Despite some hesitance from the minority shareholders earlier in March, Jay-Z’s bid to buy Aspiro has reportedly gone through. Last month, some shareholders had voiced skepticism that the bid did not sufficiently value the company, which owns both the Tidal and WiMP streaming services. Continue Reading
Nielsen released the Total Audience Report for the fourth quarter of 2014. It covers basic consumption metrics across TV, gaming, computer, phone, and AM/FM radio. This edition of the report shows AM/FM listening to be fairly stable, with trend signals that move in different directions. Continue Reading
A showcase for streaming audio startups will highlight RAIN Summit West, April 12 in Las Vegas. Called Streaming Audio’s Startup Economy, the showcase panel will feature four entrepreneurs representing their early-stage companies Continue Reading
Jelli, the cloud-based programmatic ad service for broadcasters, announced a new version of its RadioDash platform, providing a campaign data dashboard to radio station clients. We spoke to CEO Mike Dougherty. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Indie label CEO’s freemium takedown: Ministry of Sound CEO Lohan Presencer spoke at the Mobile World Congress with some harsh words for both the streaming industry and the freemium business model… Continue Reading
Joan Warner, Asia PacifIc Chair of WorldDMB and Commercial Radio Australia CEO, recently gave a keynote address the Digital Broadcasting Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, about the need for a transition to digital or HD radio. “Streaming does have a… Continue Reading
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