Media conglomerate E.W. Scripps has acquired podcast listening app Stitcher from global music service Deezer, which acquired Stitcher in October, 2014. The acquisition places Stitcher within Midroll Media, a podcast distribution and sales company, which Scripps purchased in July of last year. We spoke to Midroll exec Lex Friedman about what this means for Midroll Media. Continue Reading
A new Nielsen study explores use of media types across different generations. The Generational Snapshot study looks at media use and device penetration for three age groups: Millennials (18-34), Generation X (35-49), and Baby Boomers (50-67) and finds clear trends in their choices. Continue Reading
Nearly 300 ad-agency audio buyers, executives of pureplay streaming audio services and the technology companies which power the space packed into the Metropolitan Pavilion for the first RAIN Streaming Audio Advertising Summit yesterday in New York. The four-hour event was… Continue Reading
Here’s a collection of some noteworthy developments emerging from Cannes, where the music industry has descended for the Midem conference. The opening keynote for the event gathered several industry leaders to talk about the future of the music business. TuneCore CEO Scott Ackerman also gave a talk and the Worldwide Independent Network released a report. Continue Reading
LyricFind has entered into a partnership that will see French lyrics added to its service. “This deal establishes LyricFind’s footing in the French market and reinforces our position as the world’s go-to provider of licensed lyrics,” LyricFind CEO Darryl Ballantyne said. Continue Reading
A new agreement for SoundCloud will expand its library available for Europe. The audio company entered a tie-up with Universal Music Publishing International and the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) in France. The licensing deal covers SoundCloud’s new Go subscription service and its free, ad-supported listening. Continue Reading
The partnership between Spotify and lyrics provider Musixmatch has dissolved as of May 27. As a result, the Lyrics button in Spotify’s interface no longer displays the words to the currently playing song. That feature first appeared on the desktop version of the service last February. Continue Reading
Guvera has filed for an IPO in Australia. The streaming service is looking at a market value between $29 million and $58 million on the ASX exchange on Monday, July 18. The IPO looks to be a make-or-break moment in determining the company’s future. Continue Reading
On-demand audio platform audioBoom has been chosed by the producers of hit podcast Undisclosed to exclusively represent the show in an exclusive premium ad sales agreement. The completed first season of Undisclosed generated over 80-million listens.
BuzzFeed Audio has partnered with audio messaging platform Rolltape to create new engagement tools for its Another Round podcast series. RAIN News spoke with Jessica Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Rolltape, about her company and the BuzzFeed partnership. A few key words kept popping up in the conversation: relationships, story, and community. Continue Reading
DGital Media announced a partnership with the UFC for an exclusive on-demand audio series. “UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra” will be a twice-weekly show beginning June 21. Episodes will be available on the UFC website, plus on podcasting channels including iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, and TuneIn. Continue Reading
Twitter has added Spotify support to its audio cards. Any of the streaming service’s 30 million tracks can be turned into the audio post on Twitter. The cards will only play 30-second previews and will link to the full song in Spotify. Continue Reading