Internet radio’s landscape looks much different today than it did a week ago, due to numerous webcasters pulling the plug rather than paying the high rates of the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) recent decision for 2016-20 royalties for sound recordings. Kurt Hanson surveys the damage. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Sir Terry Wogan; Why radio need to reinvent itself, four questions for radio; DAB+ in the U.K., much more Continue Reading
We covered the rumors out of the New York Post that claimed Amazon might be gearing up Prime Music to be a bigger threat to the rest of the streaming industry. Even though those speculations have not been confirmed, we are seeing signs that Amazon does have new programming efforts underway through Audible, the audiobook company it purchased in 2008. Continue Reading
Pandora has updated its iOS app with a new discovery tool called Browse. This feature, which appears at the top of the screen next to My Stations, brings pre-curated discovery into the company’s product suite. Continue Reading
After several months of speculation, SFX Entertainment has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The electronic music company is seeking a debt-for-equity swap with its bondhonders in order to remove $300 million of debt from its balance sheet. Continue Reading
Sony Music’s Q4 financial results broke out the numbers by format and revealed a big role for streaming. Digital secured a 43% portion of the company’s music income, with streaming at 24% outperforming download revenues at 19%. Continue Reading
Triton Digital announced this morning that NPR has selected Triton’s Tap Podcast platform for monetization of NPR podcasts. The deal offers advertisers flexible ways to plan campaigns targeted to NPR’s on-demand podcast listeners. We spoke with Dominick Milano of Triton Digital about how it all works. Continue Reading
SoundExchange released its digital radio report for Q4 2015, a publication marking growth for both the quarter and the year. The company’s royalty quarterly distributions increased 16% over the year-ago period to $211.4 million. Continue Reading
As forewarned, the venerable webcasting platform Live365 came to an end tonight. The abrupt collapse of a pioneer in online radio is connected to the five-year cycle of music licensing royalties. The webcast landscape has been thinned of its vigor, entrepreneurism, and musical diversity. Continue Reading
This open letter is from Bill Goldsmith, Founder and Owner of Radio Paradise, one of the most venerable and recognized Internet radio stations. It is an appeal to David Byrne, as a board member of SoundExchange, to renew royalty protections that have enabled small webcasting for the past six years. Continue Reading
Weekends were invented for catching up on new podcasts. We’ll check the historical accuracy of that statement, and in the meantime we present new and almost-new shows for your consideration. Happy Friday. Continue Reading
8tracks, the popular crowdsourced listening platform is testing a regulated crowdfunding idea that could result in a widely distributed venture capital round and an influx of millions of dollars for business development. We spoke to David Porter, 8tracks Founder and CEO, to get details. Continue Reading