Jay-Z and the Turning Freemium Tide – Can Creators Be Curators?
by Chris Price
Guest columnist Chris Price examines the hit-making power of curation. Continue Reading
One day after Tidal launch, a new service challenges with hi-def plans for all ears
One day after Jay-Z-owned Tidal launched with a highly publicized and live-streamed event, a new service called Auricular was announced by a consortium of audio technology specialists. RAIN News spoke with the founders about the new service and plans for the future. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Podcasts, apps, and Alibaba
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: 26 podcasts you should be listening to; NPR’s podcast strategy; BMG partners with Alibaba; Beatport launches an app; Tinder for music. Continue Reading
Mobile Internet radio ad revenue to surpass desktop this year
A new U.S. advertising forecast for 2015 and beyond, from ZenithOptima, projects mobile ad revenue for Internet radio to exceed desktop streaming revenue this year, and to leap ahead for the next two years. Continue Reading
Innovations in talk programming featured at RAIN Summit West
You Should Talk is a discussion panel at the 14th annual RAIN Summit West, moderated by Steve Jones of ABC News Radio. Consumers are listening to more spoken-word programming online than ever before. This panel of experts will discuss innovation that give rise to the popularity of talk content, and the opportunity for streaming audio advertisers. Continue Reading
Spotify’s new Canadian telecom deal offers two years of free Premium
Spotify has entered into another telecommunications partnership. This one is with Rogers Communications and it brings a free subscription to the streaming service to Fido customers for an impressive 24 months. Spotify has engaged in several deals with telecoms across the globe, partnering with mobile and wireless carriers in France, Australia, and Ireland, but none have offered the subscriptions for as long as two years. Continue Reading
BRS Media launches .RADIO subdomans for .am and .fm
BRS Media, domain administrator for dot-FM and dot-AM website addresses (called top-level domains, or TLDs) has launched a new addressing twist — the dot-RADIO subdomain. Continue Reading
Nielsen certifies streaming measurement in TuneGenie players
TuneGenie, a provider of streaming audio players for audio publishers, announced that it received certification for Nielsen’s streaming measurement solution. The announcement marks a third implementation of Nielsen’s audience measurement technology for streaming audio. Continue Reading
Tidal’s new subscription plans & artist ownership: will it work?
Tidal may still be a small player in subscriber numbers, but the high-res streaming platform is taking up a lion’s share of news in recent months. Today, we have more information about what Tidal will look like under the helm of Jay-Z and his business enterprise. The idea of being a streaming service for and by the artists is a fine one, but it still needs to make a pitch to listeners in order to stay afloat. Continue Reading
Experian’s new streaming ads in HD pre-roll webcast
Consumer credit-rating company Experian has a new CMO, and has rolled out new ads with radio and streaming audio in the mix. We caught one as a pre-roll of an HD Radio webcast in iHeartRadio. Continue Reading
Cumulus hires Tommy Page from Pandora
U.S. radio group Cumulus announced hiring Tommy Page as SVP of Brand Partnerships. Page comes from Pandora, where he held a similar role as VP of Artist and Brand Partnerships. Page’s career has wended through music, publishing, and online music service. Continue Reading
Cisneros Interactive acquires Audio.Ad network, to exclusively market streaming audio ads
Cisneros Interactive, a digital advertising company addressing the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American audiences, has purchased a majority stake in Audio.Ad, a Latin American digital audio advertising network. Cisneros Interactive will exclusively market Audio.Ad digital inventory, through its RedMas subsidiary. Continue Reading