The UK audio production industry has launched a new trade association. The Radio Independent Group has rebranded and relaunched itself as AudioUK. The RIGtrain branch for training and skills development is now called Audiotrain. Continue Reading
The European Parliament has voted against a sweeping and contentious copyright reform that would have meant major changes to the operation of online platforms such as YouTube. The Copyright Directive was voted down by 318 to 278, with 31 members abstaining. Continue Reading
Pandora has partnered with Bango, a company providing commerce infrastructure for mobile phones. Under the latest deal, Bango will power subscriptions through Pandora resellers in the U.S. Continue Reading
TuneIn has hired DJ Carisma to lead its curation and artist relations in hip-hop and R&B. She joins the audio company after two years as music director for KRRL FM in Los Angeles. Continue Reading
Motorsport league Formula 1 has announced plans to launch its first official podcast. The show, titled Beyond the Grid, is a weekly podcast produced in association with audioBoom and is presented by Bose. Continue Reading
AdsWizz announced that radio sports station talkSPORT will leverage its ShakeMe technology for a new campaign in the UK. ShakeMe is an interactive audio ad format that helps listeners take an automatic action on their smartphone in response to the spot. Continue Reading
Popular finance and economics radio show and podcast Marketplace has launched an Alexa experience which might represent an early foray into original smart-speaker audio content. Called Make Me Smart from MarketPlace, it contains wholly original information pieces that extend the Marketplace brand and voice into the leading smart speaker platform. Executive comment from Sitara Nieves. Continue Reading
Mood Media, an in-store media solutions specialist, announced the acquisition of focus4media. The company is the largest Mood Independent Affiliate in North America, and Mood Media has acquired all of its assets for providing sight, sound, scent, and systems solutions to brick-and-mortar storefronts. Continue Reading
Podcast listening is on the rise in Germany. A survey of more than 1,000 Germans by digital association Bitkom found that 22% of the nation is tuning in to podcasts, compared with 14% in 2016. Among ages 14-29 and ages 30-49, the rate of podcast listening is 30%. Continue Reading
Former Vevo executive Tom Connaughton left the video platform for a position at Spotify in March and he’s already rising through the ranks. Connaughton initially joined the streaming company as head of artist and label marketing for the UK. Continue Reading
This weekend officially marked the end of an era for retailer Best Buy. The company ended its sales of compact discs on July 1, a move that was first hinted at back in February. The move is a strong reaction from the retail sector in response to the steady drop in physical music sales. Continue Reading
AdvertiseCast announced an ad deal with the Taste of Taylor podcast. Host Taylor Strecker is also a radio personality and current presenter for TV Land’s Getting Younger. Under this arrangement, AdvertiseCast will be the exclusive ad sales partner for her podcast. Continue Reading