Rhapsody announced a major milestone this morning, reporting that it has surpassed 2 million paid subscribers across its music services. Considering the company was just touting 1.7 million subscribers in April, it’s making steady progress in attracting new listeners. In related news, Rhapsody expanded its available offerings in several international markets through its Napster division. Continue Reading
Dating app Tinder created a place where members could forge new personal connections based on snap judgements of attraction. Now, two of the app’s veterans have launched a new project that applies the same idea and mechanics to music. Tinder co-founder Christopher Gulczynski and former design vice president Sarah Nick are the brains behind Next, which bills itself as a place for social music discovery. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. TODAY: Verizon to throttle some users back; T-Mobile unleashes data, but might violate Net Neutrality principles; artist support for streaming. Continue Reading
Google announced that it will give U.S. Chromecast users a 90-day free trial subscription to the All Access Music service. The subscription streaming platform usually costs $9.99. Google is offering the free deal through September. Chromecast has been out for a year now, and it’s Google’s method of getting streaming media from mobile devices to a television screen. Several services, including Pandora, Beats Music, and Rdio, have added support for Chromecast. Continue Reading
Pandora’s workmanlike earnings call conveyed the impression of offhand dominance in the field, but after-hours investors sent the stock careening down a steep slope, off 12% in early evening trading.
The company met financial expectations, but lowered guidance for the current quarter (Jul – Sep). Perhaps more influential to trigger-happy investors were the audience metrics, which showed no audience growth. There was expansion of listening hours, however, emphasized by CEO Brian McAndrews as the more important key in the revenue equation. Continue Reading
Townsquare Media launched as a public company today, pricing its offering at $11. (NYSE ticker: TSQ) Townsquare is the 3rd-largest radio-station holding company in the U.S., with 312 local stations. An eager digital adopter, Townsquare maintains 325 local websites, and has grown its webcast listenership 43% in the past year. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: The state of streaming; online radio in Australia; live but not in person; Google/Spotify deal debate. Continue Reading
Xbox Music will be getting an update in a few weeks, according to tweets from a Microsoft exec. Joe Belfiore, vice president for Windows Phone program management and design, said on Twitter that the service would be getting an upgrade in performance, fixes, and new features shortly. The news will come as a relief to fans of the service, which seemed like it could be on the chopping block based on Microsoft’s plans to streamline its in-house music and video teams. Continue Reading
Christopher LaRosa, a product manager for YouTube Music, is leaving to join an unnamed startup. He spent about seven years at the Google subsidiary and was a key player in expanding the musical content available via YouTube. Some of his projects included getting YouTube data to count toward the Billboard 100 singles chart and the still in-development subscription music program. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. TODAY: UMG launches a You-Tube-derived music label; David Lowery blames music managers; a fun infographic. Continue Reading
WideOrbit, a leading provider of advertising management solutions, has acquired Admeta, a Sweden-based tech company specializing in programmatic ad-selling. With a strong focus in Europe, and clients in over 20 countries, Admeta develops technology to optimize revenue for online publishers. Continue Reading
Sanjay Sharma has joined All Def Digital as president and CEO. The YouTube channel, launched by Def Jam’s Russell Simmons, is a resource focused on hip-hop music, comedy, and spoken word artists. From behind-the-scenes videos with new MCs to talk shows with the latest celebrity gossip and news, the channel is positioning itself as a multimedia resource for fans and performers alike. Sharma joins the company after almost five years at Machinima, another multichannel network that produces videos and web shows centered on video games and gamer lifestyle. Continue Reading