SoundHound announced a relaunch of its popular music-recognition app, which the company calls “the most significant visual change to the app.” The design is optimized for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and of course is fine in earlier iPhones, and Android phones. We tested the new SoundHound version 6.3 in both environments. Continue Reading
YouTube has reportedly reached an agreement with indie music rights agency Merlin for its subscription music service, according to Financial Times. If the news is confirmed, this would be a major win for the video network. Merlin represents some 20,000 indie labels, and an agreement with that group helps to round out YouTube’s alliances with the top record labels; it already has arrangements with Universal, Sony, and Warner. Continue Reading
Edison Research released a new piece of its landmark Share of Ear research, a large-scale survey first introduced in June. The latest component is an infographic detailing the percentage of listening to audio sources in the car. Share of Ear respondents indicate that AM/FM listening still dominates in the car, followed by satellite radio. Continue Reading
Music-ID app SoundHound has created an intriguing brand integration with Grand Marnier, in which the DNA of certain songs is revealed — samples, remixes, and covers, mainly. The campaign is called “The DNA of Music,” and we spotted it surrounding a Kelly Clarkson song ID’d in SoundHound. We talked to Cheryl Lucanegro, VP of Sales at SoundHound, to get the back story of this campaign. Continue Reading
Classical music fans in the UK are getting a new option for keeping up with their favorite symphonies and sonatas thanks to Classic FM and Decca. The companies have partnered to launch a classical music streaming service called Composed. The subscription-based model offers streaming based on mood, composer, or curated playlist, according to Music Week. Continue Reading
The decision by Taylor Swift and her label, Big Machine, to remove her entire back catalog from Spotify sparked a wave of debates and arguments about the pros and cons of the streaming music economy. Swift herself said in an interview with Yahoo that the reason for her action was her skepticism about streaming platforms. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a lengthy blog post in an effort to clear up misunderstandings about the streaming ecosystem that have sparked many of the most vocal diabtribes. Continue Reading
Radio group Cumulus Media and online music service Rdio forged their partnership last September, so yesterday’s earnings call from publicly traded Cumulus could be approached as a one-year anniversary of the terrestrial/online hook-up. In year-over-year growth in ad revenue, digital led the way, and Rdio led digital. Continue Reading
Intentionally named, The FIX promotes itself as an antidote: “Charleston’s answer to boring radio.” That’s Charleston, South Carolina. If you live around there, you want to know about The FIX for its focus on local bands and events. If you don’t, you want to tune in this pureplay station for the carefully curated alt-rock programming. Continue Reading
AudioHQ announced a partnership that will see targeted audio ads delivered to listeners on AccuRadio’s online radio platform. The audience targeting will be based on registration information. Continue Reading
We announce the results of RAIN Polls after one week. But we don’t shut down the polls after publishing the results. In some cases they remain active through search engines and social pointers. When that happens we revisit and update the results. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia has proposed reducing the royalty rate webcasters pay to artists and labels, cutting the existing rate set for terrestrial webcasters by 80 percent. The suggested royalty amount is less than half of Pandora’s suggested rate, which in turn is about half the rate suggested by SoundExchange, which represents music labels. iHeart’s argument is based on its negotiated deal with Warner Music Group, which provides lower royalty rates in exchange for greater exposure of Warner music. Continue Reading
Several leaders from the music industry spoke last week at the Web Summit in Dublin about the role of streaming for musicians and listeners. One panel included several managers discussing the current environment for music. Jonathan Dickins, who represents popular singer Adele, spoke favorably about the role of streaming. Another panel from the Summit focused on Music and Movies in the 21st Century. At that discussion, U2’s Bono also spoke out in support of a streaming music economy. Continue Reading