Spain’s recorded music industry saw the digital business exceed the physical side for the first time in 2016. According to industry group Promusicae, digital holds a 61% share of the industry and the country has more than 1 million streaming subscribers. Continue Reading
In an answer to the industry-wide question of how CBS Radio will separate from parent company CBS, we learn today that it will merge with Entercom. In this venture, CBS Radio abandons the much-speculated IPO path. Entercom, now the fourth-largest U.S. commercial radio group, will grow to 244 stations. Continue Reading
A new study from the National Association of Broadcasters’ Pilot program found that among the top-selling smartphones in the U.S., the FM chip is activated by at least one major carrier in 44% of them. Continue Reading
SoundHound is putting more money into voice recognition and artificial intelligence. The company raised $75 million to support its efforts in that field, with the end goal of taking on current industry leaders such as Amazon and Google. Continue Reading
SOCAN, Canada’s licensing and collection society, posted an 8% increase in revenue for 2016. It was a record-breaking year for the group’s revenue collected and for payouts distributed. Continue Reading
Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch discussed data around the Amazon Echo voice-activated personal assistant/WiFi speaker. Which streaming services are winning on the device so far? Continue Reading
Apple’s fiscal Q1 earnings report, characteristically, did not break out specific numbers for its Apple Music service, but did refer to it optimistically. To hear CFO Luca Maestri tell it, Apple’s music mojo is back. Continue Reading
In this guest post by Thomas Mancusi, VP of Sales & Development at audioBoom, he talks with a podcast advertiser and media buyer about why the category works. Continue Reading
SoundExchange issued $883.9 million in royalty distributions during 2016. That result marked a nearly $80 million increase over its previous record-setting performance from 2015. It was another year of solid growth for SoundExchange payouts. Continue Reading
The Grammys award show is scheduled for February 12, and LyricFind announced that it will be responsible for the event’s lyric licensing. Any time song lyrics are posted by The Recording Academy or the Grammys, LyricFind will ensure that it is done legally and that the rights-holders are compensated. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced its plans for coverage of the upcoming Super Bowl. Its audio programming will include original shows in the lead-up to the game as well as extensive play-by-play coverage when the championship occurs. Continue Reading
Billboard is adding Pandora streaming data to its rankings on the Hot 100 chart. The Pandora numbers now join Nielsen Music’s data about track sales, radio airplay, and on-demand streaming in determining placements. Pandora will also be used for streaming-based charts and the genre-specific charts that are based on the Hot 100 formula. This change will take effect beginning Jan. 31 (for charts dated Feb. 11). Continue Reading