Technology, hardware, and gadgets. WiFi speakers, digital dashboards, and more.
LG announced its foray into WiFi speakers with the Music Flow suite of products. The company will sell three speakers, three upgraded sound bars, and a portable, battery-powered speaker under this brand. The Music Flow speakers will support the new audio-only Google Cast software, which brings in several music services. LG also has product partnerships with iHeartRadio, Rhapsody, Spotify, and TuneIn. Continue Reading
AT&T has thrown its hat into the auto technology ring with the announcement of its own connected car platform. AT&T Drive is designed to be a modular solution where car manufacturers can pick and choose the features they want. HQ’d in a 5,000-square-foot research center, AT&T Drive joins Google, Apple. Microsoft, and QNX in a crowded space. Continue Reading
Emanating from CES in Las Vegas is an announcement from Sony of a new Walkman model. The Walkman brand was iconic in the pre-Internet, pre-cloud era, and represented the first meaningful mobility for user-chosen music. Continue Reading
The long-awaited Pono Music ecosystem, Neil Young’s project, emerged from beta this week. Pono Music players will be available at Fry’s consumer electronics stores, and online. This week’s CES-timed launch closes the first, non-public chapter of Pono’s storied existance. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio announced another partnership today at CES, this one with Sony Computer Entertainment. Beginning early in the first quarter of this year, the iHeartRadio platform will arrive on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 game consoles. Continue Reading
Google is kicking off CES with a major musical announcement. The company is launching new software called Google Cast that will stream audio content directly to speakers. The initial partnerships include Pandora, Rdio, iHeartRadio, NPR One, and, unsurprisingly, Google Play Music. More tie-ups are in the works, CNET reported. Continue Reading
Sony experienced a debilitating hack on its confidential information earlier this month, with hackers publishing reams of email correspondence between the company’s leaders online for public viewing. Some of these emails revealed that Sony Corp. was considering selling off the music publishing arm because of concerns over its growth prospects. Thanks to a 2012 acquisition, the music publishing arm includes Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing. Continue Reading
Media management company WideOrbit has acquired the audio/video publishing platform Castfire, adding a new dimension to WideOrbit’s ad-insertion solutions. WideOrbit plans to position Castfire with its Abacast Clarity product, which it obtained with the Abacast acquisition in June. Continue Reading
British streaming music platform 7digital announced a technology partnership with Meridian Audio, and is the launch partner of Meridian’s MQA high-res audio format. MQA stands for Master Quality Authenticated, and delivers high fidelity audio in a streamable file size. We spoke to 7digital CEO Simon Cole about the importance of streamable high-res music. Continue Reading
In a first-of-its-kind partnership, PodcastOne and the Associated Press (AP) are partnering to create one-minute news podcasts. Special insertion technology will automatically deliver the most current 60-second program to each listener. Eighteen shows will be produced each day, seven days a week. RAIN News spoke to PodcastOne founder Norman Pattiz. Continue Reading
Royalty recovery firm Audiam has raised a $1-million funding round from a diverse coalition of investors in the music industry. Audiam fills an unusual niche in the online music ecosystem, tracking down failed royalty payments, collecting them, and getting the money where it’s supposed to go. Continue Reading
Pandora updated its iPhone and Android apps, giving user more control of their stations and a shiny new interface to certain functions. The refreshed apps are being roll out incrementally to Pandora’s large listenership, with three percent of users added to the initial beta period. Continue Reading