The digital dashboard is a gold-rush scramble for territory. But what if there were no dashboard at all? Autonomous (self-driving) cars are rolling toward us, and will be on the road sooner or later. How will audio competition be shaped when the car is a WiFi-connected living room? Continue Reading
Internet radio platform Songza has built its reputation on the so-called Concierge method of music curation. The Concierge service seeks to understand the user’s mood and activity, match it to time of day, local weather, and other signals, combine all that with historical music preferences, and deliver a perfect soundtrack (playlist) for the moment.
This method of playlist discovery has been imitated, most recently by “The Sentence” in Beats Music. Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, and others have also gone down this path to varying extents.
Wanting to know more about the anatomy of Songza Concierge, and also how it ties into monetization through ad sales, we spoke with Elias Roman, CEO. Continue Reading
SPECIAL COVERAGE
On Tuesday the U.S House Judiciary Committee held the first of two hearings in its review of music licensing. These hearings potentially affect all stakeholders: radio stations, online music services, webcasters, performers, and creators.
Sharply-worded arguments politely flew around the House chamber. One congressman issued a powerful and comprehensive call for change. It was momentum vs. inertia, reform vs. status quo. Four main issues were in play:
The Commotion social platform provides a breakthrough and (to date) unique platform for encouraging real-time conversation among radio station listeners, while owning and shaping the experience. We spoke to CEO Ryan Burgoyne, to learn more about Commotion. Continue Reading
Apple’s acquisition of Beats brought out more anticipation, speculation, and commentary than any business or product news story since the launch of iTunes Radio in September. It’s as if a unique two-headed creature rose out of the earth for all to wonder at. As the dust settles, a few points are worth noting. Continue Reading
Weekend Perspective is a quick and concise catch-up of the week’s news. This week: Pandora’s unique deal … Larry Rosin’s stern warning in Europe … Michael Robertson’s $41-million verdict … Mark Fratrik’s prescription for radio revenue … the remarkable Radio League app … and news bites from the music services. Continue Reading
M. Luke McDonell is a writer, artist, and photographer living in San Francisco. A veteran of South by Southwest, she is contributing airy contributions from the 2014 show. This SXSW report is from the first weekend of SXSW Interactive. Continue Reading
Copyright reform is the agenda of a new bill introduced to Congress by Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia. Called the Songwriter Equity Act, the bill seeks to amend portions of the U.S. Copyright Act, addressing what the bill’s sponsors call inequity in current regulations. Continue Reading
Pandora bulls are stampeding. Goldman Sachs issued an investor report which projected a potential doubling of stock value. P stock vaulted well into uncharted territory, and into a new valuation realm with a $7-billion market capitalization. Continue Reading
It’s as if Beats Music were a meteor headed for earth, and inhabitants on the ground were feeling the heat of its approach. Rdio has followed Spotify, making its web listening free and unlimited. Even Pandora has added a feature to counter Beats Music’s emphasis on curated listening. Continue Reading
The five most-read articles this week. Pandora’s astounding valuation; a unique new advertising partnership; a guest column by Jennifer Lane; a new music service is like Pinterest for music; Nielsen reports sharp growth of streaming music in 2013. Continue Reading
Doc Searls is an author and a fellow of the Center for Information Technology & Society (CITS) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has a lifelong love of radio, and recently wrote a prescription for the future of broadcasting: How to Rescue Radio. We spoke with Doc Searls about radio, programming, and the future. Continue Reading