The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has indicated that it will re-start its effort to establish a “net neutrality” law that would regulate how the Internet’s broadband pipes are owned and managed. This will be FCC’s third try. In January, the agency lost a court decision, largely on a technicality. Continue Reading
Last December, after three months in the market, NextRadio had 83,000 phone activations; today that number is 175,000. The retention rate, which measures multiple uses within a 30-day period (similar to “active listeners” in streaming services), is holding steady at 32 percent across the time period. Continue Reading
Billing itself as “The Internet’s Premiere Jazz Station,” Blue Plate Radio plays a mix of straight-ahead and smooth-tinged jazz. More than just a globally-distributed playlist stream, Blue Plate assumes a role as gatekeeper of the local jazz scene in New Haven, CT, and promoter of artists performing in the area. Continue Reading
In a first-of-its-kind deal, song-recognition company Shazam has partnered with Warner Music Group (WMG) to create a new Shazam-branded music label, and to augment WMG marketing of existing artists with Shazam’s consumer-use data. Continue Reading
Cumulus Media conducted its earning call yesterday, during which CEO Lew Dickey spoke about the partnership with music subscription service Rdio, and about online music generally. Dickey’s remarks evangelized the values of streaming music, and recognized migration away from downloading. Continue Reading
Songwriter and instrumentalist Beck has pre-released his new album, Morning Phase, on NPR. the collection can be streamed in its entirety, with individual song access. Beck’s tactic is a twist on the industry’s pre-release strategy that, in one form or another, is decades old. Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon, Reuters spotted a Spotify job listing containing language which implied that the music subscription company was preparing to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The buzz building around this speculation today is an extension of past predictions from many quarters. Continue Reading
“The whole music subscription sector is intrinsically unprofitable.” That is the stark conclusion of a 150-page financial research report released by British company Generator Research. Unsustainably high cost of operation will prevent profitability, according to the report. Continue Reading
Dhingana, a major Indian music service which we reported as having about 3.5-million users in December, has closed to the public. The closure comes about a year and a half after Dhingana received $7-million in funding from a trio of venture companies. Continue Reading
Hundreds of readers voted in the inaugural RAIN Poll. We asked: “Pandora is the leading ‘Internet radio’ service. Is Pandora radio?” Click through for results, and comments. One thing is certain: the word “radio” has been changed. Continue Reading
Rdio updated its iOS mobile apps with two important features that exist already in the desktop experience. With U.S. listening migrating to mobile from the desktop, it is increasingly important for music apps to provide an unbroken feature set across all their installations. Continue Reading
RAIN Hotspots: The five most-read articles of the week. Pandora vs. ASCAP trial; how millennials listen; the inaugural RAIN Poll; spotify launches a radio-like hosted program; Pandora accepts open music submissions. Continue Reading