In a daring extension of Russia’s growing imperialism, Vladimir Putin today annexed Pandora Radio. The takeover adds turmoil to international tensions which have escalated in recent weeks. Spotify is reportedly amassing troops along its borders, hoping to deter an invasion and a potential domino effect in music services. Continue Reading
Just a few days following the announcement of Clear Channel’s revenue-sharing deal with BBR Music, a cluster of country-music record labels, the radio group announces the latest instance of its free-market royalty deal-making prowess, this time with Stardome Media Group. Stardome represents Latin music artists. Continue Reading
Raditaz, a now-defunct music service which closed in said “We’re Going Underground November, has raised $9.6-million for a relaunch effort. The CEO says the new service, called CUR Music, will land “between personalized radio services like Pandora and fully-fledged on-demand music services like Spotify.” Continue Reading
Stitcher updated its iPhone app, and is promoting the main added feature: a new Front Page that furnishes a personalized feed, or playlist, of the user’s favorite stations. The new iPhone Front Page is designed to get the user listening to preferred shows faster. Continue Reading
Rdio announced a new feature in its partnership with music-identification app Shazam, raising the game in an escalating rivalry with competing service SoundHound. The new feature enables users to take any song from Shazam’s Pulse service, which is a trending chart of popular song IDs, and throw it into an Rdio playlist. Continue Reading
Today XAPPmedia, a leading audio ad technology company, will announce the launch of XAPP Ads, which the company describes as “the first interactive audio advertising service for Internet radio publishers.” RAIN got an advance look/listen, and chatted with XAPPmedia CEO Pat Higbie. Continue Reading
With the demise of the unique but little-used Twitter Music app, the micro-blogging service lost no time announcing its next foray into music. Twitter and Billboard announced a partnership to create the Billboard Twitter Real-Time Charts. The alliance is a “big data” play, but there’s a big question about how different it will be. Continue Reading
Weekend Perspective is a quick and concise catch-up of the week’s news. This week: Pandora’s unique deal … Larry Rosin’s stern warning in Europe … Michael Robertson’s $41-million verdict … Mark Fratrik’s prescription for radio revenue … the remarkable Radio League app … and news bites from the music services. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: the five most-read article this week. Pandora’s deal with Peet’s Coffee, and the man who programs their new stations … Larry Rosin issues a stern warning to European broadcasters … iHeartRadio gets it right with mobile notifications … Michael Robertson ordered to pay $41-million. Continue Reading
Podcasting is in a resurgence. In addition to the popular directory in iTunes, other podcast showcases and listening platforms have sprung up. This poll is simple: Share whether you listen to podcasts. Then, in the comment box, you can promote… Continue Reading
Further leveraging in-car listening as its primary customer acquisition funnel, SiriusXM will begin offering three-month trial subscriptions to used-car buyers. Naturally, the offer applies in cars equipped with a SiriusXM receiver. The initiative is enabled by AutoManager, a dealership solution provider. Continue Reading
Some rumors are quickly borne out as fact. Others are just residue of the speculation factory. This week, Amazon and SoundCloud are in the news. Continue Reading