Spotify has allegedly projected that it will pay Universal Music Group $1 billion over the next two years. Internal emails obtained by the New York Post detailed the streaming service’s financial predictions. The $1 billion figure covers music royalties, ad revenue, and subscription fees. Continue Reading
The Download on Podcasts is a new weekly feature sponsored by PodcastOne.
In the Infinite Dial 2015, an ongoing research project produced by Edison Research and Triton Digital, the metrics and consumption behavior of podcast listeners are portrayed sharply. Podcast listeners are voracious! (They also trend toward affluence.) Continue Reading
If you pay attention to streaming ads, you’ve probably heard and seen lots of insurance companies. Insurance companies hold the top three spots (GEICO, Progressive, Liberty Mutual) in national radio ad placements, and we encounter GEICO ads frequently in streaming music services and in YouTube. The Martin Agency just released three video ads specifically for streaming — they hilariously challenge the user not to skip. Continue Reading
The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held a hearing this morning to debate arguments for and against so-called Consent Decrees — decades-old laws which govern how ASCAP and BMI represent songwriters and publishers for music licensing. Here, summary and quotes. Continue Reading
As on-demand music services negotiate with music labels for the best monthly music subscription rate, RAIN News founding editor Kurt Hanson proposes a new idea. Continue Reading
Milk Music began its life as a free mobile streaming service for the owners of Samsung mobile devices. Now it is open to listeners on any platform with the launch of a version for listening in browsers. Continue Reading
At it’s Spring Forward event, Apple announced that its connected car solution will appear in more than 40 new car models this year. The CarPlay software turns over a vehicle’s digital dashboard to a simplified version of iOS 8 so that the driver can use voice or touch controls to access navigation, phone calls and messages, and music while on the road. Continue Reading
United Stations Radio Network, creator and syndicator of popular FM radio programs, has partnered with Radionomy to build 24/7 online streams of archived shows. Radionomy will host the streams, and distribute them to other online radio directories. Continue Reading
Pandora is experimenting with plans to launch a different approach to accessing its subscription tier. This potential one-day pass would grant access to the paid Pandora One service, which offers ad-free listening, more song skips, and higher audio quality for $4.99 a month. Twenty-four hours with the paid service is projected to cost 99 cents. Continue Reading
The signing of Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo to PodcastOne could raise awareness of the podcast category among Hispanics, where familiarity is low. Continue Reading
There’s plenty of swirl today about Pandora’s remarks at the company’s Investor Day event last week, during which CFO Mike Herring tantalizingly implied that Pandora might some day create an on-demand music service like Spotify. Click through for his remarks, and the context around the discussion. Chief Strategy Officer Sara Clemens had things to say, too. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Q&A about the Songwriters Equity Act; Mad Genius hits crowdfunding goal; Bandcamp hits $100 million in artist payouts. Continue Reading