TuneCore paid $32.7 million to artists in the third quarter of 2014. That amount marked a 13.2% increase over the payouts made by the digital music distribution company in the same quarter of 2013. This is a solid performance, nearly matching the more than $33 million it distributed in 2014’s second quarter. Since launching in 2006, it it has paid $471.5 million for its clients. Continue Reading
The BBC is throwing its weight behind efforts to get FM radio chips enabled on smartphones. Research commissioned by the UK broadcaster found that the majority of smartphone owners want radio available in the devices. The study also highlighted the common concerns about that technology: mobile data costs, impact on battery life, and reception issues. Continue Reading
NextRadio announced an adoption milestone: one-million downloads of the NextRadio app. With the announcement of one-million downloads comes an update of the app (scheduled for this Friday, October 17), that will put new, more interactive features into the NextRadio experience. We tracked and charted the history of NextRadio’s key adoption metrics. Continue Reading
Shazam has moved into the broadcast realm thanks to a partnership with Southern Cross Austereo. The parties have created a nightly show called Shazam Top 20 that will count down the most-tagged songs in Australia. According to the press release, fans who have the Shazam app on their phones will be directly influencing the charts. Calling the arrangement “a world-first,” Shazam’s APAC Sales Director Steve Sos said that the fan-guided radio show was a natural extension of the sound-identification app’s service. Continue Reading
Vodafone has continued its trend of partnering with streaming services. This time, Vodafone Australia has tied up with Spotify for a deal that will give the telecom’s customers access to the premium listening plan. Details of the arrangement or for a potential discount on the Premium plan were not disclosed. According to the streaming platform, about 1.5 million Aussies regularly stream music on their smartphones. Continue Reading
Deezer’s unusual arrival into the U.S. market has had us scratching our heads for several weeks. First an Elite plan only for Sonos owners, then a Premium+ one for the only marginally less costly Bose speakers? In an interview with CNET, North American CEO Tyler Goldman explained that audiophiles were just the first of many demographics that Deezer planned to target. He said the streaming service would be launching products for other U.S. segments over the next year. Continue Reading
Why? Yknot! Sometimes a stream grabs us from the first song and holds on. That’s partly luck, but regular listening separates enduring stations from temporary infatuations. Yknot Radio is a keeper for upbeat, feel-good music that lies somewhere between soft rock and the hard stuff. Continue Reading
SoundCloud reported its financials from 2013 and revealed that the site’s losses are growing at a faster rate than its revenue. Revenue increased from 8 million euros in 2012 to 11.2 million euros in 2013, but losses nearly doubled from 12.4 million euros to 23.1 million euros for those years. Continue Reading
Short news items and worthy reads from around the web: A reader’s history of EDM; stemming the tide of Russian piracy with legit streaming; Soundscan music sales in Q3. Continue Reading
Sponsored by AudioBoom
An eight-minute blast of news you need to know in streaming music and online audio. The weekly update of news you need to know in streaming music and online audio, from RAIN News. This week: royalty arguments in high gear; The Turtles chase Pandora, iHeartMedia and Omnicom; UK streaming doubles; dot-RADIO controversy; Apple and the labels; surprise for an Alabama radio station. Continue Reading
The Financial Times reported that SoundCloud has hit stumbling blocks in its negotiations with three major music labels. Sources told the publication that Universal, Sony, and Warner have all rejected SoundCloud’s proposed terms and are looking for a better deal. In fact, Universal is allegedly not in conversation with the online music portal anymore. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced an upgrade to its browser experience that brings a more visual music player onto the screen. The large-format player displays an expanded version of the thumbnail image associated with each track. We found some beautiful results, and some ineffective ones. Soundcloud creators, who stock the site with uploaded music, are complaining. Continue Reading