The United States had astronomy fever yesterday as a total solar eclipse dazzled science fans across the country. Excited viewers were apparently united on the perfect soundtrack for the celestial event. Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” posted huge jumps in popularity on music platforms. Continue Reading
Spreaker and BlogTalkRadio have agreed to a merger. The two audio companies will join forces to create a single combined entity comprising more than 50,000 podcasts and millions of listeners worldwide. The new company will offer services for podcast creation and monetization in an all-in-one solution. Continue Reading
Spotify’s slow ride toward going public has hit some unexpected bumps in the road. After much speculation that the streaming service would seek an IPO, the new trajectory appears to be a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. However, both investors and regulators have started reacting to this new business plan, indicating that a direct listing may not be the clear-cut action the company hoped. Continue Reading
AirKast, a provider of mobile apps to radio stations, announced that it will provide free Alexa skills for all of its customers. That means more than 800 North American radio stations, syndicated radio hosts, and podcasters will receive voice commands so their work can be accessed on the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Continue Reading
Nielsen is running a report series focused on Millennials, the frequently coveted demographic aged 18-34. The latest edition examines how this group uses digital communication and entertainment. Other Nielsen research has pointed to a different breakdown in how Millennials use media, with much less time spent watching TV or listening to radio than older generations, and this new data set reinforces that trend. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James has updates from the wide world of audio, including news from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Hong Kong. Continue Reading
Jacobs Media has released a roundup of results from its ethnographic study of Millennials. The work was funded by a coalition of 15 public radio stations. The qualitative study was comprised of all-day interviews and lifestyle observations. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from the web: Updates from YouTube’s Lyor Cohen; the trajectory of home audio; advertising isn’t going away on Spotify. Continue Reading
Eventbrite published a tipsheet about Millennials live music preferences. The ticketing service found that nearly 40% of millennials attended some type of concert or performance in the past year. Continue Reading
Beasley Media Group has partnered with SonicAi for the creation of Amazon Echo voice skills for the entire broadcast company. Beasley has 63 radio stations, and the new Alexa voice skills will make those channels easier to access on-demand from Amazon’s smart speaker and will highlight specific station features. Continue Reading
As the United States faces an emboldened white supremacist movement, many businesses have taken stronger stances to limit the spread of racist and fascist messages. After a direct call-out, streaming services have been spurred to take action and remove hate bands. Here’s a timeline of what transpired this week, and how similar situations could be prevented. Continue Reading
Shazam has been quietly but quickly securing its reputation as an invaulable smartphone resource. The company’s latest business deal shows how far it has come from its beginnings as an audio identification tool. Shazam is being added to Samsung Electronics’ 2017 Smart TV platform. Continue Reading