Today brings an announcement from ad-tech purveyor XAPPmedia, describing a partnership with Slacker Radio that brings XAPP’s voice-interactive technology to Slacker listeners for navigating the music library. Slacker users are served promotions for playlists, artists, or songs, and can switch to the promoted music by saying a word or phrase without touching the screen. Continue Reading
AudioBoom will be one of the content providers for the Google Play store. The company is one of 11 podcast and audio partners that will appear on the redesigned store. Earlier this week, some Android users saw glimpses of the active podcast hub. Continue Reading
App Annie released its 2015 Retrospective report, and as usual, it has some pointed insights into both the mobile and mobile music markets. Spotify took the crown for revenue and users worldwide, but there are several countries where more localized streaming services had the most participation. Continue Reading
Apple Music made its Russian debut last summer, and the numbers coming out of the market show some early promise. The reports point to Russia being one of the top five biggest markets for Apple Music so far. Continue Reading
The Financial Times reported over the weekend that Apple Music has reached 10 million subscribers, which represents impressive growth over six months. What does it indicate about the future audience growth for Apple Music? Guest columnist Bret Kinsella infers a churn rate from publicly disclosed retention numbers, and arrives at a prediction.
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James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Analysis of the CRB ruling in the U.S. Spotify lures away Radio 1’s music head. Much more news from around the world. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Podcasting predictions for 2016; new music careers from podcasts; when companies make the software and the systems; Kickstarter’s independent fulfillment report. Continue Reading
Google acquired online radio platform Songza nearly a year and a half ago, July 1 2014, and today the announcement comes that the Songza brand, and stand-alone app, will be discontinued at the end of the year. Songza features and playlists will continue within Google Play, where they have resided since last October. Continue Reading
Google announced new additions to its push to record great works in 360-degree video, this time focused on the fine arts. The tech giant has partnered with more than 60 performing arts groups around the world to create live, 360-degree experiences. I’ve seen a few experiments with this video tech before, and it has always seemed more interesting in theory than in practice to me. So I was curious to see what this meeting of high-tech and high culture could produce. Continue Reading
Amazon has debuted its Prime Music streaming service in Japan,, the fifth market to receive access to the online retailer’s platform. The service will offer listeners in the country more than 1 million tracks, including music by Japanese artists. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: More orchestras join Google’s Classical Live; data on teens, tweens, and media; BPI’s CEO delivers keynote speech. Continue Reading
YouTube has launched its new standalone music app. YouTube Music, which was once just a section of the general YouTube service, is now available as a free download on both the iOS App Store and Google Play. Although anyone can use the YouTube Music app for free, it does offer a premium experience lumped into the YouTube Red subscription. Continue Reading