SoundExchange, the performing rights organization that collects and distributes streaming royalties to labels and artists, has released three year-end top-10 and top-20 charts. The Top Streamed Breakout Artists list is based on newness to royalty collection — specifically, qualifying recording artists can not have received SoundExchange royalty payments before September 1, 2013. Continue Reading
Spotify is opening up an option for third-party app developers to sell their creations on mobile app stores. The streaming platform announced that it has removed the distribution restrictions for programs made in the Spotify iOS SDK (software development kit) and Spotify Android SDK. As long as an app meets the Developer Terms of Use, the creators can pursue any avenues they choose for monetizing their Spotify-related programs. Continue Reading
Rhapsody is 13 years old today. To celebrate its 13th anniversary, Rhapsody released some new internal data about the streaming platform’s success to date and its listener highlights for 2014. Over 60% of its audience listens to Rhapsody exclusively on mobile devices. Continue Reading
Russell Simmons recently gave an interview about his All Def Digital venture and about the role of royalties in the current music industry. “All Def Digital, to me, is the place that promotes freedom for artists,” Simmons said. “It’s a place where people can express themselves in ways that the gatekeepers wouldn’t allow in the past.” Continue Reading
adStream is an ad-stalking journal in streaming audio.
In the relentless pursuit of streaming ads, we encounter plenty of “companions.” Companion ads are (usually) banners that accompany audio spots in streams. Tracking the banner impressions is difficult, and companions are secondary to audio advertising which interrupts the stream and captures the listener’s attention. We found an interesting one, with a single purpose. Continue Reading
Beep, a streaming adaptor that turns nearly any speaker system into a WiFi streaming speaker, has reportedly raised $4-million. Beep also added Spotify to its short list of supported music services, joining Pandora. Continue Reading
Broadcast radio competes with pureplay streaming audio in two ways. First, in a platform-vs-platform context, over-the-air is pitched against Internet delivery. Second, radio station webcasts compete for share of advertisers that are building digital campaigns to reach targeted audiences. We reached out to Paul Cramer of Triton digital to dig into data, smart impressions, and programmatic advertising. Continue Reading
Happy Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Oh, and welcome back to work. Feeling exhausted after the long weekend? Or perhaps inspired by work as a refuge from the clamorous holiday season? Either way, Laid Back Radio is a great sonic prescription. Continue Reading
Mobile streaming of radio stations cannot replace digital broadcasting in Australia — that’s the message from Commercial Radio Australia (CRA), which commissioned a whitepaper study from broadcast technology expert Professor Reg Coutts. Continue Reading
TuneIn Radio announced in a blog post that it is now supported on Google Chromecast. Listeners can now stream the company’s programming to their televisions, and more importantly, to their televisions’ sound systems. To accompany the announcement, TuneIn is hosting a giveaway of Chromecast devices on Twitter. Continue Reading
Guvera is now available in both Russia and Ukraine. The streaming service has pushed for expansion in the past year, currently reaching a total of 16 countries. Most recently, it announced a foothold in India. Guvera first launched in 2010 as a download platform, but it pivoted to streaming over the past year. Continue Reading
Spotify released its 2013 financials, with a basic P&L that tells a vigorous growth story, higher revenue, and lower loss compared to the previous year. At the same time, most of the gross revenue was paid into the music industry as licensing expenses. Continue Reading