Spotify is making a splash as it enters Asian countries with lower prices for its premium subscription service. Spotify has entered its 56th country, entering the Philippines with a $3 price (converted to U.S. dollars) for subscription. If that seems cheap, consider contrasting GDPs. Continue Reading
A recent Media Technology Monitor study indicates strong year-over-year growth in consumption of streaming music among Canadian listeners, as reported by eMarketer. Survey data collected last fall shows a doubling of stream listening from the previous year, from 11% of the survey population to 22%. the sample contained English-speaking Canadian adults. Continue Reading
Veteran digital-music executive Ted Cohen moderated the “Listener’s Choice” panel at RAIN Summit West on Sunday in Las Vegas. His mission was to tease insights from music-service executives about how they differentiate, attract listeners, and navigate business realities of a crowded market. (AUDIO) Continue Reading
In this guest article, IP attorney Angus MacDonald of the University of California analyzes the recently-released 2013 annual report from SoundExchange, and Pandora’s financial statements, to conclude that Pandora pays over 50% of SoundExchange collections to labels. What does this mean for U.S. regulations in the next royalty period? Continue Reading
This morning Billboard reported Nielsen SoundScan’s sales and streaming numbers for the first quarter. Track and album sales are down, at an accelerating pace. Meanwhile, streaming is up, and an interesting revenue calculation indicates that streaming growth outpaces the decrease in downloads. Continue Reading
Last week at RAIN Summit West, the lens focused on podcasting for a panel called “The Podcast Phenomenon: Capturing Listeners with Compelling Content.” Click through for full audio. The discussion ranged from creative excellence to the challenges of audience measurement. Continue Reading
A new poll conducted by TV magazine 60 Minutes, in collaboration with Vanity Fair magazine, found that Americans choose radio as their favorite music-listening medium more than any other. Methodology of this survey was not disclosed, except that respondents were American. Continue Reading
At The NAB Show in Las Vegas this week, Bob Struble, president/CEO of iBiquity Digital, updated the installed footprint of HD Radio. iBiquity Digital developed and owns the HD Radio technology, the U.S. digital radio platform. Struble presented two key HD Radio metrics. Continue Reading
Representing a 63 percent jump in the last year, music service Rhapsody now counts 1.7-million subscribers. Rhapsody International operates both the Rhapsody and Napster streaming-music brands in North America, Europe, and South America. The sharpest gains have resulted from Rhapsody’s distribution deal with telecom giant Telefonica Continue Reading
The “Dashboard Dynamics” panel wrapped RAIN Summit West 2014 with a robust discussion moderated by Paul Heine, Senior Editor of Inside Radio. Panelists were Ty Roberts (Gracenote), George Lynch (Pandora), Carl Rohling (TuneIn), and Scott Burnell, Ford.) Continue Reading
Just as automakers can introduce concept cars, Microsoft has unveiled a conceptual connected-car platform. First looks make Microsoft in the Car appear to be a direct competitor to Apple’s CarPlay system which is rolling onto the street in a few models this year. Continue Reading
RAIN Summit West, the premiere education and networking conference for the online audio industry, concluded late Sunday afternoon with a Dashboard Dynamics panel. Focus topics included local digital ad dollars, podcasting, mobile radio apps, curation and storytelling, differentiation among streaming services, royalties and licensing, streaming ads, and more. Continue Reading