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When do we know that a media category has attained maturity? Many answers to that, the most viable probably being a thriving and sustainable financial ecosystem. But a more fun answer is when various groups give out awards designed to celebrate excellence and separate cream from crop. Continue Reading
Media conglomerate E.W. Scripps has acquired podcast listening app Stitcher from global music service Deezer, which acquired Stitcher in October, 2014. The acquisition places Stitcher within Midroll Media, a podcast distribution and sales company, which Scripps purchased in July of last year. We spoke to Midroll exec Lex Friedman about what this means for Midroll Media. Continue Reading
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Audience measurement in podcasting is the most notorious issue that producers and network distributors face. But, infamous though podcast analytics are, not everybody is unhappy. One thing for sure though: Data drives digital audio forward. Continue Reading
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The news that Pandora acquired its second streaming podcast deal underscores the sometimes uncomfortable division in how podcasts are consumed — download or stream? Technically, the difference is artificial. But it becomes more important as a usability issue, and in audience measurement. Several mostly-music services are prioritizing podcast streaming, and stretching the definition of podcast consumption. Continue Reading
Tidal owner Jay-Z is adding to the number of exclusives on his streaming property. The hip-hop master has taken several of his popular albums off of all rival services: Reasonable Doubt and his Blueprint trilogy have all been removed from just about everywhere except Tidal. Continue Reading
YouTube’s penetration into the music lives of Americans is a snapshot of quiet domination captured by last week’s Infinite Dial release. When you cross-reference different parts of the Edison Research / Triton Digital study, startling comparisons emerge. Continue Reading
Spotify has added a former top VH1 exec to its top leadership. Tom Calderone, whose past posts included president of VH1, is now the streaming platform’s global head of content partnerships. Continue Reading
BandPage has been acquired by YouTube. The artist support and engagement platform announced the purchase today, and he company reaffirmed its commitment to helping artists access digital tools and services.” Continue Reading
Spotify has been building momentum for a push into Japan, and the increasing number of job postings for the nation may indicate that the company is nearing a launch date. The streaming company currently lists 12 open jobs for its office in Tokyo. Continue Reading
The overarching narrative we saw last year with Tidal, the boutique streaming service focused on artist empowerment and audio quality, was wonky PR. Unfortunately, the company has kicked off 2016 with another peculiar problem: Tidal appears to have accidentally billed some of its former customers. Continue Reading
Happy New Year!
In last year’s edition of RAIN’s annual predictions, we wrote: “2015 will be an eventful year for all stakeholders in online audio.” It was. This year will carry forward the audio industry’s reputation for disruptive change. RAIN News is pleased to present predictions from 23 thought-leading guest futurists Continue Reading
The rumors are true and Beatlemania begins anew! A special splash page on the official Beatles website confirmed that the band’s music will land on nine interactive streaming services at midnight local time. Continue Reading