Deezer announced that it has appointed Tarek Mounir as its CEO of the Middle East and North Africa. He will join the company effective April 1 after more than eight years working in the same region for international broadcast media company Turner. Continue Reading
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has shared its latest research into smart speaker ownership in the United States. The total install base for smart speakers in the country at the close of 2018 is 66 million, up from 36 million in 2017. A growing share of the install base has more than one smart speaker, up to 35% in 2018 from 18% in 2017. Continue Reading
The Share of Ear survey from Edison Research has been charting trends in U.S. audio consumption since 2014. In that time, several new trends have emerged, such as a heavy shift toward subscription streaming and a surge of interest around podcasting. However, a new blog post from the company noted that with all of those gains, one particular listening category has been in decline. Continue Reading
The Music Modernization Act is open to submissions for the management of the Mechanical Licensing Collective through March 21. A group comprised of the National Music Publishers’ Association, the Nashville Songwriters Association International, and the Songwriters of North America have made their bid for the leadership of the MLC. Continue Reading
Mixcloud has hired Daniel Petruzzi as its vice president of partnerships. Petruzzi will focus on developing engagement within the company’s U.S. creator community. He will also be promoting the Mixcloud Select fan-to-creator subscription service. Continue Reading
Despite a few early experiments, augmented reality glasses have mostly remained the stuff of science fiction. But Bose is making its own attempt to enter this space with the launch of Frames glasses in the U.S. The audio-focused sunglasses contain speakers in the frame and microphones near each temple. Continue Reading
Amazon Audible has launched a new Alexa skill in partnership with ChooseCo, the creators of the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. The interactive storytelling skill will launch with two stories — The Abominable Snowman and Journey Under the Sea — which have 28 and 37 potential endings, respectively. Continue Reading
Apple is embarking on a new strategy for its AI department. Notably, Bill Stasior has reportedly been removed as the head of the Siri team, which he had helmed since joining the tech company in 2012. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James draws some connections between radio and live television. Lots of UK news this week, including a look at BBC Sounds and the loss of Jeremy Hardy. Continue Reading
The media sphere burbled over the weekend with late-Friday reporting that Spotify is “in talks” to acquire podcast powerhouse Gimlet Media, with a price tag above $200-million. If this happens, it will be the richest institutional dive into podcasting yet. click through for details, and a history of podcast acquisitions, full and partial. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: How much will customers pay to stream? Two different features explore the idea that podcasts are the new blogs and that podcasts are the new video. Continue Reading
The Daily, the weekday news podcast from The New York Times and Michael Barbaro, is going to be getting supplementary written words. Episodes of the show, which has topped Podtrac’s monthly show rankers for the past two months, are now getting transcripts. Continue Reading