Interviews with, and contributions from, the most perceptive voices in the online audio industry.
Guest contributor Mark Mulligan analyzes just-released U.K. music industry figures for 2015, which show a return to growth. Adele had a lot to do with it, but not (only) in the way you expect. Also, the “Transition Triangle” maps consumer migration to streaming. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Analysis of the CRB ruling in the U.S. Spotify lures away Radio 1’s music head. Much more news from around the world. Continue Reading
In tomorrow’s Federal Register, the Copyright Royalty Board will announce the commencement of three new proceedings to set music royalties for the 2018-2022 five-year period, each involving a different music right. Continue Reading
Happy New Year!
In last year’s edition of RAIN’s annual predictions, we wrote: “2015 will be an eventful year for all stakeholders in online audio.” It was. This year will carry forward the audio industry’s reputation for disruptive change. RAIN News is pleased to present predictions from 23 thought-leading guest futurists Continue Reading
Unsettled issues are flowing into the industry mindspace following the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) ruling of new webcast royalty rates to labels on December 16. Broadcast law attorney David Oxenford untangles what the issues mean to broadcasters and small webcasters. Continue Reading
While albums fade as commercial products, and radio is challenged by streaming audio, is there a new power product that drives listens and accelerates hit-making? U.K.-based consultant and founder of New Slang Media, Chris Price, has emerged as a specialist in identifying the power of playlists, and quantifying their influence. Listomania is his new research study. Continue Reading
Intellectual property attorney Angus MacDonald was the first to calculate that Pandora paid more than half of all SoundExchange collections of royalties to record labels. At that time he spoke of implications for the Webcasting IV process which ended this week with new webcaster rates for 2016. We asked MacDonald for his thoughts about the ruling, and he sent us his analysis. Continue Reading
While Pandora, iHeartMedia, and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) are content with new CRB rates, the royalty ruling puts smaller streamers on shaky ground, we’ve heard from several sources. Click for comments by Rusty Hodge, Kurt Hanson, Brian McAndrews, and David Porter. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will outline new webcaster royalty rates tomorrow (Wednesday). Media attorneys Jay Rosenthal and David Leichtman weigh in with anticipatory comments. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: An article on why programme debriefs may not be useful. Ed Sheeran’s amusing peep show stunt. Plus the BBC, NextRadio, recommendations, and more. Continue Reading
Pandora CFO Mike Herring spoke at the Wedbush 2015 California Dreamin’ Technology, Consumer Management Access Conference. He spoke about Pandora’s vision generally, the expansion to on-demand service in 2016, Apple Music and Steve Jobs, the company’s recent acquisition of Ticketfly, the imminent CRB royalty-rate ruling, and more. Continue Reading
Roger Lanctot is Associate Director of Strategy Analytics, and a thought leader in the connected-car space. In this guest article, he set forth the outlook for radio, even as tech companies do battle over the hardware for connected vehicles. Continue Reading