On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes within the online audio industry. Today’s moves find two former Viacom execs taking up new posts at ASCAP and at Warner/Chappell. Continue Reading
It has been a very busy year for Alphabet (née Google). Not only has the company undergone a major reorganization and rebranding, but its various entertainment properties have been putting down roots, entrenching themselves for the long journey to becoming the top dogs. The latest development comes from YouTube, which The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reports is working on building up its video offerings to include licensed movies and TV shows. Continue Reading
Google acquired online radio platform Songza nearly a year and a half ago, July 1 2014, and today the announcement comes that the Songza brand, and stand-alone app, will be discontinued at the end of the year. Songza features and playlists will continue within Google Play, where they have resided since last October. Continue Reading
Chinese streaming platform Baidu Music announced a deal with record label Taihe Entertainment Group. This partnership will see Taihe’s intellectual property and A&R capabilities, covering more than 700,000 recordings, joining with Baidu’s streaming and distribution resources Continue Reading
Rusty Humphries, new programming head of USA Radio Network, is putting radio — a real-time medium — into the “trending now” mix as a bet that traditional over-the-air broadcast can be as fast and whip-smart as the speedy online platforms. Continue Reading
It’s the season to look back and review the year. Music services normally take a data-centric approach, listing off the top artists, bands, streams, customized stations, and playlists. Deezer too a road less traveled, commissioning comic illustrator Brian Williamson to memorialize 10 musical moments of the year. Continue Reading
DGital Media announced the addition of two advertising executives to its team. Suzanne Kaufman and Christine Fontana have joined the audio engagement company as senior vice presidents and account managers. Continue Reading
After cycling through two top execs (Peter Tonstad and Andy Chen) in less than one year, Tidal has named its newest CEO. Jeff Toig has taken the helm of the oft-beleaguered streaming service. Understandably, there’s some curiosity as to why an experienced music pro would join up what many have predicted to be a sinking ship. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has announced that Spreaker is the latest podcast provider to join Triton’s a2x programmatic ad exchange. Spreaker is the first U.S.-based podcast company to join a2x — Sweden-based Acast went on board in August. Continue Reading
Google announced new additions to its push to record great works in 360-degree video, this time focused on the fine arts. The tech giant has partnered with more than 60 performing arts groups around the world to create live, 360-degree experiences. I’ve seen a few experiments with this video tech before, and it has always seemed more interesting in theory than in practice to me. So I was curious to see what this meeting of high-tech and high culture could produce. Continue Reading
Dave Grimaldi, currently Director of Public Affairs at Pandora, has been appointed Executive Vice President of Public Policy for the IAB, and head of that organization’s Washington, D.C. office. Grimaldi joined Pandora in April, 2014, and was on board through Pandora’s participation in the “Webcaster IV” process which ends this month. Continue Reading
T-Mobile is continuing its shake-up of mobile music, adding 11 more streaming services to its Music Freedom plan. That means more places where T-Mobile customers can jam out to tunes without it counting against their high-speed data plans. Continue Reading