Universal Music Group’s first-half results showed continued growth and dominance for streaming as a revenue source. Total recorded music revenue in the half was €1.83 billion ($2.07 billion) and streaming was responsible for 36% of it. Continue Reading
Spotify has amped up its partnership with Songkick, bringing Concerts tabs to all artist pages on the streaming platform. Songkick’s data includes listings and ticket links. The two parties have been working together since 2013. Continue Reading
One of Spotify’s latest hires announced that the streaming service now has 39 million paid subscribers. Troy Carter, global head of creator services, told Billboard that Spotify has added 9 million paying customers since the last audience update in March. The interview also touched on the streaming sector’s current race for exclusive releases. Continue Reading
DGital Media has partnered with the Collegiate Sports Management Group to launch a podcast network centered on Division II and Division III NCAA sports. The network is slated to launch the week of Sept. 5. Continue Reading
Boulder-based Clip Interactive announced that Entercom Communications, the nation’s fourth-largest radio group, will use Clip interactive radio players for its mobile and web streams. The agreement throws Entercom’s 129 radio stations onto Clip’s interactive platform. The deal follows a year-long engagement of Entercom’s seven-station Portland cluster on Clip’s platform. Continue Reading
YouTube is exploring the addition of some social features which could help music owners get more value from the video platform. The feature set currently in development is known as Backstage. It’s a move to be more competitive with the likes of Facebook or Snapchat, but the music industry should also keep tabs on what the plan says about YouTube’s next directions. Continue Reading
ART19 announced a new hire for its podcast hosting and distribution network. Roddy Swearngin joins the company as executive vice president of content. Hes resume most recently includes director of digital for Levity Entertainment Group, where he founded Sideshow Network and helped manage production of more than 10,000 podcast episodes across 100 different shows. Continue Reading
Mood Media, a B2B digital music provider for retail stores and other public environments, has added a Social Mix feature to its Mood Mix Pro service, which brings more integration to in-store playlists. Businesses running Social Mix can allow customers or employees to see the live song lineup and influence what track plays next. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Today’s duo is centered around exclusive album releases following the debut of Frank Ocean’s highly-anticipated new project released as an Apple Music exclusive. Continue Reading
Pandora has entered a partnership with Questlove, a renowned figure in hip-hop and a drummer for The Roots. He will curate and produce a new show called Questlove Supreme for the audio company. In addition to the new programming, Questlove is taking on the role of Strategic Advisor for Pandora and will act as the company’s first Artist Ambassador. Continue Reading
Spotify is reportedly engaged in a juggling act over its licensing deals with the major labels. According to The Wall Street Journal, the streaming service is running off short-term extensions of its agreements with all three of the major labels. As Spotify continues to move toward a potential IPO, getting all its ducks in a row for these complex legal questions is a must. Continue Reading
Webcast listening in June inched downward month-over-month, shaving about two percent of stream listening from May’s total across Triton Digital’s measured Webcast Metrics clients. The story was more vigorous in the year-over-year comparison. Click through for historical charts. Continue Reading