BMI announces two EVP promotions
BMI announced two promotions within its upper ranks, effective immediately. Alison Smith and Mike Steinberg have both been elevated from SVP to EVP positions in their respective departments. Continue Reading
News
Another classical streaming contender emerges in Primephonic
Primephonic is the latest streaming service to try tackling the classical music genre. It offers CD-quality streams available by subscription on both desktop and mobile platforms. Primephonic is launching in the UK and the U.S. Interested listeners can sign up for a 30-day free trial. The regular subscription will cost $14.99. Continue Reading
Deezer brings family plan to the United States
Deezer has introduced its Family subscription option to the United States. The Deezer Family shared music plan grants Premium+ plan access to up to six people for $14.99 a month. The Family feature first debuted in France, where Deezer is headquartered, in November 2015. Continue Reading
Spotify updates: Revenue growth, widening net loss, and 140 million listeners
It’s a big news day for Spotify, with 2016 financials and subscriber numbers to sort through from the streaming service. According to its filing, annual revenue for the company totaled €2.93 billion ($3.3 billion), up 52% from the year prior. Spotify’s annual net loss grew 133% to €539.2 million ($597 million). Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Believe Digital sale rumors; A2IM indie celebration, stand-up comedy app
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Believe Digital for sale? A2IM launches celebration of indies. Stand-up comedy app tries niche audience. Continue Reading
Spotify launches songwriter spotlight program, still avoiding exclusives
Last week, Spotify introduced an initiative called Secret Genius designed to shine a spotlight on the importance of songwriters and producers in an artist’s success. This venture will include awards, songwriting camps, curated playlists, and podcasts. Continue Reading
Canada’s SOCAN doubled streaming revenue in 2016
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) announced that it collected C$330 million ($249.3 million) in 2016 total revenues. Streaming revenue skyrocketed up 118% over the previous year. Continue Reading
Pandora adds Auto-Play option on mobile
Underneath the flurry of business activity surrounding Pandora, the audio company has announced a new feature. Auto-Play is a new option only available for listeners on its Premium tier. This new capability lets subscribers switch between the new on-demand approach ann lean-back listening. Continue Reading
New company offers programmatic buying for voice-activated ads
Digital voice-activated advertising platform Instreamatic.ai announced its formal launch this week. The service now offers programmatic buying for voice-activated ads that would run on smart home speaker systems and related technology. The technology seems designed around the types of interactions smart speaker owners would have. Continue Reading
The Verge uses Anchor to trial new podcast ideas for readers
The Verge has entered a partnership with Anchor, using the short-form audio platform to help solicit reader feedback on new podcast ideas. The publisher said it is using Anchor to try out many different ideas and formats for new audio programming. Continue Reading
Nielsen Q4 comparable metrics show smartphones’ growing share
Nielsen’s Q4 2016 comparable metrics report continued the upward trajectory for smartphone use seen in its Q3 results. Radio, on the other hand, stayed essentially flat within the U.S. media consumption landscape. Weekly reach for radio has stayed around 93% for several quarters, and radio is used an average of 5.1 days per week. Smartphones are used even more frequently at an average of 5.8 days per week. Continue Reading
MIDiA report: Global streaming revenue could be $20.1 billion by 2025
MIDiA Research has released its second State of the Streaming Nation report. It offers a deep dive into both consumer behaviors and market trends for this industry, covering listeners in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the UK, and the U.S. The report found that streaming revenue in 2016 was $7.6 billion (retail values). It projected that figure to reach $20.1 billion by 2025. Continue Reading