Musical.ly is merging its related app, Live.ly, into the core mobile entertainment service. Musical.ly lets people record videos of themselves lip syncing to popular songs, while Live.ly offers hosting of live video broadcasts, a niche that was briefly a hot topic for the startup space. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has promoted Kavi Halemane to the role of executive vice president and general manager of digital programming for iHeartRadio. In this position, Halemane will be responsible for overseeing iHeartRadio’s strategy/operations for original digital music station programming, on-demand subscription playlist and free playlist radio curation, and podcast programming. Continue Reading
Podcasts have been attracting attention from Hollywood as well as from listeners, with rights to several popular and unique audio series getting optioned in recent months. The latest podcast to possibly make the leap is Serial Productions’ S-Town. Continue Reading
Pandora has been named the music streaming launch partner for Snap Kit, the developer platform from the company behind popular social network Snapchat. Through the deal, Pandora is powering a special music-sharing feature for all of the Snap Inc. app’s U.S. users. Continue Reading
SXWorks, a SoundExchange subsidiary, announced two new services to broaden its capabilities in searching and claiming address unknown Notice of Intention to Use filings. The new NOI Premium Services offers more paths for publishers and songwriters to claim unpaid mechanical royalties from digital service providers. This service includes Works Claiming and Recordation. Continue Reading
Spotify held its slight lead over Pandora in March stream listening, an advantage established in January after three years of chasing. Aside from that metrics rivalry, the Top 20 group in Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics report gained one percent in overall listening compared to February. PLUS — a little bit of smart speaker reporting. Continue Reading
Mark Williamson has departed his role as global head of artist and industry partnerships at Spotify. Williamson had been at the streaming service since 2011, rising through the ranks of leadership working with artists, managers, and music executives. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia announced the launch of a new original podcast. iHeartRadio Presents: Insight the Studio will feature unscripted conversations with an artist about to mark a notable milestone or release new material. Joe Levy, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and correspondent for Access Hollywood, hosts the monthly show. Continue Reading
The Canadian music landscape is continuing to shift toward streaming, largely driven by the actions of the younger generations, according to the Nielsen Music 360 Canada report. Streaming has near-total reach for young ears, with 93% of teens and 91% of millennials using the technology, compared with 71% of the general Canadian population. Continue Reading
Acast has signed an exclusive deal with Irish digital sales agency i-Believe. Under this arrangement, i-Believe will offer ad placement on premium, on-demand, brand-safe podcast content at scale in Ireland. Continue Reading
Radiocity.in, the digital arm of Indian broadcaster Radio City, has entered a partnership with AdsWizz and the Google AdWords Premier Small & Medium Business Partner Program. These deals could create new revenue streams for the Indian company. Working with AdsWizz will allow Radio City to monetize its online radio stations with the programmatic buying of audio ad inventory. Continue Reading
Streaming services are taking advantage of the upcoming World Cup with some deals for fans of football (soccer for our fellow Americans). First off, Deezer has planned an artist takeover dubbed Football Fever. The second deal is at Tidal. Continue Reading