Sirius XM reported its fourth-quarter financial results. Net income for the period totaled $134.63 million, or 3 cents per share, down 5.9% from income of $143.12 million, or 3 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue increased about 10% on-year to $1.20 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion after a third-quarter revenue total of $1.17 billion. Continue Reading
The RIAA has decided that streaming counts will be included toward albums’ gold and platinum certification. On-demand audio and video streams will be a factor in measuring performance effective immediately. Gold certification is awarded to an album with 500,000 sales, while platinum is 1 million sales and multi-platinum is 2 million. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting and production platform Spreaker announced that it is launching a radio spot campaign for its service. The commercials will run on hundreds of iHeartRadio stations. The 30-second spots evangelize podcasting as a self-expression opportunity and cite success stories of podcast hosts on Spreaker. Click through to hear one. Continue Reading
We covered the rumors out of the New York Post that claimed Amazon might be gearing up Prime Music to be a bigger threat to the rest of the streaming industry. Even though those speculations have not been confirmed, we are seeing signs that Amazon does have new programming efforts underway through Audible, the audiobook company it purchased in 2008. Continue Reading
Pandora has updated its iOS app with a new discovery tool called Browse. This feature, which appears at the top of the screen next to My Stations, brings pre-curated discovery into the company’s product suite. Continue Reading
After several months of speculation, SFX Entertainment has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The electronic music company is seeking a debt-for-equity swap with its bondhonders in order to remove $300 million of debt from its balance sheet. Continue Reading
Sony Music’s Q4 financial results broke out the numbers by format and revealed a big role for streaming. Digital secured a 43% portion of the company’s music income, with streaming at 24% outperforming download revenues at 19%. Continue Reading
SoundExchange released its digital radio report for Q4 2015, a publication marking growth for both the quarter and the year. The company’s royalty quarterly distributions increased 16% over the year-ago period to $211.4 million. Continue Reading
After launching in October, Spotify has continued adding to its roster of In Residence shows. These playlists bring a new content approach to the streaming service, one that sounds more like a podcast or a radio show. Now that Spotify is also finally beginning the rollout of its long-awaited video options, it appears that the company is positioning itself as an entertainment hub for more than just on-demand music. Continue Reading
The last time we saw a big move from Shazam, the company had added visual recognition to its feature list. Now, it’s mixing that visual component with its history as an audio tool for an experiment in music distribution. Continue Reading
EDM specialist Beatport has added a new version of its service specifically for The Netherlands. The core Beatport is still available in 220 nations, but this new iteration translates the entire site into Dutch, while also featuring more local artists and news. Continue Reading
The New York Post is reporting that Amazon may have a vision for Prime Music far beyond the casual listenership it has attracted so far. The Post’s Claire Atkinson cited sources who said Amazon has hosted meetings about licensing music to create an on-demand music service. It is possible, likely in fact, that Amazon does have a grander plan for its music platform. But what exactly will they be? Continue Reading