Music data specialist Next Big Sound has released a new report with just as much substance as style. The beautifully designed presentation reviewed some of the major music business trends of 2014. The data points show a snapshot of how the online music industry has continued to grow and create additional business opportunities for artists, labels, and their partners. Continue Reading
ASCAP has hired Clara Kim as its executive vice president and general counsel. That position was previously held by the performing rights organization’s new CEO, Elizabeth Matthews, prior to her promotion. In her new capacity, Kim will oversee all of ASCAP’s legal and business affairs, including managing its legislative team and its internal and external legal services. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has attracted extra attention this quarterly earnings season with the announcement that its revenue from streaming music has surpassed revenue from downloads. CEO Stephen Cooper said that second-quarter revenue from streaming services increased 33%, while overall digital revenue rose only 7%. All other revenue streams aside from digital – including physical sales – declined for the label. Continue Reading
Vadio, a startup at the crossroads of music and video, made some major announcements today. First, it has added two new industry experts to its leadership. Former Vevo CEO Rio Caraeff has joined Vadio’s board of advisers and former Sony executive Yair Landau will serve as the company’s COO. Second, Vadio has received $7.5 million in Series A funding. Continue Reading
Ad-tech company AdsWizz announced today that it has named Gary Goodman as President for Europe. Goodman joins AdsWizz from iVenture, where he served as CEO. Before that he was founder and CEO of MediaEquals, a media trading platform. Continue Reading
The RIAA and the BPI have issued their 200 millionth URL takedown request to Google. The RIAA has submitted 19,569 total requests and the BPI has made 295,730. These requests seek to remove pirated content from the web. The two record industry organizations for the U.S. and UK, respectively, have been pushing for the tech company to adopt stricter measures to prevent this type of music piracy. Continue Reading
Even in May, we’re still seeing some belated analyses of global music industry results from 2014. The latest data focuses on Singapore, where music sales rose 4.7% to S$17.2 million, the first increase following four years of losses. Digital music revenue for the city-state increased 34% from the year prior to S$9.5 million, according to the IFPI data. Continue Reading
Songkick has partnered with Rdio to pull in playlists from that streaming service and use them as a basis for live concert discovery. The service scans locally stored music as well as song choices from streaming platforms to recommend shows happening in the user’s vicinity. The two companies first announced a collaboration at SXSW, which saw Songkick’s database of tour information added to artist profiles on the streaming service. Continue Reading
National Public Radio announced the debut of the NPR One Developer Center. This move by the media organization opens up its API to outside developers and will allow them to create versions of the mobile NPR program for additional platforms. It’s an early step in making its personalized news service, which launched last summer, accessible to more listeners. Continue Reading
The early buzz about Apple’s redesigned take on Beats Music was that the service would have no free listening options. That made sense, especially with the ensuing rumors that Apple was potentially pushing for other streaming platforms to eliminate their freemium tiers. According to the latest reports from Re/Code, though, the no-free-listening approach may have a few exceptions. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Apple rumors; Spotify gets richer; Grooveshark goes down in deep water; Pandora in the FM business; no streaming in the Vermont State House. Continue Reading
Spotify’s 2014 earnings include higher revenue, and wider losses, compared to a year ago. The financial news is coupled with rumors of a new angle for Spotify’s business — video. Continue Reading