Peabody-winning podcast Serial is set to return this fall with a second season. Then, a third in spring, 2016. The producers are not disclosing what the new seasons will be about, but the popular show will resume its long-form investigative format. Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: “Serial” producers plan next two seasons; GAANA hacked; Sirius XM lawsuit deepens; new podcast network; Android vs iOS in the car. Continue Reading
Spotify announced that it will launch a version for Android Wear. The smartwatch version will allow listeners to navigate through their playlists, select the tunes they want, and browse for other songs. The Android Wear app will roll out gradually over the month of June. Continue Reading
Billboard has launched an online radio hub and music resource in Asian dubbed Billboard Radio China. The site has several channels for different music types, ranging from Asia Hits to the 90s to Chill. Billboard partnered with Tork Limited to create the new property. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the Internet. Bloomberg says Tidal is a “disaster.” Sony executives sign news contracts worth millions, in wake of leaked Spoptify contract. Continue Reading
A new playlisting service, Kollekt.fm, is designed as a curation system. It gives users a platform to share their favorite music from across different online sources.
CEO Rich Riley said at the start of the year that Shazam would make pushes into more than audio, and to that end, the company has rolled out a new visual component for its mobile app. The software made its reputation for the ability to recognize and identify songs; now it can also scan for an image. What’s Shazam’s end goal in expanding beyond audio? Continue Reading
Indian music service Gaana suffered an invasive hack of its membership files, and the service is shut down while the problem is assessed and remedied. An individual publicly took responsibility for the hack on Facebook. Seven and a half million Gaana users had their passwords accessed. Continue Reading
App Annie released its April 2015 index of the top performing mobile apps in the U.S. Pandora held the top spot for top app by downloads and revenue, followed by Spotify. SoundCloud was fourth by downloads and iHeartRadio was fifth. In terms of revenue, Beats Music was the No. 3 app, while Rhapsody secured the No. 6 place. Continue Reading
Asian streaming platform KKBOX has inked a partnership with Merlin, an independent digital rights agency. As a result of the deal, some of the 20,000 independent labels and distributors represented by Merlin will be featured on the Taiwan-based streaming service. The deal covers Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan. Continue Reading
On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes in the audio industry. IFPI appoints new board member; Michelle Jubelirer rises to COO of Capitol. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the Internet: Spotify’s new competitive strategy; YouTube and the music industry; finding therapeutic potential in Pandora’s Music Genome. Continue Reading