Sony has been making deals in the podcast space, and it has spent the past several months assembling a team to help drive those partnerships. A leaked internal memo introduced four executives for the Sony Music Entertainment offices in New York who will focus on the company’s efforts in podcasting. Continue Reading
Sony has secured a licensing deal with Boomplay Music, a Chinese-owned music platform operating in Africa. This means that Boomplay now has agreements with all three of the major labels to bring their catalogs to its streaming and download platform. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment is entering another partnership for original podcast creation. The label has teamed with satirical news brand The Onion to make podcasts. The first show under this collaboration is called The Topical. Continue Reading
Rhapsody and Sony Music Entertainment Japan have officially launched their mora qualitas streaming service in Japan. The platform, initially unveiled in December 2018, offers high-resolution music from the Sony catalog, as well as libraries from other labels and distributors. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment is launching a new podcast joint venture. The company is collaborating with UK-based podcast producer Renay Richardson for a business called Broccoli Content. Continue Reading
Sony Music will roll out two new features for royalty payments on its artist portal this autumn. First is Real-Time Royalties, which will provide immediate updates about a performer’s global earnings and account balances. The second feature is Cash Out. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment is making a new move into podcasting. The major label has entered a joint venture with two podcast veterans — Laura Mayer and Adam Davidson — to find and develop original programming and talent. The as-yet-unnamed company will create and distribute original podcasts. Continue Reading
Sony Music Entertainment and Rhapsody International have partnered to launch a streaming service in Japan. The platform, called mora qualitas, will offer high-resolution lossless FLAC audio at CD quality. It is built on Rhapsody’s Powered By Napster platform. Continue Reading
Sony has released its latest quarterly earnings. In its fiscal Q1 (calendar Q2), Sony’s revenue from recorded music and music publishing reached 121.3 billion yen ($1.11 billion), with operating income of 32.1 billion yen ($294.3 million). Continue Reading
Sony has made yet another move toward transparency in how it is distributing the proceeds from its sale of Spotify stock. Sony Music Entertainment has informed indie labels by email that it intends to make payments to eligible artists and participants as soon as possible. There is one interesting and revealing point. Continue Reading
Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange marked a new chapter for the streaming music service, and the action has continued to make waves in the industry. The latest developments are that two of the major labels that were early investors in Spotify during its startup days have sold portions of their shares. Continue Reading
As the latest research will confirm, streaming is the dominating force for music industry revenue. That shift has led to changes in how labels and music companies dedicate their resources. Sony’s Legacy label is the latest to embark on its own digital transition. Legacy focuses on the catalog business, which includes digital remastering old recordings and producing other reissues. Continue Reading