With its announcement of on-demand subscription services, iHeartMedia is stepping into a music-service pool swimming with sharks like Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, and others. Stiff and more or less established competition, but none of those existing services has the gigantic promotional leverage of iHeart’s radio network, which has been activated already. Continue Reading
In another victory for the idea that online radio is “real” radio, St Louis-based TheRoots.fm has won the Reader’s Choice award for Best Radio Station in the Riverfront Times. Two years ago, the station helped reverse a decision that online radio stations were ineligible for the aware. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. NPR Music restructures for new goals; Mixcloud anniversary and redesign; MTV working to revive its M. Continue Reading
Helen Boaden is resigning from her post as BBC’s director of radio. She is expected to step down in March 2017 after 34 years with the broadcaster. Boaden is leaving at a critical juncture for the BBC. Continue Reading
Spotify has launched in Japan, a long-awaited push that has been many months in the making. The service has debuted with an invite-only system. Spotify’s Premium tier will cost 980 yen ($9.70) a month, although free ad-supported access is also available. Continue Reading
Whooshkaa announced that it has hired a new exec to spearhead its efforts in creating original content. Corey Layton will lead that effort as director of content and marketing. Continue Reading
Pandora’s Thumbprint Radio has racked up more than 5.5 billion spins. The personalized station, which debuted in December 2015, plays the tracks a listener has thumbed-up over time and includes recommendations based on those preferences. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has partnered with Advertising Age to create a podcast called Tagline. The twice-a-month podcast will focus on the advertising, marketing and communications industries, with experts giving an inside look at their work. Continue Reading
Financial Times reported that Spotify is in “advanced talks” to acquire SoundCloud. The talks might be advanced, but sources told the publication that there were no details on how much money might change hands and the potential deal could still fall apart. We’ve been expecting to see more consolidation within the streaming music space, so this possible tie-up is an intriguing proposition. Continue Reading
Shazam announced two major milestones today. First, it has achieved profitability. Second, the Shazam mobile app has exceeded 1 billion downloads. Continue Reading
Lyor Cohen is joining the YouTube team as global head of music. The long-time music industry veteran is the CEO and founder of 300 Entertainment. He has also held long tenures in the upper ranks at Warner Music Group and Def Jam, including presiding over large mergers at both labels. Continue Reading
Vevo’s chief revenue officer, Nic Jones, is departing the video distribution company. Jones had been with the business since 2011, and he will remain in the CRO position until the end of the year. Continue Reading