Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Blinkbox hits a billion streams: Who would have thought a grocer and retailer would have a successful music streaming service? Owned by British company Tesco, Blinkbox announced that 1 billion tracks have been played through the music portion of its online streaming platform. A whopping 95 percent of those streams happen on mobile apps, according to Music Week.
WiMP expands internationally with Tidal: Norway’s WiMP streaming platform announced that it will enter the U.S. and UK markets with a new product called Tidal. The company is another among the recent hi-fidelity music trend, with a catalog of 25 million tracks streaming with lossless sound quality. It will also include high-definition music videos and some editorial content. Monthly subscriptions will cost $19.99 (£19.99) [Complete Music Update]
Spotify CEO on musicians making money: Daniel Ek spoke with CNN Money about, fittingly, the money artists can make through streaming platforms. He held up Sweden as an example of what he hopes the finanail state for musicians will eventually be on a global scale.