1.84 million. CEO Rob Proctor added some insight to the numbers. Continue Reading
PodcastOne has launched a new mobile app that includes interactive features in social and video alongside its audio programming. Listeners can tune into their shows and engage with them in new ways, such as viewing behind-the-scenes photos, taking polls, and messaging other fans. The app also introduces a virtual currency for its loyalty program. Continue Reading
7digital has published its 2016 financials, which showed continued revenue growth for the B2B music provider. The company’s revenue was up 15% from the previous year, reaching £11.9 million. Net losses declined from £7.9 million to £5.3 million. Continue Reading
Vevo has expanded its shared viewing feature with a live component. The video company rolled out Watch Party in March, allowing multiple people to watch the same clip across multiple computers. The new development is Watch Party Live, which adds a real-time broadcast component for artists to interact with their fans. Continue Reading
BVMI, Germany’s music industry group, has released the mid-year report for the country. The total market revenue for the first six months of the year grew by 2.9% to reach about €740 million ($853 million). Continue Reading
Most musicians dream of having a No. 1 hit, and today marks the arrival of one. “Despacito,” a track by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, is now the most-streamed song of all time. With 4.6 billion streams since its release in January, “Despacito” has surpassed the previous champ, “Sorry” by Justin Bieber. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sirius XM in the royalty spotlight. Judge nullifies UMG’s Prince deal. Continue Reading
StreamGuys, a specialist in Internet radio technology, is getting into the Amazon Echo game. The company announced that it can create custom Alexa skills for its broadcast clients. This would bring extra voice command functionalities for listeners tuning in on the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Tap smart home speaker devices. The new feature offering expands StreamGuys’ existing SaaS tools for producing, managing, delivering, and monetizing streaming media and podcasts. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has partnered with The Fader for a documentary miniseries called SoundCloud Next Wave. Episodes in this video series will highlight local music scenes, with the debut focusing on underground rap in Los Angeles. The Fader has also posted a curated SoundCloud playlist showcasing other music from the city’s rap scene. Continue Reading
Before the weekend, we recapped the activity surrounding SoundCloud and the outlook for its future. The company had issued an odd response to reporting by TechCrunch, and popular hip-hop performer Chance the Rapper said he “was working on” an effort to help the audio platform. Today, we have some further developments on both of those stories. Continue Reading
Sony is reportedly in the final stages of a deal to purchase Believe Digital. According to Nikkei, Sony plans to pay an estimated 40 billion to 50 billion yen ($355 million to $444 million) for the distributor and label services company. Update: Believe Digital CEO denies Nikkei reporting. Continue Reading
The UK’s music market is following the global trends of increased streaming and decreased downloads. The mid-year data released by BPI and the Official Charts Company showed a 11.6% increase in album equivalent sales for the first half of the year, reaching nearly 63.87 million units. Continue Reading