Pandora released its second-quarter earnings yesterday, splitting Wall Street bets. Pandora delivered red ink earnings of -26 cents per share, against expectation of -30 cents. Investors liked that, but didn’t like a missed revenue estimate. As always, a closer look at the balance sheet deepens context. Continue Reading
Just hours ahead of its second-quarter earnings call, we’ve learned that Pandora has reportedly turned down a proposed bid from Liberty Media. The owner of Sirius XM allegedly floated an offer to buy out the online audio company for $15 per share, valuing Pandora at more than $3.4 billion. Sources are saying that Pandora board rejected the informal bid, citing the price as too low. Continue Reading
Pono Music has suspended operations of its online store due to content provider changes. The specialty hi-res music platform had been using Omnifone as its exclusive content provider, but is in the process of transitioning that work over to new partner 7digital. Continue Reading
Canadian collection society SOCAN has acquired U.S. digital rights specialist Audiam. Founder and CEO Jeff Price will remain at the head of Audiam and will collaborate with SOCAN’s leaders moving forward. Continue Reading
Shazam has entered a partnership with several broadcasting groups with the goal of creating an audience measurement solution for broadcast and digital audio. The new partners are iHeartMedia, Cumulus, Entercom, Cox and Sun Broadcast Group. Continue Reading
One of the recent developments in pre-1972 copyright protection was a win by video hosting service Vimeo in June, where the court ruled that the company could apply safe harbor provisions to those songs. That appeal ruling is now facing a fresh attack. A2IM, the RIAA, and Concord have filed an amicus brief in support of original plaintiff Capitol Records and requesting that the full New York federal appellate court rehear the case. Continue Reading
Adforce.com has acquired the exclusive right to sell ads for radio stations and podcasts of broadcast group Communicorp. Technology from Triton Digital and XAPPmedia is part of the alliance. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Crunching the numbers on a Spotify IPO, and Musixmatch adds lyrics translations. Continue Reading
Spotify, which has assertively strengthened and promoted the advertising opportunity of its free-listening service over the past year, today announced the expansion and official launch of programmatic buying across the company’s 59 markets, serving 70-million listeners. Continue Reading
Warner distribution division has shut down several accounts for small retailers of physical music. According to Pitchfork, WEA is enforcing a policy that requires a minimum annual order of $10,000 for stores with direct accounts. Continue Reading
YouTube has released a series of new video ads for its music app. The spots focus on statements of identity, with the tag line: “It’s not just what we listen to. It’s who we are.” Some of them explicitly portray people who are part of groups that have historically faced discrimination or prejudice. Continue Reading
Magnifi, a digital platform for live music discovery, will reportedly close on Aug. 1. The service offered a blend of free audio streaming, listings for live shows, and social interactions. Continue Reading