Apple Music made two announcements about its video plans this month. First, the platform added a live music show called House of Strombo. Second, it has secured an exclusive documentary about Clive Davis. Continue Reading
Independent label group and digital rights agency Merlin has signed a multi-year agreement with Spotify that will allow its artists to gate their albums to only paid subscribers. The new deal continues the existing relationship between Merlin and Spotify and marks another big development in the streaming platform’s label relationships. Continue Reading
From Boulder-based Clip Interactive, we received news that Radio One and its syndication company Reach Media are now using Clip-built mobile apps and web players for all 53 Radio One stations and seven syndicated personalities. The new agreement follows a seven-month test across Radio One’s five-station Washington, D.C. cluster. Continue Reading
Social media juggernaut Facebook is making some updates to its Messenger app, including an upcoming collaboration with Apple Music. The deal was announced at the company’s F8 conference, although few specifics were shared. Continue Reading
Deezer is reportedly looking to change its licensing structure. Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research exclusively reported that Deezer is looking to pay out fees based on the percentages of a listener’s subscription fee. This is a model dubbed user-centric licensing. Streaming platforms operate on a service-centric licensing model, where royalty payments are made to artists based on share of airplay across the entire listener base. Continue Reading
Univision has debuted a new on-demand audio platform called Uforia Audio On-Demand. This is a podcast and live audio streaming platform that makes Univision’s programming available on-demand and extends the reach of its existing audio and radio presence. Continue Reading
Spotify Fan Insights is exiting beta. The service has been renamed as Spotify for Artists. It still offers a central location for audience insights, song data, artist profile management, and support. Continue Reading
RAIN is pleased to announce the first details of the RAIN Podcast Business Summit, June 21 at the AXA Event & Production Center in New York. As podcasting continues to grow in consumer recognition, listening audience, and content creation, the business opportunity also grows for networks and advertisers. The RAIN Podcast Business Summit is the only conference to define the podcast marketplace — its growth, trends, and opportunities for marketers. Continue Reading
Edison Research produced its Podcast Consumer 2017 webinar today, revealing survey information from Edison’s two large, long-running studies of American listening, The Infinite Dial and Share of Ear. Edison VP Tom Webster presented over 30 minutes of survey statistics. Continue Reading
This morning comes an announcement that audio content and marketing company Amplifi Media is joining with mobile app builder jacapps, to develop voice-activated “skills” for radio listening in Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. The new company is called SonicAi, abbreviated as SAi. Continue Reading
7digital has made another acquisition. The latest purchase is FlowRadio, an aggregator of live radio stations, on-demand radio programs and podcasts. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Continue Reading
Spotify is expanding its “branded moments” ad units. This product allows a company to sponsor an ad-free listening option. The new targeting feature allows brands to focus their moment to a specific time of day. Continue Reading