Quick Hits: Gender on the charts; Spotify update; release date strategy
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Where are the women? Updated Spotify desktop app display. New music…Thursdays? Continue Reading
Spotify
Nordic countries report heavy music streaming use, favoring YouTube and Spotify
Europe’s Nordic region continues to be a standard-setter for digital music adoption. The Polaris Nordic Digital Music Survey 2017 surveyed residents in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark about their listening habits. It found that 80% of all inhabitants between the ages of 12 and 65 used at least one streaming service in the past year. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Audiobook production; videos for Rap Caviar; happy birthday to 8tracks
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Audiobooks versus podcasts; Rap Caviar gets video; happy birthday to 8tracks! Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Database debates; Carpool Karaoke; iHeart and General Motors; Spotify on Xbox
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: New chapters in the licensing database saga; Apple’s original programming begins with Carpool Karaoke; iHeartRadio’s latest in-car collaboration; Spotify Xbox app reportedly in the works. Continue Reading
Former Pandora MD for Australia and New Zealand joins Spotify
Spotify has hired Jane Huxley as its new managing director for Australia and New Zealand. She will start in this position on Sept. 1. The MD role was most recently held by Kate Vale, who departed Spotify in May after a five-year tenure. The hire is extra noteworthy coming on the heels of Pandora’s ANZ shutdown. Continue Reading
Spotify makes two moves into the podcast space this week
Spotify has made several developments this week aimed at expanding its footprint for podcasts. First, Bloomberg reports that Spotify will promote podcasts in its mobile app and in advertisements in exchange for positive buzz from show hosts. Second is a distribution deal with Australia’s Omny Studio. Continue Reading
Spotify reportedly up to 60 million subscribers
Spotify has reportedly reached a new subscriber milestone. Sources familiar with the streaming company told the Financial Times that it now has 60 million paying listeners. The milestone would mean that Spotify added 10 million subscribers since March. Continue Reading
Jay-Z, a new album, and Spotify’s ongoing journey toward artist-friendly distribution
For the release of his newest work, Jay-Z opted to gate the album to his Tidal streaming service for one week. But even after distributing the music to most other digital platforms, Spotify still does not have 4:44. That may not be a cheap decision for the artist, and it also shows that Spotify has still not shaken some long-held assumptions among A-list performers. Continue Reading
Spotify reportedly close to Warner licensing deal
Spotify has reportedly made progress toward securing a licensing deal with Warner Music Group. Reuters cited four unnamed sources in its exclusive report that the streaming company was moving closer to an agreement with the third major label. The specifics of this alleged arrangement are still being hammered out, but the sources told Reuters that the parties had already agreed to Spotify paying a smaller share of revenue to Warner in exchange for the label’s artists to window their work to paid subscribers for a period. Continue Reading
Spotify subjected to two copyright infringement lawsuits
Licensing and royalties continue to create clouds for Spotify. The streaming company has been sued by two different parties for copyright infringement, with claims that Spotify did not obtain the required licenses to stream their respective catalogs. Continue Reading
Mechanical royalties debate sparked once again for Spotify
Songwriter and publisher royalties have appeared once again as a sticking point for the Spotify streaming service. The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson is reporting that music publishers and songwriters are looking to receive a portion of Spotify’s equity when the company either goes public or finds an interested buyer. According to her sources, the National Music Publishers Association has been deeply interested in the question of equity since Spotify has been more seriously preparing for a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Continue Reading
Quick Hits: Labels take on Spotify playlists. Mighty launches. SoundCloud flounders.
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: How labels approach Spotify playlist promotion. Kickstarter project Mighty launches. More tough news from SoundCloud. Continue Reading