Tomorrow, Pandora will discuss the eventful and controversial topic of music licensing in a public conference call with investors. Anyone can dial in. The call comes after webcasters filed their royalty-rate arguments to the Copyright Royalty Board, in which Pandora proposed royalty rates to labels and artists lower than present rates, and about half the amount suggested by SoundExchange in its brief. Continue Reading
A New York judge ruled against Sirius XM’s motion for a summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by the Turtles. The band is seeking $100 million in damages for the satellite radio’s playing its songs from before 1972, when federal copyright laws took effect. It is the latest in a series of state court decisions that challenge a loophole in federal music licensing regulations. Continue Reading
Audio ad platform TargetSpot announced a partnership with RMS, the leading audio ad network in Germany. RMS also operates an Internet radio publishing platform for German online radio stations. TargetSpot merged with leading Internet radio platform Radionomy in January. with both companies involved in audio publishing and ad marketing, the synergies of this deal appear to angle in from all directions. Continue Reading
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A six-minute blast of news you need to know in streaming music and online audio. This week: YouTube Music Key finally arrives (partially); iHeartMedia rate proposal; in-car listening preferences; Rhapsody earnings; SoundHound’s new app; Disney goes digital on Slacker; Taylor Swift redux. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Sales and subscriptions up for Google Music; SoundCloud cofounder on money and mixes; what the world is listening to. Continue Reading
The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers And Authors weighed in on Taylor Swift’s decision to remove all of her music from Spotify over concerns that the singer was not being fairly compensated for her music. BASCA voiced support for Swift’s decision, but used the situation to call attention to the disparity in royalties paid to performers compared with those given to songwriters. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has entered into a distribution agreement with Tencent, a Chinese Internet conglomerate. Tencent will be responsible for distributing Warner’s catalog and new releases to local music services in China. One of the main platforms where Tencent will be providing Warner’s library is its proprietary streaming music platform, QQ Music. The free listening service is one of the longest-running in China. Continue Reading
Gracenote announced the launch of a new platform that will enter the increasingly crowded space of connected car dashboards. The product is called Entourage Radio, and this very interesting platform will connect music sources including AM/FM radio and streaming platforms in a single interface, then initiate new listening experiences based on song-ID. Continue Reading
eMarketer released estimates about ad revenue from YouTube — especially interesting as the video platform releases Music Key ad-free listening. eMarketer projects that U.S. video ad revenue alone would increase 39.2% to $1.13 billion. The company expected that the figure would continue to expand in double digit percentages to a possible $1.75 billion in 2016. Continue Reading
Radio Disney has started its migration into the digital realm thanks to three new stations arriving on Slacker. The new additions are Radio Disney, Radio Disney Junior, and Radio Disney’s Top 30 Countdown. Disney shuttered 23 of its 24 terrestrial stations back in August as preparation for a push into online platforms. Continue Reading
The launch of YouTube Music Key is an exciting development for the streaming music sector, but it the new service already has a very vocal and powerful detractor. Irving Azoff, a music industry veteran and leader of the recent Global Music Rights venture, told The Hollywood Reporter that he is prepared to remove the works by 42 of his clients from YouTube. The threatened move could see about 20,000 copyrighted works taken away from the fledgling service, as well as from the original YouTube video platform. Continue Reading
Ad-tech company AdsWizz announced the hire of Paul Brown as VP, European Solutions. Brown leaves Bauer Media, one of the U.K.’s largest radio groups, where he was Digital Development Director. He joined Bauer as part of the acquisition of Absolute Radio in 2013. Continue Reading