Facebook is continuing a hiring spree focused on music, leading to increased speculation that the social media company will be branching beyond just status updates and Likes. There are three active job openings for Facebook. Continue Reading
One of SoundCloud’s earliest employees has departed the company. David Noël, who began as a community manager and evangelist then climbed the ladder to head of SoundCloud’s internal communications and evangelist, is leaving. He was one of the first seven… Continue Reading
James Cridland’s Future of Radio is a column by the Australia-based radio futurologist. THIS WEEK: Many slides and missives from Radiodays Europe, plus a smattering of other news from around the audio and radio world. Continue Reading
Spotify has made another startup acquisition. This time the purchased company is MightyTV, a company specializing in video recommendations. Financial terms were not disclosed. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: “First, a Word From Our Celebrity” in the New York Times. More recap from the Infinite Dial by Westwood One. Brazilian startup exploring the power of musical chatbots. Continue Reading
Slacker Radio may be close to turning a profit. In a recent interview, Slacker Radio CEO Duncan Orrell-Jones talked about the positive effects of committing to being a niche audio service and about the pricing outlook for audio subscriptions. Continue Reading
The ranks of streaming holdouts have been slowly dwindling as the digital distribution takes hold of ever-larger market share. The latest artist to ponder a change of heart is hard rock band Tool. Sources claiming to be familiar with negotiations said members of Tool have been talking to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music about paths to releasing their music. Continue Reading
Podcast company Panoply is running a campaign that asks listeners to select new shows to get picked up for a full season. The Panoply Pilot Project has debuted four first episodes of original podcasts. Listeners can offer feedback on each show and vote for the ones they want to hear as a regular Panoply series. Continue Reading
A Piper Jaffray analyst, bullish on Pandora stock, surveyed existing users of the free Pandora radio service to determine the level of demand for Pandora Premium, the fully interactive on-demand music platform launched on March 13. Survey results indicate a 15% “intent” among non-paying Pandora users to upgrade into the Premium product. Continue Reading
AudioBoom and YouGov collaborated on research into the podcast market and questions of diversity. According to the survey results, 76% of minority Americans listen to podcasts less than once a week and 60% don’t listen to them at all. Continue Reading
SoundCloud’s financial future has been looking hazy, but the company has acquired a line toward more stability. The online audio platform has secured a $70 million round of debt funding. Continue Reading
The team behind podcasting megahit Serial has some good news and some bad news for their fans. S-Town, the first show launching under the Serial Productions name, will be released on March 28. The not-so-good news is that the third season of Serial may not air until next year. Continue Reading