Sonos CEO stepping down
John MacFarlane has stepped down as CEO of Sonos. Patrick Spence, who has already served as Sonos’ chief commercial officer and president since he joined in 2012, is taking over in the top exec role. Continue Reading
Spotify wants to be Barack Obama’s next employer
Spotify has a new job listing posted, but the position seems rather tailored for a specific applicant who is soon to be unemployed. The role is President of Playlists at the company. Federal-level playlist construction is a critical job requirement. Continue Reading
DGital Media partners to launch new politics show
DGital Media announced a partnership to help launch a new show dubbed Pod Save America. The podcast will cover politics and is intended to spark involvement from listeners. Continue Reading
Otto Radio gets Samsung investment, launches public API
Otto Radio has secured an investment from Samsung NEXT, the venture capital arm of the tech conglomerate. Otto Radio offers audio streams of podcasts and audio news centered on a particular listener’s own interests; think of the concept as Pandora for podcasts. The investment lines up with Otto’s launch of the Otto Everywhere API, which lets other companies access that personalized audio stream. Continue Reading
The Download on Podcasts: Reaching for $500M
sponsored by PodcastOne
How much is podcasting worth? Depends who you ask. It even depends on when you ask the same person. a new podcast ad-revenue projection is out this week, aimming for the half-billion level. Continue Reading
Spreaker beta testing revenue sharing for podcasts
Spreaker has announced the beta launch of a revenue sharing program. The podcast host is offering an opt-in program for splitting the revenue from audio and visual ads placed into participating shows. Continue Reading
Nielsen 2016 report: “Music consumption is at an all-time high”
“Music consumption is at an all-time high,” according to Nielsen Music’s 2016 U.S. Year-End Report. The analysis reveals that 2016 was another year with strong streaming growth and some compelling trends for albums. The entire music industry posted a 3.1% increase in overall volume, with total album consumption reaching 560.7 million units. Continue Reading
Mark Mulligan: Music Subscriptions Passed 100 Million In December. Has The World Changed?
by Mark Mulligan
Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research delved into the recent milestone of 100 million subscribers accumulated by the streaming music industry. His latest blog post explores the significance of the achievement and what it might mean for the coming year. Continue Reading
Deezer hires chief partnerships officer
Deezer has hired Pascal De Mul as its chief partnerships officer. In this role, De Mul will be responsible for building Deezer’s relationships with telecoms, hardware companies, and other partners. Continue Reading
Ford begins adding Amazon Alexa to cars; voice-controlled audio picks up steam
Ford has announced that it will start integrating Amazon’s voice-activated Alexa system in its cars this month. Alexa is the virtual assistant popularized in Amazon’s Echo and Dot devices, and the Ford/Amazon alliance is a pointer to the future of voice-controlled car infotainment. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio: Norway switches off FM; Amazon Alexa in your car; Apple Music’s new ad
by James Cridland
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Norway’s FM switch-off nears; Amazon Alexa behind the wheel; great new advertisement for Apple Music. Continue Reading
Sirius CFO says chances of Pandora buy are “not likely”
David Frear, CFO for Sirius XM, has quashed the latest rumors about the satellite radio company acquiring Pandora. “With respect to all the chatter about [these] acquisitions, you have to look at them as them not being likely,” Frear said Continue Reading