Quick Hits: Midroll Media interview; more playlist business debates; the latest with Microsoft

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Interview with Midroll Media’s Erik Diehn: Podcast network Midroll Media has developed a solid programming roster and now is making waves in the business side of that audio format. Erik Diehn, VP of business development at Midroll Media, spoke to Nieman Lab about revenue, advertising, and the future of the medium.

Ministry of Sound on the business of playlist curation: Playlisting can mean big business for streaming platforms and artists alike, and the UK’s Ministry of Sound is making a stand to ensure that labels get a good deal with that technology. Lohan Presencer has called out Apple Music in particular to develop a business model for third-party playlist creators that gives a fair deal to indie labels. He explained how Ministry was able to achieve a number one hit for its artist Sigala after negotiating playlist presence for the track on Spotify.

Microsoft’s Groove Music on Sonos: Two minor developments at Microsoft’s musical properties. First, the company announced that it will shutter its last remaining vestiges of Zune Music on Nov. 15. The streaming component of the service will be shut off on that date and listeners will be ported over to Groove Music accounts. The good news is that Groove Music members can now enjoy their tunes on Sonos speakers. Groove Music is a blend of Zune and Xbox Music, which never had Sonos support, so that’s a nice addition to the platform.

 

Brad Hill