Today brings a fresh batch of rumors and sneak peaks into Apple’s forthcoming music service, as usual courtesy of 9to5Mac. Unnamed industry sources told the site that despite being based on Beats Music, the new platform is likely to be called Apple Music. It is also expected to integrate social features similar to ones that Apple previously experimented with in the form of Ping. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Report on music services and social engagement; infographic of Grooveshark legal fees; latest iOS 8.4 beta shows more music updates. Continue Reading
Music data specialist Next Big Sound has released a new report with just as much substance as style. The beautifully designed presentation reviewed some of the major music business trends of 2014. The data points show a snapshot of how the online music industry has continued to grow and create additional business opportunities for artists, labels, and their partners. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Millennials, social media, and big data; indie labels’ snapshot of digital music; online radio listening by age. Continue Reading
Kids these days and their real-time, instant communication. Messaging and social apps have been seeing an increase in popularity, and several are experimenting with a musical angle. The latest is Rithm, a social music messaging service that officially launched its commercial listening platform today. Continue Reading
We at RAIN wrote about the rise of platform-agnostic listening services last month, and today we’ve learned about a new use for them. Bop.fm has signed a deal with Billboard and Twitter to power integrate streaming into the companies’ real-time music charts. Since the Billboard + Twitter Real Time Charts often include tracks that aren’t part of a formal album release – they are more often covers or live performances – they aren’t as easy to find on a single listening platform. Continue Reading
Snapchat has been making big waves in the field of social media, most recently getting valued at a staggering $19 billion. Today, it introduced the ability to add music to your videos. The update lets people have music playing from iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud on their phones and then appear in their Snaps. Continue Reading
Social music apps have become a crowded industry of late, and a new company called Nusiki has joined the fray out of Chicago. Co-founder Ben Hewitt described the service as “if Instagram and Spotify had a kid.” Continue Reading
Line, a social and messaging app based in Japan, has announced a new foray into streaming music. Thanks to a partnership with Sony Music and Avex Digital, the company will launch a service called Line Music. According to a brief news post on Line’s website, the three businesses are still working on the details of what Line Music will look like. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Thom York to sell new solo album on BitTorrent; Neil Young’s next album goes hi-fi; social media success for iHeartRadio Fest. Continue Reading
Serendip announced that it will cease operations on Sept. 22. In an email to its members, the company said the costs of processing all the posts and serving up playlists on both web and mobile apps were more than the small team could handle. The Israel-based startup was designed to be a music service with a social angle. It pulled music recommendations from a person’s connections on Facebook and Twitter to create playlists. It also had a lean-back radio listening component. Continue Reading
The Commotion social platform provides a breakthrough and (to date) unique platform for encouraging real-time conversation among radio station listeners, while owning and shaping the experience. We spoke to CEO Ryan Burgoyne, to learn more about Commotion. Continue Reading