British music service Bloom.FM has failed to lock in new investment, and is unplugging for good. It’s a story we have been following closely, notable for its quick ups and downs, and the incisive commentary of the company CEO. “Legal music needs to be more affordable,” Bloom’s official announcement concluded. Continue Reading
As the supposed Apple acquisition of Beats Electronics is taking longer than expected, the industry needed a fresh rumor to chew on. Here it is: Twitter might buy SoundCloud. It’s natural that SoundCloud would seek major partnership — and, at the same time, provide a profitable exit for its investors. The acquisition would leverage a couple of intersecting values and needs Continue Reading
It’s not every day (or week, or month, or quarter) that Spotify releases audience metrics. The company saves it up for big milestones. Today the company unleashed an important one: the on-demand music service has 10-million paying subscribers. In a celebratory playlist, there is a hidden message. Continue Reading
In 2009, the Vodafone Big Top 40 launched a real-time chart, using iTunes sales statistics alongside radio airplay to produce a more “live” chart. The show has 2.4 million listeners, making it the biggest show on commercial radio in the U.K. James Cridland notes the upcoming addition of digital sources in creating this important chart. Continue Reading
Radionomy, the Internet radio creation platform, has linked up with BRS Media, the official dot-FM and dot-AM domain registrar, to make acquiring a domain and starting an Internet station a one-stop process. The distribution aspect of this agreement benefits both companies, while streamlining things for users. Continue Reading
ClearVoice Research, a market intelligence company founded in 2006, released a 50-page survey analysis of the streaming music industry entitled Media Review: Music Streaming Services Market Profile. The report analyzes results of a 1,010-person survey of U.S. Internet-using adults. survey questions explored how users consume music and other audio (news, sports), their awareness of streaming music brands, and their considerations when evaluating services. Continue Reading
Rdio’s new in-house playlist celebrating the 60 countries in which it operates gave us a good venue to settle in for some ad-watching. Rdio’s ad inventory is sold by Cumulus Media, so it’s not surprising to hear straight radio spots exported to Rdio’s streams. We clipped screen shots and counted the spot load. Continue Reading
On-demand music service Rdio blog-announced its expansion to nine more countries, bring its total international footprint to 60 nations across six continents. Rdio is on the move in more ways than one, as the popular celestial jukebox has pumped out headlines over the last few months. Continue Reading
Apple upgraded its iOS-native Podcasts app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The refresh includes various usability improvements. The two major product enhancements are these: Support for Apple CarPlay, and adding Siri control. Our testing went badly. Continue Reading
This installation of our POTD series could be re-titled Not-Quite-Pureplay of the Day. Global Breakfast Radio assembles a constantly changing selection of broadcast web streams at local dawn time. The result is an Internet-only station, built on a novel idea and with fascinating results. Continue Reading
The Copyright Board of Canada issued a royalty-rate decision that retroactively establishes payment amounts to artists and labels for the 2009-2012 period. The official rate supports arguments made by webcasters which participated in the hearing. The rate applies to non-interact Internet radio services, and is retroactively for 2009-2012. Continue Reading
Music-recognition app SoundHound upgraded its iOS and Android apps, deepening its search, discovery, and listening experience. Those front-end enhancements are matched on the back end by technology improvements that make music identification faster and more accurate. RAIN tested the new app. Continue Reading