James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James draws some connections between radio and live television. Lots of UK news this week, including a look at BBC Sounds and the loss of Jeremy Hardy. Continue Reading
The media sphere burbled over the weekend with late-Friday reporting that Spotify is “in talks” to acquire podcast powerhouse Gimlet Media, with a price tag above $200-million. If this happens, it will be the richest institutional dive into podcasting yet. click through for details, and a history of podcast acquisitions, full and partial. Continue Reading
As predicted in this week’s Sirius XM earnings call for Q4 2018, the Sirius XM acquisition of Pandora closed today. Pandora is now a wholly owned component of the satellite broadcaster. In the earnings call, Sirius CEO Jim Meyer had things to say about Pandora, and was explicit in laying out broad strategic thoughts. Click through for abundant quotes. Continue Reading
YouTube has promoted Carletta Higginson to director, global head of music publishing. Higginson has been under the Google umbrella for five years, most recently as director, music publishing in North America for YouTube and Google Play Music. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James recaps an action-packed week in the UK audio industry. Continue Reading
Subscription-based online music service Akazoo will be acquired by Modern Media Acquisition Corp. (MMAC), the company founded by ex-CEO of media group Cumulus, Lew Dickey. Complex stock maneuvering will result in new ticker symbol, but straight line for existing investors. Continue Reading
RAIN News attended the inaugural iHeartRadio Podcast Awards presented by Capital One on January 18. At the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles, many notable figures from podcasting appeared to recognize the successes of the audio format. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James takes a deep dive on the BBC and Fortunately. Other updates on audio come from France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and more. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Reflecting on resolutions, an SCA exec departs, and a good use of social media for radio. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Deezer CEO interview. The year of the DIY podcast network. “Audio is going to be titanically important.” Spotify’s plan to beat Apple. Continue Reading
Drive Time Metrics (DTM), a connected car tech startup, announced that it has been awarded a patent for its core technology which collects, measures, and analyzes in-car media use. After four years in process, the patent positions DTM to provide a key measurements and in-car audience behavior insights to audio publishers such as broadcast radio and music services. Continue Reading
Presenting RAIN’s 6th annual Predictions feature, provided by industry leaders around the world. 2019 will carry forward the audio industry’s reputation for ongoing, disruptive change. Continue Reading