Interim CEO steps down from Tidal

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Tidal has had another changing of the guard, with interim CEO Peter Tonstad leaving the top position. Tonstad was CEO of Aspiro, which was Tidal’s parent company prior to the buyout by Jay-Z. Tonstad stepped in to replace Tidal’s previous CEO Andy Chen, who stayed only two weeks with the company following the change of ownership. Tidal is also in the news today as a tangent to the latest activities of the current queen of the music scene, Taylor Swift. Continue Reading →

Total Audio Audience: The Need for Unified Measurement

Posted on by Brad Hill

by Brad Hill
The audio industry lacks a total audience ratings solution which unifies the measurement of listening across consumer platforms like FM, simulcasting, pureplay streaming, and podcasting. Advertisers want to understand and reach their target audiences, regardless of platform. We surveyed industry leaders for their sentiments and predictions. Continue Reading →

Sirius XM gets a win from Florida judge in Turtles pre-1972 copyright lawsuit

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Sirius XM was on a big losing streak in its series of lawsuits filed by Flo & Eddie, the company representing members of The Turtles. Flo & Eddie has sued Sirius XM in three states for its public performance of the band’s songs recorded prior to 1972 when federal copyright law took effect. While the suits in New York and California have been favoring the case made by Flo & Eddie, Sirius XM just got a win in Florida. Continue Reading →

Spotify, SoundCloud, and Shazam execs recognized as top European entrepreneurs

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The Financial Times published a list of the top 50 tech entrepreneurs in Europe, and the rankings included several key players from the music industry. The list of CEOs and founders was compiled with the help of Founders Forum. Any nominees had to either be European nationals or live in Europe while running a tech company. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek took the top spot. Continue Reading →

Guvera looking to offload Blinkbox Music just six months after buying it

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Blinkbox Music started out the year with so much promise. The music service was sold by UK retailer Tesco to a new owner, up-and-coming streaming platform Guvera.

Unfortunately, things have gone south with the new alliance. Guvera placed Blinkbox into administration in early June and let 100 of its staff members go. “The company has faced significant financial pressure in recent months, since its acquisition by the Guvera group,” said Finbarr O’Connell, one of the joint administrators for Blinkbox. Continue Reading →

Taylor Swift gets Apple Music to reverse policy on free trial royalty payments

Posted on by Anna Washenko

We recently reported that Taylor Swift’s latest album would not be available through Apple Music. Yesterday, Swift published a Tumblr post explaining why. She questioned Apple’s decision to not pay any royalties to artists, songwriters, or producers for song plays during listeners’ three-month free trials. “These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much,” she said. Continue Reading →