James Cridland’s International Radio Trends is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A new milestone on the horizon at NPR. Several sets of statistics on radio in the U.S. Much more. Continue Reading
Spotify has been making tweaks and adjustments to its family plan, and the most recent continues the company’s efforts to restrict how people approach the group subscription option. The new terms and conditions published in August state that everyone on a family plan must reside at the same address. Continue Reading
Amazon has launched a new, crowdsourced supplement designed to help improve its voice assistant. Alexa Answers lets users contribute their own responses to queries that stumped the voice AI. Continue Reading
iHeartMedia announced the launch of a new website that collects all of its sports programming. iHeartRadio Sports will contain more than 195 live broadcast and digital stations and more than 25,000 podcasts. Continue Reading
Spreaker announced that its Spreaker Studio program is the first podcasting app to offer full compatibility with Chrome OS. This operating system runs on Google’s Chromebook laptops. Continue Reading
Apple usually shares a lot of hardware updates in the fall, and it appears that the company’s smart speaker will be getting a few new features. The HomePod was not discussed at all during the Apple keynote event this week, but its product page was updated with news that the device would be getting radio streaming on September 30. Continue Reading
Pandora has followed up its Mac desktop app launch in the spring with a new Windows version of the software. Listeners for any of Pandora’s plans can download a dedicated app for its audio service. Continue Reading
Kantar Media shared new insights about smart speakers in the United States. The latest Worldpanel ComTech data revealed that the net promoter score, a ratio of a product’s likely recommenders versus its detractors, has dropped from 30 to 20 for smart speakers. Continue Reading
Spotify has acquired SoundBetter. The company provides a marketplace for music and audio professionals to connect and work together. It includes production roles for singers, songwriters, producers, mixers, mastering engineers, and session musicians. Continue Reading
We got word today of a new podcast called Fark and Schnitt, part of a nascent podcast network run by ex-radio station owner Steve Lapa. The show brings together longtime radio talent Todd Schnitt with FARK.COM founder Drew Curtis to explore weird and bizarre news stories, and is part of a nascent new podcast network. Continue Reading
Spotify’s newest exclusive podcast is a project from Bill Simmons. The Hottest Take will see the longtime podcaster and media personality engaging in short conversations every episode, each running less than 15 minutes. Continue Reading
DAX announced that it has entered an exclusive two-year advertising deal with Endemol Shine Group. Under the terms of the deal, DAX will be the ad sales partner for the new commercial podcast portfolio from the global content creator. Continue Reading