Apple Music has reportedly signed up more than 10 million people in its first month. The data point comes from Hits, which credited unnamed sources from major labels. Apple Music is still in its free trial stage for any listeners, so these alleged millions haven’t yet paid for the service. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Scripps acquires Midroll Media in first-ever deal of its kind; more. Continue Reading
“I’m looking forward to discussing our strong quarter, and the progress we’ve made across several business initiatives.,” said Brian McAndrews, CEO of Pandora, to start the Q2 earnings call. By any reckoning the call was a success, and for the first time in several quarters, the stock price responded with an upward swing in after-hours trading. Continue Reading
We learned recently that the official YouTube Music Key launch has been postponed, and two new rumors circulating about the popular video platform could provide some insight as to why. First, there has been speculation that YouTube is aiming to make Music Key part of a bigger subscription video service, positioning it as a rival to Netflix and Hulu as well as to music-centric streaming platforms. The second rumor is that music labels may be questioning the current status quo of YouTube’s ad-supported model. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. TODAY: Spotify’s tweet sets calculators going; commentary on Neil Young; Apple Music commercials. Continue Reading
The IFPI has another half-year report, this one from its Finnish branch. Total recorded music revenue increased 0.5% for the first half in Finland for a total of €15.12 million. Subscription streaming posted the most growth, up 39.9% to €8.95 million. Continue Reading
The Download on Podcasts is a weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
It seems simple in podcasting. The host reads and riffs on a sponsorship message, both elucidating major product points and offering personalization that could extend to a personal endorsement. Sounds a lot like what terrestrial radio has been doing for decades. It gets more complicated with public radio, though.
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Apple hosted a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings this week, and the talk briefly touched on Apple Music. The tech company’s top brass didn’t reveal many hard numbers about the streaming platform’s first weeks. CEO Tim Cook said that “millions and millions” of consumers are enrolled in free trials and added that Apple is “thrilled about the response” to the service. Continue Reading
IFPI Norway has released its data on the domestic music industry for the first half of 2015. Music sales for the country increased 6.5% during the period. Streaming showed healthy growth, and revenue from those platforms accounted for as much… Continue Reading
Rhapsody and Napster have reached the 3 million subscriber milestone. It has been a year of fast growth for the streaming services, which announced 2.5 million listeners in February and 2 million listeners last July. Continue Reading
SFX Entertainment is reorganizing its leadership, a move that will see a new CEO overseeing EDM project Beatport. Greg Consiglio will serve as president and CEO for the online store and streaming service. According to the press release, the structural changes were made so SFX can focus on brand-level operations. Continue Reading
Three European rights agencies have inked an agreement to form a joint venture and launch a hub for digital rights. The participants are PRS for Music in the UK, GEMA in Germany, and STIM in Sweden. The goal of this hub is to make digital rights management faster and more efficient for single- and multi-territory licenses. Continue Reading