UK sees six-year low for digital radio sales

Posted on by Anna Washenko

UK media regulator Ofcom found a 9.1% decline in digital audio broadcasting sets sold in the year ending in June. The annual digital radio report revealed that at 1.7 million sets, the past year had the lowest number sold since at least 2009. The report also showed flat performance for digital radio’s share of all radio listening, holding steady at 36.8%. Its findings for the popularity of digital radio indicated that the UK listeners are scattered in their preferences. Continue Reading →

David Oxenford: Court Ruling for pre-1972 Music: What Does It Mean?

Posted on by David Oxenford

by David Oxenford

“This is a very surprising decision,” writes broadcast attorney David Oxenford in this comprehensive analysis of a federal court ruling in California. Looking forward, much depends on whether the surprising decision is upheld in appeal, and whather it is replicated in other courtrooms and states. “If this decision were upheld, the potential ramifications for business in California could be great.” Oxenford, who wrote about “The Summer of Copyright” this year, declares the start of what could be an equally contentious new season — “The Autumn of Copyright has begun!” Continue Reading →

Streaming’s Share of Ear in U.S., U.K. Are Similar

Posted on by Jennifer Lane

Recent info from Edison Research’s Share of Ear study puts listening to Internet radio/Music in the US, among persons 12+ at 11.6% of overall listening to all legitimate sources of audio. Right around the same time we were discussing this study at RAIN Summit Indy, similar information was being presented at the Nextrad.io conference hosted by RAIN friends James Cridland and Matt Deegan. RAIN will be examining the online audio marketplace in the UK and across Europe in November at RAIN Summit Europe which will take place in London on November 4th. Continue Reading →

Amazon’s head of digital music and video departing the company

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Amazon’s head of digital music and video has departed the company. Bill Carr has spent 15 years with the online retailer, and was at the helm when the company entered the markets for both online music and streaming video. He was responsible for launching Amazon’s streaming music service for customers with Prime memberships. Continue Reading →

3

Artists win first ruling in pre-1972 royalty lawsuits; Sirius XM loses — impact unclear

Posted on by Brad Hill

A California judge has delivered a result in the Turtles vs. Sirius XM class action case, in which the oldies band sought damages for Sirius XM’s failure to pay royalties for use of pre-1972 music. The court issued a summary judgment in favor of the artists, striking a blow to Sirius XM and sending tectonic shock waves across the streaming music landscape. Although the ruling is clear, its impact is not. The case centers on discrepancies between state and federal music-licensing laws, and lack of clear regulation in both realms. Continue Reading →

Pandora embarks on first online ad campaign, with “thumb gifts”

Posted on by Brad Hill

Pandora seeks to disrupt radio by competing for share of listeners, and ad dollars. At the same time, Pandora watches its audience growth, which has been more or less stable at about 76-million users per month. To further that second priority, Pandora is launching its first online ad campaign with a $5-million buy on socially oriented sites like BuzzFeed, Twitter, and Facebook. Continue Reading →

RAIN Poll: Apple/U2 — gift or gaffe?

Posted on by Brad Hill

Apple’s universal distribution of U2’s new album — the controversy that won’t die. As the dust slowly settles, we’d like to know how it shakes out for you, whether you’re an Apple device user or not. Was the free (and forced) album a huge blunder? Or is all the complaining a waste of bandwidth? Vote your opinion! Leave a survey comment, too — as always, selected comments will be published with the poll results. Continue Reading →