Dash Radio is a platform for free (and ad-free) radio. RAIN talked this week with founder and CEO Scott Keeney, who discussed strategies for making Dash a leader in lean-back listening. Continue Reading
Rubicon Project has entered into a partnership with ad-tech company Adform for programmatic audio advertisements. As a result, Adform’s clients will be able to buy 15- or 30-second ads on Spotify programmatically through Rubicon’s platform. Continue Reading
BPI, the British Phonographic Industry, has created a new initiative focused on bringing technology into its work in new ways. The BPI Innovation Hub will meet quarterly to connect tech companies with record labels. Continue Reading
According to Cowen & Co., Amazon Prime’s U.S. membership is about 49.5 million people. The third-party analysis is based on a panel of 2,500 U.S. consumers, since Amazon has not explicitly shared its Prime data. Continue Reading
Pandora is expanding its options for sponsored listening packages in the lead-up to the holiday season. The new choice is related to the audio streamer’s Pandora Plus mid-priced tier of subscription access, which allows listeners to replay songs and have more opportunities to skip tracks. Pandora’s latest ad addition is sponsored playbacks and replays, where non-Plus listeners can get those features for a limited time in exchange for watching a video ad. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Streaming and writing pop songs. Exploring podcasts for children. Continue Reading
CBS Radio Inc. has filed its Form S-1 SEC registration for an expected Initial Public Offering. The mile-long document explains the basic business, summarizes financials for the first nine months of 2016, and discloses investment risks. We examined the prospectus and made notes of the digital aspects. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: BBC World Services expands its language offerings. PRX offers podcast training to radio. Big changes for Brisbane’s breakfast radio. Continue Reading
NextRadio has introduced a newsfeed as a new way to present radio station content to listeners. The feed includes items from stations such as trending tweets from a particular user’s favorite programs and other related content such as artist and song facts or concert information. Continue Reading
Nielsen has launched its Music Connect data product in Canada. This rollout offers clients more in-depth listener data, including for streaming and broadcasting. It covers 72 metropolitan areas across Canada, and has analytics including airplay, sales, and social media activity. According to Canadian music industry specialist Alan Cross, it could “shake up” what listeners hear on Canadian Radio. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Bob Lefsetz on Recode Media podcast; innovations at WNYC; interview with Radiolab founder; what’s next for political podcasts? Continue Reading
South Africa-based podcast and audio company iono.fm has received a new influx of seed funding. The company secured $175,000 (2.5 million rand) in a round led by Clifftop Colony. The financing will support strengthening domestic operations and investing in streaming services. Continue Reading