iHeartRadio is getting in the holiday spirit this month with a new Christmas radio station. North Pole Radio offers round-the-clock yuletide cheer, with a 24/7 rotation of holiday songs. The tunes are mostly high-energy, kid-friendly fare; think “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” or “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Slacker Radio prepares for in-car listening; pre-1972 chaos predicted by attorney; Bob Lefsetz rips Billboard’s new hybrid album chart. Continue Reading
Spotify can always be counted on for a data-centric approach to music, and its year-in-review is no exception. Released today, the Year in Music site shared key milestones and top music from 2014. Ed Sheeran was the top-streamed male artist, and Katy Perry was the top female artist. Continue Reading
In the start of a new affiliate marketing initiative, ad-repping firm AdLarge has hired Jessica Sherman as Senior Director, Affiliate Marketing. Sherman spent nearly 11 years at Westwood One, as VP of the News/Talk division. There, she worked to populate networks with affiliates with $14-million in sales volume. Continue Reading
SoundExchange, the performing rights organization that collects and distributes streaming royalties to labels and artists, has released three year-end top-10 and top-20 charts. The Top Streamed Breakout Artists list is based on newness to royalty collection — specifically, qualifying recording artists can not have received SoundExchange royalty payments before September 1, 2013. Continue Reading
Spotify is opening up an option for third-party app developers to sell their creations on mobile app stores. The streaming platform announced that it has removed the distribution restrictions for programs made in the Spotify iOS SDK (software development kit) and Spotify Android SDK. As long as an app meets the Developer Terms of Use, the creators can pursue any avenues they choose for monetizing their Spotify-related programs. Continue Reading
Rhapsody is 13 years old today. To celebrate its 13th anniversary, Rhapsody released some new internal data about the streaming platform’s success to date and its listener highlights for 2014. Over 60% of its audience listens to Rhapsody exclusively on mobile devices. Continue Reading
Russell Simmons recently gave an interview about his All Def Digital venture and about the role of royalties in the current music industry. “All Def Digital, to me, is the place that promotes freedom for artists,” Simmons said. “It’s a place where people can express themselves in ways that the gatekeepers wouldn’t allow in the past.” Continue Reading
Happy Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Oh, and welcome back to work. Feeling exhausted after the long weekend? Or perhaps inspired by work as a refuge from the clamorous holiday season? Either way, Laid Back Radio is a great sonic prescription. Continue Reading
TuneIn Radio announced in a blog post that it is now supported on Google Chromecast. Listeners can now stream the company’s programming to their televisions, and more importantly, to their televisions’ sound systems. To accompany the announcement, TuneIn is hosting a giveaway of Chromecast devices on Twitter. Continue Reading
Guvera is now available in both Russia and Ukraine. The streaming service has pushed for expansion in the past year, currently reaching a total of 16 countries. Most recently, it announced a foothold in India. Guvera first launched in 2010 as a download platform, but it pivoted to streaming over the past year. Continue Reading
Spotify released its 2013 financials, with a basic P&L that tells a vigorous growth story, higher revenue, and lower loss compared to the previous year. At the same time, most of the gross revenue was paid into the music industry as licensing expenses. Continue Reading