Quick Hits: Holiday and year-end round-up edition
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Wrapping up 2018 at Pandora and Shazam, plus the top Christmas tracks on YouTube. Continue Reading
Humor meets true crime in the latest show to join Audioboom Originals Network
Audioboom announced that the comedic true crime podcast And That’s Why We Drink has joined the Audioboom Originals Network. The expanded deal includes an exclusive premium ad sales and promotional agreement. Continue Reading
Spotify settles mechanical licensing suit from Wixen
Spotify has reached a settlement with Wixen. The independent publisher filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit against the streaming service at the start of the year on claims that Spotify had hosted tens of thousands of compositions from Wixen without the correct mechanical licenses. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group fiscal year revenue exceeded $4 billion for the first time
Warner Music Group released its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending September 30, 2018. Quarterly revenue increased 13.3% to $1.039 billion, with $596 million of that stemming from digital sources. For the full fiscal year, total revenue was $4.005 billion, up 12%, and total digital revenue for the year was $2.252 billion. Continue Reading
Survey: Smart speaker owners use device in living rooms, and games are on the rise
The latest survey from Adobe Analytics explored trends within smart speaker ownership. The majority of respondents (63%) are using their devices in their living room. The popularity of smart speakers in living spaces could guide how manufacturers and how voice skills further develop. Continue Reading
Midroll Media studies find 4.4 times better brand recall from podcast advertisements
Midroll Media released a roundup of all eleven podcast ad effectiveness studies it commissioned from Nielsen during 2018. The studies demonstrated positive results for podcast advertising. The first top-line result is that the format generated up to 4.4 times better brand recall than display advertisements. Continue Reading
Pandora hires CMT exec to head country music programming
Pandora has hired a new head of country programming. Jennifer Danielson joins Pandora after almost 10 years with CMT, where she was most recently the director of music strategy. She will oversee programming for country music, which Pandora says draws more than 30 million unique listeners to the service every month. Continue Reading
Laura Walker to depart as president and CEO of New York Public Radio next year
Laura Walker is stepping down from her post as the president and CEO of New York Public Radio. Her departure marks the end of 23 years at the helm of the public radio operation. Walker guided New York Public Radio from its roots as a city-owned station to an independent nonprofit composed of eight radio stations and many other media properties. Continue Reading
Podtrac releases November podcast ranker, with The Daily landing on top
Podtrac has published its ranker of the top podcasts for November 2018, which includes the company’s recently adopted verification labels. Fourteen of the top twenty shows of November are taking advantage of Podtrac’s verified platform. Continue Reading
Cadence13 teams with TNT for companion podcast to upcoming Black Dahlia TV drama
Cadence13 has partnered with television channel TNT to produce a companion podcast for one of its upcoming programs. Root of Evil is an eight-part podcast about the Hodel family and their connection to the Black Dahlia murder. Yvette Gentile and Rasha Pecoraro, the daughters of Fauna Hodel, host the podcast. Continue Reading
Steve Goldstein: Time-Shifted Audio Deserves More Respect
by Steve Goldstein
Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein gives some attention and respect to time-shifted audio. He argues that the broader industry should do the same; here’s why. Continue Reading
Tidal launches My Mix playlists, updated radio algorithms
Tidal introduced a new personalized playlist to its feature set. The streaming service’s My Mix blends algorithm-generated recommendations with insights from its human-curated playlists to create listening recommendations based on an individual’s tastes. Continue Reading