Neil Young is continuing his long, somewhat perplexing journey into the music tech business with the launch of a new high-definition streaming platform called Xstream. Young announced at the end of 2016 that he would translate his Pono Music into a streaming service. Xstream appears to be the result of that plan and of some critique about the original product. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Apple rebrands its podcast platform. The UK’s upcoming election. The launch of Upload Radio. Much more from around the world of radio and audio. Continue Reading
PodcastOne announced that Hollywood legend Norman Lear will be hosting a new show on the network. All of the Above with Norman Lear will pair the famed sitcom creator with co-host/actor Paul Hipp and a featured guest. Continue Reading
Glenn Peoples has written a break-down of the royalty systems for Pandora’s three different services. “The direct licensing agreements Pandora has reached with labels has brought some changes to how royalties are paid for all three tiers,” he wrote. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio has entered a partnership with SpokenLayer that will see almost 40 SpokenEditions added into the digital audio platform. SpokenEditions are narrated versions of written content from publishers such as Reuters, Time, Mashable, Slate, and TechCrunch. Continue Reading
Apple Music is launching a new project called Up Next that is designed to help promote up and rising artists. The first performer to benefit from the program is Ricardo Valdez, a rapper who goes by the stage name 6lack. Continue Reading
Samsung and Google have secured a deal to make Google Play Music the preferred music player on Samsung mobile devices. Google is offering some Samsung-exclusive features in its music platform, with some yet to be announced. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: YouTube’s top ‘music video.’ Canada to rule on streaming and cellular plans. Are you smarter than your car? Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced that it has promoted Peter Diamond to vice president of brand partnerships for North America. He previously held the director role for that division. As part of SoundCloud’s North American sales team, Diamond has been leading the expansion, management, and strategy for the company’s advertising sales function. Continue Reading
Apple Music made two announcements about its video plans this month. First, the platform added a live music show called House of Strombo. Second, it has secured an exclusive documentary about Clive Davis. Continue Reading
Independent label group and digital rights agency Merlin has signed a multi-year agreement with Spotify that will allow its artists to gate their albums to only paid subscribers. The new deal continues the existing relationship between Merlin and Spotify and marks another big development in the streaming platform’s label relationships. Continue Reading
From Boulder-based Clip Interactive, we received news that Radio One and its syndication company Reach Media are now using Clip-built mobile apps and web players for all 53 Radio One stations and seven syndicated personalities. The new agreement follows a seven-month test across Radio One’s five-station Washington, D.C. cluster. Continue Reading