The recording industry has always been troubled by free music, understandably. Yet the progression of disruptive technology has made music an Internet commodity. Spotify is arguing that free listening is necessary to scale streaming revenue. Continue Reading
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A six-minute blast of news you need to know in streaming audio.
THIS WEEK: Streaming surpasses CD sales in 2014 RIAA report; iTunes Radio goes to programmatic sales; Rdio’s new social features; Rhapsody plays on Twitter; BBC seeks to reinvent radio. Continue Reading
Rhapsody launched a new feature today called Rhapsody audio cards that allows more than 30 million songs to be embedded and heard in full on Twitter. The new development is designed to allow listening to its catalog without ever leaving the social media app. Continue Reading
RealNetworks has released its 2014 financial data, and it includes a snapshot of the performance for Rhapsody. Rhapsody posted net revenue of $173.48 million in 2014 with a net loss of $21.34 million for the year ending Dec.31. Continue Reading
Guest columnist Jon Maples analyzes Rhapsody’s release of 2014 financial results. Revenue up for the on-demand music service. Losses up, too. What does it mean for the model? Continue Reading
After announcing 2 million subscribers back in July, Rhapsody and Napster have grown to 2.5 million paid subscribers worldwide. Those members listen to more than 5 million hours of music a week. A large part of the growth came from the company’s U.S. deal with T-Mobile, which contributed a 67% spike in unRadio subscriptions over the holiday season. Continue Reading
For music’s biggest night, it’s no surprise that many industry members have been trading predictions about who the big winners will be. Streaming services are among those looking into their crystal balls to divine which tunes and artists will take home awards. Continue Reading
In what could be described as a refutation of Spotify’s feature-bristling desktop app, subscription music service Rhapsody is prompting desktop users to try a beta refresh which streamlines the look-and-feel. We’re sold. Continue Reading
Rhapsody is 13 years old today. To celebrate its 13th anniversary, Rhapsody released some new internal data about the streaming platform’s success to date and its listener highlights for 2014. Over 60% of its audience listens to Rhapsody exclusively on mobile devices. Continue Reading
Rhapsody posted a net loss of $7.97 million in the third quarter, according to the financial results filed by main investor RealNetworks. The streaming platform generated record-high revenue of $44.1 million, up 25% from the previous year’s figures. In the second quarter, Rhapsody’s net loss was about $4.7 million. Continue Reading
Napster has entered into a partnership with Audi and will be appearing in select car models starting this fall. “Connectivity has become more and more important in daily life,” said Patric Niederländer, Rhapsody International’s vice president of business development in Europe. Music Week reported that the integration was expected to expand into additional models in 2015. Continue Reading
Rhapsody has brought a new interim CEO into its executive ranks. David Hose will head the company for the time being while the board conducts a search for a permanent CEO. Hose has acted an as adviser, investor, and founder for several music- and mobile-centric companies. He most recently founded Soundwall, a startup that combines music and art to create “wireless connected canvases.” Continue Reading