Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
7digital CEO talks new music models: 7digital has been announced as the tech and curation provider for new plug-and-play streaming device Electric Jukebox. In light of the newly-launched partnership, 7digital CEO Simon Cole shared some thoughts about the current state of the digital music industry. He was critical of the monthly subscription model that is streaming’s current standard. “We’re seeing companies come to the market with these Comes With Music-style business models, and we think that’s a significant development,” Cole said. “We call it the third wave of digital music.”
Indian digital music round-up: Billboard has a collection of the recent developments in India’s streaming music market. It includes Gaana’s recent tie-up with Micromax, as well as the efforts by international properties Apple Music and Rdio.
Why RIAA still values retail data: Josh Friedlander, senior vice president of strategic data analysis for the RIAA, discussed why the organization puts such a high value on retail data. He acknowledged that the new digital models mean lots of money exchanges hands without a traditional retail component. “the best option is to count that transaction at wholesale value,” he said. “We recognize that this is not always a perfect science, which is why for the last few years the RIAA has added an overall wholesale market dollar measure.”