Google Play Music All Access announced another big international push, rolling out the service to nine more countries. Hot on the heels of an expansion in July, the streaming platform made further inroads into South and Latin America. With today’s launches, Google’s streaming product is now available in 43 countries. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio made good use of its mobile notification mechanism this morning, pinging registered users about a special Robin Williams takeover of the service’s “24/7 Comedy” channel. Legendary comedian and actor Williams died last night in his California home. Continue Reading
CD Baby has added free customizable online music players for its members. The company, which helps indie musicians to sell digital downloads and physical copies of their music, is positioning this new feature as a way for artists to make their work easily sharable. Continue Reading
Niche label Blue Music Group, which specializes in Scandinavian jazz and classical artists, announced yesterday that it has withdrawn its catalog from Spotify’s on-demand streaming service. The announcement, and its wording, make an interesting illustration of the tricky decision facing content owners during a time of industry disruption. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: RMLC supports consent decrees; Spotify’s first Canadian invites; Pandora ad exec talks targeting Continue Reading
Saavn has added 800,000 tracks from Warner Music and EMI to its offerings. The addition of this batch of Western music brings the Indian service’s catalog to almost 2 million. Saavn said in its press release that the deal makes it the only streaming platform in the country to offer songs from all of the big Western labels, with tunes from Sony and Universal already in its library. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Bop.fm’s tour info; Grooveshark’s new partnership; Twitch’s copyright debate. Continue Reading
RealNetworks included some insights into the money situation at Rhapsody in the SEC filing for its second-quarter financial results. For the period, Rhapsody posted revenue of about $42.4 million, up from about $35.7 million in the second quarter of 2013. Despite the healthy jump in revenue, the service is still operating at a loss. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Behind Spotify’s algorithms; music royalties cheat sheet; Internet radio company Reciva snapped up Continue Reading
Uprise.fm is a forthcoming streaming site that aims to make rare, unique, and live recordings available in the digital space. The project, scheduled for launch in the U.S. and Canada in 2015, recently signed on Daniel Lanois as its creative director and chief music curator. Continue Reading
All Def Digital, the cross-platform network spearheaded by Russell Simmons, secured $5 million in Series A financing. The funding will support the network’s growth, original programming, and initiatives for artist and talent development. This multimedia resource for the hip-hop community has also forged interesting ties to streaming music. Continue Reading
ASCAP announced that it is appealing the decision it lost to Pandora in a federal rate-setting trial in March. ASCAP seeks to reverse a district court’s ruling that set a much lower royalty rate for Pandora’s use of music created or published by ASCAP members. In the earlier trial, federal judge Denis Cote was categorical in her rejection of ASCAP’s argument. the stakes are high enough to motivate ASCAP’s appeal. Continue Reading