Bandcamp posted its 2016 year in review. The direct-to-fan music platform saw digital album sales up 20% and track sales up 23%. The results are markedly different than the industry report from Nielsen, which has seen sales from downloads and physical formats mostly declining in recent years. Continue Reading
CBS is partnering with Wrapify, the San Diego-based startup (founded in 2015) which wraps selected American cars with advertising, and shares revenue with the car owner. think of it as Uber without passengers. CBS Radio will use the alliance to drive revenue in the D.C. Metro market. Continue Reading
SoundCloud announced two new hires for its advertising team in Australia. Shaun Alexander has joined as the company’s commercial director of Australia New Zealand. Marta Bonzanini, the second new hire, will lead SoundCloud’s efforts in sales strategy and brand partnerships. Continue Reading
Russian music streaming platform Yandex.Music tripled its paid subscriber base during 2016. A representative for the service said that it had 250,000 paid subscribers at the end of the year. Continue Reading
The most star-packed podcast we’ve seen, both in the cast and production team, is set for its 10-episode launch on Feb. 7, nearly a year after it was announced. Developed by audio advertising sales company AudioHQ, in collaboration with Cinema Gypsy Productions and TateMen Entertainment, the show is called Bronzeville. With its Hollywood power, the venture might a new benchmark for production value and talent investment in the audio drama category. Continue Reading
Music Ally’s NY:LON Connect conference yesterday gathered experts and leaders from the music business to discuss some of the industry’s top topics. One session debated the prices for streaming music access and asked whether a lower monthly rate would help bring in more paying listeners. Another session focused on labels and how they can address the large share of media consumption given to video. This included a presentation by Charles Caldas, CEO of indie label network Merlin. Continue Reading
Podcast specialist ART19 has entered a partnership that will bring its API (application program interface) to iHeartMedia. ART19’s API will allow its podcast publishers whose shows appear on iHeartRadio to access more advanced data about how people are listening. Continue Reading
Streaming music and playlists have comfortably established themselves as a top choice for access among today’s listeners. But the debate over the best approach for the curation of that digital music rages on. New lean-back streaming contender Conduit has entrenched itself firmly on the human curation side of the music experience. Continue Reading
One of Donald Trump’s first actions in the White House may mean drastic, devastating changes to public media. Prior to the inauguration, his transition team has included plans to privatize the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB is a nonprofit corporation that receives about $445 million a year in federal funding. It is also the primary source of funds for public television and radio programming. Continue Reading
The Players’ Tribune has partnered with DGital Media to launch a new podcast network. This new creation will center on athletes and sports. The network will debut on Jan. 26 with the show Giant Steps, which tells the story of the first Super Bowl Championship for the New York Giants football team in 1986. Continue Reading
Panoply Media has informed RAIN News that it has completed a partnership with Gen-Z Media to develop and produce podcasts for young listeners. The deal includes a second season of the popular kid-centered audio drama The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, and future shows now on the drawing board. Continue Reading
A new report from VoiceLabs examines the burgeoning market of voice-activated personal assistants. With the pushes by so many tech companies – such as Amazon, Google, and Sonos – into this space, what are device owners actually using them for? VoiceLabs’ used its Voice Experience Analytics service to give some answers to that question. Continue Reading