Quick Hits: Vnyl; Sonos exec interview; the disappearing Single of the Week

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web.


Vnyl over-subscribes its Kickstarter campaign: An innovative monthly club for discovering asnd buying vinyl records has more than tripled its Kickstarter goal, riding on the wave of enthusiasm for vinyl records. Part retro and part hi-def audiophilia, vinyl is a growing (but still tiny) category of music purchase. The Vnyl startup works like old-school Netflix with a purchasing option. You receive three records, send ’em back after listening, purchase whatever you want to keep, and await the next batch.

Sonos exec talks streaming and speakers: All the big WiFi speaker announcements from CES this year could mean serious heat for current industry leader Sonos. But don’t count the company out yet. Chief Product Officer Mark Whitten spoke with The Wall Street Journal at the tech event about the outlook for home audio and streaming music.

Did iTunes end Single of the Week promo?: Most industry leaders are predicting big changes for iTunes in 2015, what with the addition of Beats Music into the fold. But an unexpected change seems to have occurred in the Apple digital store: the free “Single of the Week” feature seems to be no more. Billboard reported that Apple hasn’t commented on a potential end to the free weekly download, but users in Britain, Italy, and Australia have noticed its absence.

Anna Washenko