Beleaguered retailer Tesco, which owns 3,300 stores in the U.K., and a portfolio of media assets under the Blinkbox brand, has reportedly sold its video Blinkbox service to phone company TalkTalk. Blinkbox Music, which announced a million streams last September, is not part of the deal, but a buyer is reportedly lined up. Continue Reading
Sirius XM closed 2014 with 27.3 million subscribers thanks to 1.75 million net subscriber additions over the course of the year. Net additions of self-pay subscribers totaled 1.44 million. The results surpassed the company’s guidance for both metrics. Continue Reading
Deezer announced that it has bought Muve Music, a streaming service for phones only, from Cricket, a U.S. wireless carrier. Muve will be expanded to include Deezer’s song library and open up smart radio stations. Deezer will still be offering Muve to Cricket customers; the service will cost $6 for those who are signed up for a monthly cell phone plan of at least $35. Continue Reading
In an impactful announcement, CBS launched Play.it, a web-based podcast network. The venture brings CBS’ significant talent assets, program brands, and promotional power to the growing podcast network industry. The initiative is co-developed by CBS Radio and CBS Local Digital Media. Continue Reading
Kickstarter shared a slightly belated year-in-review, compiling data about the projects that were successfully crowd-funded on the platform in 2014. Music was the top category, barely edging out Film & Video with just over 4,000 projects funded. Continue Reading
It’s a big week for Rivet Radio, an up-and-coming listening platform for on-demand audio. A new partnership with American Public Media (APM), the second-largest producer of public radio programming, is complemented by new connected-car distribution agreements. Continue Reading
Rdio’s many CES announcements add up to a major push into new listening devices both large and small. For starters, the streaming service entered into an exclusive partnership with Bosch to integrate into the mySPIN platform. It also announced new deals to integrate with more smart TVs and WiFi speakers. Continue Reading
The well publicized success of audio programming Serial, which achieved cult status and breakthrough metrics for a pureplay podcast (online only, not an archived radio show), has the podcast industry hoping for rising tide which lifts all boats. It’s not only podcast creators looking at 2015 as a potential growth year for the category. Distribution platforms have much to gain from an anticipated surge of interest in on-demand talk-based audio. Continue Reading
Qualcomm AllPlay is refreshing its existing product with a commercial rollout, the company announced at CES. Several new music partners, including SoundCloud and Tidal, will be supported on the wireless streaming service, joining iHeartRadio, Rhapsody/Napster, and SomaFM. Qualcomm is attempting to reduce home-listening silos with this open-source solution to remote streaming. Continue Reading
LG announced its foray into WiFi speakers with the Music Flow suite of products. The company will sell three speakers, three upgraded sound bars, and a portable, battery-powered speaker under this brand. The Music Flow speakers will support the new audio-only Google Cast software, which brings in several music services. LG also has product partnerships with iHeartRadio, Rhapsody, Spotify, and TuneIn. Continue Reading
AT&T has thrown its hat into the auto technology ring with the announcement of its own connected car platform. AT&T Drive is designed to be a modular solution where car manufacturers can pick and choose the features they want. HQ’d in a 5,000-square-foot research center, AT&T Drive joins Google, Apple. Microsoft, and QNX in a crowded space. Continue Reading
Is streaming a winner-take-all market? Bob Lefsetz recently implied that, and guest columnist Mike Spinelli offers strategic thoughts targeted to specialized streaming services. Rather than attract every listener in the world, optimize the service around core specialty audiences. Continue Reading