The Department of Justice has been engaged in a review of consent decrees for more than a year. These rules govern the blanket licenses that performing rights organizations negotiate on behalf of music publishers. Billboard has a piece on the changes the department is reported to be considering, according to its unnamed sources. Continue Reading
In a far-reaching agreement, iHeartMedia and its subsidiary Katz Media Group have partnered with Jelli, the automated radio advertising platform, for programmatic ad-buying of broadcast radio inventory. RAIN News spoke to Jelli CEO Mike Dougherty. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group has entered into a partnership with Bradesco, a Brazilian bank. Bradesco Music will stream audio and video from Universal’s catalog and deliver music-related editorial through an application for both desktop computers and mobile devices. Continue Reading
Rdio has hired Iain Morris to serve as the company’s new vice president of global music publishing. In his new capacity, Morris will lead the negotiations with music publishers and collection societies. The newest exec joins the company from Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, where he was the head of digital for the EMEA region. Continue Reading
The flood of news for Tidal continues apace today. The latest update is that the hi-res streaming service helmed by Jay-Z has found a new stakeholder in Sprint and its parent company SoftBank. Unnamed sources told the New York Post that the minority stake is likely worth about $250 million. Continue Reading
New Zealand owners of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices will now have access to the tech company’s Milk Music streaming service. The free, Slacker-powered app has about 150 radio stations and includes options for personalizing the listening experience. Continue Reading
ASCAP has appointed a new executive to its upper management. Alice Kim has joined the performing rights organization in the role of executive vice president, chief strategy and development officer. In this capacity, Kim will lead work on strategy, business development, product development, and administration services for the company. Continue Reading
The growing use of smartphones for managing all aspects of digital life is a pertinent issue for the entire audio industry. A newly-released study from the Pew Research Center defines the smartphone usage footprint across age groups, and tracks how music/podcasts are consumed. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. This week: the Orchard CEO speaks out after Sony Music acquisition; Poland expands DAB+; Radio ad revenue in India. Continue Reading
Hi-fi streaming service Tidal has benefited from a great deal of publicity recently. One of the subscription pitches hinges on exclusive content, available only on Tidal. But when it comes to streaming, exclusivity is hard to control. Continue Reading
Twitch has been toying with legal musical options for its members to play in the background of their videos. It launched a beta Music category in January, with Canadian EDM label Monstercat kicking off the new venture with a 24/7 radio playlist channel. Another label has now joined this Twitch niche. Continue Reading
Since its A-lister relaunch, Tidal has been taking over the news headlines. Some of the buzz has been positive about the potential for artists to get more directly involved in the streaming music conversation. Some has been decidedly less positive about how closely Tidal’s design now resembles Spotify’s. But some of the most interesting news have come directly from the man at the center. Continue Reading