A Piper Jaffray analyst, bullish on Pandora stock, surveyed existing users of the free Pandora radio service to determine the level of demand for Pandora Premium, the fully interactive on-demand music platform launched on March 13. Survey results indicate a 15% “intent” among non-paying Pandora users to upgrade into the Premium product. Continue Reading
SoundCloud’s financial future has been looking hazy, but the company has acquired a line toward more stability. The online audio platform has secured a $70 million round of debt funding. Continue Reading
The team behind podcasting megahit Serial has some good news and some bad news for their fans. S-Town, the first show launching under the Serial Productions name, will be released on March 28. The not-so-good news is that the third season of Serial may not air until next year. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio has reached a new audience milestone. The online audio company has reached 100 million registered users. “100 million registered users is an amazing milestone, and we are thrilled to see such great momentum and traction for iHeartRadio,” iHeartRadio President Darren Davis said. Continue Reading
Wednesday is the final day of early pricing for reservations to the RAIN Digital Audio Advertising Summit on April 12 at the House of Blues in Chicago. The half-day knowledge and networking event features deep dives into creative audio, programmatic advertising, podcasting, and new research. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Drake topples Ed Sheeran’s records. Rookie Magazine joins the podcast wave. ASCAP board election results. Continue Reading
The recorded music market for Italy edged up 0.4% in 2016 to post annual revenue of €149 million. Although the market as a whole moved little, the different segments showed big changes. Continue Reading
Amazon is expected to launch its Amazon Prime Music service in India by early 2018, according to The Economic Times. The company is in discussions with Indian record labels to acquire music rights for the eventual rollout. Continue Reading
Warner Music UK has introduced a new label called Artists To Watch Records that will be a streaming-only operation. The new company will seek out songs that have potential to become popular on streaming services and put resources into making them hits. Continue Reading
Jane Huxley, the managing director for Pandora in Australia and New Zealand, is departing the audio company. She joined the business in 2012 to launch Pandora in those regions. Continue Reading
TuneIn has appointed Anthony “DJ Reflex” Jaramillo as its new head of music. In this role, Jaramillo will be responsible for building and curating TuneIn’s original music stations. He was most recently head of radio for Tidal. Continue Reading
A new music startup is hoping to reach music collectors who want the convenience of digital listening with an artist-focused business model. It’s called Voltra, and it is an unusual hybrid of streaming and digital downloads. Continue Reading