SoundHound secured $100 million in a strategic funding round. This influx of money will support driving adoption and distribution of the company’s Houndify voice AI platform. SoundHound also aims to expand globally, with new offices planned in China, France, and Germany. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio has formed a partnership with Barbara Corcoran, one of the regular “sharks” in the reality startup show Shark Tank, to launch the Business Unusual podcast hosted by Corcoran, sponsored by Dell Small Business. It is a monologue format in which the real estate mogul delivers a business lesson (or two) in what is promoted as a “snackable” five-minute show. Continue Reading
Podcast content and advertising company Midroll Media harvested $11-million in first-quarter revenue, according to the Q1 earnings call for parent company Scripps. How that haul filtered down to the bottom line was undisclosed in the call. Continue Reading
Today, several Google executives shared the latest updates for the tech company in the keynote for Google I/O. The developer-focused event shared some of the upcoming changes for the Google Assistant voice AI platform that will help the company bring the service to more countries and offer more functions. Continue Reading
Digital audio advertising company Targetspot announced that it is expanding its monetization tools into Latin America. Broadcasters in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Peru are now eligible to use the company’s platform. Continue Reading
Spotify has inked a partnership with book publisher Bloomsbury. Under the terms of the deal, Spotify will exclusively offer titles from the publisher’s 33 1/3 series, which includes short books centered on a single album. The first one to become available on Spotify will be the book about Miles Davis’ album Bitches Brew. Continue Reading
Carrie Lieberman has joined iHeartMedia as vice president of podcast revenue strategy. In this role, she’ll be responsible for expanding the podcast portfolio, increasing revenue, and strategic partnerships. She joins the company after two years as the director of content distribution, licensing & business development at First Look Media. Continue Reading
Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange marked a new chapter for the streaming music service, and the action has continued to make waves in the industry. The latest developments are that two of the major labels that were early investors in Spotify during its startup days have sold portions of their shares. Continue Reading
Singapore posted a recent record in music revenue, according to the IFPI. The country saw 2017 music sales of $27.9 million, the highest total of the past five years. Digital revenue has steadily risen since 2013, while physical revenue has taken the opposite trajectory. Continue Reading
Warner announced that it generated $791 million in recorded music revenue during its second quarter ending March 31, up 15% on-year. Streaming was responsible for $415 million of that total, a 38.3% from the results in the same period last year. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James expounds on the potential for niche radio stations to land wins by tight targeting of listeners. Continue Reading
Edison Research and Triton Digital have released the 2018 edition of the Infinite Dial Australia study, It is the second investigation from the pair detailing the latest trends and habits for listeners down under. The results are pulled from a national telephone survey of more than 1,000 Australians aged 12 and up during the first quarter of 2018. Continue Reading