Spotify vs. Aussie piracy: Latest data is promising but not definitive

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Spotify’s director of economics, Will Page, spoke at the Bigsound conference in Brisbane, Australia, about the impact of legal streaming services on piracy. His data showed that, in the year from December 2012, the volume of BitTorrent files downloaded by Australians dropped by more than 20%. Spotify launched in Australia on May 21, 2012. Since then, he said one in six Aussies have tried out the music service. Continue Reading →

NextRadio app gets aesthetic updates, but audience size unlikely to change

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Emmis Communications unveiled new a feature for its NextRadio smartphone app called Live Guide. This update is a visual representation of the currently playing music on local stations, an addition meant to make browsing easier. The app also got updates to its navigation tools and will now show listeners extra information about station songs and programming events during broadcasts. Continue Reading →

Edison reveals new “Share of Ear” metrics at RAIN Summit Indy

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a special presentation at RAIN Summit Indy on Tuesday, Larry Rosin, President of Edison Research, broke out new statistics from the “Share of Ear” study conducted earlier this year, and initially summarized in June. Attempting to quantify how American adults listened to audio from all sources, Share of Ear attributed 11.6% of listening to Internet Radio — in the study context, that meant both non-interactive services like Pandora, and interactive services like Spotify. In the RAIN Summit presentation, Larry Rosin unpacked that metric to illuminate more detailed findings. Continue Reading →

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Apple looks forward: Free U2 album on iTunes and the end of iPod Classic

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Apple didn’t share any big streaming-centric news at its product reveal yesterday, but the music updates that did come out of the major tech event still serve as a sign of the trends to look for both on- and offline. U2 was the musical guest at the event, and the band closed the performance by announcing that its new album would be available for free to all iTunes customers. The other big development was a silent change that didn’t take place on stage: Apple discontinued the classic iPod. Continue Reading →

Deezer enters U.S. market with Elite streaming subscription

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Deezer has made significant inroads in the streaming ecosystem of Europe, but soon it will make its first landing in the U.S. The first service it will offer to American listeners is called Deezer Elite. For a monthly subscription of $19.99, listeners can stream lossless FLAC files. Initially, the plan will require listeners to use a Sonos speaker system to stream the tunes, although those people will get a discount on the monthly fee. Continue Reading →

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2014 RAIN Awards: Here are the winners

Posted on by RAIN News Staff

The 5th Annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards concluded yesterday at RAIN Summit Indy, when the final winners were announced by RAIN News founding editor Kurt Hanson and managing editor Brad Hill. The RAIN Awards honor excellence in five categories, covering pureplay streaming, broadcast webcasting, international excellence, digital strategy, and the best overall online radio service. Continue Reading →

Rdio’s international outlook in Canada and Brazil

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Two recent articles reviewed the international scope for Rdio. The service is available in 60 countries, but its top markets outside of the U.S. are Canada and Brazil. Mediacaster reviewed Rdio’s business activities in Canada, the service’s second-largest market. While smartphone use in third-largest market Brazil is on the rise, ZDNet cautioned that the country does struggle with the quality of its mobile Internet services. Continue Reading →