Amazon released its third-quarter earnings, marking an unusual uneven quarter for the tech empire. Net sales totaled $70 billion, up 24% from $56.6 billion in the same quarter of 2018. Continue Reading
Rhapsody and Sony Music Entertainment Japan have officially launched their mora qualitas streaming service in Japan. The platform, initially unveiled in December 2018, offers high-resolution music from the Sony catalog, as well as libraries from other labels and distributors. Continue Reading
Podcast network Luminary Media has a new CEO and a new influx of funding. Simon Sutton is stepping in to lead the subscription audio platform. In addition to new leadership, Luminary has secured an additional $30 million in a series C financing round. Continue Reading
NPR is changing its approach to video content. After several years running the VuHaus collection of music-related videos from several public radio stations, NPR has relocated that material to a new microsite within NPRMusic.org. This section is called Live Sessions From NPR Music Stations Across America. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment is launching a new podcast joint venture. The company is collaborating with UK-based podcast producer Renay Richardson for a business called Broccoli Content. Continue Reading
Spotify is trying out a new layer to its alerts about new music releases. The platform already shows full-screen pop-ups to users when their favorite artists drop new albums. With the new feature, artists and their management would have the option to pay to sponsor those recommendations. Continue Reading
Germany has been one of the slower markets to transition to streaming music, and a new study found that the trends toward new technology is continuing to gradually rise. A study conducted by the University of Hamburg for a collection of music industry bodies found that about a quarter of German listeners are paying for a music streaming service. Continue Reading
Pandora has introduced multiple features centered around artist promotion. First, it shared some figures from its Artist Marketing Platform. Second, it launched song credits in more platforms. Continue Reading
NPR has announced the hire of AI expert Noelle LaCharite as Vice President of Digital Technology. NPR’s Chief digital Officer Thomas Hjelm made the announcement. LaCharite has been an artificial intelligence expert at Microsoft and Amazon, and is a veteran speaker, teacher, and digital product developer. Continue Reading
Spreaker has added one-click distribution support for Android app Podcast Addict. The app reported that it has been downloaded more than 9 million times and hosts 750,000 shows. Continue Reading
NPR has announced the second Student Podcast Challenge, an opportunity for kids and teachers in grades 5-12 to create and submit new shows. The first year resulted in 6,000 submitted shows from teams representing 25,000 students. Continue Reading
Acast is launching a new program to help its podcasters put on live shows. It has entered a partnership with DICE to produce a run of events from late 2019 through 2020 in venues around London. Acast Live will feature shows curated from the company’s UK podcast network. Continue Reading