Amazon announced new month-by-month options for how its users can access Prime membership perks and its streaming video features. The entire Prime service can still be bought as an annual subscription for $99, but now is also available for $10.99 a month. That alone is a marked shift in Amazon’s model, but it has also made the Prime Video streaming service available as a standalone for $8.99 a month. Continue Reading
Webcast listening in February grew by 8% compared to January, and notched a 17% rise year-over-year, according to Triton Digital’s monthly Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, released yesterday. Click through for historical charts. Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Pondering and pontificating about public radio’s future in a digital world. Much more from the U.S., the UK, and Australia. Continue Reading
Guvera has entered a partnership that will see it highlighted on the Asia’s Next Top Model television show. The streaming platform will be tasked with curating music for the program’s runway shows. Guvera has also launched a brand channel for the show in its app, which collects both music and video from the reality program. Continue Reading
Futuri Media publicly announced POST, a broadcaster tool for creating on-demand audio, a new product exclusively introduced by Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig at RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas on Sunday. POST makes it easy to clip segments from linear radio and re-purpose them as on-demand audio. Continue Reading
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After months of waiting, Google’s on-demand music service, Google Play Music has launched its podcast section. In doing so, Google joins Spotify, Deezer, and Pandora by incorporating podcasts into a music-only catalog. Here are four things to know. Continue Reading
Google Play Music has officially launched a section for podcasts. The service first teased the new feature back in October, but then went silent until an email leaked late last week. But the company has been busy in that time, signing on some of the big players from the podcast world. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has expanded its licensing agreement with Sony/ATV to include Europe. After much back and forth, the two parties signed a deal for the U.S. in March. The broader deal could signal interest from the company in rolling out its SoundCloud Go subscription to other regions. Continue Reading
Spotify often has a healthy sense of humor in how it engages with listeners. The latest example is for anybody concerned about the outcome of the U.S. election in November. Welcome to Canadify. Continue Reading
YouTube has unveiled a new talent development initiative called Foundry. This project will act as a springboard for upcoming artists, granting them access to production facilities and support as they make content for the service. The project could also be seen as a path toward bolstering YouTube’s cache of exclusive content. Continue Reading
Pandora announced that it has paid out a total of $2 billion in artist and songwriter royalties. The streaming platform just hit the $1.5 billion milestone nine months ago. “The rapid acceleration of royalty payments from internet radio is very promising news for the industry,” Founder and CEO Tim Westergren said. Continue Reading
Ginny Morris, CEO and Chair of Hubbard Radio, faced a surprise audience question during her appearance as keynote speaker of RAIN Summit West yesterday. Her reply quelched any rumor of Hubbard Radio taking an interest in buying CBS radio stations on the market. Continue Reading