The Google/Alphabet empire appears to be setting its sights on Australia next. According to a report from The Australian, joint video/music subscription YouTube Red is slated to roll out there later this year. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Pandora, Merlin, and the CRB; listening beyond genre labels; video and the modern musician. 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
Streaming is a popular music choice in the Nordic region and continues to grow in popularity. A survey commissioned by three European collecting societies found that 9.4 million consumers in the region streamed music in 2015. The survey also inquired about discovery outlets. Radio was the top choice on average, but preferences shifted drastically for the youngest respondents. Continue Reading
Tidal’s rising and falling fortunes have been the subject of much attention in the music media. The latest adventure for the often-conflicted company could be new ownership. Sources have told The New York Post that Samsung has allegedly reopened talks to acquire Tidal. Continue Reading
Standard Media Index released its January U.S. advertising report. As in other recent editions of this report, digital spending across media categories rose. The uplift in digital spending kept the entire ecosystem in a 13-month growth trend. Radio was split: Traditional radio down, Internet radio up, both by double digits. Continue Reading
In the wake of David Lowery’s lawsuit against Spotify, other streaming services are now allegedly moving to protect themselves against similar actions. Both Deezer and Rhapsody have reportedly made moves related to Lowery’s catalogs with the bands Camper van Beethoven and Cracker. Continue Reading
A new report from Nielsen, State of The Media: Audio Today, compiled listening figures from 2015 and confirmed the strength of radio’s reach. This report generally found a respectable performance for radio among younger generations, but time spent with the format was still markedly lower than for Generation X and Boomers. Continue Reading
Next Big Sound released a new report offering insights on how to benchmark artist performance. The newly Pandora-owned data company examined ideas for analyzing musicians’ success online. The report tracks data from several social media networks – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vevo, and Instagram – and combined it with an assessment of Pandora plays. Continue Reading
Many European nations have been pushing for the adoption of DAB technology for radio, with some countries setting clear plans for it to completely replace the current FM system. But not all are jumping on the bandwagon. After announcing a ‘wait and see’ attitude last spring, Sweden’s leaders have officially rejected a proposal to transition away from FM radio. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has shared its financial results for Q4 and FY 2015. The news release also included some details about the iHeartRadio. Although the parent company doesn’t break out financial details separately for its online audio brand, it did share some stats and metrics. Continue Reading
A new podcast from Parents magazine was released yesterday as an entire 32-episode season, Netflix-style. Pregnant women and their partners can start listening at the episode that matches their stage. This clever idea adds a dimension to on-demand audio. Continue Reading