Google’s launch event yesterday had some good news on the music side, launching a new piece of home entertainment tech. It’s the Chromecast Audio, a variant of the Chromecast stick specifically designed for streaming audio. This is the latest in Google’s push for a living room takeover. Continue Reading
At RAIN Summit Atlanta yesterday, winners of the 6th Annual 2015 RAIN Internet Radio Awards were announced. Three finalists remained in each of the six award categories, after a panel of 15 unaffiliated judges evaluated audio services, stations, and programs that were submitted by their owners and representatives. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Streaming execs chat at Advertising Week; will Aurous be legit or not?; IAB joining the fight against ad-blockers. Continue Reading
Jazz FM and the BBC are working together to create a pop-up digital radio station called BBC Music Jazz. The two broadcasters are usually competing for ears, and this is their first collaboration. It will air on DAB radio sets, online, and on the iPlayer from Nov. 12-15, the dates for the EFG London Jazz Festival. Continue Reading
Google announced that it will open a family plan for Play Music, with the rollout slated for later this year. How does Google’s offering stack up across the family plans from other streaming platforms? Continue Reading
Apple’s Zane Lowe returned to London to participate in the Radio Academy’s Radio Festival. He engaged in a lively conversation with former boss Ben Cooper, controller for Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra, about the role of Beats 1 in Apple Music, future of music radio, and about the BBC. Continue Reading
Amazon Prime Music announced that it has licensed Universal’s catalog for listeners in the UK and U.S. Music by Universal artists will be added to Prime’s curated playlists. The deal covers many top 40 and popular artists, as well as a selection of jazz and classical albums. Continue Reading
After less than a year, Samsung is shuttering its Milk Video service. The company hasn’t given details about why the service closed or where it’s media strategy will go next. While this news doesn’t seem to have an immediate impact on the streaming music platform run by Samsung, Milk Music is also part of the division that also housed Milk Video. Continue Reading
We’ve seen genres outside the big pop and rock umbrella seek out creative ways to carve their own niches in the online music business. The latest one to appear is Dart Music, a digital distributor that caters exclusively to classical music. The services at Dart are very comparable to what you’d see at TuneCore or CD Baby, but all focused on the specific needs and wants of classical artists and composers. Continue Reading
YouTube Music Key entered its beta almost a year ago, and since then, we’ve been waiting and seeking any minor hint about when and how that launch will happen. According to reports from Re/code, the latest sign seems to point to the date being later this fall. Continue Reading
Budget grocery chain Aldi announced that it is launching a streaming music service that will only be available in its home market of Germany. It’s build on Napster’s full streaming catalog and has no freemium option. Continue Reading
7digital reported its financial results for the first half of 2015, which it dubbed one of the first reflections “on which the success of the new company created from the merger of UBC Media and 7digital can be observed.” CEO Simon Cole also reflected on the state of the digital music industry. Lastly, 7digital has added support for Google Cast. Continue Reading