Quick Hits: Internet radio’s history; the threat of Amazon; the future of podcasting
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Today: Internet radio’s history; the threat of Amazon; the future of podcasting. Continue Reading
News
Twitter didn’t buy SoundCloud, but now has bought into it.
Twitter has confirmed that it has made a capital investment in SoundCloud. Re/code is reporting anonymous sources who say the investment is worth about $70-million. So continues the long, unsteady relationship of micro-blogging service Twitter with music. Continue Reading
Rhapsody plans to rebrand as Napster
Rhapsody surprised the industry with an un-forewarned announcement that it would consolidate around its subsidiary brand Napster, which it acquired in January, 2012. Napster has been the public-facing brand of the Rhapsody on-demand music service in non-U.S. markets. The announcement is bare-bones. Napster is a trademark with a rich history. Continue Reading
Berklee College of Music joins M.I.T. to fix music rights ownership tangle; music services join in
This year’s music news has been notable for debates and lawsuits about music licensing, rights ownership, and royalty payments. The underlying issue is a complex and inscrutable layering of music ownership. Because of the dense and dark music ownership tangle, digital services cannot always identify correct parties for payment when songs are streamed. An exceptionally broad coalition of institutions has announced an initiative to create a global solution. Continue Reading
TuneCore Q1 artist payments up 16%
TuneCore announced that its artists earned $42 million in Q1 2016, a 16% increase from the year-ago period. Streaming platforms posted steady growth in earnings in this quarterly update. Continue Reading
Rhapsody/Napster plans layoffs in restructuring move
Rhapsody/Napster is planning to make some cuts to its team as part of restructuring efforts. Hypebot received an emailed statement from the company’s CEO Mike Davis confirming the layoffs. Continue Reading
Wheels in motion for Amazon to launch standalone music service
In recent months, we’ve seen some hints and rumors that Amazon might spin out its Prime Music streaming platform from under the umbrella of its broader Prime subscription. Unnamed sources told Reuters that Amazon is preparing to unveil a separate streaming music service in late summer or early fall. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Music industry exodus; The Pirate Bay resurfaces; big App Store changes
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Troy Carter goes to Spotify — is it a trend signal? Also The Pirate Bay returns to its original domain and Apple’s App Store is getting a big revamp. Continue Reading
PwC report shows slowing growth for radio
On Wednesday, we shared some of the pertinent data from the PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. That assessment pointed to some general trends we can expect across 2016-2020 in music and Internet advertising. Today, we take a deeper dive into the numbers for the U.S. radio industry. Continue Reading
Russia’s Zvooq gets another $5 million, inks telecom deal
Russian streaming service Zvooq announced an investment of $5 million. The influx of funding came from local electronic retailer Ulmart. The streaming platform also inked a partnership with mobile phone operator Tele2. Continue Reading
Apple Music gets NBC Sports Radio
Apple Music has added some sports content to its radio options. NBC Sports Radio can now be streamed in the tech company’s Music app on iOS and via iTunes on a laptop or desktop. Continue Reading
Daniel Ek has no plans to sell Spotify
Daniel Ek has no plans to sell off Spotify to a larger tech company. That came from a Q&A with reporters in Stockholm. He cautioned that selling off European startups to U.S. tech enterprises was hoiding back the EU tech industry. Continue Reading