2015 Predictions: Over 20 thought leaders look into the new year
Happy New Year!
RAIN is pleased to present 43 predictions from 21 thought-leading guest futurists: Continue Reading
Quick Hits: India getting Prime; Azoff vs YouTube predictions; a strange in-car licensing lawsuit
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Amazon Prime may roll out in India; assessing Azoff’s ammo against YouTube; in-car listening as public performance? Continue Reading
BPI’s 2014 data finds UK streaming doubles to almost 15 billion songs
Continuing the year-end roundup, BPI released data about sales and streams in the UK. The industry group reported a doubling in number of streams to 14.8 billion songs. Streaming accounted for 12.6% of music consumed in the nation in 2014. Continue Reading
Nielsen year-end report: Streaming continues to shine as album sales fall
Nielsen SoundScan released its 2014 year-end figures for both music sales and streaming in the U.S. Streaming totaled 164 billion songs, up 54% from the 106 billion songs streamed the previous year. According to the Wall Street Journal (paywall), the overall music consumption didn’t change extensively between 2013 and 2014 based on an equivalence where 1,500 song streams or 10 individual song downloads count as an album sale. Continue Reading
Fans gave $10 million to artists in Patreon donations this year
One of this year’s emerging stories for the business side of music is a shift toward artist patronage. In Patreon’s first year, donations totaled just $259,000. This year, fans gave $10 million in support of a wide range of creative ventures, according to Polygon. Continue Reading
The most-read stories of 2014
Streaming audio is a many-faceted industry. At RAIN News we observe, report, and analyze ongoing narratives pertaining to many aspects of online audio — business models, user interfaces, revenue metrics, audience growth, legal wrangles, and many more. What catches the interest of our readers? Continue Reading
Pureplay of the Day: Abducted 1 Radio
Sometimes in this life, you just need to get the party started. If there’s nary a DJ in sight to drop the beats for you, then try Abducted 1 Radio. This pureplay station is focused on popular dance tunes and remixes of the top 40 charts. Continue Reading
ReelRadio gets real lawyers, for free
ReelRadio has obtained pro bono legal assistance in its argument with the RIAA. ReelRadio streams vintage radio airchecks, some of which include music, and the RIAA says the site is out of complicance. The law firm of King & Spalding has agreed to partner with the ReelRadio and handle the case. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Songza’s Concierge reaches UK; overtaxed musicians on Bandcamp; Amazon’s top holiday tunes
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Google rolls out Songza feature in UK; British musicians might leave Bandcamp for tax reasons; Amazon’s holiday music winners. Continue Reading
Joyride offers crowdfunding business model for podcasts
Joyride is a service designed to improve the business options available for podcasts, particularly for in-car listening. The platform, which was initially a voice-activated service for navigating mobile apps in a car, now aims to help listeners find more shows that they will enjoy while helping the show creators to make money. Continue Reading
2014 numbers, and what we learned from them
Studies, surveys, and metrics abounded in 2014. RAIN News readers demonstrated acute interest in research which attempted to tease out trends in the fast-changing field of streaming audio. Click through for a rundown. Continue Reading
Deezer adds a new telecom partnership in the Latin American/Carribean market
Deezer has inked a partnership with Cable & Wireless Communications, a telecom in Latin America and the Carribean. According to the CWC press release, music is the second most popular feature for the region’s mobile users. The telecom will be offering the Deezer Premium+ standalone service. Continue Reading