It has been nearly a year since the rumor broke that Google would create a subscription music plan for YouTube. During this long (and continuing) lead-up, speculation and bafflement has been rampant. Here are three reasons the new service will succeed, and three reasons it won’t. Continue Reading
Google Play Music All Access announced another big international push, rolling out the service to nine more countries. Hot on the heels of an expansion in July, the streaming platform made further inroads into South and Latin America. With today’s launches, Google’s streaming product is now available in 43 countries. Continue Reading
Google has started testing a new form of advertising that gives listeners a direct link to a streaming service. The Wall Street Journal reported that the music services are paying for the pots by the click, similar to Google’s other paid text link ads. “We’re happy to help users quickly find legitimate sources for their favorite movies, music and more via Google search,” an unnamed Google rep told WSJ. Continue Reading
Following its purchase of the platform in July, Google has revamped Songza’s terms of service. Songza members are required to agree to the new ToS from Google and its privacy policy, as well as agree to transfer their personal information from Songza to Google. Users who don’t agree to the Google terms will not be able to log in to their old accounts. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web. Today — Google buys a raft of domain names that might indicate a name for its new service; IMMF publishes best practices for the digital music industry; U.S.-based Hindi-music service Saavn raising capital. Continue Reading
Vevo is keeping its eyes open for a buyer, but is trying to make internal changes first to make it a more appealing target. The service generates 6 billion views a month, and a large portion of those views are YouTube music videos. Is the window of opportunity shrinking as YouTube prepares its own music-video service? Continue Reading
Google announced that it will give U.S. Chromecast users a 90-day free trial subscription to the All Access Music service. The subscription streaming platform usually costs $9.99. Google is offering the free deal through September. Chromecast has been out for a year now, and it’s Google’s method of getting streaming media from mobile devices to a television screen. Several services, including Pandora, Beats Music, and Rdio, have added support for Chromecast. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: The state of streaming; online radio in Australia; live but not in person; Google/Spotify deal debate. Continue Reading
Christopher LaRosa, a product manager for YouTube Music, is leaving to join an unnamed startup. He spent about seven years at the Google subsidiary and was a key player in expanding the musical content available via YouTube. Some of his projects included getting YouTube data to count toward the Billboard 100 singles chart and the still in-development subscription music program. Continue Reading
Although Google’s purchase of Songza is signed, sealed, and delivered, the tech press is still buzzing over the idea that the service wasn’t the primary acquisition target. Spotify has been the subject of frequent rumors about a buy-out by the search engine conglomerate. Continue Reading
Brief new items and worthy reads from around the web: Google execs join Spotify; blue notes for jazz and classical; new musical startups; UK’s anti-piracy program Continue Reading
Pandora is projected to gain overall digital ad share, but it’s still going to hold less than 1 percent of the market. For the digital space, Pandora is expected to increase from 0.34 share in 2012 to hit 0.52 percent this year. While small growth is expected overall, Pandora is likely to lose ground in mobile ad share. Continue Reading