After all the big statements about his new album “never” going to appear on Apple, Kanye West appears to have changed his mind. For one song, at least. The track “Famous” arrived on other streaming services, including both Apple Music and Spotify, over the weekend. Continue Reading
Pandora founder Tim Westergren has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer effective immediately, the company announced this morning. Former CEO Brian McAndrews is leaving the company. Continue Reading
Spotify is collecting some interesting information from playlist creators about their use of the feature. According to Music Ally, the survey inquires about whether the respondent makes and shares playlists, and how much they know or care about how others interact with their creations. Continue Reading
France trade body SNEP recently released year-end data for the nation’s music market, but bundled in with that information was a new approach to its chart strategy. The 2015 album chart included streaming data. Continue Reading
Vevo is improving the recommendations it gives on its mobile app, but it’s looking to other music companies for ideas. The Vevo mobile app can now integrate with Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube accounts, and that data goes into better suggestions for the listener. Continue Reading
NPR hired Thomas Hjelm to fill its newly created post of Chief Digital Officer. In the new position, he will be responsible for guiding NPR’s digital strategy and keeping ahead of how listeners want to experience content. Continue Reading
New social music app Noted launched today. The platform, which originally debuted last year as Nusiki, has rebranded itself with improved technology focused on discovery. It combines algorithms with analysis of social interactions to make recommendations. Continue Reading
When Kanye West launched his latest album, the focus was on his protective approach to distribution. The strategy was controversial at best, especially given the immediate wave of piracy the title faced. But in the weeks following the official release, West has been less obviously changing how his fans perceive the very idea of an album in the streaming age. Continue Reading
There’s no rest for the weary at Google. The team is reportedly working on a livestreaming app dubbed YouTube Connect. Like YouTube Gaming and YouTube Music, YouTube Connect would be a standalone app that complements the core video service. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sony’s future sans sales; another metadata service joining the mix. Continue Reading
Google Play Music is launching a new effort to promote promising up-and-coming artists. The streaming service is working with media studio Milk to host a series of performances from select artists. Continue Reading
Podcast network Wondery has hired Jeffrey Glaser as its new president of content. Glaser joins Wondery after nearly two decades with 20th Century Fox Television, where he was executive vice president of current programming. This is just the latest in a string of high-profile leaders from the television and radio industries moving into podcasts. Continue Reading