Merlin, the independent label network and rights organization, has signed a licensing deal with the short-form video platform TikTok. This multi-territory agreement will make Merlin’s repertoire of indie music available for legal use by any users of the social app. Continue Reading
A story in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal reported that Serial Productions, maker of influential podcast Serial, is seeking acquisition. While a great deal of institutional money has flowed into podcasting in the last three years, an acquisition headline focused on a single show is unusual and striking. Continue Reading
Spotify’s assertive growth in podcasting (see yesterday’s report of the company’s growing distribution influence) was headlined in 2019 by acquisitions of Gimlet, Anchor, and Parcast. But outright acquisition isn’t the only way to gain content. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Podnews apparently inspired podcast analytics and attribution company Chartable to crunch some numbers defining the share of podcasting distribution among leaders in that space. The question derives from Spotify’s rapid growth in this field. Apple is still #1, but Spotify’s influence in this field is growing impressively. Continue Reading
Google Podcasts is one of the newer listening platforms, and it has been making adjustments to the experience since launch. The latest beta test of the app includes sharing by timestamp. Continue Reading
Amazon Music announced that it has more than 55 million customers globally in its streaming music network. That growth includes a more than 50% increase in Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions during 2019. Continue Reading
Omny Studio, a subsidiary of Triton Digital, has entered a new partnership with Podchaser, a podcast discovery and database platform. This deal will allow Omny Studio clients to apply Podchaser tags within the Omny tools. Continue Reading
Audioboom released a trading update with a snapshot of its results from 2019. The audio company saw revenue grow 91% from the previous year for a total of $22.2 million. The business also saw its brand advertiser count grow 75%. Continue Reading
by Steve Goldstein
The year kicked off with both the Voice Summit and Project Voice exploring the latest developments in technology centered on speech. Steve Goldstein of Amplifi Media recaps some of the trends emerging from those gatherings. Continue Reading
The latest financial update from 7digital finds the B2B music provider on track to meet its 2019 expectations and see a full recovery in 2020. Thanks to new and renewed contracts and stable revenue for its direct-to-consumer content, 7digital expects to see an operational profit in the first half of 2020. Continue Reading
The BBC will soon have new leadership. Tony Hall will step down as the venerable UK broadcaster’s director general this summer, ending a seven-year tenure. “If I followed my heart I would genuinely never want to leave,” Hall said of his difficult decision to exit. Continue Reading
Sonos announced that it will be ending updates and support for some of its older products. The company said in a blog post that it will no longer create software updates for several models that it launched before 2010. Continue Reading