Japan is getting another streaming platform. Rakuten Music is the newest release from ecommerce business Rakuten, and it aims to be a “one-stop music service.” The mobile service offers a library of 3 million items and includes product placement for CDs and music DVDs/Blu-Rays sold through Rakuten Books. Continue Reading
It’s official. The Department of Justice has released the final ruling for its review of performing rights organization consent decrees, which includes “full-works licensing” and prohibits withdrawal of digital rights from bundled licenses. Both ASCAP and BMI are already mounting their responses. Continue Reading
Indian streaming service Saavn announced the original programming roster that it will debut this month and next. The shows include Film Companion with Anupama Chopra and #NoFilter Neha hosted by Neha Dhupia. Both are long-form audio/talk shows. Continue Reading
The latest quarterly earnings release is from Warner Music Group, and streaming revenue continues to be a standout for the label. “Streaming revenue for the quarter was about double the size of download revenue, and was meaningfully larger than physical revenue,” CEO Steve Cooper said. Continue Reading
Lots of people like to listen to music while drifting off to sleep, but headphones in bed aren’t the most comfortable choice. This situation was the inspiration for a streaming music pillow. Yes, you read that correctly. Continue Reading
ART19, a San Francisco-based podcast host, distributor, and monetization platform, officially launches today after eight months of technology development and partnership formation. Launch partners include Midroll Media), DGital Media, and Wondery. The platform offers technology designed to advance the podcast advertising business. We spoke with co-founder Sean Carr. Continue Reading
Apple Music has rolled out in Israel, adding to the already noteworthy global spread of the newest streaming music service. Apple Music is now available in 114 countries, giving it a larger geographic footprint than Spotify. Continue Reading
The latest statistics for Germany showed that streaming held a quarter of the country’s music market, and a new survey from Bitkom further enforces those findings. And as with U.S. data, streaming is more popular among younger German listeners. Continue Reading
Piracy experts MUSO released a study that found illegal activities are also shifting from ownership to access models, at least in film and television. These data points are worth noting as a counterpoint to music piracy, which has also been the focus of MUSO research. Should the music industry also be alert to illegal streaming? Continue Reading
PRX, the world’s largest open marketplace for public radio, is opening Podcast Garage, a training and recording facility meant to assist the professionalization of budding podcasters. Continue Reading
Apple Music has added a new member to its list of curators, this time from Nigeria. Megalectrics, one of Nigeria’s broadcast radio platforms, has signed on as a featured curator and will bring African music to the tech company’s radio offerings. Continue Reading
Universal Music UK has introduced a new brand focused on playlists and compilations. Universal Music On Demand is a response to the importance of playlists in the streaming music economy and could look to protect the role of professional curators. Continue Reading