Quick Hits: SoundCloud concerns; vinyl’s promise; Gracenote in cars
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: SoundCloud at a crossroads; vinyl sales could break $1 billion; Gracenote presents car radio tech at CES. Continue Reading
News
Universal led the labels with a third of 2016’s audio streams
Universal Music Group leads the labels in volume of audio streams distributed in the U.S. during 2016, according to Music Business Worldwide. The major was responsible for 84.03 billion audio streams, about a third of the total market. Continue Reading
Spotify wants to be Barack Obama’s next employer
Spotify has a new job listing posted, but the position seems rather tailored for a specific applicant who is soon to be unemployed. The role is President of Playlists at the company. Federal-level playlist construction is a critical job requirement. Continue Reading
Otto Radio gets Samsung investment, launches public API
Otto Radio has secured an investment from Samsung NEXT, the venture capital arm of the tech conglomerate. Otto Radio offers audio streams of podcasts and audio news centered on a particular listener’s own interests; think of the concept as Pandora for podcasts. The investment lines up with Otto’s launch of the Otto Everywhere API, which lets other companies access that personalized audio stream. Continue Reading
Nielsen 2016 report: “Music consumption is at an all-time high”
“Music consumption is at an all-time high,” according to Nielsen Music’s 2016 U.S. Year-End Report. The analysis reveals that 2016 was another year with strong streaming growth and some compelling trends for albums. The entire music industry posted a 3.1% increase in overall volume, with total album consumption reaching 560.7 million units. Continue Reading
Deezer hires chief partnerships officer
Deezer has hired Pascal De Mul as its chief partnerships officer. In this role, De Mul will be responsible for building Deezer’s relationships with telecoms, hardware companies, and other partners. Continue Reading
Sirius CFO says chances of Pandora buy are “not likely”
David Frear, CFO for Sirius XM, has quashed the latest rumors about the satellite radio company acquiring Pandora. “With respect to all the chatter about [these] acquisitions, you have to look at them as them not being likely,” Frear said Continue Reading
Retailers’ group backs streaming contribution to UK music growth in 2016
The Entertainment Retailers Association has released its 2016 report, and the findings add to the body of numbers pointing to rapid streaming growth in the UK. The report named music as the country’s fastest-growing entertainment sector, with sales growing 4.6% over the previous year to £1.1 billion ($1.3 billion). Continue Reading
Nielsen Q3 report: Continued radio reach, and continued demographic trends
Nielsen has released its Total Audience Report for Q3 2016. Radio inched back up to its Q3 2014 levels of 1:52 in media consumption in an average day. Live TV still holds the lion’s share at 4:06. During the period, AM/FM radio had a monthly reach of nearly 263.84 million, up from 260.43 million in the year-ago period. Continue Reading
Hi-res streaming gets boost at CES with new industry collective
A collective of record labels, streaming platforms, and advocacy organizations leveraged the CES spotlight to announce a commitment to high-resolution (hi-res) audio streaming. The loosely-articulated mission continues an industry trend whose mileposts have been as varied as Neil Young’s Pono venture, Tidal’s hi-res streaming subscription service, and the small but notable resurgence of vinyl records. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio’s two subscriptions emerge from beta in wide launch
iHeartRadio has officially launched its two new streaming audio services, rolling them out widely after a month of testing. The two services emerging from beta are iHeartRadio Plus and iHeartRadio All Access Powered By Napster. Both were introduced in December; RAIN News conducted a review of the new features. Continue Reading
SESAC acquired by Blackstone Group
SESAC has been acquired by the Blackstone Group. The collection and licensing society bills itself as the only one in the U.S. handling public performance, mechanical, synchronization and other rights under a single umbrella. Financial details of the acquisition have not been revealed, but the deal is projected to close by the end of Q1 2017. Continue Reading