YouTube announced it is merging all of that performer’s subscribers into the Official Artist Channel, which will be identified with a music note icon. That could reduce the visibility of Vevo, which is owned by two major music labels, with investment from Alphabet (parent company of YouTube and Google). Continue Reading
In the November report of Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, overall stream listening moved upward 3% for the whole group compared to October. Percentage gains for the month were led by Pandora and AccuRadio. Continue Reading
Announced in June, projected to launch in December, launch delayed in November — Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is now on the calendar to hit the market on February 9, with pre-orders starting this Friday. Questions loom. Continue Reading
Triton Digital and Edison Research have announced the date for the 2018 edition of The Infinite Dial, the influential annual study of how Americans listen to audio. It is Thursday, March 8. The live presentation is hosted annually by Tom Webster (SVP, Edison Research) and John Rosso (President, Market Development, Triton Digital). Continue Reading
Molly Neuman is leaving her position as head of music for Kickstarter after two years with the crowdfunding platform. She is joining Songtrust as the company’s first Global Head of Business Development. Songtrust is a global royalty collection service and publishing administrator. Continue Reading
Napster hired a new vice president of business development & operations for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Venesa Hoffman will be tasked with leading and executing the growth strategy, sales, marketing, and operations in that geographic region. Continue Reading
Acast has hired Chris Wistow as its new global head of audio product and partner sales. Wistow joins the podcasting company from AdsWizz, where he was the UK and Ireland Country Head. Continue Reading
SoundExchange subsidiary SXWorks announced the launch of a new service for music publishers and songwriters called the NOI Lookup. This searchable database contains all the address unknown Notice of Intention to Use filings made with the U.S. Copyright Office. These NOI filings are intended to inform a copyright owner of intent to distribute a musical composition. Continue Reading
Apple has introduced an analytics dashboard that offers insights into listener behavior within the tech company’s streaming music service. Apple Music for Artists is only available to a few thousand performers in the initial rollout. Feedback from these artists made result in tweaks or improvements to the system before its broad launch in spring. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: How the UK listens; a sad passing; radio with pictures — and much more from the US, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. Continue Reading
When Apple announced that it was delaying launch of its HomePod — specced out as a premium smart speaker with superior audio — it seemed like a clear fail to us. But Siri has started playing in the voice-control field, even without a speaker device. Continue Reading
Jake Shapiro, head of RadioPublic, the Boston-based podcast creation and distribution company, posted a note indicating that some upgrades have been introduced to the RadioPublic web player at radioplayer.com. A permanent player, easier sharing, and new scrubbing tools have modernized the experience. Continue Reading