Xbox Music is getting rebranded as Groove

Microsoft has renamed its Xbox Music service to Groove. The previous name had caused confusion among potential listeners, many of whom thought that the service required an Xbox game console. “Groove” is a more accessible name for listeners who don’t have the gaming hardware. But the rebrand also seems to be part of a broader effort to update Microsoft’s entertainment offerings to keep pace with existing services. Continue Reading

Nielsen Music 360 data sheds more light on music spending habits

Tatiana Simonian, a vice president at Nielsen, gave a presentation at the EDMbiz conference. During the talk, she shared two slides from the Nielsen Music 360 report with data about the industry. The Nielsen data asked its survey respondents who said they paid for streaming which services they spent on. The results showed a larger percentage of paying customers at Pandora One and Spotify, where 33% and 32%, respectively, currently subscribe to the service. Continue Reading

James Cridland’s Weekly Links: Myth-busting Voltair; Google’s free radio; much more

by James Cridland

James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the U.K.’s radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James begins with a couple of his articles, then moves on to the international roundup. Lots of anticipation of Apple Music, which launches on Tuesday, and some reaction to Google’s ad-free Internet radio. Continue Reading

1

Editor’s Notebook: Google’s hasty freemium play

by Brad Hill
Yesterday Google announced it was introducing a free-listening, Internet radio-style component to its Google Play service. The announceement was widely viewed as counter-Apple positioning. But Apple has freemium too. Both companies, the owners of mobile computing, are playing the same game with the same pieces. Continue Reading

Market research projects 30M+ sales of Android Auto, Apple CarPlay by 2020

IHS Automotive has released a market report covering more than 4,000 vehicle owners planning to buy a new car about the apps they would want in their new purchase. Music was the third most popular app category for use in vehicles, securing 38% of respondents’ interest. The report also included forecasts for three of the primary digital dashboard systems: Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and MirrorLink. Continue Reading