SFX is making plans to auction off online EDM portal Beatport as it continues through bankruptcy proceedings. It has attracted interested parties for the property and will solicit initial bids in April with an auction slated for May 3. Continue Reading
Sony music labels have filed a lawsuit in a California federal court. The suit complains that Radionomy has not paid appropriate licensing royalties for use of music recordings since late 2014. Three labels are participating in the filing: Sony Music Entertainment, LaFace Records, and Arista Records. Continue Reading
XAPPmedia released its Q4 ad load report, which saw an increase to the average ad load for Internet radio while the average time to first ad continues to drop. It found that the average ad load rose 5.7% from the third quarter to 2 minutes, 29 seconds. Continue Reading
Electronic music specialist Digitally Imported has released a status announcement of its audience growth. Double-digit increases in paid subscriptions to the listening platform have been accomplished, the result of product enhancements and new initiatives intended to drive user engagement. Continue Reading
Investment firm TPG Capital is reportedly considering an investment in Spotify. Sky News said that TPG is in talks to provide financing of as much as $500 million in loan notes, which could lead to Spotify increasing the size of its offering to up to $1 billion. These alleged fundraising plans come as Pandora continues to voice its intention to build a competing on-demand music service. Continue Reading
Tuned Global and Triton Digital have reached a partnership in which Triton’s ad-exchange technology will monetize Tuned Global’s mobile apps. Specifically, Triton’s a2x programmatic platform will transact sales across the white-label service Tuned Global offers. Continue Reading
The mobile analytics experts at App Annie are still churning out reports on 2015. This week, the company revealed the top app publishers from the year based on worldwide annual revenue from both iOS and Google Play. Continue Reading
AdLarge has announced its latest podcast ad-repping deal, partnering with ex-SNL comedian Jim Beuer to exclusively bring to market his two existing podcasts, plus others currently in development. Continue Reading
More details have emerged about the royalty lawsuit filed against Tidal. First the streaming platform issued a statement about the legal action, and noted that it has removed all music from the plaintiffs. Second, Tidal confirmed that it has fired two of its C-suite leaders. Continue Reading
Internet radio platform Radionomy today announced the release of new iOS and Android listening apps, and distribution agreements with Samsung Smart TVs and Roku. Click for the app review. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia delivered its Q4-2015 earning report and investor call last week, and as usual with these calls, the prepared statements and answers to investor questions gave perspective on the company’s strategic thinking. Broadcast and digital are “as one.” Continue Reading
Tidal has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over royalty issues. In an ironic twist for the artist-owned company, plaintiffs claim that they did not receive correct notices of intent from the streaming platform and did not get accurate royalty payments for their music that was played on Tidal. Continue Reading