News

Rumor Fact(ory): Freemium restrictions still under consideration at Spotify

Posted on by Anna Washenko

According to a new report from Digital Music News, Spotify may be reconsidering its free tier approach. Sources have allegedly told the site that Spotify may begin adopting a windowed path, making some music releases only available to paid listeners or only opening it up to free listeners for a short amount of time. The company is reportedly considering several different options for what form that gated material might take. Sources told DMN that multiple of those options could see a rollout in early 2016. Continue Reading →

Rhapsody posts record revenue for Q2 with increased losses

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Rhapsody’s Q2 financial data revealed customer growth of 50% over the past year, exceeding 3 million subscribers. The streaming platform reached a record revenue of almost $50.1 million for the period, up from revenue of $42.4 million in the year-ago period. However, its quarterly losses also increased to nearly $12.1 million, compared with a loss of $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2014. Continue Reading →

UMG adds new senior exec to focus on streaming marketing

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Universal Music Group has hired Jay Frank to serve as its senior vice president of global streaming marketing. In this role, he will be tasked with using data to maximize performance on streaming platforms for UMG’s artists, in addition to analyzing the effectiveness of UMG’s streaming marketing campaigns. He’ll also be responsible for curating and managing the company’s global playlists and coordinating playlist strategy for all Universal labels. Continue Reading →

The Download on Podcasts: Radio, podcasts, and personalization

Posted on by Brad Hill

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.

Continue Reading →