ComScore’s latest data covered trends in the U.S. smartphone market, including an assessment of the most popular apps as of October 2014. Only two music apps make the top 15: Pandora with 41.6% reach and iTunes Radio/iCloud at 21.9% reach. Continue Reading
An up-and-coming streaming service named Musx announced seed funding of $500,000, according to VentureBeat. It’s an iOS app designed for social sharing of music. Members can post songs from YouTube or SoundCloud. As has become common in these mobile apps, users can create their own playlists. Musx adds a collaborative angle, so friends can build playlists together. Continue Reading
Rdio announced a tighter integration with the Roku set-top box. Roku remote controls in the U.S. will add a shortcut button for the music service for direct access to the app. The Rdio channel has also be redesigned with improved navigation, and it will appear by default in the “My Channels” section of the navigation menu. Continue Reading
SoundCloud is in discussions to raise new funding to the tune of $150 million at a valuation of more than $1.2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to two sources familiar with the negotiaions, the music platform is looking to raise money as it works to secure licensing deals with major labels. If SoundCloud successfully secures its high valuation and large funding, then it may be in a better position to play ball with Universal Music Group or Sony Music Entertainment. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Trying (and failing) to love hi-rez streaming; iHeartRadio partners (briefly) with Uber; Apple’s antitrust suit and today’s DRM. Continue Reading
Bop.fm rolled out its first mobile app today for iOS devices. I’ve been following this company closely of late because its big claim to fame is syncing up multiple music services under one umbrella. For anyone who listens to lots of music styles across many platforms, the idea is certainly appealing. The new mobile program doesn’t have quite as many streaming options as the desktop version, but it still links up three popular ones: YouTube, Spotify Premium, and Soundcloud. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Will Spotify restrict free listening?; Napster and the ‘culture of free’; mobile boosts global ad revenue. Continue Reading
Australian telecommunication company Telstra announced that it is shuttering Bigpond Music, its online music download store. “The download-to-own music market has changed a lot,” a rep from Telstra said. “We believe the best way for us to continue to provide great music services to our customers is via a partner model.” Continue Reading
“A wide stream of great music awaits you,” the tagline of The Wise Choice promises. It is definitely wide. Today we heard obscure world music and classical guitar mixed up with Elton John and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Enya. Sting. Armik. Carole King. If you like your listening to leap over genre boundaries, you’ll have an enjoyable time with this station. Continue Reading
In an interview with Dow Jones, Grooveshark CEO Sam Tarantino discussed how the company might be able to stay afloat by completely legal avenues. The streaming platform is expected to launch a radio app called Broadcasts in January. A rep from the company called Broadcasts the “first compliant app” for Grooveshark. Continue Reading
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A six-minute blast of news you need to know in streaming music and online audio. This week: Spotify’s geo-targeted advertising; WTMJ ultra-mobile live webcasts; Pandora’s new app; Rhapsody’s birthday stats; Podcast One argues with Stitcher; Music Freedom expands. Continue Reading
Shazam jumped on the bandwagon of 2014 roundups with a listing of the top tracks and artists tagged in the song ID program. The findings fell pretty well in line with what Spotify and other music services have been reporting, but Shazam added some interesting predictions to its blog post by noting some of the artists it expects to break out in 2015. Continue Reading