Mobile music company Smule has received a $54 million investment led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent. The round will support the app’s expansion into Asia. It will also put the company on track for an initial public offering. Smule is now valued at $604 million, according to an unnamed source. Continue Reading
Amazon’s voice-activated Alexa operating system, the leading voice assistance platform, introduced a new product today: the Echo Show. Echo Show joins the original Echo smart speaker, Echo Dot miniature device, and Echo Look style assistant. Amazon says it’s about “ambient computing.” Continue Reading
Warner Music Group posted is Q2 financial results. Quarterly revenue for the major label totaled $825 million, up 11% from $745 million in the year-ago period. Digital revenue rose 21.9% to secure a 53.2% share of Warner’s total quarterly revenue with $400 million. Continue Reading
In the first few months of every new year, trade bodies from all corners of the globe reflect on their successes of the previous 12 months. Those analyses offer a snapshot of the music industry and the trends that cross national borders. For 2016, the results generally reflected a continued increase to the share of revenue delivered by streaming. Continue Reading
In one of the most eventful days in company history, Pandora released its Q1 earnings, disclosed the first subscription numbers for Pandora Premium, announced a new $150-million investment, altered its board rules making it easier to change directors, and accepted the resignation of its board Chairman and another board member. Continue Reading
Rights management company Kobalt Music Group has raised $75 million in a Series D funding round. The Hearst Entertainment media conglomerate led the financing, and existing Kobalt backers Balderton Capital and MSD Capital also participated. Continue Reading
This year, 36% of Americans will use a voice-assisted smart device at least once a month — a 129% jump from last year, according to eMarketer. Over 70% of that usage is through Amazon Alexa, the operating system which lives in the Echo, Dot, and Look devices. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has signed a global licensing deal with YouTube, but the major label still reportedly expressed reservations about working with the video platform. CEO Steve Cooper has reportedly shared an internal memo with WMG that said the YouTube deal was signed “under very difficult circumstances.” Continue Reading
Nielsen has published a Music 360 report for Canada, revealing growth in streaming as a listening platform. Time spent listening to music via streaming rose from 20% in 2016 to 26% in 2017. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: A radio station for fisherman launches in India. Global’s advertisement for UK Hot AC Heart. Google markup for podcasts. Much more. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has introduced a new discovery feature for its members. The Upload is a personalized list of song recommendations. The selections are based on a listener’s past track choices, and it promises better suggestions the more a person listens within the SoundCloud ecosystem. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: YouTube to make original shows for free viewing; PIAS manager talks live video potential; Harry Styles fans try gaming the charts. Continue Reading