If it’s difficult to identify winners and losers in the new CRB webcaster rates, the official comments emanating from three major participants tell a story: Major webcasters OK with it; music industry not. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) unsurprisingly took a middle road, treading a line between the $.0011 that Pandora requested, and the $.0025 that SoundExchange argued for on behalf of music rights-holders. P stock shot upward in after-hours. The company scheduled a conference call for later this evening. Continue Reading
Big Mobile, an Australia-based mobile solutions company for advertisers, announced a partnership with Triton Digital that will integrate Triton’s a2x programmatic exchange and bring it into the Southeast Asia countries in which Big Mobile operates. Continue Reading
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) will outline new webcaster royalty rates tomorrow (Wednesday). Media attorneys Jay Rosenthal and David Leichtman weigh in with anticipatory comments. Continue Reading
AdLarge will be the new exclusive ad sales rep for Shaq Fu Radio, the streaming station from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. The partnership will open up AdLarge’s advertisers to connections with the listeners of specialized programs in hip-hop and R&B on the station. Continue Reading
On the Move tracks hires, promotions, and other notable personnel changes within the online audio industry. Today’s moves include new C-suite roles for Shazam and Marketron. Also Univision and TuneCore each made hires at the VP level. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: An article on why programme debriefs may not be useful. Ed Sheeran’s amusing peep show stunt. Plus the BBC, NextRadio, recommendations, and more. Continue Reading
Pandora CFO Mike Herring spoke at the Wedbush 2015 California Dreamin’ Technology, Consumer Management Access Conference. He spoke about Pandora’s vision generally, the expansion to on-demand service in 2016, Apple Music and Steve Jobs, the company’s recent acquisition of Ticketfly, the imminent CRB royalty-rate ruling, and more. Continue Reading
We have seen increased interest among mobile service providers in letting customers use select platforms without charging their data plans. Virgin Mobile and Verizon are both making inroads into the space, but there has been skepticism about how the carriers may go about securing those partnerships. Continue Reading
Amazon Prime is the latest major company to add a concerts and live performance angle to its streaming service. It has made Qello Concerts available as an a la carte channel for its Prime members. Qello is an initial member of the Amazon Partners Streaming Program, which brings a la carte third-party video content to the platform. What might this signal about Amazon’s longer-term entertainment plans? Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Live streaming stalls at NPR; an Australian station adapts to bush fires; much more. Continue Reading
Pandora has announced a private placement of $300-million worth of convertible notes — essentially, the company is raising cash. Wall Street is sending P stock tumbling down a steep hill. Pandora is gearing up for a monumental redefinition of its business in 2016. Continue Reading