After a lengthy process that seemed at many points like it would come to naught, Vivendi has officially sold a stake in Universal Music Group to a consortium led by Tencent. The completed deal is for a 10% stake in the major label, with the option to acquire another 10% at the same valuation. Continue Reading
Spotify has been taking a meandering path for the launch of its standalone Kids app. The program is designed for children, with no ads and with age-appropriate content. While the app is a standalone piece of software, it requires a Spotify Premium Family subscription to use. Continue Reading
Pocket Casts, the podcast app owned by a group of public media operations, is having a change of the guard. CEO Owen Grover is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Continue Reading
Jacobs Media has released the results for its annual survey into radio and media. The 2020 Techsurvey had 504 commercial radio stations in the U.S. and Canada participating. The slides show insights about radio, podcasts, streaming audio, and smart speakers for a divided digital audience. Continue Reading
Prashanth Rao, a partner at Deloitte India, wrote an article with an outlook for podcasts and audiobooks in India. Deloitte’s latest data pegged the audiobook and podcast sector as commanding revenue of less than $5 billion globally in 2020. Continue Reading
Pod Drop features new, interesting, and returning podcasts. Today, new shows from GfK, Le Coffee Ride, and the Harris School of Public Policy (which started an episode with this reroll: “”We are not sponsored by a mattress company. But we are open to sponsorship!” Continue Reading
Nielsen is the latest research company to share its insights on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on audio. It shared a positive outlook for radio from an online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults between March 20-22. While more than half (55%) U.S. listeners have not changed their radio habits, 28% said they are tuning in more as a result of the outbreak. Continue Reading
Spotify had several newsworthy moments this week. Here’s the latest from the streaming service. The company has created a new option for listeners to directly support artists who are losing gigs and revenue to the coronavirus pandemic. Algoriddim, the maker of popular app Djay, announced that Spotify was revoking access to the program and its compatriots. And new reports that a Korean launch is near. Continue Reading
Jeff Ulster, Chief Technology and Content Officer at TPX, pointed us to the infographic below, made by TPX to facilitate podcast listening for people who don’t quite know how to get started. “They make great company while keeping your social… Continue Reading
Stewie and Brian do a podcast. “Let’s make a podcast.” “Wow, that sounds hard.” No, actually Brian it’s about the easiest thing in the world.” Continue Reading
Italy has been dominating headlines as a center of the western world’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The country is expected to take major economic hits as a result of the outbreak, and the music industry will almost certain reverse the positive growth it saw last year. Continue Reading
A weekly column from the preeminent Radio Futurologist. THIS WEEK: James and the rest of the industry weigh in on the role of radio as people isolate and social distance themselves to weather the pandemic. Continue Reading