Jay-Z is preparing to take legal action against the original owners of the Tidal streaming service. He alleged that Aspiro’s major shareholders exaggerated how many subscribers Tidal had when his business operation took over. He’s looking to reclaim roughly 100 million Norwegian krone (~$15 million). Continue Reading
Despite all the hoops it jumped through to get it, Pandora may sell its terrestrial radio station. A filing made to the FCC at the start of the week stated that Pandora is reevaluating whether it wants to continue being a broadcaster. Continue Reading
What are the challenges, opportunities, and solutions in navigating the convergence of audio and Big Data? How do the technology pieces fit together? Where does a publisher start on the path to data enlightenment? Those questions provide the framework for a conference discussion among industry leaders on April 17. Continue Reading
AdLarge Media has hired Yvonne Lacey as its new vice president of digital sales development. In this role, Lacey will oversee the company’s portfolio of streaming and on-demand/podcasting. She will also act as the sales team’s liaison for digital subjects. Continue Reading
In a new dimension to its business model, PodcastOne is going Premium with a subscription plan that adds features and values to the regular free-listening options. Members get easy-to-access archived shows, giveaways, exclusive content (notably from podcast star Adam Carolla. Continue Reading
7digital released its financial results for all of 2015, following up on the preliminary figures shared in January. Total revenue for the year was £10.37 million, up from £10.21 million in the previous year. In addition to the financial reports, 7digital also announced the new clients it signed during the first quarter of 2016. Continue Reading
Spotify has increased its war chest of cash, taking one-billion dollars in a debt offering to institutional investors that points explicitly to a future Initial Public Offering (IPO). The deal rewards investors with discounted pricing in the event of a Spotify IPO, and Spotify is punished if the public offering is delayed. Continue Reading
Westwood One announced a promotion within its upper ranks. Kelli Hurley will now be the company’s vice president of digital sales, and will oversee all sales related to Westwood One’s digital products. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Behind the scenes at Serial; risky consolidation within indie label services; who are music’s disruptors? Continue Reading
Tidal is celebrating its first full year today. Since its relaunch after acquisition by hip-hop legend Jay-Z, Tidal has secured 3 million subscribers. Its library now numbers nearly 40 million songs, including high-quality audio tracks and several exclusives. Continue Reading
At the beginning of the year, CÜR Music laid out plans to become a player in the social, mobile music streaming space. Part of that plan involved hefty licensing fees to be paid to all three major labels. It seems that the best laid plans are already going awry. Continue Reading
Naxos Music Library World has debuted a new way to explore its newly-launched catalog. As befits a world music specialist, it’s an interactive map. The breadth of Naxos’ metadata makes the interactive map a fun new tool for world music discovery. Continue Reading