A streaming-only album has landed on the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for the first time. The work is Chance the Rapper’s new project Coloring Book, which was released on May 13 as an Apple Music exclusive. Continue Reading
Spotify has altered the pricing structure for its family plan. Under the new pricing, a family plan includes up to six individual Premium accounts for $14.99. The feature set for the plan is unchanged. Continue Reading
Continued heat is being applied to Google, YouTube, and — on a deeper level — to the Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Jonathan Taplin is a music and film producer, inventor, entrepreneur, media executive, and scholar. He put an OpEd in the New York Times in which he said that Google’s YouTube resembles a protection racket. He also wants AM/FM to start paying artist/label royalties, and exemption he terms “the original sin.” Continue Reading
Rhapsody notified us about a new app called Rhapsody VR. Not an update to the venerable music service app, but a supplementary one that uses 360 video technology to view concert clips. Rhapsody calls it “Music’s first virtual reality experience.” Continue Reading
WorldDAB announced the formation of a new group centered on cars. The Automotive User Experience Group will focus on improving the use of in-car DAB radios and understanding the effect of future trends with the technology. Continue Reading
The British Phonographic Industry is no stranger to the siege against YouTube, but it has launched another volley against the video platform. In its Music Market 2016 report, the BPI highlighted the revenue disparities delivered by subscription streaming and album sales, and by ad-supported freemium services. Continue Reading
Webcaster host StreamLicensing runs a business model that pays label royalties on behalf of its member stations, funding the business with advertising target to combined audiences. But when that royalty cost dramatically escalated for U.S. webcasting in January, owner Marvin Glass sold to Stardome Media Group and warned the new owners that success would be an uphill climb. We spoke with a Stardome exec about the way forward. Continue Reading
Radio distribution experts PRX have launched a new company that aims to reimagine audio for mobile devices. The first goal for RadioPublic will be to create a listening app focused on discovery and engagement with a range of audio types, including spoken-word stories, news, information, journalism, and entertainment. Continue Reading
In a move that seems to cross a perceptual boundary between music artists and music services, Casey Rae, CEO of the Future of Music Coalition, is resigning that post and taking the role at Sirius XM as Director of Music Licensing. He will remain in Washington D.C. Continue Reading
BuzzAngle Music, the new kid on the block for music charts, announced the launch of the latest version of its reporting and analytics service. The company, which bills itself as “music consumption analytics for the new era,” delivers daily reports measuring the performance for songs, artists, or albums. Continue Reading
The first quarter RAJAR data for 2016 revealed steady growth for radio listening in the UK, depending on the platform. All radio listening had an audience of 47.8 million adults, or 89.3% of the adult population. Digital radio audience has continued to grow slightly, from 56% in Q4 2015 to 57% in Q1 2016. Continue Reading
Electric Jukebox, which makes a set-top box for music, has commissioned a study from YouGov that explored how streaming may be missing out on the over-35 age demographic. The survey found that more over-35 respondents consider radio easier to use than streaming; only young millennials showed a strong preference for streaming over radio. Continue Reading