RAIN Notes: Wednesday, July 10
— Re-upping (Audioboom)
— Exclusive Deal (Acast)
— Exploring A Niche (Edison Research)
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RAIN Notes: Wednesday, June 26
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, June 25
— Historical Reference (Fred Jacobs)
— AMPing Up The Executive Team (Amplitude Media)
RAIN Notes: Tuesday, June 25
— The Final Nail (Google)
— Addition (Soundstack)
— Subscription Resistance (Jacobs Media)
Google promises indemnification for copyright lawsuits arising from using its AI
In a public memo to its Artificial Intelligence customers, Google Cloud promises to take responsibility for legal challenges arising from using Duet AI, one of the company’s AI engines. The memo was posted by two Google Cloud executives. Read for a deeper explanation. Continue Reading
Google to end Google Podcasts; commits to YouTube Music for “increasing investment in the podcast experience”
“We want to make sure we get this right.” —Google YouTube team. Google will discontinue the Google Podcasts app, and move its central podcast offering to YouTube Music in 2024. In choosing YouTube Music as the home base for podcasting, YouTube is emulating Spotify’s hybrid music/talk content model. Continue Reading
YouTube to adopt RSS feeds for podcasts
At Podcast Movement, Google product lead Steve McLendon announced important product development in the platform’s podcast presentation. Click for details. Continue Reading
First-person sponsor endorsements under FTC scrutiny; one case resolved
A prevailing type of sponsor message in podcast advertising is the host-read personal endorsement of a product or service. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, you develop an impression that companies give away a high volume of samples as the basis of this marketing strategy. An FTC investigation — started last year and completed last week — potentially pokes a hole in that assumption. Continue Reading
Smart speaker market grows double digits YoY; Apple gains; Amazon leads
The global smart speaker market is surging to record levels, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, which frames its recent report as a “market recovery.” The data are from Q2 of this year, compared to Q2 2020, and represent the highest-ever Q2 growth. Click for an illustrative table which tells the whole story. Continue Reading
Google smart speakers take U.S. lead from Amazon in Q2 (Omdia)
In its quarterly report of smart speaker shipments, London-based research company Omdia reports that Google took the top spot from Amazon in the U.S. And interestingly, Apple’s HomePod increased its shipments from a year ago at a surprising rate. Click through for the chart. Continue Reading
Mechanical Licensing Collective receives $424M for unmatched royalties from streaming services
The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has received $424-million in royalties from Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Pandora, and 15 other streaming entities from Aspiro to Xandrie. With funds in hand, the MLC starts its US government mandate to accurately distribute payments to songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Click for the list streaming services by dollar amount. Continue Reading
Google Play Music to close … soon. Google attempts to funnel users into YouTube Music.
The warning is clear, though without a timeline: “You will soon lose access to Google Play Music.” That’s what Android users see when they open the Google Play Music app — Google’s would-be direct competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Users are advised to transfer their accounts to YouTube Music, where the subscriptions will continue. YouTube Music is a starkly different UEX environment and library proposition. Continue Reading