The BBC is reportedly planning some major organizational changes, kicking off a potential merger of its radio and TV divisions with sweeping layoffs. Financial considerations are paramount — at the same time, re-organizing around content brands rather than technology platforms could make sense for consumers. Continue Reading
Line announced that it is shutting down MixRadio. It has opted to close the service after an assessment of its overall performance and the challenges of the streaming economy. Although MixRadio’s operations will be discontinued, the company’s Line Music service will remain in action. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) published its full determination, as expected following the very brief announcement of new webcast royalty rates on December 16. To whatever extent small webcasters cast a hopeful wish that the complete royalty rate decision would offer some sign of a special provision for low-revenue Internet radio, that hope is dashed. Continue Reading
The European Broadcasting Union released a report on digital radio. With French and Italian regulators working on digital radio licensing plans as broadcasters find ways to shift their focus, the report paints a picture of a continent making strides forward into adoption of new technology. Continue Reading
“We’re invested in the long-term and I could not have more conviction about the ability of Pandora to lead the future of music,” CEO Brian McAndrews said in announcing the company’s financials for Q4 and FY 2015. Revenue for the quarter reached $336.2 million, up 25% from the year-ago period. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify’s programmatic plans; when companies sponsor podcasts; Sonos taps into neurological research. Continue Reading
TuneCore’s artists eared more than $142 million in 2015 thanks to a 47% increase in publishing revenue and a 57% spike in sync revenue. The full-year figure was up 7% over the clients’ earnings in 2014. Continue Reading
Vevo has updated its apps for multiple channels, furthering its efforts to become a standalone entity separate from YouTube. It updated its apps on Android and Apple TV with an eye toward increasing personalization, curation, and discovery. Continue Reading
TagStation announced that its NextRadio app saw overall listening increase 334% in 2015. “All of this progress supports the fact that consumers are finding value and a unique experience in the NextRadio app,” NextRadio President Paul Brenner said. Continue Reading
Last year marked the beginning of a trend toward music players attempting to create a platform-agnostic listening experience, a single service where you can pull songs from all around the web to get the most comprehensive library possible. The first wave of those platform-agnostic apps has largely fallen silent, but the latest to try a hand at it is Soundsgood. Continue Reading
News items and worthy reads from around the web: Will Streaming Music Kill Songwriting? Also the RIAA’s half-measures in streaming and forecasting a direct-to-fan future Continue Reading
Music’s biggest night is always preceded by a wave of predictions. This year is no exception, and in fact, the growing number of channels listeners use to experience their favorite tunes have created even more ways to analyze who might walk away with a Grammy award.
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