Spotify has been tightening its integration with Facebook, particularly with the social network’s direct chat system. After an initial integration in 2016, followed by capabilities for group playlist creation in June, Facebook Messenger can now offer Spotify music recommendations. Continue Reading
audioBoom has hired Lauren McCain to join its sales team. As senior sales director, McCain will be responsible for leading brand direct and digital agency partnerships. She has worked in the podcasting space for four years, including time with Acast and WNYC. Continue Reading
Omny Studio has entered an agreement to license its platform to CBS Radio. The arrangement grants CBS Radio access to Omny Studio’s podcast hosting, analytics, and social sharing tools. Australia-based Omny will provide infrastructure for the more than 350 original and on-demand podcasts that comprise CBS’ audio programming. Continue Reading
Pandora announced that Roger Lynch, Founding CEO of Sling TV, is the new Chief Executive of Pandora starting September 18. Lynch will replace Interim CEO Naveen Chopra, who will resume his previous role as CFO. The announcement came just after the U.S. market close. P stock is up over 4% at this writing, in the after-hours market. Continue Reading
TuneIn has raised $50 million in support of growing its online radio portfolio. Marker LLC, IVP and Comcast Ventures led the funding round, which sources told Bloomberg values TuneIn at about $500 million. The money will go toward the rights for live sporting events and original programming. Continue Reading
Pandora has added to the smart speaker research hitting the industry this year with the first release of information from a commissioned survey by Edison Research examining how consumers use Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. The survey was conducted with interesting methodology, essentially reinventing the listening diary concept. Continue Reading
ASCAP announced that Tristan Boutros has joined the performing rights organization as its chief technology officer. In this role, he will lead ASCAP’s technology strategy and execution, guiding projects such as elastic computing, cloud tech, and the API roadmap. Boutros most recently worked as chief of operations at The New York Times, with prior work at Warner Music Group, BlackBerry, and IAC. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: James shares insights from a legendary radio personality, plus NPR data, several UK job listings, and much more from across the radio and audio industry. Continue Reading
Spotify is hosting an event later this month where it is expected to announce its launch in Thailand. The streaming platform’s Bangkok event is scheduled for August 22. The subscription costs will likely be revealed at that time. Continue Reading
For the past several months, we’ve been reporting on the wave of musical hires at Facebook. The social network has mobilized an in-house team, including licensing and business development professionals. Now, we might be seeing where those experts will be focusing their efforts. Continue Reading
The European Broadcasting Union is about to embark on the primary launch phase for access to dot-radio domain names. The domains are intended exclusively for broadcaster unions, broadcast radio stations, internet radio stations, radio amateurs, DJs, radio hosts, news people, and radio-related companies. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has reached an agreement with two investors to close a new round of financing. The Raine Group and Temasek have agreed to supply the service with “the largest financing round in the history of SoundCloud.” Continue Reading