RAIN News

7digital announces new contracts and revenue

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Anna Washenko

7digital announced that over the past month it has entered into new or expanded contracts valued at £1.8 million. The company sent out a press release noting that it has seen an uptick in interest as broadcast organizations look into finding new options in the streaming audio space. “It’s particularly pleasing to see one of the key areas which we identified for growth – the radio industry – starting to deliver significant business,” CEO Simon Cole said. Continue Reading →

Internet Radio Rewind #040: A podcasting Peabody; Tidal courts indies, Norway targets FM

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Brad Hill

A weekly podcast from RAIN News

Sponsored by AudioBoom

The weekly update of the streaming audio industry, from RAIN News. THIS WEEK: “Serial” wins a Peabody; Apple Watch launch day — what can you listen to?; new iHeartMedia podcasts; Tidal reaches out to indies; Norway targets FM switch-off. Continue Reading →

Saavn, KKBox each announce live music integrations

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Anna Washenko

Two streaming services operating out of Asia announced new integrations or partnerships that add a live music angle for their listeners. India-based streaming service Saavn announced plans for a series of live acoustic shows and musician interviews. KKBox, a music streaming service from Taiwan, has invested in ticket vending startup WalkieTicket and is now its largest institutional shareholder. This could be a new business trend for the streaming market. Continue Reading →

Quick Hits: Forbes on Nielsen; more Tidal discussions; indies vs YouTube Music Key

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Anna Washenko

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Continue Reading →

Pandora Q1 earnings: higher revenue, greater net loss, stock up

Posted on April 24, 2015 by RAIN News Staff

“I’m excited to speak with you regarding our strong start of the year.” So began Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews’ quarterly address to investors as he reported first-quarter earnings. He discussed financials, audience metrics, size of the sales force, data management, and future guidance. Continue Reading →

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Rich Dalton, a radio icon, moves from FM to Internet radio

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Brad Hill

Rich Dalton, a 45-year radio veteran known in St. Louis as “Radio Rich,” whose picture appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone, has signed on as Program Director and anchor host of Our Musical Roots, a St. Louis pureplay Internet station. We spoke with Dalton about his motivations. Continue Reading →

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Review: Musonomics podcast offers deep dive on industry issues

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Anna Washenko

We’re always looking for new podcasts to add to our listening queue, and so today we took a listen to a new program called Musonomics. It’s a twice-monthly podcast about the music and culture industries that just debuted its first episode last week. Larry Miller is the host, and the program has backing from the NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program, where he is a professor. The first episode includes an in-depth discussion about Record Store Day and the resurgence of vinyl. Continue Reading →

iHeartMedia hosts a “Soundfront,” previewing new podcasts to media buyers

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Brad Hill

Borrowing the model of Upfronts from the television industry, where new shows are introduced to advertisers and agencies, iHeartMedia hosted its first Soundfront to preview new on-demand audio programs. Gayle Troberman, iHeart’s CMO, evangelized for audio and podcasting. “In the age of… Continue Reading →

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German songwriting head decries ‘sacrificing publishers on the altar of digital music’

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Anna Washenko

The German Music Publishers Association held its annual meeting yesterday and royalty rates from streaming services were a hot topic. President Rolf Budde had some strong words about the state of compensation for songwriters. “The 60,000 composers, lyricists and music publishers must not be sacrificed on the altar of digital music,” he said. Continue Reading →

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Tidal makes another offering to indie artists with Discovery

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Anna Washenko

Tidal is continuing its efforts to get more musicians on board with its premium streaming service. The latest plan is for a new feature called Discovery that bypasses the third-party distribution model for independent artists. Instead, those musicians will be able to directly upload their tracks to Tidal. Continue Reading →

Nielsen on total audio measurement: “We feel good about progress”

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Brad Hill

Nielsen held its quarterly earning call for Q1 yesterday. While much of the reporting pertained to non-audio products and initiatives, CEO Mitch Barns anwered questions about audio measurement, and the progress of Nielsen’s stream measurement initiative. “We are right where we thought we would be.” Continue Reading →

Canada will extend sound recording copyright to 70 years

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Anna Washenko

Canada is extending the copyright term for sound recordings from 50 years to 70 years. The change is happening as part of the country’s 2015 budget. Many other countries, including the UK and Australia, have copyright terms of 70 years, while the U.S. term is 95 years. Continue Reading →