iHeartMedia filed for an initial public offering today, marking a big financial move for an audio conglomerate that is emerging from bankruptcy. The filing signals the end of an era for iHeartMedia, which has been under private ownership for more than a decade. Continue Reading
The report found that the global recorded music market reached revenue of $19.1 billion. That figure grew 9.7% over 2018, marking a fourth consecutive year of growth and the highest rate since the IFPI began tracking the metric in 1997. Digital sources accounted for 58.9% of the international total, or $11.2 billion. It was the first year that digital formats surpassed $10 billion in revenue. Continue Reading
Jacobs Media has released the results from its 2019 Techsurvey, an exploration into audio and radio consumption in North America. The web survey covered the United States and Canada, and was conducted among members of radio station databases, through station websites, and social networking pages. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired Chaka Zulu as its new head of artist and talent relations. Zulu has been the manager of rapper Ludacris for many years and is co-founder of the Disturbing Tha Peace label. Continue Reading
Ad tech platform Instreamatic.ai is announcing today its agreement with Pandora to test interactive voice audio ads that are smartened up with artificial intelligence. This platform seems to promise the conversational relationship people have with smart speakers and mobile voice assistants, applied to the consumer-advertiser relationship. Continue Reading
In an unforeseen and ambitious expansion, Edison Research has announced new components of its long-running Share of Ear consumer study. Taking advantage of a staff increase announced over a year ago, the research company is adding Eye, Nose, and Throat to its famous measurement of American listening. Continue Reading
Podtrac released a new set of data today exploring the most popular podcast topics. In both February 2019 and February 2018, the top three podcast categories were comedy, news and politics, and society and culture. Continue Reading
Google’s next smart home product appears to be a hub device. The new hardware will be called the Nest Hub Max, a smart display with a Nest camera and a 10-inch screen. The upcoming launch was leaked by accident in an update to the website for its Google Store. Continue Reading
Smart speakers have been rising in popularity since their debut, and new data from the International Data Corporation anticipates that the global market for smart home tech will grow 26.9% in 2019 to 832.7 million shipments. Nearly 1.6 billion devices are expected to ship in 2023. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: More on the split between the BBC and Google. April Fools on the airwaves. Continue Reading
Most music streaming services have a familiar set of options for subscription options, but Spotify is trying out something new. An individual can subscribe for $9.99 a month, the family tier gives access to up to six people for $14.99, and now it’s testing a middle ground. Spotify Duo is a subscription for just two people. Continue Reading
eMarketer predicted that Amazon Music be the fastest-growing service for audio streaming in 2019 and through 2023. According to its latest statistics, Amazon Music will reach 35 million monthly U.S. listeners this year thanks to a growth rate of 17.7%. Continue Reading