Streaming music and playlists have comfortably established themselves as a top choice for access among today’s listeners. But the debate over the best approach for the curation of that digital music rages on. New lean-back streaming contender Conduit has entrenched itself firmly on the human curation side of the music experience. Continue Reading
A new report from VoiceLabs examines the burgeoning market of voice-activated personal assistants. With the pushes by so many tech companies – such as Amazon, Google, and Sonos – into this space, what are device owners actually using them for? VoiceLabs’ used its Voice Experience Analytics service to give some answers to that question. Continue Reading
Independent label services company [PIAS] has acquired Inertia Music, another business within that indie niche. Inertia is an Australian company specializing in independent music sales, distribution, and label services. It also runs an in-house label, which has signed popular artists such as Sia, M83, and Robyn. Continue Reading
Sprint has purchased a stake in music streaming service Tidal. The telecom now owns a 33% share of the company, although in the announcement of the buy, Sprint said that Jay-Z and the other artist-owners of Tidal would continue to run the service. Continue Reading
This morning Triton Digital is announcing a significant growth of its relationship with SoundCloud. SoundCloud, the giant global listening platform based in Berlin, has chosen Triton’s a2x programmatic audio platform for its U.S. inventory. The deal expands the tie-up of these two companies from earlier agreements in Australia and Canada. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has secured another partnership, this time from a radio company in South America. Cadena 3 Argentina, the country’s largest radio network, has signed on to use Triton tools for managing, measuring, and monetizing its digital audio content. Continue Reading
Tidal is facing allegations that it has inflated subscriber numbers. Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv claimed that it has obtained internal reports that show discrepancies in what Tidal has publicly stated about its audience. Continue Reading
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki penned a blog post wrapping up 2016 for the video platform. She summarized the many business developments YouTube embarked on last year and some plans for the current year. Continue Reading
MusicWatch sent RAIN News a pre-release note with results of its 2016 ‘Music Streaming Wars’ study, and found that Pandora was had the largest share of weekly music listening at 28%. YouTube took second place with a 27% share. Both of those figures include the audio companies’ free and paid tiers. Continue Reading
German music association BVMI released its year-end report on the domestic industry. Germany’s music business grew 2.4% in 2016, a fourth year of upward progress. The key takeaway for last year was that streaming is holding a steady share in this country that has long favored physical formats. Continue Reading
UK music licensing groups PRS for Music and PPL have launched a joint license for the UK’s non-profit radio stations. The joint effort took effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Continue Reading
For over 15 years, RAIN Summits have been the preeminent knowledge and networking events for the convergence of radio, digital audio, and online listening. In 2017, RAIN sharpens its conference mission to focus on the continual conversation between buyers and sellers of online audio advertising. Continue Reading