In announcing its third-quarter financial results iHeartMedia revealed some key updates for iHeartRadio. The streaming platform hit 56 million registered users as of September 30. The current figure marks growth of 43% year-over-year. Continue Reading
As streaming audio advertising gradually becomes more personalized to the listener, localized ads increasingly appear. One solution — registration data — gives audio publishers a way to sell inventory on a regional basis, so listeners in a state or city hear streaming commercials localized at that level. In our recent ad-stalking, we wanted to anecdotally track how much city-localized advertising was delivered by Pandora in a 90-minute listening session. Continue Reading
Sirius XM posted earnings of $136 million in the third quarter, more than doubling the $63 million earned in the year-ago period. Revenue growth for the satellite radio company was more moderate, up 10% to $1.06 billion for the quarter. Continue Reading
Research firm BIA/Kelsey and business intelligence firm AdMall have formed an alliance to provide high-quality information to media buyers. BIA/Kelsey will furnish some data from its Media Ad View Plus product, plus comparison data of traditional vs. local spending. Continue Reading
Pandora announced that Chris Phillips will join the company as chief product officer. In the new role, Phillips will focus on product management, design, and analysis, in addition to defining and leading the overall product strategy for the online radio business. Continue Reading
Global digital audio ad network TargetSpot announced the launch of a new business development division today. Heading up the unit is VP of Business Development Thierry Ascarez, long-time VP of Business Development at Radionomy. Ascarez now holds both titles. RAIN spoke to Ascarez to flesh out the details. Continue Reading
Data is the big buzzword of the moment, and a new web app from Spotify is putting a slice of that information trove in the hands of listeners. The web app is called Sort Your Music. It lets you look at any playlist in Spotify, then shuffle the order based on the various musical traits. Continue Reading
In a revealing document submitted to the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), Pandora argues for lowered music licensing rates in the 2016-2020 statutory royalty period. The proposed rate range is about half the amount suggested by SoundExchange in its submission to the CRB. The key argument discloses aspects of Pandora’s private music licensing agreement with Merlin, a coalition of 20,000 music labels. Continue Reading
AudioHQ announced a partnership with online radio service Jango for audio ad sales starting in 2015. According to the press release, Jango reaches 3 million listeners in the U.S. each month with its service for social and customizable music stations. This is the second deal to be announced within the past week for AudioHQ. Continue Reading
Unnamed sources told the Wall Street Journal that worldwide music sales from the iTunes Store fell 13%-14% since the start of 2014. A single individual also told WSJ that Apple is in the process of rebuilding Beats Music and will relaunch the service next year as part of iTunes. There hasn’t been any formal word from Apple about its plans for Beats, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors from swirling about their joint future. Continue Reading
Pandora’s Q3 earnings call on Thursday marked an anniversary of the one-year directorship of CEO Brian McAndrews. McAndrews told a story of record-breaking financial results, and slowing audience growth. Wall Street punished the company severely in after-hours trading following the late-afternoon call, and in today’s formal session. Continue Reading
BVDW, the German digital economy federation, released a report on the traction of online radio and streaming in the nation. The data showed that gross investment in audio streaming is projected to increase by more than 50% in 2015, while gross revenue from in-stream advertising is expected to reach about 137 euros by next year, compared with revenue of 65 million euros in 2013. Continue Reading