James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: RAJAR releases U.K. radio metrics, including online and DAB digital. Continue Reading
According to a new report from Digital Music News, Spotify may be reconsidering its free tier approach. Sources have allegedly told the site that Spotify may begin adopting a windowed path, making some music releases only available to paid listeners or only opening it up to free listeners for a short amount of time. The company is reportedly considering several different options for what form that gated material might take. Sources told DMN that multiple of those options could see a rollout in early 2016. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. TODAY: Does Beats 1 steal radio’s last advantage? Is Spotify a hitmaker? And U2 went on podcasting to break news. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Bret Kinsella dug into the numbers to conclude that Internet radio has greater reach than Facebook. Now, what about monetization? Continue Reading
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The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: Apple Music discloses audience numbers; Hubbard Radio buys into podcasting; webcast metrics for June. Continue Reading
Apple has filed a patent application for a concept of gifting “digital mixed tapes” that could be a future addition to its music department. The application suggests a system for creating customized complication albums and then gifting them to another person. These albums could include some unique features, such as revealing a track’s title only as it is played or limiting the ability to fast forward. The patent also suggests options for incorporating multimedia content to the audio experience. Continue Reading
Rhapsody’s Q2 financial data revealed customer growth of 50% over the past year, exceeding 3 million subscribers. The streaming platform reached a record revenue of almost $50.1 million for the period, up from revenue of $42.4 million in the year-ago period. However, its quarterly losses also increased to nearly $12.1 million, compared with a loss of $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2014. Continue Reading
Hubbard Radio has added its stations to Shazam for Radio, an interactive platform that gives participating stations a branded user experience within the Shazam app. Nineteen stations in seven markets will be placed on the platform. Continue Reading
In Salem Media’s quarterly earnings call,the company reported flat revenue overall, and a 6.7% revenue drop for its digital division. CEO Edward Atsinger explained the shortfall and reported a new digital acquisition. Continue Reading
Shazam released an update to strengthen its integration with Rdio and Spotify. Users could already listen to full songs from those platforms within the Shazam app. The recent update delivers the ability to add songs to playlists on those streaming services without leaving the Shazam app. Continue Reading
Radio Disney is continuing its digital revitalization with a launch on iHeartRadio. The Radio Disney programming will now be accessible on iHeartRadio apps across all 60 of its available platforms. Continue Reading
Spreaker announced a new feature with the launch of the Adore podcast network. This series of eight shows is selected and powered by Spreaker, but will live on a separate website. “This new Adore Network is an effort to promote, feature and drive advertising revenue to shows on the Spreaker platform,” said Rob Greenlee. Continue Reading