Spotify has acquired two companies, adding their talent to its product development and engineering teams. One purchase is Cord Project, the other is Soundwave. No financial details of the purchases were disclosed. Continue Reading
A new edition of an annual research projection from MyersBizNet forecasts 7.7% growth in ad spend across audio/radio, video/TV, display, video, mobile, and other categories. Terrestrial radio is predicted to grow 5% across “legacy” and digital advertising opportunities. Internet radio is projected at 25% growth. Continue Reading
MusicWatch has shared research into consumer sentiment about what listeners want in a music streaming subscription. When asked what feature would encourage them to pay for their tunes, far and away the top answer was control over a completely on-demand service at 39%. However, 11% said “sound quality as good as the recording studio.” Continue Reading
Univision has acquired a controlling 40% stake in satirical publication The Onion, causing cognitive dissonance among observers. While the Spanish-language media giant’s investment in satire might not make the most intuitive sense, it does work demographically. Continue Reading
Edison Research released the date and time of the The Infinite Dial webinar, an annual event in which survey results about American listening are released each March. The Infinite Dial is a joint production of Edison Research and Triton Digital. The date is March 10, at 2pm EST. Click through for registration info. Continue Reading
The overarching narrative we saw last year with Tidal, the boutique streaming service focused on artist empowerment and audio quality, was wonky PR. Unfortunately, the company has kicked off 2016 with another peculiar problem: Tidal appears to have accidentally billed some of its former customers. Continue Reading
BandPage has embarked on a tighter integration with Rhapsody that focuses on promoting live shows. Through this partnership, Rhapsody will begin offering its listeners push notifications about upcoming concerts from their preferred artists. Continue Reading
The German Federal Music Industry Association, or BVMI, has released its 2015 music data for the nation. The year saw a 3.9% increase in value with sales rising to €1.5 billion. Streaming services were a big portion of that growth, with the format gaining 96.6% last year. Continue Reading
Spotify has partnered with coffee chain Starbucks for what they’ve dubbed a “new digital music experience” in stores across the U.S. Under this new arrangement, patrons will be able to identify music playing over the store loudspeakers from within the Starbucks app. Continue Reading
James Cridland Weekly Links is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: David Bowie; best 2016 podcasts; predictions, and much more from around the world. Continue Reading
Australia-based Omny Studio will announce a new tool which easily converts audio to a video player for posting on Facebook. This clever automated workaround solves one of the most vexing problems in social audio for podcasters and broadcasters — Facebook’s inexplicable lack of native audio. Continue Reading
iTunes Radio, a late-arriving Internet radio initiative, once widely appraised as a “Pandora killer,” will end as a free, ad-supported service on January 29. On that date the lean-back listening service will become part of Apple Music’s monthly music subscription offering. Continue Reading