New research found that Germany reportedly has 2.5 million are paying for premium streaming services out of about 11.6 million total listeners on streaming platforms. The study, conducted by market research institute GfK for the music trade body BVMI, also reported that 6.4 million German people listen to ad-supported streaming for more than 90 minutes each week. Continue Reading
The New York Times captured a carload of anonymously sourced information about Apple’s music products. Apple’s refreshed music ecosystem will be unveiled this summer, according to earlier rumors. Continue Reading
British digital music company 7digital released 2014 financials that embody two major changes, one structural (a merger last year) and one strategic. The company is turning decidedly toward its B2B streaming services. Continue Reading
The Download on Podcasts is a weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
What’s the problem? Lack of a native podcast app, as Apple provides in iPhones. That void makes podcast discovery, organization, and listening more difficult and less at-hand. Continue Reading
Jeff Zuchowski has been promoted to the role of vice president of industry relations at Pandora. He has been working at the online radio company since 2012, and was most recently acting as the senior director of artist strategy. With this promotion, his role will continue to focus on building industry ties and forging partnerships. Continue Reading
Today’s brief news items feature some unexpected combinations. Continue Reading
Media technology and database company Gracenote announced this morning that it has hired music tech veteran Ethan Kaplan as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Music. “When I was 16 I started a fan website for the band R.E.M.,” says Kaplan. “The rest of my career extends from there.” Continue Reading
Vessel has exited its beta phase and its online video service is now available to all viewers. The service, started by former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, is offering exclusive access to videos to its members for a small monthly subscription of $2.99 a month. To further build up the viewing audience, Vessel is offering a year of free access for anybody who signs up in the first 72 hours following the launch. Continue Reading
Amazon has updated its Prime Music iOS app with a set of lean-back radio stations. The feature arrived a few months back on the web version, but with mobile listening continuing to rise, bring the fullest service possible to phones is likely to become more and more crucial to a music service’s success. The listening experience is very reminiscent of Pandora, but is it more than a copycat? Continue Reading
Congress will review another piece of proposed legislation aimed at redistributing digital royalties across the range of people who create music. The Allocation for Music Producers Act, also known as AMP, devotes a share of digital royalties to a song’s producers, mixers, and engineers. Continue Reading
Satellite broadcaster SiriusXM is planning a two-week activation of non-subscribed car receivers starting May 19. Drivers of those cars will find that they can tune in a selection of Sirius stations until June 1, when the promotion ends. The promo kicks off with a live concert broadcast intended to attract a Latino audience. Continue Reading
In what will likely be one of its last moves as their owner, Aspiro has combined hi-res streaming services WiMP and Tidal into a single entity. Both platforms will operate under the same Tidal brand name. Tidal and WiMP services were initially owned by Aspiro, but in recent weeks the platforms were purchased by rap and business icon Jay-Z. Continue Reading