Kobalt’s AWAL recorded music division has acquired in2une Music, a multi-format radio promotion specialist for indie artists and labels. The company, which also offers services in playlisting, social & digital strategy and campus promotion, has been used by breakout performers such as Chance the Rapper, Lindsey Stirling, and Major Lazer. Continue Reading
Apple Music has hired more talent away from the BBC. Ryan Newman has left his role as the editor of hip-hop and grime station BBC 1Xtra, where he spearheaded the channel’s music strategy. Now he’ll be joining the hip-hop team at Apple Music. Continue Reading
Napster President and CEO Bill Patrizio gave a keynote talk at the Midem conference, offering his insights on the streaming service’s internal plans and the broader streaming economy. He acknowledged that the company didn’t plan to tackle the current market leaders head on, but would continue pursuing other, innovative approaches to music, such as running streaming services for other brands and businesses. Continue Reading
Old habits are hard to break, and they set in by about age 30. That’s the takeaway from a new survey by Deezer that asked 1,000 Britons about their listening habits. At 30, most begin to stop absorbing new music and only listen to the same artists and genres. Continue Reading
audioBoom has conditionally raised £4.5 million from a mix of new and old investors. The podcast company is expected to trading on the London Stock Exchange beginning June 14, and the placing is conditional upon those shares being restored. It’s a positive development for a business that has had a challenging few months. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia announced that it has entered an interesting and wide-ranging partnership centered on podcasts with OZY Media. The deal contains a podcast-to-broadcast component. the two companies also promise to co-develop original podcasts. Continue Reading
YouTube may be facing a new legal challenge in Europe. The Vienna Commercial Court issued a preliminary decision that YouTube is responsible for preventing its users from uploading infringing content. The decision is not final, but it is maintained in the court’s final ruling, the result could have rippling consequences for the video platform. Continue Reading
Sonos has taken its ambitious next step into the smart speaker space with a new product that supports multiple voice assistants and changes the form factor. The Sonos Beam is a sound bar, a much larger device than the most popular tabletop smart speaker designs currently on the market, that’s capable of providing quality audio for a range of entertainment purposes in small- or medium-sized rooms. Continue Reading
In 2018 there is a fresh sense that programmatic audio is coming into an era of recognition and marketplace maturity. RAIN spoke with Scott Walker, Pandora’s SVP of Programmatic Sales, and Alexis van de Wyer, CEO of AdsWizz. The conversation touched on Google’s entry into programmatic audio, predictions of the future, and Pandora’s acquisition of AdsWizz.
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Spotify is reportedly offering advances to managers and indie artists as an incentive to consider direct licensing deals with the streaming service. Billboard reported that the company is offering up to several hundred thousand dollars in advances for managers that agree to license a particular number of tracks by indies directly to Spotify. On the platform, the managers and acts could then earn 50% of the revenue from those songs being streamed. Continue Reading
As an indication of how audio publishers are flowing into smart speaker distribution, tech company XAPPmedia announced it has enabled over 1,000 voice-enabled apps on the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant platforms. Continue Reading
Facebook has introduced a new feature that takes advantage of its many music licensing deals. Lip Sync Live lets users pick from a catalog of hundreds of songs to create a video where they pretend to sing along with the track. In addition, Facebook is also rolling out permissions for its users to include music in their personal videos. Continue Reading