Leon Neyfakh is departing Slate. He announced his exit in a Twitter thread that was first picked up by Hot Pod. Neyfakh is a reporter as well as the host and narrator of the Slow Burn narrative podcast. He’s leaving to start a new show called Fiasco in partnership with “an innovative platform you’ll be hearing more about soon,” according to the tweets. Continue Reading
YouTube is joining the ranks of music services offering special deals for students. The new student subscriptions are $4.99 a month for access to YouTube Music Premium and $6.99 a month for YouTube Premium. Those services usually cost $9.99 or $11.99 per month, respectively. Continue Reading
Streaming platform Mixcloud has signed a multiyear direct licensing network with Merlin Network, an independent label group and music rights agency. The deal will ensure that recording artists represented by Merlin will receive royalties when their music is played on the Mixcloud streaming service and on its upcoming subscription service. Continue Reading
The Washington Post is joining an increasingly crowded field of daily news podcasts, and has chosen to enter its new show, Post Reports, in the late afternoon slot. The show drops December 3, with T. Rowe Price as launch sponsor. Eight staffers reportedly are assigned full-time to the show’s production, including five newly hired audio producers.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has announced the launch of an upgraded Video Ad Service Template (VAST) standard that includes attributes of the IAB’s digital audio set of ad standards called DAAST (Digital Audio Ad Serving Template). The purpose of DAAST has been to promote a technical ecosystem in which advertisers, publishers, agencies, and consumer playback devices are aligned to coherently deliver and track streamed audio advertising. Continue Reading
Belgium hosted its annual symposium about DAB+ earlier this month. During the event, Flemish Media Minister Sven Gatz said that the country would pick its date for a switch from FM radio to DAB+ once 50% of the audience was listening to digital radio. Continue Reading
Apple will appear before the Supreme Court over the commissions it takes on purchases in its App Store. The court will hear arguments today in an antitrust lawsuit about Apple’s 30% commission charged to software developers. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Smart speakers that aren’t and local radio that isn’t. New Zealand’s Radio Live newstalk station to close. Much more from around the audio world. Continue Reading
Spotify is continuing its global expansion efforts, with India the streaming service’s likely next move. Variety reported that the company is aiming to enter the Indian market within the next six months. Continue Reading
Nielsen has selected David Kenny as its new CEO. He was previously the senior vice president of cognitive solutions at IBM. Kenny joined the tech company in 2015 when it acquired the Weather Company. He will assume the role when Mitch Barns steps down from the helm on December 3 after more than two decades. Continue Reading
Podcasts remain a hot topic for listeners and entrepreneurs alike. A new service called Piqd Audio is joining the podcast discovery space. The platform bills itself as a “slow news” startup curating quality audio content and delivery expert recommendations. Continue Reading
Tencent Music Entertainment had been working towards an IPO in the United States, but the Chinese company is reaching crunch time to do so before the year’s end. It has been laying the groundwork for an offering of up to $2 billion for several months. Continue Reading