Voice is a platform, not a device, and will eventually exist everywhere. That perspective enlarges the stakes, and deepens the urgency, for all audio publishers to get up to speed with skills and content. Continue Reading
As the United States faces an emboldened white supremacist movement, many businesses have taken stronger stances to limit the spread of racist and fascist messages. After a direct call-out, streaming services have been spurred to take action and remove hate bands. Here’s a timeline of what transpired this week, and how similar situations could be prevented. Continue Reading
YouTube Head of Music Lyor Cohen said that Google Music Play and YouTube Red will be combined into a single property. Cohen confirmed the eventual merger during a session at the New Music Seminar event in New York. He said the move would help educate consumers and increase the company’s subscriber numbers. Continue Reading
Alphabet, the parent company behind Google, has announced its second quarter financial results. The company posted quarterly revenue of $26 billion, up 21% on-year. Net income for the period depended on whether the recent $2.7 billion fine levied by the European Commission was included in the accounting. Continue Reading
Two search engines have signed on for a voluntary code of practice that would make it harder for people to find illegal streaming and download sites. Both Google and Microsoft have signed on for this code, although neither has agreed to take specific action yet. Continue Reading
Google is combining some of its separate music teams in a move that could signal changes for its many products down the line. The groups working on YouTube Music and Google Play Music are being joined. Continue Reading
YouTube is making contributions to the bottom line at parent company Alphabet, according to the tech firm’s fourth-quarter earnings report. “Our growth in the fourth quarter was exceptional — with revenues up 22% year on year and 24% on a constant currency basis,” CFO Ruth Porat said. “This performance was led by mobile search and YouTube.” eMarketer added its own assessment of the Alphabet numbers. Continue Reading
Everybody seems to want SoundCloud to be acquired, though the company itself does not publicly contribute to speculation. The latest? A report of unnamed sources saying Google is now investigating a SoundCloud purchase. Continue Reading
Google is creating a podcast series for agencies in its Partner program. The shows will educate Partner participants in skills related to digital advertising, business, agency life, and Google products. Continue Reading
Google Play Music relaunched today, announcing an update that makes machine learning a bigger part of its listening experience. That means the platform will combine listeners’ individual music tastes with contextual information such as time of day and location to offer improved song recommendations. It all happens behind the scenes, based on Google’s understanding of the user. Another step closer to the “Me Button.” Continue Reading
Google is moving forward with its own voice-activated personal assistant, which is being positioned as a rival to the Amazon Echo. Google Home will interact with several types of smart home technology, including playing music from streaming services. Continue Reading
Google has launched several of its products in India. Google Play Music is one of the newly available services, but it’s only a partial version of what U.S. listeners have. Indian customers have not gotten the All Access streaming service and Play will not have radio or podcasts. Continue Reading