audioBoom has updated its subscription approach and eliminated the free option for its members. Beginning October 2, all podcasters will be charged $9.99 for use of the service. The company cited growth in the podcasting industry as the reason that it needs to offset the costs of maintenance and other services. Continue Reading
In the eighth ceremony of the RAIN Internet Radio Awards, six audio brands received first-place recognition and commemorative plaques in five categories, after an exceptionally close round of judging by a panel of 13 unaffiliated judges. Continue Reading
Mercedes-Benz is the latest car manufacturer to enter into a partnership with a music company. Starting in 2018, the company is offering one full year of free access to Tidal HiFi to customers who sign up as members of its Me in-car automation and entertainment service. Continue Reading
XAPPmedia announced that in less than six months, it has deployed live Alexa voice skills for 119 radio stations. These custom commands allow quick, direct access to the stations on the Amazon Echo suite of home speakers and other technology using the Alexa system. Continue Reading
Salem Media Group has chosen Triton Digital and Omny Studio to power its podcast and on-demand audio projects. Salem, a Christian and conservative media corporation, has 600 podcasts under its brand. Continue Reading
Jelli, programmatic radio ad buying platform, announced a new update to its service. SpotPlan 2.0 reflects feedback from major media buying agencies and is designed to improve the progress of demand-side programmatic ad buys. Jelli promises an average ROI improvement of 20% via its latest tools compared with traditional buying methods. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Assessing the latest radio report forecasting doomsday for the U.S. industry. Also includes Hurricane Harvey updates, reactions with Norway’s digital transition, and much more. Continue Reading
Larry S. Miller, director of the Steinhardt Music Business Program at NYU, has issued a freely available and widely discussed whitepaper that administers a whopping dose of tough medicine to the terrestrial radio industry, advising it to adapt, or else. Continue Reading
SoundHound has revamped its mobile app to place a heavier focus on music playback and voice controls. The company’s software was a long-time rival to Shazam, but more recently SoundHound doubled down on the development of its Hound voice assistant program. The new features still complement its core function of identifying audio. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group saw streaming grow to a larger portion of its second-quarter results. The major label’s EBITDA for the first half of 2017 rose 61.6% to €286 million over the year-ago period. Total revenue jumped 15.2% to €2.67 billion euros ($2.98 billion). Continue Reading
Spotify has two updates to its leadership ranks today. First, Zuzanna Gierlinska is the new head of programmatic for Europe. A 17-year veteran, she brings experience from work at Oracle, BlueKai, and Microsoft Advertising. The other personnel news is that Tom Calderone has departed the company. Continue Reading
Westwood One has updated its State of Podcasting 2017 report to reflect additional research on the audio format. It addressed the key takeaways in a blog post. The data point to steady, continual growth in the podcast audience. Advertisers have also been getting on the podcast bandwagon as the listener base grows. Continue Reading