2013 was the year in which music royalties were lifted from the realm of legal arcana, and placed in public consciousness. Along with that, the related issue of musicians’ livelihood was insistently inserted into the online conversation. A U.S. lawmaker introduced a new royalty regulation bill. Radio and label groups cut new deals. And Pandora shifted focus. Continue Reading
In audio, advertisers are relatively blind. Before this year, ad buyers and sellers relied on registration data to gain a blunt demographic knowledge of users. 2013 might be remembered as the year in which understanding and targeting the audio-listening audience gained some degree of maturity. Two nearly coincidental breakthroughs signaled a possible evolutionary leap for advertisers. Continue Reading
Christmas. Over, for those who celebrate it. Now we turn our eyes fully toward the new year. And in the spirit of one-world community, today’s POTD is Our Place Radio, and international playlist of softly-hued world music. A perfect playlist for crafting New Year’s resolutions. Reach for the sky with those. Continue Reading
Merry Christmas! Here are three totally different listening experiences for The Big Day and The Big Day Eve. A hard-trance electronica shocker, a nicely varied list of traditional music from several decades, and a Dublin station that doesn’t play Irish. Continue Reading
Music recognition data house Gracenote has been acquired by Tribune, from Sony. The Gracenote unit will probably be bundled into Tribune’s media services division, according to Bloomberg. Sony acquired Gracenote in 2008. Continue Reading
2013 saw the important signs of crowding in the online listening space. What marks 2013 is the introduction of music services by the three big technology companies (Google, Microsoft, and Apple), and the tectonic rumbling felt through the industry. When there is reduction in some areas, there is expansion in others. 2013 saw saw feasts and famines. Continue Reading
Spotify’s new Spotiamp, in addition to being an homage to Winamp, is a fine, lightweight desktop program for streaming Spotify playlists. Only Spotify Premium members need download it. And by the way, Winamp isn’t dead yet. Behind the scenes, a buyer might be forestalling its announced shutdown. Continue Reading
Exfm started as a Chrome browser extension (the company’s original name was Extension.fm) that scavenged websites for MP3 files, and allowed the user to upload those files to the cloud into a personal repository. In what could presage a thinning herd in 2014, Exfm is discontinuing its core music service. Continue Reading
The purpose of collective licensing is simplicity. Providing a mechanism for blanket music-use approval is supposed to move things along, facilitating legal performances of songs and efficient payment to creators. Tell that to BMI, its member publishers, and Pandora this morning. Continue Reading
The five most-read articles this week. A surprising court case; an ex-radio exec building a podcast empire; web listening metrics for October; An interesting not-exactly-merger; a study of how poorly most radio stations do Twitter. Continue Reading
Shazam updated its iOS app with a feature that makes it even more of a liferipper than it was before. The new feature is an Auto function that keeps Shazam listening for recorded music at all times, even when the app is closed. Continue Reading
Without question the biggest and most anticipated product launch of the year in streaming audio, iTunes Radio was late to the party. But for that reason among others, its appearance signified a few important pivot points. A sober observation of iTunes Radio influence might conclude that the product has been less tide-turning than expected. Continue Reading