Webcast streaming has enjoyed strong growth during 2014, and has lifted 19% year-over-year, according to data released by Triton Digital in its Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker for May. The month-over-month measurement dropped two percent, the first monthly dip after nine consecutive growth months. Year-to-date, stream listening has risen over 10 percent. Continue Reading
The existing partnership between Rdio and Shazam took a big leap forward today. Going forward, the music-identification tool will allow Rdio members to stream whole songs from within the Shazam app. The updated Shazam app hit iOS on Monday, with a rollout expected for Android in the next few days. Continue Reading
RAIN announces the judging panel for the 5th Annual Internet Radio Awards, which honor achievements and best practices in the Internet radio industry. The awards will be presented at RAIN Summit Indy, September 9, at the Indiana Convention Center. Continue Reading
On Friday, the team behind new high-rez music ecosystem Pono Music announced that rock legend Neil Young will take on the role of CEO, replacing John Hamm at the helm, with Rick Cohen taking on the role of COO. The new music service is reportedly scheduled to launch by the end of this calendar year, a timeline bump from the original April goal. Continue Reading
The simmering legal battle for collective licensing took a new turn last week. Martin Bandier, chairman of Sony/ATV/EMI, said that his company would consider withdrawing from the U.S. collective licensing system unless the Department of Justice overhauls the current regulations for song performance rights. Continue Reading
Jazz lovers can be hardcore fans, with specialty interests in historical eras, legendary performers, and certain instruments. The genre lends itself to more specialized coverage than what is normally found in the universal music services. For the lean-back jazz aficionado, two services — JazzRadio and AccuJazz — provide seemingly endless great listening tailored to mood and sub-genre. Continue Reading
Music jukeboxes have been popular for about 90 years. Online music services and mobile technology have created a “celestial jukebox” that’s available anywhere — an astonishing marvel best appreciated by people over 35 and history students. The modern versions of the jukebox are streamlined to the consumer’s favor in every way — less money, more mobility, bigger selection. But I the attraction is essentially the same as when tabletop jukeboxes were in every New Jersey diner: Music you choose, in new places and times. Continue Reading
Garth Brooks is the best-selling solo artist of all time. He has been content to sit out the digital music disruption, which has mainly occurred during a 13-year retirement. Tomorrow, though, the official Garth Brooks site will start selling downloads of Brooks’ back catalog. A new album will drop in November, and the download version will likewise be sold exclusively on the site. Continue Reading
One of the hottest trends in the transportation field nowadays is that of “car sharing,” a/k/a short-term, neighborhood-distributed car rentals, a la Zipcar. In this narrative, which is both hilarious and horrendous, founding editor Kurt Hanson describes the stunning failed experience of trying a newly-developed car-sharing service offered by legacy car-rental company Hertz. Spinning off a new business line separate from a firm’s core competency isn’t as easy as it might seem — and Kurt Hanson extends that point to the Internet radio industry. Continue Reading
Of all the issues woven into potential music-licensing reform during this “Summer of Copyright” (part 1 and part 2), none is larger, more publicized, or more intractable than whether broadcast radio should lose its exemption from paying performance royalties. The latest volley in an ongoing inflammatory argument is by the advocacy group musicFIRST, which has launched an ad campaign intended to attract the attention of selected legislators in their home districts Continue Reading
Bloomberg is citing unnamed sources in a report that SoundCloud is near to closing deals with record labels for their content to appear on the popular crowdsourced listening platform. If the report plays out as fact, Soundcloud will gain needed elbow room to compete with other music services, unhindered by legal distractions that have troubled SoundCloud recently. Continue Reading
Apple’s iTunes Radio broke into the top-15 list of app usage in May, according to traffic measurement company comScore. While this breakthrough might not seem like an epic milestone, the buzz around it has a “Finally!” aspect to it. But this report does not compare iTunes Radio exactly with other music-app use across the mobile landscape, for two reasons. Continue Reading