RAIN Summits are famous for their thought-leadership discussion panels. RAIN Summit West also features numerous special presentations in a knowledge-packed day of information and networking. Larry Rosin, Kurt Hanson, Pat Higbie, Amanda Brown, Matt Saraceni, Brian Burdick, and keynoter Anthony Bay are featured presenters. Continue Reading
The flood of news for Tidal continues apace today. The latest update is that the hi-res streaming service helmed by Jay-Z has found a new stakeholder in Sprint and its parent company SoftBank. Unnamed sources told the New York Post that the minority stake is likely worth about $250 million. Continue Reading
New Zealand owners of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices will now have access to the tech company’s Milk Music streaming service. The free, Slacker-powered app has about 150 radio stations and includes options for personalizing the listening experience. Continue Reading
As we reported on March 17, SoundExchange and National Public Radio (NPR) reached an agreement for webcast music licensing in the 2016-2020 royalty period. NPR agreed to increase the number of stations providing detailed census reporting of the music they play in webcasts. We spoke to Rusty Hodge of SomaFM about whether those reports are difficult to produce. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: An example of powerful broadcast advertising, much podcast news, and an international array of links. Continue Reading
ASCAP has appointed a new executive to its upper management. Alice Kim has joined the performing rights organization in the role of executive vice president, chief strategy and development officer. In this capacity, Kim will lead work on strategy, business development, product development, and administration services for the company. Continue Reading
The growing use of smartphones for managing all aspects of digital life is a pertinent issue for the entire audio industry. A newly-released study from the Pew Research Center defines the smartphone usage footprint across age groups, and tracks how music/podcasts are consumed. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. This week: the Orchard CEO speaks out after Sony Music acquisition; Poland expands DAB+; Radio ad revenue in India. Continue Reading
Hi-fi streaming service Tidal has benefited from a great deal of publicity recently. One of the subscription pitches hinges on exclusive content, available only on Tidal. But when it comes to streaming, exclusivity is hard to control. Continue Reading
In The Infinite Dial 2015 Edison Research tested consumer awareness of 17 different streaming audio brands. Tidal wasn’t among them, but the re-launched service is in the news now. Is there room for a newcomer in the crowded music-service field? Continue Reading
Twitch has been toying with legal musical options for its members to play in the background of their videos. It launched a beta Music category in January, with Canadian EDM label Monstercat kicking off the new venture with a 24/7 radio playlist channel. Another label has now joined this Twitch niche. Continue Reading
Since its A-lister relaunch, Tidal has been taking over the news headlines. Some of the buzz has been positive about the potential for artists to get more directly involved in the streaming music conversation. Some has been decidedly less positive about how closely Tidal’s design now resembles Spotify’s. But some of the most interesting news have come directly from the man at the center. Continue Reading