A new open letter is circulating from the music industry attacking YouTube’s use of safe harbors under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This one is spearheaded by Irving Azoff, and it includes signatures from heavy hitters including Taylor Swift and U2. Continue Reading
Connected cars are either either a threat to radio or an opportunity, depending on who you talk to. But there’s not much talk at all about self-driving cars, which are on a quick development pace. Guest columnist Mark Ramsey holds forth. Continue Reading
Yesterday’s announcement that Rhapsody would rebrand as Napster across its global music service empire caused flashbacks in the minds of digital audio veterans. Matt Graves helped launch Rhapsody in 2001, and has worked in the online media fields for even longer. In this guest column he reviews the astonishing and unlikely history of Napster. Continue Reading
Twitter has added Spotify support to its audio cards. Any of the streaming service’s 30 million tracks can be turned into the audio post on Twitter. The cards will only play 30-second previews and will link to the full song in Spotify. Continue Reading
Sponsored column
This guest column by Gonzalo Alonso, Managing Director of advertising solutions company Audio.Ad, shines light on recently completed research into how and when U.S. Hispanic consumers listen to digital audio. Continue Reading
SoundCloud has tightened its integration with Twitter. The online platform’s audio cards can now be embedded into tweets that appear in Twitter Moments. Continue Reading
Taylor Swift has released a new music video, but not everyone will be able to watch it. The video for her latest single, “New Romantics,” is an exclusive on Apple Music. It includes footage from her 1989 World Tour, which those who couldn’t attend in person can also experience as an Apple-only experience. Continue Reading
When Kanye West launched his latest album, the focus was on his protective approach to distribution. The strategy was controversial at best, especially given the immediate wave of piracy the title faced. But in the weeks following the official release, West has been less obviously changing how his fans perceive the very idea of an album in the streaming age. Continue Reading
Big news in a tiny package. Daniel Ek chose Twitter to announce that Spotify has reached a milestone: 30-million subscribers to Spotify Premium. The last time the company disclosed numbers, it was at 20 million paid subs in June 2015. That is dramatic growth for a nine-month period during which Apple Music was grabbing headlines. Continue Reading
NPR has decided it won’t promote its podcasts or NPR One on air, and many critics are calling them out for what they describe as stupidity. Mark Ramsey argues that there is a larger picture to public radio’s gambit … and a larger audience to be considered. Continue Reading
Spotify announced that its streaming music service will be available in Indonesia later this month. Over the weekend, the music company posted to both Facebook and Twitter that it would be launching into the new market on March 30. Continue Reading
Spotify has hired Horacio Gutierrez as its new general counsel. He most recently held the same title at Microsoft, departing after 17 years with that company. He is scheduled to start with the streaming service in April. Continue Reading