Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Streaming execs chat at Advertising Week; will Aurous be legit or not?; IAB joining the fight against ad-blockers. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Pandora CEO advocates role of ad-supported streaming; when regional streaming services favor telecoms; ad blockers good for radio? Continue Reading
Apple Music had two big business developments break yesterday. First, the streaming service debuted a surprise mixtape by hip-hop superstars Drake and Future. Then a new commercial marked a shift in rhetoric for the streaming platform. Continue Reading
Pandora CFO Mike Herring participated in a session at a Goldman Sachs conference, fielding questions from one of the financial company’s analysts. His talk touched on how Pandora measures its advertising, it’s latest efforts in mobile ads, and the looming CRB decision. Continue Reading
Deezer has created its first ad spot for UK televisions. The colorful ad shows a series of characters that rhyme with the streaming service, such as geezer and crowd-pleaser. This spot is the first in a series of four, which promise to get ever-zanier with the rhymes. Continue Reading
The Radio Advertising Bureau has released its semi-annual revenue report. The results for the first half of 2015 revealed continued declines in spot advertising, while digital and off-air sectors maintained growth. Radio’s first-half ad revenue hit $8.2 billion, down just 1% from the year-ago period. Continue Reading
The business of an ad-supported radio service can be a tricky one, balancing the listeners’ demand for free content with the need to stay afloat and make money to keep delivering that content. And with so many well-established players such as Pandora, Spotify, and iHeartRadio already sitting in comfortable positions, it’s extra challenging for a new face to break through the crowd. Yet Google is trying to do just that and it’s using native advertising to stand out. Continue Reading
Kantar Media released its quarterly report on U.S. advertising expenditures. Overall, the total ad spend in the first quarter of 2015 was $37.4 million, down 4% from the same period last year. The quarterly results for radio revealed a split performance between the local and national levels. The declines in Kantar’s data parallel the ones found in the Radio Advertising Bureau’s research into revenue for 2014. Continue Reading
Pandora’s Chief Revenue Officer John Trimble says that a mere eight seconds might be the perfect ad length for mobile video. “Looking ahead, I could envision video and audio ads as short as eight seconds being something advertisers and listeners will be interested in,” he said. According to AdWeek, the radio service isn’t going to imminently make a switch to a new ad length, but is considering a broader effort to reach the coveted young demographics. Continue Reading
Spotify’s ad revenue increased 53% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the year-ago period, RAIN News has confirmed. The revenue growth corresponds with a 50% audience growth. In the last four months, Spotify has introduced new audience targeting platforms for advertisers. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Marriott trials in-room streaming entertainment; why big brands go indie for ad music. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: A pureplay birthday for All Songs Considered; a roundtable on radio’s future; could a music subscriber also hear commercials? Continue Reading