Tidal launches telecom bundle in Brazil
Tidal has entered a partnership with Brazilian telecommunications company Vivo. All of Vivo’s mobile customers will be offered Tidal plans on a weekly or monthly basis. Continue Reading
RIAA H1 report: 46 million subscribers generated streaming revenue of $2.5 billion
Yesterday, the RIAA mid-year report arrived with a few big bullet points, including a 75% share of the U.S. music industry revenue for streaming. Today, we offer a more granular look at where that growth occurred, and where the sector continues to struggle. Continue Reading
RIAA H1 2018 report at a glance: Streaming is 75% of U.S. music biz
The RIAA has released its mid-year report on the U.S. music industry, and the report continues to trace a stratospheric rise for the streaming economy. Tomorrow RAIN News will publish our detailed analysis of the report, but here are the top-line takeaways. Continue Reading
Instreamatic inks client deal for interactive audio ads
Instreamatic.ai, a voice-activated advertising platform, announced a new partnership to provide voice-activated advertisements to music streaming platform Audiomack. Listeners can interact with the brief ads by voice commands, such as asking for more information or to open a webpage. Continue Reading
Gimlet Pictures hires first development executive
Earlier this year, podcast house Gimlet Media launched a division focused on translating its audio creations into visual media. Now that Gimlet Pictures branch has hired its first development executive. Continue Reading
Spotify now trialing direct music uploads for independent artists
Spotify is best testing a new process that will allow independent artists to upload their music directly to the streaming platform. The feature is being offered to a small group of performers through the Spotify For Artists management dashboard. Continue Reading
Amazon rumored to bring Alexa to a smart plug, a microwave, and more this month
The Amazon Alexa voice assistant platform is coming to more and more gadgetry around the home. This week began with rumors of at least eight new Alexa devices to come before the year’s close, and the week is ending with a leak confirming two of them. Continue Reading
BuzzFeed News closes in-house audio production studio
BuzzFeed News has closed down its podcast production studio, a move that will end several of its in-house shows. According to sources, BuzzFeed News will continue to greenlight podcasts, but will do so with third-party production studios. Continue Reading
Monetized SoundCloud streams will count toward UK charts
SoundCloud announced that it will have a presence on the Official Charts Company in the UK. All plays of licensed, monetized tracks on SoundCloud will be counted towards chart performance. Continue Reading
Google Home Mini was the top-selling smart speaker in Q2 2018 (Strategy Analytics)
Amazon may have held the lead as smart speakers entered the marketplace, but Google is hot on its trail. According to Strategy Analytics, the Google Home Mini was the top-selling smart speaker in the world during the second quarter. Continue Reading
The Guardian to launch daily news podcast later this year
The Guardian is the latest news publication to create a daily podcast for a deeper dive into current events. The new show will be hosted by political editor Anushka Asthana and is slated for launch by the end of the year. Six audio journalists have been hired by The Guardian to produce the currently unnamed program. Continue Reading
DAX partners on new original scripted drama from Global
DAX, the digital audio arm of Global, announced that it is the exclusive distribution and monetization partner for an audio drama titled America 2.0. The serial political drama, an original podcast from Global, is co-created by J.S. Mayank and David Carlyle. Continue Reading