The Download on Podcasts is a weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
In the space of two weeks, Midroll Media was wholly acquired by the venerable media company E.W. Scripps, and PodcastOne (sponsor of this weekly column) was partially acquired by Hubbard Radio, which bought into a 30% equity stake and collaborative partnership. Personalization is the hinge between radio and podcasting.
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ROK Mobile announced a UK launch of its music streaming bundle. The company offers unlimited calls and texts and 4GB of data on top of a custom streaming platform. The service will cost £24.99 a month, or about $39. Continue Reading
One of the biggest highlights of the new Apple Music streaming platform is certainly the ambitious Beats 1 radio project. But the latest industry rumors hint that Beats 1 may not stand alone forever. According to The Verge, inside sources have revealed that Apple’s contracts with labels allow the tech giant to launch up to five additional stations without renegotiating. That means that we could very likely see (and hear) a Beats 2 through Beats 6 joining the broadcast offerings. Continue Reading
Apple Music has entered into a deal with an Australian telecom company to offer a 12-month free trial of the streaming service as part of a mobile bundle. Apple Music has also signed with AMRA, the digital collections society owned by Kobalt. There are also rumors of Beats 1 producing more video content. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. TODAY: Is it irresponsbile that The Beatles don’t stream? What did Herbert Hoover think of radio? Will Apple build a car? Continue Reading
On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes in the audio industry. Here are the latest changes (and non-changes). Continue Reading
David Byrne has taken on more responsibility in lobbying for change in the music world after joining the board of SoundExchange. On Sunday, the former Talking Head penned an op-ed in The New York Times about the music industry’s finances, recommending greater transparency as a path to more success for all parties. Continue Reading
Beatport recently updated its terms to allow anyone to create an account and upload original tracks. These songs can be monetized on Beatport’s platform, and the owner will receive between 5% and 10% of the total amount generated by a track. The details of the per-stream royalty calculations are laid out for all to see in the terms of service. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Pandora’s request denied; iTunes podcast anniversary, Sirius XM earnings; UK streaming growth; FM chips in phones. Continue Reading
Mixcloud announced updates to its mobile apps this week. The updates include landscape mode, a play queue to line up shows in advance, and automatically playing suggested content when the listener runs out of shows. The company also recently added tools for listeners to build their own stations. Continue Reading
The Syndicat National de l’édition Phonographique, better known as SNEP, released data on the first half of 2015 in France’s music industry. The nation saw 7.5 billion streams in those first six months, up 36% from the number of streams in the year-ago period. That equates to an average of 288 million songs listened to on streaming services each week. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced the addition of a new executive to its leadership team. DeJuan Wilson has joined the streaming platform as the new vice president of global marketing and brand. In this role, Wilson will be responsible for working on SoundCloud’s brand story, developing its global marketing function, and communicating its value proposition for listeners and creators. Prior to joining SoundCloud, Wilson served as senior vice president of brand strategy and creative marketing for Viacom’s MTV2, MTVU, and Logo networks. Continue Reading