Social media juggernaut Facebook is making some updates to its Messenger app, including an upcoming collaboration with Apple Music. The deal was announced at the company’s F8 conference, although few specifics were shared. Continue Reading
Deezer is reportedly looking to change its licensing structure. Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research exclusively reported that Deezer is looking to pay out fees based on the percentages of a listener’s subscription fee. This is a model dubbed user-centric licensing. Streaming platforms operate on a service-centric licensing model, where royalty payments are made to artists based on share of airplay across the entire listener base. Continue Reading
Univision has debuted a new on-demand audio platform called Uforia Audio On-Demand. This is a podcast and live audio streaming platform that makes Univision’s programming available on-demand and extends the reach of its existing audio and radio presence. Continue Reading
Spotify Fan Insights is exiting beta. The service has been renamed as Spotify for Artists. It still offers a central location for audience insights, song data, artist profile management, and support. Continue Reading
RAIN is pleased to announce the first details of the RAIN Podcast Business Summit, June 21 at the AXA Event & Production Center in New York. As podcasting continues to grow in consumer recognition, listening audience, and content creation, the business opportunity also grows for networks and advertisers. The RAIN Podcast Business Summit is the only conference to define the podcast marketplace — its growth, trends, and opportunities for marketers. Continue Reading
Edison Research produced its Podcast Consumer 2017 webinar today, revealing survey information from Edison’s two large, long-running studies of American listening, The Infinite Dial and Share of Ear. Edison VP Tom Webster presented over 30 minutes of survey statistics. Continue Reading
This morning comes an announcement that audio content and marketing company Amplifi Media is joining with mobile app builder jacapps, to develop voice-activated “skills” for radio listening in Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. The new company is called SonicAi, abbreviated as SAi. Continue Reading
7digital has made another acquisition. The latest purchase is FlowRadio, an aggregator of live radio stations, on-demand radio programs and podcasts. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Continue Reading
Spotify is expanding its “branded moments” ad units. This product allows a company to sponsor an ad-free listening option. The new targeting feature allows brands to focus their moment to a specific time of day. Continue Reading
Pandora Premium, long in development and selectively released in March, is available to all users as of this morning. Along with that, Pandora has started a new ad campaign titled “Sounds Like You.” Many people will view the unlimited release of Pandora Premium as the more important news. Today is a moment of fruition that alters the competitive landscape of music services. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Terrestrial radio and the value gap; snapshots of branded podcasts; Prince’s catalog could go back for sale. Continue Reading
We think about listening to music as a sensory, intangible experience. Great music taps into our feelings in ways that seem impossible to identify. An article in Quartz examined how much science there can be behind music, with an investigation of a trend that uses neuroscience to create a certain response in the listener. Continue Reading