The five most-read articles of last week. Is the streaming-music business model fundamentally broken? (This was also our most-linked article.) iTunes Radio and Pandora: who is slaying whom? Lew Dickey (CEO, Cumulus) speaks out about streaming. Shazam starts a record label. More. Continue Reading
In a deal that can power the talking points of “net neutrality” detractors and advocates alike, video streamer Netflix announced “a mutually beneficial interconnection agreement” with cable giant Comcast. The deal is historic, with many dimensions. Continue Reading
In what appears to be a targeted competitive thrust, song-identification platform SoundHound announced an app update that connects more substantially to music subscription service Spotify. Competitive strategy against Shazam and its recently completed deal with Rdio? Continue Reading
A streaming success story: Ron Pope’s tracks have been played 57-million times, and he has earned about $335,000 in Spotify royalties. In 2013, Spotify paid Ron Pope $200,000. He cites Spotify as his second-highest income source, after iTunes. His live shows are fourth on Pope’s income list. Continue Reading
Billing itself as “The Internet’s Premiere Jazz Station,” Blue Plate Radio plays a mix of straight-ahead and smooth-tinged jazz. More than just a globally-distributed playlist stream, Blue Plate assumes a role as gatekeeper of the local jazz scene in New Haven, CT, and promoter of artists performing in the area. Continue Reading
In a first-of-its-kind deal, song-recognition company Shazam has partnered with Warner Music Group (WMG) to create a new Shazam-branded music label, and to augment WMG marketing of existing artists with Shazam’s consumer-use data. Continue Reading
Cumulus Media conducted its earning call yesterday, during which CEO Lew Dickey spoke about the partnership with music subscription service Rdio, and about online music generally. Dickey’s remarks evangelized the values of streaming music, and recognized migration away from downloading. Continue Reading
Songwriter and instrumentalist Beck has pre-released his new album, Morning Phase, on NPR. the collection can be streamed in its entirety, with individual song access. Beck’s tactic is a twist on the industry’s pre-release strategy that, in one form or another, is decades old. Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon, Reuters spotted a Spotify job listing containing language which implied that the music subscription company was preparing to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The buzz building around this speculation today is an extension of past predictions from many quarters. Continue Reading
Dhingana, a major Indian music service which we reported as having about 3.5-million users in December, has closed to the public. The closure comes about a year and a half after Dhingana received $7-million in funding from a trio of venture companies. Continue Reading
Rdio updated its iOS mobile apps with two important features that exist already in the desktop experience. With U.S. listening migrating to mobile from the desktop, it is increasingly important for music apps to provide an unbroken feature set across all their installations. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: The five most-read articles of the week. Pandora vs. ASCAP trial; how millennials listen; the inaugural RAIN Poll; spotify launches a radio-like hosted program; Pandora accepts open music submissions. Continue Reading