Quick Hits: Video of the radio; Google DMCA takedowns; an Uptown Funk-y 2015
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Video of radio?; Google saw 558M+ takedowns last year; Uptown Funk won 2015. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Podcasting predictions; podcast music careers; app store crossovers; Kickstarter fulfillment
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Podcasting predictions for 2016; new music careers from podcasts; when companies make the software and the systems; Kickstarter’s independent fulfillment report. Continue Reading
New family plan covers Google Play Music and YouTube Red
Google has rolled out a family plan to cover all of its music properties. The Google Play Music family plans cost $14.99 a month and allow up to six users on the account. The new price tier is rolling out in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. Continue Reading
Songza to end as branded app; features living on in Google Play
Google acquired online radio platform Songza nearly a year and a half ago, July 1 2014, and today the announcement comes that the Songza brand, and stand-alone app, will be discontinued at the end of the year. Songza features and playlists will continue within Google Play, where they have resided since last October. Continue Reading
Test Drive: 360-degree videos from the Google Cultural Institute
Google announced new additions to its push to record great works in 360-degree video, this time focused on the fine arts. The tech giant has partnered with more than 60 performing arts groups around the world to create live, 360-degree experiences. I’ve seen a few experiments with this video tech before, and it has always seemed more interesting in theory than in practice to me. So I was curious to see what this meeting of high-tech and high culture could produce. Continue Reading
Podcasts coming to (some of) Google Play Music
Google Play Music is adding support for podcasts, but only on Android devices. Podcasts will be subject to the same level of technical algorithm and human curation as music is on this platform, meaning listeners can take a lean-back approach and hear programming based on their mood or interests. Continue Reading
Google Play Music adds gift subscriptions, launches tech-savvy ad
Two minor announcements about Google Play hit the headlines this morning. First, the company has opened up gifting subscriptions for Play Music in select markets. The second development is an advertisement for the music service. Continue Reading
Google debuts new Chromecast Audio streaming device
Google’s launch event yesterday had some good news on the music side, launching a new piece of home entertainment tech. It’s the Chromecast Audio, a variant of the Chromecast stick specifically designed for streaming audio. This is the latest in Google’s push for a living room takeover. Continue Reading
Google brings family pricing to Play Music
Google announced that it will open a family plan for Play Music, with the rollout slated for later this year. How does Google’s offering stack up across the family plans from other streaming platforms? Continue Reading
Google chairman says AI and algorithms mean a democratic music service
Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet (the tech giant formerly known as Google), penned an article for BBC about artificial intelligence technology and how it might develop. The piece is mostly a surface discussion of this very complex technology, but it did pointedly touch on the role of AI in the music industry. Continue Reading
Google goes native to promote Play Music free tier
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
Editor’s Notebook: Google’s hasty freemium play
by Brad Hill
Yesterday Google announced it was introducing a free-listening, Internet radio-style component to its Google Play service. The announceement was widely viewed as counter-Apple positioning. But Apple has freemium too. Both companies, the owners of mobile computing, are playing the same game with the same pieces. Continue Reading