Two more musicians are joining the calls for a change to YouTube’s payment systems. The New York Post reported that Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and Mötley Crüe cofounder Nikki Sixx are getting involved in pushes to change safe harbor rules. Continue Reading
One of the big story arcs in the music world today centers on distribution. Several of the day’s hottest acts have been exploring new ways of using digital platforms to get their new work out to listeners. Over the weekend, another powerhouse joined their ranks. Continue Reading
Hubbard Radio has announced the promotion of Jeremy Sinon to Director of Digital Strategy. Sinon previously divided his time between the corporate DD role and managing digital initiatives for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Hubbard stations. At his new desk, Sinon will oversee the entire group’s digital strategy. Continue Reading
Winter is coming to Spotify. With the upcoming premiere of the sixth season for Game of Thrones, the streaming service has created a tool to match your listening habits to one of the show’s many characters. Continue Reading
It’s a sad day for the music world with the death of the artist known as Prince. The incredible performer had a huge impact on his many fans and fellow musicians. Multiple radio and music sources are now paying tribute to Prince’s massive talent and vast catalog of wonderful music. Continue Reading
Alphabet, the parent company for Google, reported its first-quarter financial results. CFO Ruth Porat said that “costs associated with operating our data centers including depreciation, (and) content acquisition costs, primarily for YouTube” were behind the higher spending during the period. Continue Reading
Shazam is expanding its brand and marketing tools, but the company hasn’t lost touch with its musical core. Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, who performs under the stage name Kygo, is using the audio recognition app to launch his debut album. Continue Reading
Nielsen has voiced its intent to add a measurement system for on-demand audio and podcasts as part of its Digital Audio Ratings service. In this announcement, the ratings company promises to engage with one of the most vexing issues of the podcast industry — representing standard audience metrics to advertisers. Continue Reading
MTV is making a new push to re-prioritize the music in its programming. MTV President Sean Atkins showed off the channel’s new shows, and several of them return to the musical roots that initially made the network such a hit. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Forbes on podcasting; India and Internet radio; an oral history on CDs’ last days; call for “more innovators and fewer lawyers.” Continue Reading
Rhapsody International has named Mike Davis as its first CEO effective immediately. The company is the parent organization for the Rhapsody and Napster streaming services. Continue Reading
Billboard has named Spotify as its official streaming partner for 2016. With this new deal, Spotify will power playback on more than 75 charts from the music organization. It will also supply tunes for a New Music Fridays editorial and for three new Spotify-centric charts. Continue Reading