More than half of Norway’s radio listeners are using digital radio, according to a survey carried out by TNS Gallup. Digitalradio Norge CEO Ole Jørgen Torvmark said that the data included DAB, Internet, and digital TV in the definition of digital radio. The results showed that 53% of the country’s listeners have switched over to digital, with 36% using DAB radio and 17% using the Internet. Continue Reading
The year kicked off with some intriguing announcements about niche streaming services, such as The Overflow for Christian or gospel songs and ClassicsOnline HD for classical music. The latest niche to enter the online music scene isn’t a genre-centric one. Cadence & Cause is looking to attract listeners with altruism. Continue Reading
Coleman Insights has launched a new series of blog posts about listening and engagement habits for music across various platforms. The first post addresses questions of timing and shelf life. An analysis of 26 consecutive weeks of Billboard’s on-demand charts to determine the age of songs that people most choose to listen to, then compared that song vintage metric with Billboard’s top 10 radio hits. Continue Reading
Social music apps have become a crowded industry of late, and a new company called Nusiki has joined the fray out of Chicago. Co-founder Ben Hewitt described the service as “if Instagram and Spotify had a kid.” Continue Reading
Pinguin is a Dutch station that brings a sometimes eclectic, occasionally international mix into its stream. The high-bitrate streaming was flawless in our testing, and the music kept us interested and energized. Try it. Continue Reading
Beatgasm came to life when a Miami radio station opted to make the move online. Rather than just keep a pureplay rendition of the station, Beatgasm expanded into a network of lean-back EDM stations. Today, the platform has a range of prepared playlists, focused by subgenre, mood, energy level, or city. There is also a suite of curated stations by the Beatgasm team. Continue Reading
Windows Phone might be a forgotten stepchild of mobile devices, but its market share has more than doubled since 2011. Spotify announced an upgrade to its Windows Phone app which brings beauty and essential features that Android and iOS users are accustomed to onto the platform. Continue Reading
Every now and again – and perhaps more frequently these days – one encounters a technological change that immediately speaks to you and says: “You will never go back.” Continue Reading
In 1962, a confluence of events occurred that eventually disrupted and transformed U.S. retailing. RAIN News founding editor Kurt Hanson examines what went wrong with retailer Target in Canada, and extracts lessons for broadcasters in the digital era. Plus…his dog goes shopping. Continue Reading
Several startups have sought to blend online music with a social sharing angle. This Is My Jam, Tapely, and Musx have experimented with how people share and discuss music with the latest technologies and streaming platforms. Another company has joined that social music space, but this one may have an edge thanks to securing support from labels. BOOMiO officially launched out of beta this week. Continue Reading
RAIN is pleased to announce that Anthony Bay, CEO of Rdio, will be the keynote speaker at RAIN Summit West on Sunday, April 12 in Las Vegas, during the NAB Show. Bay joined Rdio in December, 2013, and has guided the company’s expansion — both the business model and the service’s global reach. Continue Reading
Following up on a comprehensive look at the U.S. music industry in 2014, Nielsen has released its year-in-review for our neighbors to the north. Canadian listeners streamed more than 6 billion songs in just the second half of 2014. Continue Reading