It has been nearly a year since the rumor broke that Google would create a subscription music plan for YouTube. During this long (and continuing) lead-up, speculation and bafflement has been rampant. Here are three reasons the new service will succeed, and three reasons it won’t. Continue Reading
The Early Edition from Capsule.fm is an app that combines the best of morning radio news with a sleek digital interface and a healthy dose of personalization. It’s a surprisingly charming experience that shows how creative radio can be in making the transition to mobile platforms. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthwhile reads from around the web. Today: Online music in Norway, and a list of the 15 best podcasts of 2014. Continue Reading
Australian streaming service Songl is ending its consumer-focused subscriptions. The platform was a joint effort between Southern Cross Austereo, Sony Music, and Universal Music. Existing subscribers will be transitioned to a personalized ratio service called Omny, which sources its music from other platforms such as Spotify or Rdio. Continue Reading
Radio Free Americana: “”Free-form, commercial free radio featuring new releases of Americana/Alt. Country, Indie/College Rock, Power Pop, Blues, Folk, Outsider, and more (or less).” In other words, leave your genre-specific expectations at the door. Continue Reading
Brief items and worthy reads from around the web: ‘Think like a fan’; take a sneak peek at SoundCloud’s office; indie streaming outlook. Continue Reading
Michael Cooper of The New York Times wrote a round-up of all the available options he could find for streaming classical and opera music. These genres certainly don’t dominate the discussions of digital media. In fact, opera and classical are seen as a niche audience, and that has created an uphill battle for those artists to negotiate good deals on mainstream streaming services. Continue Reading
The latest quarterly data from SoundExchange revealed that non-interactive digital radio services are making progress in matching the royalties from other digital revenue streams. Last year, subscription music services such as Spotify, Rhapsody, and Beats Music posted a growth rate of 57 percent. If that rate holds, then those services will make $987 million this year. That would yield $690 million for rights holders, assuming a 70/30 split of the revenue. Continue Reading
comScore’s U.S. Mobile App Report covers some interesting ground in how people are (and aren’t) using their smartphones and tablets. Activity on mobile devices makes up 60 percent of digital media time in the U.S. The majority of that digital media is consumed through apps; those programs account for 52 percent of the country’s digital media time. Continue Reading
Brief news and worthy reads from around the web: Spotify debuts Serendipity music map; a musician’s guide to streaming; digital music’s slow growth in Finland; how tablet market impacts music. Continue Reading
Shazam recently announced that it has more than 100 million monthly active users, with 34 percent growth in that metric since July 2013. The music identification app has been downloaded more than half a billion times. VentureBeat reported that Shazam’s tagging feature drives 400,000 digital download sales daily. Continue Reading
For the first time in its history, the streaming service will begin running advertisements for U.S. listeners. “The introduction of advertising is an important step for creators,” Founder and CEO Alex Ljung said. “Every time you see or hear an ad, an artist gets paid.” The company also debuted plans for a creator partner program called On SoundCloud that aims to aid members in turning their music streams into revenue streams. The crucial note in SoundCloud’s discussions of this change is its focus on the artists. Continue Reading