Rumor has turned to reality. Two weeks ago we reported that music service Spotify and telecom carrier Sprint were talking about a bundling plan that would put Spotify in front of Sprint’s 54-million customers. Today, the deal is done. Click for details. Continue Reading
Big data, the term used for collections of data that are so big that special processing is needed in order to use it, is a key component of customized music services. Big data processing is important on the advertising side as well. Jennifer Lane thinks about the possibilities that big data can offer to streaming audio. Continue Reading
Last month we noted real estate site Trulia’s launch of a $45-million ad campaign promoting its mobile house-seeking app. Since then we’ve had an eye out for the ads, curious about what sort of placement Trulia would occupy in Pandora’s portfolio of ad units and rich-media options. We got one answer this week. Continue Reading
As in the car, so on Wall Street … today. SiriusXM and Clear Channel (including iHeartRadio information) released quarterly earnings reports this morning. Pandora comes to bat at 5:00pm EDT. Here are two summaries and one preview. Continue Reading
Beats Music is reportedly signing up subscribers at a slower pace than hoped. Beats is taking one costly step to streamline the sign-up process: the service now allows users to sign up within the iPhone and iPad apps. By acceding to Apple’s business structure, Beats Music appears willing to swallow a 30% reduction in some of its subscription revenue. Continue Reading
The world’s biggest record label groups have filed a lawsuit against Pandora in an attempt to recoup royalties for music recorded before 1972, which is not protected by U.S. copyright law. The legal question hinges on a loophole in the U.S. Copyright Act. the suit is filed in New York State. Continue Reading
We spotted a tweet from media licensing attorney and RAIN Summit participant David Oxenford, indicating that an operating-system push from AT&T turned on the FM chip in his trusty Q10 phone. He sent us his review, which includes raves for ultra-fast tuning and good reception. Continue Reading
Research firm BIA/Kelsey released a sponsored report called The Internet Radio Revolution Has Arrived, describing the growth of Internet radio and projecting its future. Using its own research supplemented by other sources (Edison Research, eMarketer), the report is a white paper that documents consumer uptake of Internet radio and identifies the growth drivers Continue Reading
At RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas, Tom Webster of Edison Research gave an informative and entertaining special presentation called “The New Curators.” He included new, previously unpublished information from The Infinite Dial 2014, a joint project of Edison and Triton Digital. Also: “Eyeglasses, dresses, Gnutella, and the most embarrassing record in my record collection.” Click for video. Continue Reading
The latest music/telecom partnership is on the way, as Spotify and Sprint reportedly work on a bundling deal to be announced later this month, perhaps modeled on the tie-up of Beats Music with AT&T, which offers discounted music subscription to families using the cell-phone service. Continue Reading