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MIDiA: Spotify and Apple can each lay claim to leads in podcast platform war

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Anna Washenko

MIDiA Research posted a graphic from its fourth-quarter podcast tracker survey ahead of the launch of its Podcast Platforms report. The data, from a consumer survey of 576 podcast users, show Spotify with a lead in the overall weighted average of four national cohorts. Spotify is also the leading podcast app for Canada, Australia, and the UK, according to MIDiA’s research — but Google leads in the U.S. Continue Reading →

Podbean 2019 roundup indicates Spotify growth, Apple reduction

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Brad Hill

Podcast hosting company and listening app Podbean released a 2019 roundup indicating general growth of its publishing metrics and comparison of where its podcasts are being listened to. There are also interesting income figures for top-earning podcasts. Continue Reading →

Apple hires podcast PR head from Vox

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple has hired Zach Kahn to helm PR for its podcasting business. He will start the role in January and will report to Senior Director of Communications Tom Neumayr, who confirmed the hire to Variety. Continue Reading →

Amazon Echo gets support for Spotify and Apple podcasts

Posted on December 13, 2019 by RAIN News Staff

The Amazon Echo line of smart devices is getting new integrations aimed at improving the options for podcast fans. Both Spotify and Apple announced today that their podcast content can be played on the Amazon devices. We try it out. Mixed results. Continue Reading →

Apple launches Music for Business in-store audio streaming service

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple has expanded its music streaming offerings to include a service of background audio for businesses. The Music for Business service comes from a partnership with in-store music and entertainment company PlayNetwork. Continue Reading →

Billboard honors streaming, radio executives with Digital Power Players list

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Billboard released its annual list of digital power players, a collection of the business leaders who are driving segments such as streaming and radio. Both industries had notable figures from businesses around the world, as well as from leading brands. Continue Reading →

Apple closes fiscal 2019 with revenue of $64 billion

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple released its quarterly financial results for the period ending September 28. The tech company reported quarterly revenue of $64 billion, up 2% from the year-ago period. Services revenue continued to rise for Apple. Continue Reading →

Apple may be rethinking and broadening its smart home strategy

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple was already slow out of the starting gate when it belatedly launched the HomePod, but the company may be looking to revise its approach to be more competitive in the smart home segment. Bloomberg reported that Apple has been making hires for new projects in smart home software and hardware. Continue Reading →

Apple opens up Siri to third-party devs, a gradual erosion of the walled garden

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple made a definite shift in its media approach with the latest updates to macOS, and its new mobile software is also showing signs of a different perspective. While the Mac update’s audio focus was in streaming, the most recent version of iOS brings more third-party access to the Siri voice assistant. Continue Reading →

Shazam had amassed 478 million annual users in 2018

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Shazam’s financial filings from 2018 revealed how the company grew ahead of its finalized acquisition by Apple. Through the 2018 calendar year, the audio identification platform had 478 million annual active users. Continue Reading →

Apple officially ends the iTunes era with rollout of new Mac operating system

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Since its debut, the iTunes platform has been synonymous with the music industry’s adaptation to a digital world. This week, Apple has rolled out its new operating system for Mac computers, Catalina, and with it, the company marks the end of its iTunes era, reflecting the entertainment business’ shift to streaming models that offer access rather than ownership. Continue Reading →

Apple HomePod to get radio streaming this month

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Anna Washenko

Apple usually shares a lot of hardware updates in the fall, and it appears that the company’s smart speaker will be getting a few new features. The HomePod was not discussed at all during the Apple keynote event this week, but its product page was updated with news that the device would be getting radio streaming on September 30. Continue Reading →