If you follow pop or rap music news, then you know Drake has been one of the most dominant artists of this year. He’s closing out 2016 with yet another feather in his cap: his track “One Dance” is the first on Spotify to accumulate more than 1 billion plays on Spotify. Continue Reading
BandPage announced several upcoming changes to its feature set as part of its acquisition by YouTube earlier this year. The video platform bought the direct-to-fan service in February. Starting March 1, 2017, several core features of the BandPage service will be discontinued, including Bandpage.com public-facing profiles and the BandPage store and events. Continue Reading
In the most detailed and far-thinking report on Tom Wheeler’s resignation that we’ve seen, guest columnist and renowned broadcast attorney David Oxenford lays out what a Republican-controlled FCC could mean after Inauguration Day. Continue Reading
Twitch, the livestreaming service owned by Amazon, announced the launch of a general interest channel and detailed its mobile broadcasting plans. These updates are positioning Twitch to be a more comprehensive video source, similar to the scope at YouTube, rather than a specialist. Continue Reading
ASCAP announced a new five-year agreement with the Radio Music License Committee. This deal sets the public performance fee rates to be paid by commercial terrestrial radio stations for the rights to play ASCAP’s repertory across the years 2017-2021. Continue Reading
Spotify is running a holiday event that will see artists’ top fans getting fun and festive gifts. The 2016 Wrapped campaign will highlight some of the top performers on the streaming service. Superfans of those artists have a chance to receive themed presents. Continue Reading
Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch discussed YouTube’s recently released figures about the revenue it puts into the music industry. He also covered several aspects of the ongoing value gap debate. Continue Reading
YouTube is collaborating with Elton John on a music video competition. Dubbed “Elton John: The Cut,” this program will end with fans making official music videos for one of three Elton John songs. Continue Reading
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler resigned today, effective January 20 (inauguration day). It is a customary resignation when a new political administration is headed for the White House. In this case, a Republican president overseeing an agreeable Congress makes likely a reversal of net neutrality. what does it mean for online audio? Continue Reading
SoundCloud released a blog post to address questions from its community about takedowns. “There have been a number of incoming questions this week from our community around creativity and content on SoundCloud,” it said. Continue Reading
Podcast hosting and ad-tech company Art19 announces today that it has formalized a relationship with Feral Audio, a comedy podcast network that is enjoying what might be called an “accidental success” story. Feral Audio’s entire catalog of 50 shows is on the Art19 platform, and RAIN spoke with the CEO of Feral. Continue Reading
MIDiA Research released its predictions for 2017. Building on some of the major trends seen in 2016, the expectations for the coming year cover several aspects of the audio industry. “2016 was a big year for streaming, and 2017 will be even bigger,” the report reads. Continue Reading