Guest contributor Mark Mulligan suggests that full-catalog music services cater to a top layer of music aficionados. Smaller online music services, serving specialized audiences, could bring streaming music deeper into the mainstream. Continue Reading
Pandora will be providing its listeners with a day of ad-free online radio listening tomorrow in honor of its ten-year anniversary. Today, the company announced that it will make that ad-free listening available beyond that celebration with the launch of a One Day Pass. Continue Reading
In its latest report, the BBC has outlined its approach to adapting to an increasingly online media landscape. The broadcaster laid out a ten-year plan that aims to equally cater to those people who have gone all-in on digital services and to those who still prefer to use traditional channels. “We will be moving to an Internet-fit BBC, to be ready for an Internet-only world whenever it comes,” the report said. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: The future of the BBC; articles about podcasting; new research about why people share content. Continue Reading
Shazam announced that it is opening up its verified artist program to any performer or band who wants to participate. The verified artist designation allows that profile to share music discoveries with a fan base. The company has been trialling the verification program for the past two months with about 200 artists. Shazam said that it has an audience of 1.4 billion followers for that first set of verified profiles. Continue Reading
Nielsen Music’s data for the week ending Aug. 27 was the lowest for digital song sales in seven years. Only 15.66 million songs were sold on digital platforms for the week. The top track for the period, “Locked Away” by R. City, sold only 92,000 downloads. On the other hand, that same week had the highest level of on-demand audio and video streams. Continue Reading
7digital has entered a partnership with Imagination centered on the FlowRadio Internet radio aggregation service. Under the terms of the deal, the two parties will jointly improve and develop the FlowRadio platform, and 7digital will use it to power IP radio services for other brands. Continue Reading
The comScore Mobile Metrix report for July 2015 included data about the top apps by reach across iOS and Android devices in the U.S. Pandora held the No. 7 spot with 43.9% reach. Apple Music snuck into the No. 14 with 24.1% reach. Continue Reading
Google has launched its Play Music streaming service in Japan. A subscription will cost ¥980 per month, but Google is offering the first 30 days as a free trial. For those who register by Oct. 18, they will lock in a discounted monthly rate of ¥780. The service will be available on Android smartphones and tablets and on iPhones. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify’s song of the summer; interview with Songza founder; iTunes VP says there’s “homework” to do. Continue Reading
TuneIn is expanding its available programming in college football, announcing the addition of play-by-play broadcasts and team-specific stations for 90 college teams. These new features mean TuneIn listeners will be able to access almost 70% of the NCAA’s Division 1 football. The platform will also be carrying a talk program called “The College Football Blitz” from IMG. Continue Reading
We’ve seen some trend pieces in the past month discussing just how important it is for artists’ success to secure spots on streaming services’ popular playlists. The indie community has recognized this and is preparing to jump on the bandwagon. The Association of Independent Music in the UK has issued a request for proposal seeking an entity to operate a streaming music playlists brand focused on indies. Continue Reading