A Chinese regulator is investigating the music industry deals made by Tencent Music Entertainment, according to Bloomberg. The country’s antitrust authority, the State Administration for Market Regulation, will review Tencent’s deals with the three majors as well as other labels. Continue Reading
Voice technology has been a hot topic for the audio industry, with more and more parties getting involved. The latest is the BBC, which announced plans to launch its own voice assistant next year. The platform is attempting to offer a better understanding of regional accents in Britain. Continue Reading
Acast as secured a new round of financing from the European Investment Bank. The deal is a quasi-equity financing agreement for €25 million as part of the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker Plan. Continue Reading
Spotify has seen its share of lawsuits, and the latest is targeting more than just the streaming service. Eight Mile Style, the publisher representing Eminem and others, has alleged that Spotify infringed on copyrights related to about 250 of the rapper’s songs. The suit also targets the recently passed Music Modernization Act. Continue Reading
Canalys has been tracking shipments of smart speakers for the past several years, and its report on the second quarter of 2019 revealed a shakeup in leading brands. Amazon remained the top brand with 6.6 million units shipped for its Echo line securing 25.4% market share. Baidu, based in China, took over the second spot with 4.5 million units. Continue Reading
Audible has drawn a lawsuit for its upcoming Captions feature. The Captions tool uses machine learning to transcribe the spoken words in Audible recordings. This update sparked a lawsuit from several publishers based on claims that Audible has not acquired the needed licenses to reproduce the content of physical books and ebooks. Continue Reading
Major U.S. commercial radio group Entercom announced that it has hired Ken Lagana as executive vice president of digital sales. Lagana assumes this newly created role from Megaphone, where he was head of sales and marketing and played a key role in developing the Megaphone Targeted Marketplace. Continue Reading
Warner Music Group has entered a licensing deal with Audiomack. It is the first major label deal for Audiomack, a free streaming service focused on discovery for artists and labels. The two parties will work together on breaking emerging artists and connecting them with fans early in their careers. Continue Reading
Endeavor Audio has partnered with the WWE to develop a podcast network. It is the first move into audio for the entertainment, wrestling, and media organization. The new WWE Podcast Network will have multiple shows focused on its different Superstars performers. Continue Reading
In an earnings report issued this week, Australian group Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) released interesting numbers which chart progress in podcasting. CEO Grant Blackley spoke with Radio Info in Australia, laying out a growth story in creative output and revenue. Continue Reading
Apple’s is expected to make a lot of product announcements this fall, and one may be give a boost to its tentative efforts in smart speakers. Bloomberg reported that the tech company is planning to release a less expensive version of its HomePod smart speaker to hit the market in 2020. Continue Reading
Podcasting tech and advertising company ART19 is announcing a partner deal with online video specialist Brat. Brat is a Gen Z network and YouTube producer whose best known shows are Chicken Girls and Zoe Valentine. Continue Reading