Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Tim Cook talks Beats with Charlie Rose; infographic illustrates long history of music sharing; local Argentinian tax on foreign online subscription services; physical music sales up at CD Baby. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Cmd.fm turns SoundCloud into a radio stream; app for streaming Indonesian indie bands; Universal ties up with Cambodian telecom. Continue Reading
Two recent articles reviewed the international scope for Rdio. The service is available in 60 countries, but its top markets outside of the U.S. are Canada and Brazil. Mediacaster reviewed Rdio’s business activities in Canada, the service’s second-largest market. While smartphone use in third-largest market Brazil is on the rise, ZDNet cautioned that the country does struggle with the quality of its mobile Internet services. Continue Reading
Forbes published an article with predictions about Pandora’s audience base, estimating that its number of active users would grow from 76.2 million in 2013 to almost 120 million during the next five or six years. That’s a bold prediction, especially considering that Pandora actually posted a small dip in monthly active users in its second-quarter conference call. The expectation is based on projections for smartphone growth and connected cars, as well as a presumption that Pandora will expand internationally. Continue Reading
IFPI Denmark released a year-over-year comparison of streaming uptake in the first half of each year. Streaming increased 40 percent, from 45% of music conumption to 63%. The Denmark metrics align with the top line of Nielsen Audio’s most recent year-over-year report, which shows 42% increase in U.S. streaming. that number included video streaming. Continue Reading
Australian streaming service Songl is ending its consumer-focused subscriptions. The platform was a joint effort between Southern Cross Austereo, Sony Music, and Universal Music. Existing subscribers will be transitioned to a personalized ratio service called Omny, which sources its music from other platforms such as Spotify or Rdio. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Radical.FM accepts Bitcoin; research on Germany’s music market; Indian FM radio outlook; charts detail music purchasing trends. 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
Saavn has added 800,000 tracks from Warner Music and EMI to its offerings. The addition of this batch of Western music brings the Indian service’s catalog to almost 2 million. Saavn said in its press release that the deal makes it the only streaming platform in the country to offer songs from all of the big Western labels, with tunes from Sony and Universal already in its library. Continue Reading
Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, released a new market report that included data on Brits’ radio listening habits. The report found that live radio broadcasts accounted for the majority of most adults’ total listening time, but the figures were drastically different for the 16 to 24-year-old age bracket. Continue Reading
RAIN founding editor Kurt Hanson is reporting from Tokyo, where he is surveying the tech, culture, and audio landscapes. This is his fourth report. iPhones are popular in Tokyo, but there is a peculiar exception. Continue Reading
RAIN founding editor Kurt Hanson just returned from a trip to Tokyo, where he surveyed the tech, culture, and audio landscapes. This is his second illustrated report. Continue Reading