A Piper Jaffray analyst, bullish on Pandora stock, surveyed existing users of the free Pandora radio service to determine the level of demand for Pandora Premium, the fully interactive on-demand music platform launched on March 13. Survey results indicate a 15% “intent” among non-paying Pandora users to upgrade into the Premium product. Continue Reading
AudioBoom and YouGov collaborated on research into the podcast market and questions of diversity. According to the survey results, 76% of minority Americans listen to podcasts less than once a week and 60% don’t listen to them at all. Continue Reading
SoundCloud’s financial future has been looking hazy, but the company has acquired a line toward more stability. The online audio platform has secured a $70 million round of debt funding. Continue Reading
The team behind podcasting megahit Serial has some good news and some bad news for their fans. S-Town, the first show launching under the Serial Productions name, will be released on March 28. The not-so-good news is that the third season of Serial may not air until next year. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio has reached a new audience milestone. The online audio company has reached 100 million registered users. “100 million registered users is an amazing milestone, and we are thrilled to see such great momentum and traction for iHeartRadio,” iHeartRadio President Darren Davis said. Continue Reading
Wednesday is the final day of early pricing for reservations to the RAIN Digital Audio Advertising Summit on April 12 at the House of Blues in Chicago. The half-day knowledge and networking event features deep dives into creative audio, programmatic advertising, podcasting, and new research. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Drake topples Ed Sheeran’s records. Rookie Magazine joins the podcast wave. ASCAP board election results. Continue Reading
Amazon Music has updated its iOS app to add support for Apple CarPlay. This means that drivers with the in-vehicle digital dashboard can use it to access Prime Music, Music Unlimited, and their purchased or saved digital music from the retailer. Continue Reading
ASCAP has relaunched its administration services business as Songwize. This rebranded division will offer royalty administration, such as processing and matching performance files as well as paying out royalties. Continue Reading
Podcasting platform Acast has entered a new partnership with Gleam Futures, a talent management company. The deal will see Acast helping Gleam to expand its efforts in podcasting. Acast will leverage its distribution and advertising technology to broaden the reach for Gleam’s shows and to offer monetization options. Continue Reading
The recorded music market for Italy edged up 0.4% in 2016 to post annual revenue of €149 million. Although the market as a whole moved little, the different segments showed big changes. Continue Reading
GM and AT&T have partnered to provide in-car WiFi across the GM model line of cars equipped with OnStar 4G LTE WiFi hotspot technology. The headline is the price: $20 a month for unlimited data. That dollar number is a milestone that could accelerate the challenge faced by terrestrial radio in connected cars. Continue Reading