Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.
We already discussed the minor updates to Apple Music numbers emerging from Apple’s recent keynote. But the real upheaval at the event was the company’s choice to remove the standard headphone jack from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It’s a big deal, but not necessarily a bad idea. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Steve Goldstein takes the Apple CarPlay connected dashboard for a test drive. He shares his thoughts, opinions, and lots of photos of the system. Continue Reading
In an effort to standardize technical terms for podcast producers, networks, and metrics analysts, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) came out of the Labor Day weekend with a release of IAB Podcast Ad Metrics Guidelines. the document is especially effective when clarifying and defining the differences between downloading and streaming. Continue Reading
Sonos announced that it is adding some third-party app integrations to its wireless speaker products. Most intriguingly, one of the first partnerships for app support is with Amazon. People who have both Sonos speakers and one of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices – the Echo or Echo Dot – can now use the Amazon voice-controlled product to operate their Sonos system. Continue Reading
Boulder-based Clip Interactive announced that Entercom Communications, the nation’s fourth-largest radio group, will use Clip interactive radio players for its mobile and web streams. The agreement throws Entercom’s 129 radio stations onto Clip’s interactive platform. The deal follows a year-long engagement of Entercom’s seven-station Portland cluster on Clip’s platform. Continue Reading
WideOrbit has announced that radio group Townsquare Media has commited to a suite of WideOrbit digital platform products across Townsquare’s array of 310 radio stations. Townsquare is the third-largest radio group in the U.S., operating in 66 markets. The deal completes a multiyear Townsquare effort to consolidate its digital operations. Continue Reading
Amazon has been showing interest in launching a standalone streaming music service for months, but according to the latest reports, the tech giant won’t be happy with just one. Amazon appears to be considering two services: one that would match the industry standard of unlimited on-demand access for $10 a month; the other would be half the price and would only work on the company’s Echo home speaker hardware. Continue Reading
How do consumers listen to podcasts? When do they start, stop, abandon, complete their shows? In particular, do they hear the ads? How is advertising effectiveness verified? When those questions can be answered, advertiser buy-in to podcasting will increase. “API Listening” is one key to the future, and an industry buzzword in the present. Continue Reading
Digital music distribution company TuneCore posted its second-quarter results, which include $44 million earned by its members. That total marked a 24% increase from the same period in 2015, when revenue for artists was $35 million. Continue Reading
In a webinar co-produced with RAIN News on Tuesday, Australia-based Omny Studio announced that an upgrade to its audience measurement technology now includes listening data captured from Apple’s Podcasts app. Matt Saraceni, who presented a wide-ranging webinar about podcast listening metrics, said that POmny’s technology is possibly the first of its kind. Continue Reading
Live365, the internet radio host which catastrophically unplugged its service in January, has resurfaced and is planning to re-open. The re-emergence of a mainstay resource for internet radio stations will come as a shock of good news to small webcasters which have struggled to survive since January, or which have not survived. But the news is full of yet-unanswered questions. Continue Reading
Spotify occasionally releases widgets that put data analysis tools into the hands of its users. The latest one is dubbed Organize Your Music. It surveys your saved music collection and proposes reorganization by genre, mood, decade, style, popularity, and other categories. The RAIN editorial office gave it a spin. Continue Reading