Spotify has embarked on yet another acquisition. The streaming service has bought Niland, a Paris-based machine learning startup offering music analysis technology. Niland’s work has improved how AI can optimize search and recommendation features for music. Continue Reading
RAJAR has released its first-quarter results for radio listening in the UK. The data showed that 48.2 million adults or 89% of the UK’s adult population listen to radio stations each week. The first quarter weekly listening rate has consistently hovered between 89% and 91% since 2012. Continue Reading
Claire Atkinson, the NY Post writer who is at the head of many anonymously-sourced rumors about streaming media businesses, says that SiriusXM and parent company Liberty Media are again discussing an acquisition with Pandora. Continue Reading
Iconic webcasting platform Live365, which went out of business in January, 2016, and reemerged under new ownership in August, has announced that the platform is now open to webcaster sign-ups following a limited roll-out that began in January. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Apple Music shifts focus on exclusive music releases; Amazon building up multiple music strategies; Gimlet Media podcast getting a TV season. Continue Reading
One day after Cumulus-owned Westwood One announced it was bringing Cumulus radio station commercial inventory into the programmatic era via Katz Expressway, Katz unleashed another press announcement outlining the scope of its programmatic radio market. Continue Reading
Nobex Partners announced that its apps are now compatible with the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay vehicle entertainment systems. The company specializes in building mobile apps for radio stations. This connected car support means that Nobex partner apps are now optimized for those displays. Continue Reading
Triton Digital has entered a partnership to become the exclusive reseller of Omny Studio for the U.S. and Canada. This arrangement will offer a plug-and-play audio management solution for creating, monetizing, and analyzing podcast content. Continue Reading
TuneIn announced an effort to connect its listeners with live music events. The audio company is planning to launch stations focused on different music festivals. The stations for each of these events will feature music from artists slated to perform at those festivals. Continue Reading
Podcast company Whooshkaa announced that it now offers text-to-voice service for its clients. This technology to turn written speech into spoken dialogue from Amazon is called Polly. The service offers several different voices and languages, however Whooshkaa’s press release highlighted the Nicole and Russell voices, both of which have Australian accents. Continue Reading
With its latest deal, Tencent has secured digital distribution in China for all three major labels. As a result, Universal Music Group’s catalog will be distributed by Tencent Music Entertainment Group in China on the conglomerates QQ Music, KuGou, and Kuwo streaming services. Continue Reading
Independent label network Merlin has entered into a multi-year deal with audio company MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). MQA’s technology improves the playback for 24-bit music files, promising audio quality better than CDs. Continue Reading