Quick Hits: Sirius XM at the center of royalty questions; UMG backing out of Prince deal
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sirius XM in the royalty spotlight. Judge nullifies UMG’s Prince deal. Continue Reading
Small webcasters rocked by licensing issues
Last week we began receiving notes from webcasting clients of two large hosting companies, Radionomy and StreamLicensing, noting that recent changes and communications had troubled their webcast stations. The two situations are coinciding in time, but are unrelated — except both are about music licensing. Continue Reading
StreamGuys offers custom Alexa skill creation to boost broadcasters on Amazon Echo
StreamGuys, a specialist in Internet radio technology, is getting into the Amazon Echo game. The company announced that it can create custom Alexa skills for its broadcast clients. This would bring extra voice command functionalities for listeners tuning in on the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Tap smart home speaker devices. The new feature offering expands StreamGuys’ existing SaaS tools for producing, managing, delivering, and monetizing streaming media and podcasts. Continue Reading
SoundCloud Next Wave videos highlight underground music scenes
SoundCloud has partnered with The Fader for a documentary miniseries called SoundCloud Next Wave. Episodes in this video series will highlight local music scenes, with the debut focusing on underground rap in Los Angeles. The Fader has also posted a curated SoundCloud playlist showcasing other music from the city’s rap scene. Continue Reading
Radiotopia contest winner Ear Hustle hits 1.5 million downloads
Radiotopia announced that its Ear Hustle podcast has been downloaded 1.5 million times. The show came to life as the winner of the network’s Podquest contest last year. Ear Hustle is the work of Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, both incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and Nigel Poor, a Bay Area artist and professor. Continue Reading
Mechanical royalties debate sparked once again for Spotify
Songwriter and publisher royalties have appeared once again as a sticking point for the Spotify streaming service. The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson is reporting that music publishers and songwriters are looking to receive a portion of Spotify’s equity when the company either goes public or finds an interested buyer. According to her sources, the National Music Publishers Association has been deeply interested in the question of equity since Spotify has been more seriously preparing for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Continue Reading
SoundCloud updates: The noise, the exclusive, and the digital preservation efforts
Before the weekend, we recapped the activity surrounding SoundCloud and the outlook for its future. The company had issued an odd response to reporting by TechCrunch, and popular hip-hop performer Chance the Rapper said he “was working on” an effort to help the audio platform. Today, we have some further developments on both of those stories. Continue Reading
Sony reportedly moving forward with Believe Digital acquisition (UPDATED)
Sony is reportedly in the final stages of a deal to purchase Believe Digital. According to Nikkei, Sony plans to pay an estimated 40 billion to 50 billion yen ($355 million to $444 million) for the distributor and label services company. Update: Believe Digital CEO denies Nikkei reporting. Continue Reading
UK mid-year report sees streaming up, downloads down
The UK’s music market is following the global trends of increased streaming and decreased downloads. The mid-year data released by BPI and the Official Charts Company showed a 11.6% increase in album equivalent sales for the first half of the year, reaching nearly 63.87 million units. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio: Zero-rated data, will analytics stifle the creative process, and a UK radio station being hijacked
by James Cridland
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Net neutrality’s importance to radio. How analytics could sway podcast creation. A reminder about the importance of good security. Much more. Continue Reading
Bridge Ratings finds streaming chips away at radio’s devoted listener base
Bridge Ratings has posted an update to its New Media Gauntlet study, which reflects listener trends across different media. The latest results showed that although radio’s weekly cume has been relatively stable over time, it has been declining in how many people dub it their favorite listening choice. Streaming, on the other hand, has been rising in “favoriteness,” which Bridge said is chipping away at the numbers for both radio and downloads. Continue Reading
SoundCloud appears to confirm short finances; Chance the Rapper to the rescue?
Yesterday’s Quick Hits included a rather dire outlook on SoundCloud from TechCrunch, which shared reports from an all-hands meeting at the audio company that cast serious doubts on its financial outlook. Today brings two responses to that report, one from SoundCloud and one from a possible source of help. Continue Reading