UK’s Global seeks to buy 49.99% of iHeartMedia

Posted on by Brad Hill

UK-based radio and technology behemoth Global is attempting to acquire 49.9% of iHeartMedia, the largest commercial radio group in the U.S. Doing so would require exemption from U.S. government rules that regulate foreign ownership of U.S. broadcasting companies. Global is seeking that exemption now, and in doing so seems to be revealing a potential misunderstanding between the two companies. There are precedents in which the FCC has granted exemptions, but not of this scale. Continue Reading →

Pandemic vaults eMarketer digital audio forecast in UK to higher levels

Posted on by Brad Hill

“Digital audio has undoubtedly benefited from the UK lockdowns,” according to eMarketer, which has revised its projection for digital audio listening in the UK. The research company now says that digital listening will grow beyond its pre-pandemic forecast, which predicts percentage-of-population metrics through 2024. Two types of listening are documented in this forecast. Click for details and graphics. Continue Reading →

TSQ in 2020: “The year Townsquare became a Digital First company”

Posted on by Brad Hill

Townsquare media released its Q4 earnings this morning. In a note detailing results sent to RAIN from CEO (and RAIN Summit keynote speaker) Bill Wilson, he described 2020 this way: “Although we are proud of our roots and DNA in local radio and we continue to love local radio, 2020 was the year Townsquare became a ‘Digital First’ company.” Click through for more detail, plus a table, provided by Wilson, which compares TSQ results with six other radio groups. Continue Reading →

Steve Goldstein: Finding “Shelf Space” for your Podcast is Hard

Posted on by Steve Goldstein

by Steve Goldstein
In this guest column, Steve Goldstein gets real about podcast creators getting their shows into the mobile devices of prospective listeners, and then actually getting played as a separate challenge. “Our smartphones are loaded with the great intentions of downloaded podcasts that are never listened to.” Brace for numbers-based reality.
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TuneCore launches its digital music distribution service in LATAM

Posted on by Brad Hill

The Latin American (LATAM) market is an important and growing business for music services, so it makes sense that it would be for distribution to those services. One of the leading such companies, TuneCore, has announced its expansion into LATAM countries. Tunecore localizes its efforts, building out member websites in 13 languages. The company pays out about $1M per day in artist royalties. Continue Reading →