James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Assessing the latest radio report forecasting doomsday for the U.S. industry. Also includes Hurricane Harvey updates, reactions with Norway’s digital transition, and much more. Continue Reading
Larry S. Miller, director of the Steinhardt Music Business Program at NYU, has issued a freely available and widely discussed whitepaper that administers a whopping dose of tough medicine to the terrestrial radio industry, advising it to adapt, or else. Continue Reading
SoundHound has revamped its mobile app to place a heavier focus on music playback and voice controls. The company’s software was a long-time rival to Shazam, but more recently SoundHound doubled down on the development of its Hound voice assistant program. The new features still complement its core function of identifying audio. Continue Reading
Universal Music Group saw streaming grow to a larger portion of its second-quarter results. The major label’s EBITDA for the first half of 2017 rose 61.6% to €286 million over the year-ago period. Total revenue jumped 15.2% to €2.67 billion euros ($2.98 billion). Continue Reading
Spotify has two updates to its leadership ranks today. First, Zuzanna Gierlinska is the new head of programmatic for Europe. A 17-year veteran, she brings experience from work at Oracle, BlueKai, and Microsoft Advertising. The other personnel news is that Tom Calderone has departed the company. Continue Reading
Westwood One has updated its State of Podcasting 2017 report to reflect additional research on the audio format. It addressed the key takeaways in a blog post. The data point to steady, continual growth in the podcast audience. Advertisers have also been getting on the podcast bandwagon as the listener base grows. Continue Reading
Vevo has introduced a live talk show format to its music video platform. Vevo Live will deliver artist interviews in front of a studio audience in addition to interactions with online viewers. After testing over the summer, Vevo Live had its soft launch episode starring Fifth Harmony. Continue Reading
RAIN is pleased to announce the finalists in each of the five categories in the 8th Annual RAIN Internet Radio Awards, sponsored by Benztown. The prestigious RAIN Awards celebrate excellence in online audio. The annual program is judged by a panel of independent experts. Winners will be announced at RAIN Summit Austin, next Tuesday, September 5, at 3:30. Continue Reading
Radioplayer has made a new smart radio feed for connected cars. Audi/VW is the first car manufacturer to sign on to use the new Worldwide Radioplayer API platform. As a result, hybrid radios in new Audi models will use the WRAPI technology to display station logos and to switch between DAB, FM, and streaming audio. Continue Reading
Podcast company HowStuffWorks has raised $15 million in series A funding. The Raine Group, the financial institution that recently backed SoundCloud, led the round. During the next year, HowStuffWorks will continue investing in podcasts and bringing in new talent. Continue Reading
Engagement platform Second Street has acquired email database marketing company Presslaff Interactive Revenue, in a deal whose terms remain undisclosed. Continue Reading
Year-over-year listening to streams gained 14% in June, after a similar result in May, according to Triton Digital’s monthly Webcast Metrics report, released today. Webcast listening in June was mostly flat compared to the previous month, looking at Triton Digital’s top 20 streaming clients. The monthly Top 20 list contains leading pureplay and radio stream groups. Continue Reading